My name is Tom Daniel, and I’m a pleased guy. I’m naturally positive, and I love talking about all the advantages that originate from the South. I get discouraged when I see Southerners who keep falling into that exact same trap where they only wish to speak about the years 1861-1865. When there are 400 years of Southern culture to commemorate, why do we keep restricting ourselves to just four of them? And my favorite Southern topic to discuss is MUSIC, because what my Yankee good friends call “American Music” is actually “Southern Music.” Make no error, AMERICAN MUSIC IS SOUTHERN MUSIC.
Every substantial genre or design of American music that you can name is almost certainly Southern. It’s nearly not even reasonable. It would be one thing if the South contributed possibly 4 or five significant designs of American music– however we contributed almost ALL of them! Proceed and name some styles of American music, and see what happens. Rock ‘n Roll? Southern. Blues and Jazz? Southern. Nation and Bluegrass? Southern. Rhythm & Blues, Soul, Funk? All Southern. Tejano, Cajun, Zydeco? Southern. Gospel, Spiritual, Sacred Harp, and Barbershop? Southern.
I have actually recognized 36 separate considerable genres of American music that are ALL Southern. Every among them came from Dixie. They didn’t “travel through” Dixie, or look off the edges. They all came right from the stubborn belly of the beast, and all carry a pedigree of Southern active ingredients. Rock ‘n Roll, for instance, is a mix of C and w and Rhythm & Blues, both of which are Southern. Rhythm & Blues is a blend of Blues, Jazz, and Gospel, which are also all Southern. The very same is true of Bluegrass, or Cajun, or Tejano– they are all blends of other Southern designs assembled in special methods.
And then there are the sub-genres– the splintered off-shoots of major designs. Jazz, for example, is a pretty huge umbrella label of music. Within jazz, you likewise have smaller designs such as Ragtime, Boogie Woogie, Dixieland, and Swing, and all of those styles are Southern, too.
And think of this– Southern music could not have actually originated from anywhere else except the South. We didn’t simply happen to luck out and land all these styles of music when nobody was looking. For example, Rock ‘n Roll couldn’t have actually originated from any other put on Earth other than the South in the 1950’s. Wait a minute, aren’t the British really good at Rock music? Isn’t it possible that they could have gotten it initially, but we simply somehow beat them to it? No. Keep in mind, Rock music is a blend of C and w and Rhythm & Blues, and neither of those styles are belonging to the British. Those are Southern sounds, and that’s our music.
For me, among the most satisfying aspects of Southern music is that there is no Yankee option, and even worse, a Yankee replacement. Believe me, if Yankees had any music of their own they would have shoved it down our throats decades ago, and Southern music would be extinct by now. However the fact is, they got absolutely nothing, and we can continue to commemorate and flaunt our genuine Southern music.
One of the most vital mistakes that Yankees make about Southern music– and one that we should battle highly to ward off– is this rubbish that Southern music is either Black music or White music. Yankees like to believe that way, however it’s not true. Our music is Southern music– not Black or White. It’s a lot like a plate of greens, peas, and cornbread. A Yankee would look at that plate of food and call it “Soul food” or “Black food,” however that’s wrong. It’s Southern food. That’s what all of us consume. That’s something vital that we share throughout the culture, and music is the specific very same method. No matter how forcefully Yankees might argue, there is no Black music or White music in the South. It’s all Southern music.
Given that American music is really Southern music, should not there be a typical thread of “musical DNA” that goes through everything? Yes, obviously there is, and it’s called the Scotch Snap. The Scotch Snap is a signature sound of American music, regardless of skin color or socio-economic status. Throughout human history, language has always had the most considerable impact on music over anything else. The rhythms of music from every culture come from the spoken language, and the Love language cultures are no different. For instance, Spanish and Italian songs include a repeated rhythm that matches the rhythms and inflections from their spoken language.
English is not a Love language. In English, we have a different signature rhythm that can be referred to as a two-syllable rhythm where the very first syllable is accented and brief. Consider the English words jumping, playing, uncle, standard, Peter, Bonnie, bloody, mama, or the phrases “want it,” “got it,” or “get up.” That is a signature English language sound that is not found in other languages worldwide. Musically, it can either be called the Lombard rhythm or it can be called the Scotch Snap. It is a distinct, renowned sound that is only found in the English language, and is therefore discovered in every aspect of American music– or rather, Southern music.
The Scotch Snap is an identifiably special rhythm heard initially in Scottish strathspeys, and here is an example of a strathspey called Tha Mi Sgith that is packed with Scotch Snap rhythms. You just require to go about 60 seconds to get the idea.
In order to hear Scotch Snap rhythms applied to lyrics, then listen to this Dusty Springfield traditional called Wishin and Hopin from 1964.
Discovering an example of Scotch Snap rhythms in English language songs is not hard to do at all. Remember, the music sounds that method because that’s how individuals talk, and the Scotch Snap rhythms are prominent in Southern spirituals, Sacred Harp, nation, rock, funk, jazz, and blues. The large majority of two-syllable words in the English language need a Scotch Snap for right pronunciation. For that reason, considering that the Scotch Snap is unique to English, then the Scotch Snap is special to the music of English-speaking cultures. It is not discovered at all in German languages or Love languages, given that none of those languages consist of a Scotch Snap in their speech patterns. If it’s not in the speech, then it’s not in their music.
Southern music comes from cooperation, cooperation, and mutual respect for each other. It originates from developing relationships with your fellow Southerners and accepting them as individuals rather of market labels. Yankees are truly proficient at thinking of individuals as being “groups.” Southerners are better at thinking of people as people.
Which is exactly why our music is so excellent.
I cover all of this and more in my course American Music is Southern Music at my Academy of Southern Music. I would love to have you join me there. I promise you will not discover any Yankee nonsense in this course or any of my courses. And due to the fact that you’re a faithful reader of the Abbeville Institute, I have actually cut the cost by 50%. You can likewise register in my complimentary class, Scotch Snaps and Southern Music, even if I desire you to find out more about the Southern tradition. See you there!