137709, european settlement is so wide... Posted by The Damaja, Tue Oct-19-10 07:25 AM
it's impossible to identify anything as universal to all european music. but there are a number of things which have historically derived from european communities that they can be understood under the european music umbrella. an example would be the emphasis on order. that doesn't mean that all european music has an emphasis on order, or that all music which emphasizes order is european. but emphasis on order is an attribute of european music.
the way it fans out from there is a means of understanding how european music has spread through western civilization. that emphasis on order is exemplified in every instrument we take two be it the piano, the voice, guitar, etc. through different genres it also manifests differently. regionally it shows up differently. and by generations. but the core of it remains throughout all its variations. -------------
as you can see, this is pretty much completely useless in terms of telling you anything
let's be blunt. 'black music' is a floating abstraction - a concept not grounded in well understood references to reality. different people taking it to mean entirely different things, but keep using it with no acknowledgement of this. for instance this very thread, you said music of the diaspora, someone else said music of black Americans, Afkap said music with certain distinct sonic qualities, and so on
so if all these people keep using the term, but it's not the semantic meaning of the phrase that keeps it in use, then one has to wonder what IS. that's where i get suspicious. like i say personally i wouldn't use the term because i find it unhelpful. not that i don't credit certain black musicians with innovating widely used ideas, or certain ideas originating from cultural influence/heritage
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