Pop Cultural Elements of Military Cadences
"HUT, TWO, THREE, FOUR...HUT, TWO, THREE, FOUR...” What do a bunch of grunts calling out raunchy marching cadences have to do with pop culture? There’s more to the cadence then just keeping soldiers in step, there is a deep sense of pride, patriotism, unity, motivation, and nostalgia, which can be found within these songs. The Military cadence is used to motivate, inspire, and foster company cohesiveness while keeping soldiers steps in time and hands down the rich oral traditions of the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air force. The cadence is a song sung when marching or running and the songs require a caller, who normally sets the pace and leads the formation. Like robots, the soldiers echoed their leader's sing-song" Jody Call" in beat to their pounding footsteps. The way a unit sounds while running or marching tends to reflect on that unit's morale and leadership. This paper will illustrate the similarities that cadences share with pop culture music through lyrical examples. As you will see, the lyrics of these cadences are expressions of individual feelings, goals, and fears, and are quite similar to the themes of other popular culture musical genres. The theories of subculture, appropriation and improvisation that have been proposed in lecture will be reviewed and illustrated within cadences. The military cadence as a subcultures oral tradition will be examined, through analyzing the theories of popular music which can be applied to the genres’ history, structure, and socio-political influences.
History & Earlier Music
The cadence in America can be traced as far back as the American Revolution with Yankee Doodle. Historically it finds its roots in ancient armies marching to battles across foreign lands. The most significant song in this genra was created in May, 1944, by Pvt. Willie Duckworth, an African American soldier. This chant that we know today as the "Duckworth Chant" or "Sound Off”, 1-2 sound off 3-4 is the most recognizable to the average person from its usages in movies and P.E. classes. The cadence has historical links to the field holler and work songs. Slaves sang about their oppressive environment while working tirelessly in the cotton fields. Similarly, the majority of cadences are reflective to the environment and training, which soldiers endure. These cadences share the themes of phys...
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...re of music has many similarities with pop culture music such as Blues, Rock, and Hip-Hop through its historical influences, content, and tone. Cadences demonstrate social political views, sexist and homophonic slurs, elements of nostalgia, and subculture symbolism. The cultural theories of appropriation and improvising are essential to the creation of the military cadence, making this subculture’s music a dynamic and appreciated genre. What is critical to the livelihood of the cadence and other forms of pop cultural music is that it borrows form something that came before within a specific social and cultural context. The cadence is very unique compared to the popular music heard in class particularly because it is hidden within a subculture. The Military cadence’s place is not on mainstream radio waves or on MTV. The cadence is alive on the training grounds of military instillations and in the hearts and minds of soldiers as they run, march, and become future warriors, carrying the legacy and oral traditions of the US Military in to the 21st century.
All Cadence Examples Courtesy of US ARMY Marching and RUNING CADENCES http://cadence.armystudyguide.com/list/index.html
Friendship can be debated as both a blessing and a curse; as a necessary part of life to be happy or an unnecessary use of time. Friends can be a source of joy and support, they can be a constant stress and something that brings us down, or anywhere in between. In Book 9 of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle discusses to great lengths what friendship is and how we should go about these relationships. In the short story “Melvin in the Sixth Grade” by Dana Johnson, we see the main character Avery’s struggle to find herself and also find friendship, as well as Melvin’s rejection of the notion that one must have friends.
Many people hail “The Star Spangled Banner” as the greatest piece of American music. The audiences of America’s national anthem seem, instinctively, eager to express their respect by embracing the notion to remove their hats and stand up. However, not many people ponder over the question of what “The Star Spangled Banner” truly means. What does it mean? Why does it deserve so much reverence and honor? What exceptional difference allows it to prevail over the masterpieces of prominent composers like Mozart and Beethoven? The answer is fairly simple. “The Star Spangled Banner” symbolizes America’s perseverance, its set of moral laws and ethics, and its history that constitutes what America truly means.
Wilson, Keith. “Black Bands and Black Culture: A Study of Black Military Bands in the Union Army during the Civil War.” Australasian Journal of American Studies 9, no. 1 (July 1990): 31-37. Accessed April 5, 2014. http://jstor.or/stable/41054165.
