Ska Music
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I do not have a great deal of knowledge about ska music, but after some cursory research, I have found that it has a fascinating path through history. I did not know that it had such long roots. I would use this PowerPoint and the concept of ska music to show how music travels through time and continents when its qualities are needed by a group or culture to express a thought. The Jamaican, British, and Americans all found a use and message to package in ska music. The driving force behind the ‘waves’ of ska as well as the message contained within it is an interesting thing to study.
One comparison I would make would be the political situation surrounding the development and growth of ska. Even though there were political messages which may have been anti-establishment, the government still embraced it because it was unique and could be claimed as “ours� by the Jamaican people. Similarly, when the English got their hands on it, it became the perfect backdrop for a message of tolerance and “melting� for some groups because the music itself is a melding of art forms. When the music finally got to America in a large way, we put a rock-spin while honoring the jazz and calypso roots. We have used it as a social medium with an ‘underground’ type of message, but some groups have experienced commercial success and continue to play this ‘catchy’ style of music.
The main point of this study would be to see how one form of music can be adopted, molded to fit the needs of those using it and then passed along a bit like the “telephone game.� We would talk about other situations when the ska beat might resurface and how it can be a medium for further messages.