Jake Blount is a performer of professional Black American folk music, and his career is based on his understanding of the connection between the banjo as an instrument and the Black American folk music as a music genre. The video “Why this instrument explains American folk music” he tells the instrument’s history and explains how Black folk music has evolved.
Table of Contents
1. Summary of the Video
2. “Race records” and “hillbilly music”
3. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines the influence of the American music industry in the 1920s on the social and artistic categorization of music, specifically focusing on the creation and implications of "race records" and "hillbilly music."
- The historical evolution of Black American folk music and the banjo.
- Institutional origins of racial categories in the commercial recording industry.
- The relationship between artistic boundaries and social categorizations.
- Market-driven segregation and its long-term impact on musical genres and performer stereotypes.
Excerpt from the Book
“Race records” and “hillbilly music”
Jake Blount raises the relationship between artistic boundaries and social boundaries is examined trough the creation of “race records” and “hillbilly music”. These categories were not planned to be part of a larger racial project but because of the early recording history they became self-perpetuating (William 2004, 265).
The question which arises while thinking about categories is how categories such as musical genres are related to social categories, such as rase. During the 1920s the American music industry created two of the most blatantly racial categorical schemes to grace the American cultural landscape. One the one hand side “race records”, music of African- Americans came up, while “hillbilly” or “old time” music raised to describe music of rural whites. This paper is intended shortly present these two different categories and then define why there was the need of these two different categories (William 2004, 265-266).
The terms race and hillbilly were created by the American music industry from the early 1920s until the late 1940s to classify and advertise Southern music. The record companies released the recorded materials and usually advertised them in racially segregated catalogs and brochures. The two genres originated in the American South and were rooted in long- standing folk music traditions. When they entered the mass marketplace, both blended these older rural musical styles with aspects of national popular culture such as the minstrel show, poetic themes, and performance styles of Tin Pan Alley. When they were created there existed a national decline in record sales and the music industry tried wanted to develop alternative markets. The distribution took place via new media like electric recording, radio, sound film, and by urban migration.
Summary of Chapters
Summary of the Video: This section introduces the work of performer Jake Blount and his analysis of how the banjo and Black American folk history have been systematically excluded from traditional music canons.
“Race records” and “hillbilly music”: This chapter analyzes the institutional creation of segregated music categories by the recording industry in the 1920s, exploring how business logic defined artistic labels.
Conclusion: This final part summarizes that the separation of musical genres was primarily a marketing strategy that forced artists into racial stereotypes, ultimately shaping modern standards of musical judgment.
Keywords
Race records, Hillbilly music, American folk music, banjo, music industry, segregation, cultural history, artistic boundaries, marketing strategies, Black American musicians, folklore, social categories, record sales, musical production, stereotypes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this paper?
The paper explores how the American music industry constructed racial categories for musical genres in the early 20th century, specifically through the labels "race records" and "hillbilly music."
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
The themes include the history of Black American folk music, the influence of commercial recording companies on genre creation, and the intersection of social constructs with musical artistic expression.
What is the core research objective?
The objective is to understand why and how specific racial categories were established in the music industry and to analyze the consequences of these labels on musicians and musical tradition.
Which scientific approaches are utilized?
The paper employs a critical analysis of historical industry practices, utilizing secondary research from cultural and institutional studies to evaluate how marketing influenced musical categorization.
What does the main body address?
The main part examines the historical transition of folk traditions into mass-marketed genres and explains the mechanics of racially segregated record distribution systems.
Which keywords characterize the study?
The study revolves around race records, hillbilly music, American folk, industry segregation, and the socio-economic impacts on artistry.
How does the banjo serve as a point of contention in this study?
The banjo serves as a primary example of how Black American folk instruments were historically marginalized or misrepresented in the recording industry, highlighting the disconnect between the creators of the music and those who received profit.
What, according to the Conclusion, were the consequences for artists who did not fit the created stereotypes?
Artists faced difficulties getting their music recorded and sold if they fell outside the expected aesthetic of their prescribed racial category, forcing them to conform to narrow industry expectations.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Anonym (Autor:in), 2022, Why this instrument explains American folk music, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1474190
