assignment 4 Flashcards
(29 cards)
Explain why the city of New Orleans was at the center of the birth of the blues and jazz music.
There was one place in North America that was different and unique; New Orleans.
-as opposed to any other place in the US, Africans were allowed to practice their cultural activities, including their music (much percussion) if they did it on Sundays under the guise of Christianity
-For many years African music was played openly on Sundays in Congo Square in New Orleans. This music became part of the fabric of the city.
-People in New Orleans would sing and play music of the following traditions:
a. Traditional African Songs B. European Church Hymns (eg. Amazing Grace-call and response) c. Military Band/Brass Band Marches d. French Folk Music e. Minstrel/Popular Songs
=multi-cultural *** (main point)
-was at the delta of Mississippi river (an important port)
-slave songs, church songs, deportation of Acadians (12-bar blues developed through all this)
Ragtime
- musical style that enjoyed its peak popularity between 1895 and 1919.
- Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or “ragged” rhythm
- characterized by a syncopated melodic line and regularly accented accompaniment
- evolved by black American musicians in the 1890s and played especially on the piano.
- derived from traditions of African American music
- comes from adoption of European parlour music
Hip-Hop
- style of popular music of US black and Hispanic origin, featuring rap with an electronic backing
-Hip-hop sound identified with “scratching” (developed in 1980s)
4 important elements:
1. breaking (dance)
2. MCing (rhyming)
3. Art (expressing yourself)
4. DJing
-developed in Brooklyn NY
Punk Rock
-a loud, fast-moving, and aggressive form of rock music, popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
contemporary song that shows the influence of punk rock =Green Day, “American Idiot”
expanded AABA form:
Symmetrical and regular forms and phrase structures common in punk music
Each verse is eight bars with four lines of text
Bridges provide musical contrast
Regular pattern: Verse-Verse-Bridge-Verse
Pattern played twice
Guitar solo and closing sections provide further contrast
Provide examples of songs advocating social change
Sex Pistols-God Save the Queen (Promoted attitudes of social rebellion)
public enemy- fight the power- Encourages listeners to join crusade for black nationalism. Unique hip-hop beats reinforced serious, aggressive political message
Michael jackson - man in the mirror
-“Waiting on the World to Change” by John Mayer
Motown
-America in the early 1960s was a country divided. Segregation anddiscrimination was for most people, simply a way of life
-was also a business that knew its market, or rather what its market needed to be – it was young Americans, but not just young black Americans
-album covers did not depict the performers; potential record buyers had no idea whether performers were black or white
“Whether you were black, white, green or blue, you could relate to our music”
-founded by Berry Gordy Jr
-Motown had become the richest corporation in Black-American history.released 535 singles in the USA
-The Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and many more.
British Invasion
cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States
- The Beatles , The Boys from Liverpool, Eventually became political activists and harbingers of change
- Sheer volume of great, singable songs
Rock and Roll
Styles blended into Rock: Rhythm and Blues Country and Western Swing Big Band Swing/Shuffle/Boogie Gospel
Bebop
difficult to dance and listen to
-a type of jazz originating in the 1940s and characterized by complex harmony and rhythms. It is associated particularly with Charlie Parker
-Lead instruments play the head together
-Important features of bebop melodic style:
Angular melodic lines
Forced sound in high register
Prolonged dissonant notes
Chorus
- Once through the chord changes of a tune
- Shout Chorus=Usually the final chorus featuring big sound, big brass
Solo
- Improvising on the changes
- Each solo echoes the head
SCOTT JOPLIN: Maple Leaf Rag
Composed: 1899
-Ragtime derived from traditions of African American music
-Combines rhythmic syncopation with popular dance forms
-Origins in improvised rhythmic variations on popular tunes (“ragging”)
-Joplin’s contract with his publisher required him to receive credit and royalties
Gave Joplin some measure of financial comfort
-Known as the King of Ragtime
-Learned piano, violin, guitar, and mandolin
ROBERT JOHNSON: Terraplane Blues
Composed: 1936
Blues derive from African American musical traditions
Earliest blues recordings made in 1920s, focused on urban singers (“vaudeville blues”)
Record companies recorded in the Deep South (“delta blues”)
-about car troubles but metaphorically about sexual troubles
-died at the age of 27, considered as a seminal figure not only in the blues, but also in the development of rock & roll. Born in Mississippi, skilled at guitar
-12 bar blues form
DUKE ELLINGTON: Cotton Tail
What is it that gives this piece its momentum, or “swing” quality?
