music can be seperated into 3 elements that can be identified and organized
rhythm, melody, and harmony
the written form of music 
notation
the developement of early American Pop music is credited to
Parlor songs, Plantation songs, and Minstrel songs
What started new American popular music
Tin Pan Alley, and the musical theater
Tin Pan Alley is 
located in NYC, also the home of the SHEET MUSIC industry
1900-1909

America changes from an agricultural society to an urban society —> leasure time

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technology: gramophone, telephone

 

ragtime 

1910-1919

Women’s suffrage
WWI

;

technology: airplane, automobile

;

blues/ folk;

1920-1930

Roaring 20’s, Prohibition, Flappers/ Speakeasies, The Crash

 

technology: radio, records

 

dixieland jazz, boogie woogie

1930-1939

Great Depression, Prohibition ends, Dust bowl/ California

 

technology: jukebox, talkies

 

big band jazz

1940-1949

WWII, Baby boom begins, Industrial might, Seeds of the Cold war

 

technology: jets/ rockets, television

 

small jazz bands, electric guitar

Staff
the five horizontal lines on which notes are written
plural: staves 
Clef
the first figure you will see in a staff; exclusively dealing with treble and bass clefs

these clef signs are roughly categorize notes into high (2a treble clef) or low (2b bass clef) groups, with “middle c” as the dividing point between the two 

Key Signature
the second figure you will see in a staff, it is a collection of either sharps (#) or flats (b) that indicate the key or scale that will be used

sharps and flats are also sometimes known as “accidentals”

a flat or sharp may aslo be placed directly before an individual note 

Time Signature or Meter Signature
the third figure you will see in a staff, the time signature or meter signature contains two numbers, one on top of the other 

the top number refers to the number of beats in a bar; the lower number refers to the type of note recieving one beat 

Note names

notes follow the letters of the alphabet from A-G

 

the bottom line in the bass clef is g, the space above it an A, and so fourth

 

in the treble clef, the botom line is an E, the space above it is an F, and so fourth

bar lines

a bar line seperates written music into smaller segments

 

a bar is completed when the number of beats indicated in the top number of the time signature has been reached

New Orleans 
home to both early jazz and delta blues
The Blues

associated with a specific scale known as the 12-Bar Blues

 

text form: AAB

 

the blues was a way for African Americans to express their feelings without fear or reprisal 

12-Bar Blues

the harmonic progression for the 12-Bar Blues is:

 

I-I-I-I-IV-IV-I-I-V-IV-I

Jazz

most popular music in America during the 20’s and 30’s

 

makes great use of improvision

 

instrumentation for Dixieland and Big Band Jazz

the “Rock and Roll” era

began in a time of increasing racial tension in the United States. Rock performers did much to fan the flames of controversy 

 

 

Elvis Presley 
one of the first white artists to capture the enthusiasm and sexuality of the black R&B performers, and make it acceptable to 1950’s white society
“golden age” of rock

lasted for only about four years

1955-59

the end of the “golden era”

  • Elvis going into the army
  • Chuck Berry’s arrest
  • Jerry Lee Lewis marrying his 14-year old cousin
  • the death of Buddy Holly (and others) in a plane crash
  • Little Richard quits music for ministry 
  • “Payola Scandal” 

the Payola Scandal

an investigation by Congress into the practice of record company payments to DJ’s and radio executives in return for airplay of certain records

;

ruins the career of DJ Alan Freed

common pop music harmony
I-VI-IV-V
television programs that became an integral part of Rock Music History
Ed Sullivan Show and American Bandstand
the American Bandstand led to the spread of dance crazes such as;

“The Twist”

;

the end of the “golden era” of rock led to a new phase, the “Teen Idols”

this era saw an increase in the importance of music ;songwriters/ producers

;

some important producers during this era were Don Kershner, Phil Spector, Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller

Alan Freed
a DJ from Cleveland was the first to widely use the term “Rock and Roll”
early Rock
was a product of small, independent record companies, such as Chess, Atlantic and Imperial
“blues revival” in England

