Gods music/The roots of all music

Philosophy Forums Religion and Spirituality
1

Negro spiritualism has created nearly all modern popular music in the west.

The roots of most of our popular music sprang from a belief , like the cosmos was started by a spark, that gave birth to countless of hundreds of thousands of songs and forms of expression that people are drawn to instinctively.

And could not imagine being without now.

It created a whole leap of evolution of in the mind. Effected our politics and morality.

The belief, this divine spark, has been the soundtrack to our lives. It has helped us through revolutions, wars, every emotion. Heaven has always been with us, playing its harmonies.

African/american spiritualism. Divinely orientated Energy , Divinely inspired energy. Which turned into blues which turned into gospel, and then RnB , rock n roll, Jazz, modern rock, punk , funk and soul , reggae , disco , hip hop and House , garage. All other sub genres.

Most of the great western composers too had a great and lofty spiritual ideal.

members.aol.com/dmarko1/brahms/existence.htm

All great music has its roots in a belief of something greater . Without a belief in heaven, we would not have had the ecclectic mix of music we hear today.

Consider when you listen to your music, that without a belief in heaven, you would not have it to listen to.

jass.com/spirituals.html

Elvis too learned from the negro spiritualists. He too was inspired and influenced by the early blues/gospel singers. Anyone saying we are in debt to Elvis for giving us rock n roll, and his musical genius should actually be saying we are in debt to the early negro spiritualist pioneers.

John Coltrane. Widely recognized as the Founder of modern Jazz. Which inspired the leap to avant garde forms of rock and classical . Coltranes style was the style that influenced outlandish rock. The beatles owe coltrane. Most other bands owe the beatles. But They all owe Coltrane.

www-mcnair.berkeley.edu/95journa … Price.html

Bob marley , recognized as king of the rastafarian movement and reggae music.

members.tripod.com/~Ras_Richard/bobwisdom.htm

personal.psu.edu/users/a/m/a … ment4.html

2

Iron Dog

You are so right. My brother and I are convinced we have an African gene due to our Gospel influences- it is truly in your blood.

So many of the later artists have been influenced by their gospel roots, or listening to their “Baptist” neighbors and giving their own take to it. Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis come to mind.

I am truly convinced that this is true, but so much of our discussion of spirituality is built soley on faith and it is almost impossible to give a subjective argument over what you feel in your gut. I love gospel churches and the spiritual nature of their services. If you can dance and have God at the same time — that is pretty terrific.

So glad to see this in writing… so true. Couldn’t have said it better.

A good point to be made though is what tentative said in another thread about Eastern sounds - they are foreign to us - and because of their nature we can hear the sounds as odd, or “off” when we simply haven’t been exposed to them.

I think on this site you will get an argument over the “heaven” thing with all the atheists, but I do agree… As of late, I have turned in a cynical woman over religion, but music keeps me hanging on by a thread. Love Christian R&B… nothing better than the acapella of Take Six… Please listen to them if you haven’t already.

John Coltrane and Elvis: thanks for mentioning both.

I know it seems silly to quote you over and over and say yes, yes and oh by the way yes, yes and yes ([size=150]did I say yes?)… [/size]but right on with this. So true…

Thank you, Iron Dog, for the thread - I really enjoyed reading it. :smiley:

3

What proof do you offer that the notions of spirituality of any given musical composer are in any way related to their ability to compose music?

Are you saying that in order to compose music you must first be an idealist? What proof do you offer?

You have not provided any evidence linking spirituality and the ability to create music, yet you state your opinions as if they are indisputable fact.

I’m not buying it.
music originated, as far as anyone can tell, as a form of primitive comunication. I see no reason to think music wouldn’t have continued down the path it did without religion around. I just see no connection between the two.

4

This is funny… it truly is, here’s why.

I could be mistaken… but I think that what ID is really saying that spirituality in africa was the root for the african musical history. In other words… we don’t need spirituality now to create a musical peice… but the origins of their music stemmed from the spirituality that the ancient africans drew on as inspiration for the different beats and sounds they would create in conjunction with their beliefs. ID says it’s dively created energy… this is inconclusive.

The thing I find funny about this is that A) You’re giving credit to a non-christian God. The africans wern’t christians… so doesn’t this either undermine your personal Dogma, or if you stay with your beliefs… doesn’t that undermine your theory?

5

But where is the connection between the music created by these primitive africans, and their spiritual beliefs?
Music arose out of necessity, not spirituality.
Of course, I recognise this as my own opinion and nothing more.

