Amazing Grace Essay Research Paper Amazing Grace — страница 2

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melodies might have stuck in his mind since he was a slave-trader and may be the melody of the song we still use today. It would be ironic if this were the case: an ex-slave trader turned to a good life writing a hymn about how he was saved from such a horrible way of living. Today, ?Amazing Grace? can be found in the following styles of music: African-American, Gospel, Native American, Pop Rock, Alternative rock, Blues, country, and folk. The hymn can easily be found in African-American and Gospel styles of singing. One lady was quoted saying this hymn was always sung by black people, it is like a ?theme song (Moyer).? Usually when singing this song, the style of music is Black American. Often congregations will use a style of call and response when singing the hymn. One main

singer will begin a verse and a large group of other singers will either come in with the next verse or sometimes repeat the verse he said. This is also one of the reasons why the hymn is considered to be ?raised.? In this style, the deacon or head singer will get up just as if he was in an African tribe and say he wants to sing a certain song in a certain meter. He begins and it is expected that the other people around join in at the appropriate times. This is very characteristic of Black-American singing, showing the influence that Africa has had on their singing and how this characteristc has managed to stay around until present day. Why the wide spread use of this hymn in African-American singing? Possibly the answer lies in the ability of black churches to turn the song into

a type of song called a ?spiritual.? This style of music is very moving and it ?activates the Holy Spirit (153 Titon).? During such songs people often fall into a trance, or begin to convulse and act as if their body has been taken over by something or someone else. Another use of ?Amazing Grace? has been its role as a work song. A work song is a song sung by a group of people doing a common task to help make the work and time pass by quicker. ?Amazing Grace? sometimes is used in this style of singing. In the PBS special, Bill Moyer visits an African-American home and finds them all preparing a large meal outdoors, where there were about 6 people working on preparing the meat. What he found was a ?work song? when they al began to sing ?Amazing Grace? as they chopped up the meat

in a rhythmic fashion, which was aided by the singing of the hymn. Its entrance into the world of Pop Rock, Alternative Rock, and Blues marks the continued evolution of the ?Amazing Grace?. In the rock version (Selection 1 on the CD) we hear the use of the guitar to play the notes as a vocalist singing the famous lyrics. The song in this style of singing continues and another guitar comes forth playing in a higher octave the notes that correspond to each word of the song. ?Amazing Grace? in this style of music signifies the modern spirit that has accepted such an age-old piece. The pop version of this song (Selection 12) shows the use of a different melody. Its sounds like they are using the melody to the song ?House of the Rising Son,? but with the lyrics of ?Amazing Grace.?

This helps to show how transferable this song is and its freedom. The hymn even appears in the realm of alternative rock (Selection 2), a style that is one of the most popular amongst the current generations. In this style, guitars mark the song again, but there is not the strict rock style. They are very free and upbeat with the rhythm. Also in the alternative style are drums, vocals and synthsizers. The vocals sing the lyrics with some of their own additions that make it not so antiquated and more of the modern style. ?Amazing Grace? has also hit the world of Blues Music. When first listening to a version of ?Amazing Grace? in this style, it took a while to realize the song was this famous hymn. The recorded version (Selection 3) starts out with drums and a electric guitar in a

free flowing solo, this continues for a minute or so until the vocalist begins singing the familiar lyrics. The guitar and drums maintain a pattern as the singer sings. He stops for a moment in between verses and a saxophone comes in with its own solo, a characteristic of jazz and blues. What happens when a hymn is used in these styles of music? Does the meaning become more or less meaningful? The answer to this lies in the listener. For some the hymn in these styles of music may not have such a holy affect on them, it may now be more of a joyful listening experience that wouldn?t evoke as much emotion as it would in a religious rendition. So in effect the spirituality goes down in some circumstances, most likely in the blues and pop realm, but the spirituality maybe be about the