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Implicit in the title of this paper, "Composition from the Perspective of the African-American Tradition," is the notion that there is a distinct musical tradition that may be called African American. In attempting to understand what constitutes the distinct qualities of African-American musical culture, one is led to W.E.B. Du Bois's brilliant exposition of this issue. In his classic book, The Souls of Black Folk, written in 1903, Du Bois described in penetrating poetic terms what can be called the duality of African-American culture

The title "Black Music as an Art Form" is a particularly intriguing and problematic one. Intriguing because it implies, first, that black music exists in some context other than art, and secondly, that its existence as art is, in some way, peculiar and distinct; and problematic because it raises the old question of what is really meant by the term "black music." Moreover, the title raises the complicated issue of what is meant by the term "art."