European Influence On American Music

American music was heavily influenced by the European culture. When the English migrated to America, they brought with them their musical traits. This is commonly referred to as the European American Stream. There are a few common musical traits that the Europeans brought to America: ballads, call-and-response, and cantillation. Ballads are a type of song that tells a story centered around a historical event or a tragedy. The unique trait or characteristic of a ballad is its repeating melodies. These repeating melodies are known as strophic, or verse repeating. “One of the most widely performed songs in this centuries-old tradition is Barbara Allen” (Starr and Waterman, 21). A second trait of the European American stream is the call-and-response.