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George Wang

Mr. Bates

ENGL 1310-037

October 6, 2010

The Comparison of Original R&B and Contemporary R&B

I was born with a good voice. Since my childhood, singing has been the most wonderful thing to me, and it has become the hobby that I enjoy the most. Whenever I am pleased or depressed, singing always assuages my mind and helps me release my feeling and emotion. Seeking in a million kinds of music, I like R&B the most, especially Contemporary R&B. Specifically, R&B music is categorized into Original R&B and Contemporary R&B. Original R&B, Rhythm and Blues, originated from African Americans in the 1940s, and Contemporary R&B is a brand new form of R&B music; it was born in the 1980s (“Rhythm and Blues”). For the following paragraphs, I am going to evaluate the characteristics and styles of Original R&B and Contemporary R&B music.

Generally speaking, R&B music is the “‘urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a heavy, insistent beat’” (“Rhythm and Blues”). Both Original R&B and Contemporary R&B possess this characteristic; however, Original R&B music has a slower and softer beat since it is played as a smooth and soulful music. Original R&B has more blues elements, just like it is expressed, Rhythm and Blues. On the other hand, Contemporary R&B is similar to hip hop. The tempo tends to be faster in order to create a happier atmosphere. Additionally, it has a relatively harder and more repetitive beat. That is why Contemporary R&B is simply called R&B as it is one type of popular music.

Furthermore, both Original R&B and Contemporary R&B songs contain variable pitches and lots of portamentos. These features make R&B songs more magnificent and varied. The only difference that separates Original R&B and Contemporary R&B is the style of singing. Mostly, Original R&B singers use low and seductive voices to express a complicated and desirable feeling in a song, which is composed with a smooth and romantic tone. Yet, Contemporary R&B songs are



Cited: "R&B." Kustom Beats : The Hottest Beats on the Net. Kustom Beats, n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2010. “Rhythm and Blues.” Wikipedia. Wikipedia Foundation. 2010. Web. 2 Oct. 2010.

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