Enlgish bands covering the music of earlier American blues and rhythm, and blues artists

;

The Rolling Stones began as one of these bands

The Beatles

originally known as the “Quarry Men” a group influenced by the Blues and Elvis

;

made their first impact on the US in 1964, not only with the music but the look, fashion, and humor they displayed

;

;

The British Invasion

led by the beatles, aslo including the rolling stones, the kinks, the animals, and herman’s hermits

 

american media portrays the beatles as the “good boys” and the rolling stones as the “bad boys”

westward migration in the music business
was due to the success of west coast bands such as the byrds and the mama’s and the papa’s
the American reaction to the British invasion
the creation of “surf sound” and the “soul” sound of Motown records, Stax records, and other
The Beach Boys

begin to develop a more complex, studio based sound

 

also developing more complex forms for pop music

the assassination of John F. Kennedy
leads the United States into a deep depression 
folk music

has a long tradition in the United States, with text focusing on the trials of the oppressed

 

folk music of the 1960’s was rooted in the civil rights and ;anti-war protest movements

;

it was promoted in cafes and coffee houses of large eastern cities; this was an extention of the “beat” movement of the 1950’s

Bob Dylan

folk music was performed on acoustic instruments most entirely, until Bob Dylan “electrified” his sound in the Newport Folk Festival of 1965

 

Dylan’s influence of The Beatles led them to write lyrics with more poetic depth

;

The Beatles influenced Dylan and other folk artists to experiment with a wider range of instruments;

“Pet Sounds”
Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys created a landmark “theme” album entitled Pet Sounds
FM Radio
allows for longer, non-commercial album cuts to have airplay with higher sound quality;
folk music scale
folk music uses different scales called “modes” borrowed from ancient church scales;
onstinato

an Italian musical term meaning stubborn or obstinate;

;

it means a repeating melodic or harmonic figure

“doo-wop”

soul music grew out of the gospel music tradition

;

“doo-wop” was an extension of the gospel quartet

;

it was named because of the nonsense syllables often used to give the music rhythmic interest

soul music record labels
stax in memphis, motown in detroit, and philadelphia international records in philadelphia;
motown

the artists of motown had a very cultured presentation; long gowns and gloves for women, suit and ties for men

;

Berry Gordy, the founder of motown, coached his artists in diction, appearance, and manners

;

Berry Gordy liked to have a child star, this is how Stevie Wonder and The Jackson 5 started

Philadelphia sound
a rougher and more urban sound than the other sound record companies produced
soul music venues
for live premieres included the Litchman Theaters, such as the Apollo in NYC
the soundtrack to the civil right movement
included soul music and folk music
Montery Pop Festival of 1967

introduced many “unknown” artists to the American audience

;

The Who, and Jimi Hendrix introduce a new level of “theatricality” to live rock performance with their antics at Montery

the late 1960’s were a time of great social upheaval in the United States 

protests against the ecscalation in the Vietnam War, and Civil Rights marches continued 

 

violent confrontations became more commonplace, culminating in the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy in 1968

the hippie movement
starting in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Fracisco, but spread across the United States, particularly to college campuses
The Woodstock Festival of 1969

the ultimate celebration of the 1960’s hippie lifestyle; a celebration of peace, racial harmony, free love and drug use

;

the festival ran the gamut from traditional folk to acid rock

drugs took the lives of
jimi hendrix, janis joplin, jim morrison and others
electric guitars
differ significantly from acoustic guitars, especially regarding how the sound is resonated or “picked up” from the guitar
outboard effects or “stomp-boxes”
can change the nature of sound;
there are two forms of art rock

1. adaptions of pre-existing classical music for rock instruments

;

