American Musical Genres: Rhythm and Blues Rhythm Research Paper

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American Musical Genres: Rhythm and Blues

Rhythm and Blues, or R&B, is an American musical genre largely attributed to the African-American community. Originating in the 1940s, the term was first used by record companies to describe recordings "marketed predominantly to urban African-Americans," at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz-based music with a heavy, insistent beat" was becoming increasingly popular (Palmer 5). Though the genre has evolved dramatically since its inception, certain terminology, instruments, and musicians have remained constants in looking at this genre's history, providing reference points and insights into a style of music that has continued to resonate with audiences for decades.

While the term R&B has shifted meaning from decade to decade, sometimes referring to genres ranging from rock music, blues and gospel to soul and funk, and contemporary R&B, rhythm and blues has become a blanket term for style of music as broad and diverse as the artists who encapsulate it. One of the threads that connects these alterations in style through history is the progressive and aggressive approach to music that each noted R&B artist captures in their performances. With lyrics and compositions that are guttural and emotional rather than soft and intellectual, rhythm and blues is a genre that aims to not only be heard, but pack a punch in the process.

In viewing rhythm and blues as a genre with distinct cultural implications as well, one must understand certain key terminology that has stayed with the genre over the years.

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Rhythm and blues is a genre that has long acted as a melting pot for other genres, and has been often referred to as a "super-genre" due to its stylistic inclusion of other forms of popular music such as religious, soul, ragtime, jazz, country, gospel, and rock and roll (Lee 12). In understanding the distinctions between these types of musical genres, it becomes clear in listening to rhythm and blues which aspects of the music can be pinpointed to be stylistically influenced by such other genres.

Clearly, such music cannot be made without the use of instruments, and though the instruments used in rhythm and blues vary widely from artist to artist, several have made a predominant mark in the genre's entirety. Author Ryan Jerving notes, "the most common types of instruments used in this type of music are drums, bass, piano, and guitar, with a horn section often featuring saxophones, trumpets and sometimes trombones" (Jerving 650). He further notes that the importance of a horn section within the genre is that which historically separates rhythm and blues from "white rock music" (Jerving 672).

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