Soul Music

In today’s society it seems that music has taken a turn for the worst. The quality of this generation’s music has begun to deteriorate.   Music, in specific, African American music also known as by soul or rhythm and blues (R&B) has changed within the last few decades.   With the sounds, the lyrics, and messages within their lyrics, it would make it seem like it no longer was the same genre of music that it has been throughout its history.   Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to take a look of the history of soul music and its evolution throughout the last decades into what it has become today, specifically in the following areas:   its origins, forms of   expression, current status, and future outlooks of the soul music genre.   The reason for selecting this type of genre of music is because it has a growing audience within young adults who listen to this type of music without knowing the true roots of the music they have chosen to listen to and appreciate. (Jones, David M. (2007).
Soul music origins
The origin of soul music can be traced all the way back to its African roots. African music can be distinguished through its rhythm, its melodies, its instruments; it has maintained the same foundation found in its music from hundreds of years ago found in the sub-Saharan Africa. African music is very distinctive in the sense that it is always harmonious. Over the years African music has been influenced by the change in the African culture. Their music is a form of expressing their experiences throughout their history. (Grant, C.D. (1985).
Soul music, also closely related to R&B, was a product of several forms of African music. From the early 1800’s of African Folk songs, to the early 1900’s Jazz and Gospel Music all these different types of music lead to the creation of R&B and soul. R&B was inspired by the creation of the electric guitar in the 1930’s. Africans incorporated this new instrument to their sound. R&B sounds were mostly developed in the northern states...