2. newly composed works that borrowed classical forms and styles

symphony orchestra
uses a specific instrumentation
art rock music often contains
lengthy improvisional solo sections, particularly featuring the guitar
all acoustic instruments have 3 things in commom
vibrators- creates the sound, resonators- “amplifies” the sound, and articulators- changes the pitches
ostinato
reocurring musical pattern
opera

a story set entirely to music, almost always completely sung

;

recitative- the part of an opera that moves the plot along

;

aria- longer songs that reflect on what has just occured

;

opera composers use specific terminology

movement
a large section of a piece of symphonic music
music of the 70’s

was also called “fusion” because it borrowed musical elements from other types of music, such as country and jazz

 

two types of jazz fusion:

1. rock music played by instruments often associated with a jazz band

 

2. jazz music played by rock instruments

 

a time of musical experimentation, particularly with the use of electronic instruments

synthesizers
played an important part in the creation of rock music
the late 1970’s
a wide variety of music was happening: heavy metal, glam rock, disco, funk, art rock and fusion rock;
heavy metal
grew out of the 1960’s “hard rock” guitar heroes; the term referring to loud, distorted quality of music and lyrics
glam rock
about the style of dress and stage techique of the performer as it was about the music being performed
disco

traces its origins back to post WWII Europe when discotheques played music for dancers because no bands were available

 

in the 1970’s the trend again came from Europe with recorded music being played for dancers as a cost-cutting measure

;

first popular in the United States in urban areas, and had its earliest followers in the Hispanic, African-American and Gay communities;

the major differnces between funk and disco

funk has a slower tempo: 84-100 BPM

“true” disco has a tempo of 110-140 BPM

;

in disco, the bass drum will often play heavily on each beat of the bar

in funk, the bass drum usually plays only beats 1 and 3, just as in most rock and roll

punk movements

british and american

;

the punk movement was a philosophical continuation of the beat movement

;

punk music emphasizes the return of the traditional pop song format: VCVCBC

;

;

the british punk movement
grew out of a sense of restlessness among the british youth as a result of social, economic, and political system over which they had no control
american new wave music
grew out of perceptions that mainstream rock was too complacent, and that punk was too violent
british new wave music
was called “pub rock” because it was most often performed in these intimate settings
home of the united states punk/ alternative rock scene
CBGB/ OMFUG in NYC
technology of the 1980’s

changed the way music is produced, peformed, and heard forever

 

MIDI- musical instrument digital interface

 

digital recording/ sampling

 

CD’s- compact disc

MIDI
a combination of computer software and hardware that allow synthesizers and personal computers to “talk” to eachother
digital recording/ sampling
the process of taking eletrical pulses form a microphone, and turning them into bits of digital information, digital reorders then store this information in one of two ways: magnetic tape, or computer disc
Compact Disc

changes the way music is heard by providing a medium for listening that was a vast improvement over anything previously available;

;

the discs contain virtually none of the defects inherent in analog media (hiss, degradation, wow and flutter) and are nearly indestructible

MTV

which began broadcasting in 1981, forever changed the way music was marketed

;

Robert Pittman, the creator of MTV, for the first time aided the importance of the way a song “looked” in getting the public to buy a recording

music of the 1980’s
ran the gamut from highly produced electronic music, to alternative rock, to rap
alternative rock
grew out of the punk era of the late 1970’s
rapping

the rhythmic patter of words, rhymes, or poetry over a musical background, emerged form African Griot, American gospel sermons, beat poetry, and jamaican reggae

;

rap poetry soon took on political and social causes and became a powerful form of protest music for African Americans

hip hop
the musical foundation for rap, developed by DJ’s and New York street musicians who began combining rhythms and manipulation records on turn tables in the late 1970’s
east coast vs. west coast
seals the reputation for violence, drug use, and misogyny
the results of hip hop and rap
though ignored by mainstream music business for many years, gave its creators artistic freedom and made many of them wealthy, a stark contrast to the prior treatment of African American Blues and R;B musicians
basis for early hip hop
derived from “samples”- digital recordings of portions of other artists’ music, those artist began to demand payment for use of their creative work: and hip hop eventually resorted to using drum machines and synthesizers rather than pay royalties