African American music cannot be explained in six pages, however it is possible to do so because of the emotion behind their vocal and instrumental originalities. African American music has more emotion and deeply rooted origins than most, if not all music in history. Their music has a rich culture and pain, sadness or joy can be heard in their music. Music has created entertainment, jobs and history for people throughout the ages. African American music has a history unlike any other that sets it apart from the rest of world music. This article describes a brief history of American Americans and shows why emotion is a crucial part of their music. African music obviously began in Africa, where music was strongly rooted in the daily lives of native Africans. The rich texture of their music and descriptive songs has given way to oral tradition in a non-traditional sense. Back when there was little or no written language, oral tradition was a must for the survival of African history. In their music there was a story, or a ballad, to describe something like a fight between a hunter and a beast. These songs were easy for everyone to learn and sing to the next generation. Oral tradition may have been the sole root of why Africans sang the way they did, however, there were many other aspects deeply rooted in their musical culture. For one thing, music was a way to praise their God or Gods. A ballad might describe a fight between the gods or how grateful they were to the rain god for this year's harvest. "Why?" may elude some confusing unanswered questions, but Africans have had many centuries to change and transform their music to give it defined characteristics that are very different from today's music. In addition to the African voice...... middle of paper .. ....centuries. From Africa to America, black people have brought feeling and meaning to music without which America would otherwise have been missing a key component. Today American music cannot be defined as a single musical style, but rather a great mixture of music. All of these culturally rooted musical styles can historically pinpoint African-American influence from one, two, or more genres of musical history. The history of African American music could not be explained better than Charlie “Bird” Parker said “Music is your experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you that there is a line in music. But, man, there is no line with art. African Americans had their own experiences, expectations, lifestyles and perspectives that gave them powerful emotion and improvisation unlike any other artists before them.