Thursday, March 24, 2016

Gospel Music's Influence

        Warm Up: Listen to the short clip from Kanye West’s “Gold Digger.” Listen closely to                the lyrics and identify the central message of the song. Identify the person mentioned                  in the lyrics



Guided Practice:   

  1) Play Ray Charles’ “I Got A Woman" (1954). 

     a) Listen closely to the lyrics and identify the central message of the song. Identify      the key figure mentioned in the lyrics: ___________________


      b) Think about whether the song reminds you of any music you have heard                 before:
________________________


2) Play an excerpt from the Southern Tones’ “It Must Be Jesus” (1954). 

    a) Listen closely to the lyrics and identify the central message of the song.

    b) Identify the key figure mentioned in the lyrics: ________________

    c) Think about whether the song reminds you of any music they have heard                  previously.


                   
3) Discuss:

   a) How similar are the three songs, musically speaking?

   b) What is similar, and what changes?

   c) How has the central figure in the song changed through the three versions?

   d) What has happened to the overall meaning of the song and the emotions it              portrays through the three versions?

   e) Who is Kanye West? What kind of music is he known for?

   f)  Does “Gold Digger” have anything to do with Jesus? With religion in general?        With love?

   g) Why might Kanye West have borrowed from a traditional R&B song in “Gold        Digger”?

   h) What does the Ray Charles sample bring to West's song?

   i) What do these three clips suggest about how Gospel music has influenced and           continues to influence popular American music?

Part 2:

Listen to and compare the following hits:

1) "(He Is) Wonderful” (1959), by Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers, and “Loveable” (1956), which was originally released under the name "Dale Cook."

    a) What overall effect do they have on the listener?

    b) Complete the song comparison chart.


     a) Why might white audiences be receptive to music that was influenced by the            music of the African-American church?

     b) Complete the song comparison chart.

2) The Jordanaires, “Dig a Little Deeper” (1950) and Elvis Presley with the Jordanaires, "Too Much" (1957). 

         a) What does the second comparison have in common with the first? Who are the             singers singing about in each song?

         b) How similar are the vocal stylings of "Didn't It Rain" and "Tutti Frutti"?

         c) Would it matter whether they were even aware of this influence when listening             to popular music?

      Assessment: Write a paragraph explaining how Gospel music influenced pop music         of the 50's and 60's.



     Closure: S. Share sentences.Vocab: comparison, receptive

No comments:

Post a Comment