The Melody Web what each genre heard, and what it passed on

heard passed on Click or tap a node to recenter. Use a connecting line, or Influence, for the story.

Heard

American march genre · 1860–

Second line keeps the march’s brass-and-drum street band and rolls the beat for a dancing crowd.

Influence
West African drumming tradition · prehistoric–

New Orleans second line keeps an African processional dance job: a sounding band in front and a moving, answering crowd, with a rolling street beat.

Influence

New Orleans second line

practice · 1890–

Also called second line, second-line

New Orleans parade practice: a brass band’s first line and a dancing crowd behind it, with a rolling snare-and-bass-drum groove. It hears American march for the brass-and-drum street band and West African drumming for the processional crowd-and-timeline job. The hop into New Orleans jazz is that street beat in an ensemble; the hop into New Orleans bounce is the chant-and-dance crowd. A separate “New Orleans brass band” node would duplicate this file. Spirituals leftover as hymnbook vehicles, not a grammar parent. Mardi Gras Indian leftover as a neighboring street practice. Jazz funeral stays on this node.

Listen

  1. Didn't He Ramble New Orleans brass-band tradition (living / traditional) YouTube
  2. Just a Closer Walk with Thee New Orleans brass-band tradition (living / traditional) YouTube
  3. Whoopin' Blues Rebirth Brass Band (1989) YouTube
  4. Do Whatcha Wanna Rebirth Brass Band (1989) YouTube · Spotify
  5. Feel Like Funkin' It Up Rebirth Brass Band (1989) YouTube · Spotify

Passed on

Funk genre · 1965–

New Orleans funk keeps the second line’s rolling snare-and-bass street beat as band interlocking.

Influence
New Orleans bounce style · 1991–

Bounce keeps the second line’s crowd chant and dancing-first job on a drum-machine 12-inch.

Influence
New Orleans jazz style · 1890–1930

New Orleans jazz keeps the second line’s rolling street-beat and brass-band roles and turns them into an ensemble music for indoor rooms as well as the street.

Influence

American march → New Orleans second line

instrumentationmeter and groovefunction and contextstrength: highscholarly consensus1890–1910oralpedagogymigration

Mechanism

Second line keeps the march’s brass-and-drum street band and rolls the beat for a dancing crowd. Strength high.

Evidence

Social-aid parades against the American march book; Brothers on that street recoding.

Debate

Whether this is already jazz. The parade job is second line; the ensemble hop into jazz sits on the sibling file.

Mediators

community: New Orleans brass bands

West African drumming → New Orleans second line

function and contextmeter and grooveperformance practicestrength: highscholarly consensus1780–1900migrationoraldance

Mechanism

New Orleans second line keeps an African processional dance job: a sounding band in front and a moving, answering crowd, with a rolling street beat. Strength high. American march supplies the brass-and-drum street band; this hop is the crowd-and-timeline practice. The donor is the same West/Central African umbrella as other diaspora hops, not a single ethnic repertory.

Evidence

Social-aid and pleasure-club parades; Brothers on street beat; Floyd on processional Call-Response. Jazz funeral leftover as a ritual on this node, not a second parent.

Debate

How much is specifically Yoruba or Kongo versus a broader pool. Either reading still needs this donor. Do not parent second line from European civic parade alone.

Mediators

community: Afro-Creole New Orleans parade societies

New Orleans second line → Funk

meter and grooveperformance practiceinstrumentationstrength: highwell documented1968–1974oralrecordingdance

Mechanism

New Orleans funk keeps the second line’s rolling snare-and-bass street beat as band interlocking. Strength high. James Brown’s One remains the national parent; this hop is the local parade grammar (Meters). Jazz-funk stays on the funk node.

Evidence

Meters instrumentals against parade drumming (Brothers, Burnim/Maultsby).

Debate

Whether this is still R&B. 1950s New Orleans R&B is a neighbor; the street-beat lattice is second line’s.

Mediators

artist: The Meters

New Orleans second line → New Orleans bounce

function and contextperformance practicemeter and groovestrength: mediumwell documented1991–1999oraldancerecording

Mechanism

Bounce keeps the second line’s crowd chant and dancing-first job on a drum-machine 12-inch. Strength medium. Hip-hop is the rap parent; this hop is the local parade body.

Evidence

Early-1990s bounce tapes against living second-line practice; Grove on that New Orleans dance continuity.

Debate

Whether the Triggerman beat already covers it. The beat is a hip-hop sample; the chant-and-crowd job is the second-line hop.

Mediators

community: New Orleans clubs and block parties

New Orleans second line → New Orleans jazz

meter and grooveinstrumentationperformance practicestrength: highscholarly consensus1900–1917oraldance

Mechanism

New Orleans jazz keeps the second line’s rolling street-beat and brass-band roles and turns them into an ensemble music for indoor rooms as well as the street. Strength high. The American march hop into jazz is the wider brass-band parent; this file is the local parade practice.

Evidence

Early jazz players trained in parade bands; Brothers and Schuller on that street-to-room hop.

Debate

Whether jazz is only the street. Indoor combo jazz still carries the street beat; ragtime and blues remain sibling parents.

Mediators

community: New Orleans brass bands