Jazmine Ibarra

Dr. Sarah Thaller

Fire Cohort

2 November 2020

Evolution of American Protest Music Reflection

I never thought very much about the message behind the music I listened to, just how they made

me feel. Different genres of music have a different feel to them than the same genre of music back then.

Songs today have more or less meaning than they used to but the fact that they have evolved, in a way,

proves that it is an effective way to communicate a message, no matter what ideas or beliefs it may be

supporting. The video, “The evolution of American protest music”, by ​Vox​, talks about the difference in

American protest music from back then to the present and how “the way it reaches audiences has

fundamentally reshaped the genre” (Vox, 00:00:19-00:00:22). As an eight-year-old kid, I learned how to

play “Yankee Doodle” by Richard Chuckburgh Edward Bangs, on the piano. I never really thought about

the message behind it, just that I enjoyed playing it. Who would’ve thought that it was used to serve a

higher purpose than entertainment? I never would’ve thought or known that “Yankee Doodle” was a form

of protest music. It makes me wonder how much more I don’t know about music and what it means. I find

it amazing that people are able to utilize different mediums such as music, murals, poetry, and more to

bring across a message, share that with the world, and unify a group of people to support that belief. In the

video, ​Vox​ presented American protest music from all seemingly different genres. Yes, the music sounds

different, but they still serve to unite and/or inform the audience about a certain problem. The video

shows that music has gone from oral tradition with repetitive lyrics that are easy to remember to

electronic, choir, and other genres of music which are more complex and difficult to remember (​Vox​,

00:00:42-00:00:49). With the rise of the internet and more ways to reach people, American protest music

has changed due to these opportunities. They have taken advantage of their resources and as a result, have

popularized their music, the message of their music, and problems in the world that they support.
 Source

Vox. “The Evolution of American Protest Music.” ​YouTube​, YouTube, 20 May 2017,

youtu.be/qLc5QJsMgvw.