Kaillou's Musical Journal

     A genre of American Roots Music I wanted to take a deeper look into was Rhythm and blues. rhythm and blues originated from African Americans around the 1930s-1940s. It was first referred to as ‘Race Music’ before it was renamed r&b to help with marketing (in the 1940s). As many African Americans migrated to urban centers (northeast and midwest) this brought some spotlight to the different types of African American music styles and eventually it spread throughout the country. Genres such as jazz and the blues played a key part as the roots of r&b while other genres influenced it like rock ‘n’ roll, gospel, and folk. R&B was sort of like a way for African Americans to confront the big issue of segregation, and help the civil Rights Movement. They were able to come together and enjoy the beautiful, calming music. Many believed that r&b (also rock ‘n’ roll) were dangerous to the youth when in reality they turned r&b into an identity to portray their culture/backgro

What I wanted to look into was the gender roles in country music, specifically focusing on the main instrument, the acoustic guitar. Just about every country song involves the guitar and in today's world it is played by all. The guitar is a type of chordophone made from wood and strung with nylon or steel strings. It came from the Europeans who settled here in the Americas as early as the 1600s.  The guitar, both acoustic and electric, is a staple in country music. The acoustic guitar has been the primary instrument while the electric is more modern. It brings a rich and warm tone the to music while the simplicity of the design and the structure of it makes it easy to carry on the go and play wherever you wish.  From my basic observation/opinion, it seems like the guitar is a more male dominant instrument and that could be because of cultural stereotypes and social conditioning that increases the use of the guitar by males and decreases the use for females. Obviously there are many

     Being raised in the Cambodian (khmer) culture, I have had my fair share of attending weddings and funerals where the music was completely different for each one. Just like any wedding, the music can differ as the duration of the event continues. Slow and emotional in the beginning then fast and happy toward the end.  From experience, most of the Cambodian weddings I have been to have been put into two parts: traditional and American style. For example, a traditional wedding would be on a Friday morning and the American style wedding would be on a Saturday night.       Most people would take this route to 1. Enjoy the tradition/culture of being a Cambodian, 2. To split the attendance (respectfully) for the grandparents and older folks who want to support without being mixed with the younger generation that wants to party. It is done specifically in this way to respect the culture and go through the rituals, traditions, and blessings of getting married before having the 2nd half of