Riddle of America, The - Waldorf Research Institute

Music and Manners:The American ExperiencebyTom DewsThe stories we tell and the way we tell them say a lot about who weare. Similarly, the music of the folk, of the indigenous music of a cultureexpresses much about the nature of a place and its people. As a culturalmosaic which has brought together diverse cultural streams, America hasproduced folk and popular music that is unique. Although I will focus onjazz and bluegrass here, blues and other genres could certainly be included.I would like to explore what this music and its performance may have tosay about the American way of feeling, thinking, and doing or what couldbe called the American manner.I would like to explore what this music and its performance mayhave to say about the American way of feeling, thinking and doing—or whatcould be called the American manner.What distinguishes jazz and bluegrass from other folk/popularmusic of the world? In both jazz and bluegrass there is a strange and fragiledemocracy at work among the members of the ensemble playing together.Each member supports the others, careful to complement but also dedicatedto leading innovatively when soloing. A subtle communication must beoperative between players; the “conductor” is the spirit among them. Thesocial and musical achievement manifests in sound, so if the sounds aregood, we say the music is “moving.” As with all good music, the right balanceof melody, harmony and rhythm is present—we “feel” the harmony, themelody captures our thinking, and the rhythm may move us to tap our feet.One may say that jazz was born through the meeting of a number ofcultural streams, but most would acknowledge that it is largely an African-American creation, and this may have assured that it would have a stronglyimprovisational nature. (It may be a gross oversimplification to say thatAfrican rhythms and musical form met European notions of harmony and89