Musicologists have dated the ‘birth’ of blues to be around 1890 as a West African tradition involving blue indigo in which mourners at ceremonies would wear blue dyed attires to resemble their suffering . Although, blues derived from times of slavery, the Prohibition Era (1920’s), World War Two (1939-1945), and during the Vietnam War (predominantly 1960’s to 1970’s), it has been a continuously evolved form of music in America, in which the similarities have always remained; melancholy and protest.
of City Ballet by its artistic director, George Balanchine known as being the father of American
Of these three, the one I will be focused on is the hygiene hypothesis. The hygiene hypothesis, essentially says we are too clean for our own good! But wait is that possible? The belief is with little to no contact with infectious entities the body can mistake common food proteins as an invading germ or germ that the body recognizes as a threat. I believe that the theory, Hygiene hypothesis is most plausible because it makes the most sense. Here is why I believe that statement. In the last 20 years hygiene in the Western world has become increasingly more popular and widespread. If we think back to the time of our parents and grandparents there were still allergies but much less. Kids would run around in bare feet ate mud and got dirty. On top of this they would not put much thought into washing hands or take a shower every day, hence there was more time for the body to decipher what is bad and what is good. In our day now everybody and their uncle have allergies if you think back to the nineties and two thousand's there was a lot of talk about being extremely or you will be sick. So we made sure to wash our face and hands after
...g that is dance able but has a marching feel to it, lyrics such as “ Uncle Jam’s army, here- yeah. Disturbing the peace at the bridge of the river quiet. Marching in the name of the groove. No AWOP-absent without the P. Uncle Jam’s army here-so you wanna dance? This is booty do your duty time. We’re soldiers on booty patrol. And I’m your thrill sergeant, And he’s your thrill sergeant. Gonna keep you on your toes, cause Uncle Jam wants you, To do what you’re supposed to do, and join his army! The playfulness in this song can express the point but at the same time people can have a fun time doing it as well. This specific song came out in the mid-seventies but still is a prime example of how Parliament Funkadelic played of the Black Revolution and appealed to Popular Culture.
The Classical Period which happened in the late 1700’s became one the most evolutionary times in ballets history. The Classical Period is where performance and expression became extremely important. With ballet this period is where the use of storytelling became one of the main focuses for the dancer’s performances. The use of their emotions and the character they portrayed were more important than the use of the costumes. The “father of classical ballet” was known as Marius Petipa. Petipa was born in French but he came to Russia to create in the ballet. In the early 1800’s came the Pre-Romantic Period which was short but needed because of Marie Taglioni. Marie Taglioni was the first ballerina to ever dance en pointe. This time was the time pointe surfaced, em pointe which means “on
A positive outcome in this stage will relate to the development of greater self-control. During our interview Lynda explained to me “I don’t remember a lot of my childhood in Hawaii, but my mother she kept photographs and passed them on to me. There are these old photos of us picking out fresh fruits and vegetables from the farms, we had plentiful baskets. Then we would go back home and help our mother make our dinner.” Children in this stage seek independence thus, gaining a sense of control is important for this age group. According to Erikson’s theory, successful toilet training and freedom in tasks such as picking out clothes, toys, and food will lead to a positive outcome in this stage of
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Ballet first originated in Italy in the 1400’s, its purpose was to impress the nobility of other countries. The ballerinas would wear the fashion of the times, with big dresses, wigs, and shoes that were not good for dancing in. Ballet was brought to France when Catherine de Medicis married King Henri II. She brought the culture of ballet with her to Paris. Eventually Paris became the capitol of the ballet world. Up until 1681 all of the female ballet roles were played by men. Many people fell in love with ballet. George Balanchine brought ballet to America.
Powell, A. (2007). The Music of African Americans and its Impact on the American Culture in the 1960’s and the 1970’s. Miller African Centered Academy, 1. Retrieved from http://www.chatham.edu/pti/curriculum/units/2007/Powell.pdf
Some may say music is just music; a song is just a song. However, music plays an enormous role in our psychology, because a single song has the ability to bring about many kinds of thoughts and emotions in the listener. Music is subtly one of the main factors in which people identify with certain groups and establish their belonging in society. It shapes people’s perspectives on how the world functions and the roles they play within it. Music can function the same way in a culture; it can reflect many of the culture’s values and ideologies. Music can have many effects on culture and the people’s idea of who they think they are within that culture. Music can serve in a way that promotes cultural identity and pride, yet it could also play a role in the separation of social and economical identities in within cultures.
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