Music (Inner Journey)

Music Is The Soul of New Orleans

When we visited the Jazz Museum I learned a ton of information about how the city of New Orleans celebrates and expresses itself through music. Professor Longhair was the artist from one of the exhibits in the museum. We learned that he originally started playing the piano with keys missing, and he was able to come up with songs that were still incredible and popular. Pictured below are a few other artists describing what instrument they play and what music means to them. The music I heard in the streets made me feel the need to dance and sing along, even if I didn't know the lyrics to the songs half the time. I learned that Louis Prima wrote a song that is performed in the Jungle Book. I learned that African Americans used to gather in Congo Square to make music, listen to music, and dance on the Sundays that they didn't have to work. The emotions that I felt as the music was streaming through the streets of the French Quarter can be described as happy, giddy, nervous, and excited. The music back home in Illinois is not played live on the streets, unless you attend a concert. It is played on the radio. I prefer Jazz over the Blues which has a slower beat and in my experience makes me more tired than alert and excited. The hardest part about listening to music is that you never know where that music is going to make you think about. Some of the older music that was played reminded me of music that my grandmother would like and sing along with, and that was difficult and sad for me because she passed away this past Summer. I learned a lot about Louis Prima and Professor Longhair's musical career at the jazz museum.  I had little to no idea that Louis Prima was responsible for creating a song that the chimpanzee in the Jungle Book sings originally. I learned that many performers in New Orleans don't have the money to make their music career better (through education, mass production, etc) than simply singing on the streets, so some of these performers are that much better at what they do than some of these artists we listen to today who have had the privilege of getting an education in music or being noticed by a big production company.