6

No I agree that the connection isn’t proven… I was just playing along for the sake of it

7

According to your faith, so it shall be.

8

Actually they haven’t created all modern music in the west. Have a look at Native American Folk Songs… I do believe The Indians were in the West before Africans… but maybe I’m wrong? Also have a look at Natural Music. Close your eyes and open your Mind to the sounds around you, it was not just Negro Spiritualism that started music in the west that we know today.

But humor me anyways and present some documentation that can throw me theory out the window and make your prevail.

9

What?
I am beginning to think you are never to the point because you just simply have no point.

You are trying to make a connection between music and religion here, but have provided no evidence or facts, only ‘this is how it is and thats that’ type statements.

Why should anyone accept your premises on such grounds?

You say I am acting on faith, but that’s ridiculous. You are asking me, the reader, to take everything you say on faith. I am simply refusing pending some kind of argument or evidence to support your case.

I don’t think I’ll hold my breath on that one, though.

10

As far as you can tell. Get that into your head. Anyone nothing.

11

Im not saying that. Dont be silly.

12

Again , dont be silly.

13

You dont believe in a spirit or heaven. You dont believe in anything similiar to me. We have nothing in common.

Im not engaging with someone who has not done even the slightest bit of spiritual preparation required to see clearly what is being said here.

I dont write this for you and those like you, do you understand that?

And if your not interested, which you have stated you are not several times before , all the more reason for you to stop reading what spiritual people say. Go and start your own thread about what you like . Leave me out of your equasion.

Stop reading my threads if your not actually interested.

14

Iron Dog…

I’ve heard a quote somewhere that goes something like, “You don’t have to have Cancer to understand the symptoms” and this applies very well… I don’t need to be in a religion to study a religion.

Now once again you have completely averted your attention to “get out of my thread you non-religious people”… sorry but you’ll find that regardless of who is religious or not your postd are subpar at best and don’t even seem to ever have a point… almost as if your just Copying and Pasting straight from an internet source you found so that you can appear to have knowledge of something.

Your damn right there that I’m not anything similiar to you… You have yet to answer any questions or hold any logical proof or any factual evidence to your findings or knowledge.

And quite frankly with the various kinds of posts that you present, Hermes, Satanism, Jesus, Taoism and Negro Spiritualism… I have a strong feeling not even you understand what you “BELIEVE”…

So get your act together and show everyone that you have knowledge of your own and not from some ‘book’ or internet source that you read so it must be true…

Quite frankly I’m done with this thread because once again you avoid any kind of question by saying, “I refuse to answer your question because this is a thread in which you can’t understand” even though we all understand but your not presenting an argument or conversation your just placing a “this is how it is because I read it in a book somewhere while traveling to the great beyond and found enlightenment bullshit”…

15

Go on and rant.
All you seem to know when things dont go your way. Rant rant.

What I said is my personal opinion ,personal preference , get over it, Im entitled to my opinion, Dont tell me what to think, and what I can do. I decide that.

And I decide I dont want to bother with having to discuss a spirit with atheists . Get over it!!

16

I never asked you anything in the first place . Quite frankly nothing. Quite frankly you are not welcome here.

17

Do you… or does God?

18

Translation: “you don’t agree with me, so I don’t want to talk to you”
If you are looking for a big agreeance fest you have come to the wrong place. At ILP we actually talk about things, not give one sided inflexible diatribes that we only want to see agreed with.

19

I knew this would happen - it is about FAITH. The African experiences relating to a higher being (which translated after years into Christian) probably from the influence of the culture they were thrust into - made it their own, and the rest is history. I think the documentation is clear when you research the history of blues and jazz… c’mon, neither originated through classical Bach, Beethoven, and Viennese Waltzes. Tell me - where else would R&B and Reggae, hip-hop etc stem from?? You cannot see any correllation between anything from the Native American or Eastern European culture - it is clearly African - the beats, the rhythm all if it is more indicative of African/American culture. Name one other culture that any of this music resembles. To me it is hands down African - I agree that the “Christian” thing came much later and is a blend of the African and European cultures making us one. SO sad- the predjudice — when music is screaming out for us to understand that we ARE just one people with a different melatonin level — but the same desires to live a good life.

God - I just reread this - after an evening of too much wine, too little sleep - I do ramble, God knows (but I mean well)…

Love and kisses to you all on a very late Saturday night… :unamused:

S

20

I don’t think anyone is arguing the african influence on music. What is being argued is whether or not spirituality and musical composition are mutually exclusive. I really fail to see how or why they would be.