-Composed: 1940
Jazz—makes heavy use of syncopation, swing rhythms, and improvisation
-Improvisation changes role of “composer”
-Harmonic progression (rhythm changes)
-Call-and-response between sections imitates conversation
-Revered as greatest jazz composer
-Major bandleader of swing era (1930s) and big band era (1940s)
-Wrote jazz standards and film music, concertos, and concert pieces
-Born in Washington, D.C.,
Head
-The Melody or Tune. has 3 segments
DUKE ELLINGTON: Cotton Tail
What is it that gives this piece its momentum, or “swing” quality?
-Composed: 1940
Jazz—makes heavy use of syncopation, swing rhythms, and improvisation
-Improvisation changes role of “composer”
-Harmonic progression (rhythm changes)
-Call-and-response between sections imitates conversation
-Revered as greatest jazz composer
-Major bandleader of swing era (1930s) and big band era (1940s)
-Wrote jazz standards and film music, concertos, and concert pieces
-Born in Washington, D.C., piano
SCOTT JOPLIN: Maple Leaf Rag
Composed: 1899
-Ragtime derived from traditions of African American music
-Combines rhythmic syncopation with popular dance forms
-Origins in improvised rhythmic variations on popular tunes (“ragging”)
-Joplin’s contract with his publisher required him to receive credit and royalties (first black American to make some mula)
Gave Joplin some measure of financial comfort
-Known as the King of Ragtime
-Learned piano, violin, guitar, and mandolin
CHUCK BERRY: School Day
Composed: 1957
Rock ’n’ roll created in mid-1950s
Blended blues and honky-tonk with edgy attitude
Capitalized on youth culture and contradictions between general prosperity and social unrest
-Stop time—accompaniment group plays a single note then rests, punctuating end of sections
-Anacrusis—notes that begin a phrase before the downbeat (“pick-up notes”)
-Electric lead guitar, drums, bass, guitar, piano
-12-Bar Blues Form
-Grew up in St. Louis, absorbed influence of blues, hillbilly, and Western swing
-Established himself as a multitalented guitar player and songwriter
DUKE ELLINGTON: Cotton Tail
What is it that gives this piece its momentum, or “swing” quality?
-Composed: 1940
Jazz—makes heavy use of syncopation, swing rhythms, and improvisation
-Improvisation changes role of “composer”
-Harmonic progression (rhythm changes)
-Call-and-response between sections imitates conversation
-Revered as greatest jazz composer
-Major bandleader of swing era (1930s) and big band era (1940s)
-Wrote jazz standards and film music, concertos, and concert pieces
-Born in Washington, D.C., piano
-AABA form
CHARLIE “THE BIRD” PARKER: Ornithology
Composed: 1946
-Bebop difficult to dance and listen to
-Emerged just after end of World War II
Small groups called “jazz combos”
Emphasis on improvisation as means of self-expression
-Sat in with local ensembles and practiced obsessively
-Raised in Kansas City, Missouri
-Developed virtuosic solo style, great sax player
Struggled with drug addiction and personal problems
Solos and compositions revered among jazz fans
Janis Joplin-Piece of My Heart
-Biggest female rock star of her era (a blues rock singer)
-Came to prominence in 1967
Electric, charismatic stage presence
-Member of the 27 club, died of a heroin overdose
-Performed at Woodstock
Mahalia Jackson: It Don’t Cost Very Much
- combination of the organ and piano playing together. Listen also for the singer’s vibrato and vocal power.
- Composed: 1958
- Recorded live at Newport (Rhode Island) Jazz Festival
- Gospel emerged in 1920s as popular-styled sacred music
- Combined blues with expressive congregational outbursts
- Form: Introduction / Verse / Chorus / Chorus
- Transformed gospel into widely accepted commercial style
- Jackson became a superstar in the 1950s and 1960s
- slow shuffle groove with swung bass
- organ (electric)
Bob Dylan-Like a Rolling Stone
- all sorts of things were happening all around the world in the late 1960s (cold war, nuclear missiles) , throughout the 1960s and Dylan and his music was very much a part of that. His music expressed what people were feeling, what they were thinking. (it was stressful and so people started singing about change and he was a leader of that change)
- Songs were covered by many, many artists
- he made nasty lyrics acceptable. Until Dylan released “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Positively 4th Street”, pop singles had generally towed the lovey-dovey romantic party-line
- Married rock music with folk music
- a huge influence on The Beatles
- he redefined what was acceptable, and possible, in pop singing
Public Enemy-Fight the Power
-many different layers of sound and fragments taken from other recordings.
-references to other artists, historical figures, and songs.
-Composed: 1990
-Recording conveyed racial tension in Brooklyn neighborhood
Rap music combines rhymed speech patterns with hip-hop beats (sampled from 1960s and 1970s albums)
-Hip-hop sound identified with “scratching” (developed in 1980s)
-video shot in Brooklyn
