Module 3

This week we begin to see the effects of the multiple cultures that are melding together in America on the popular music in America.  Our discussion is first on the topic of "race music".  This term is not derogatory only a way of describing the dividing line between cultures and to give a description to some of the music that was becoming popular.

I found it very interesting that the recording companies were all trying to get at the same thing and that they would do this by any means necessary.  When "race music" became popular we saw how the record companies scrambled to get their own version of this type of music out there.  Okeh Records was really the first company to move on this according to the reading, but they were soon followed by many others,  I try to imagine what it would have been like to wonder in to a record store in this era. Trying to be able to choose a song or record would have been difficult with all the record companies attempting the same thing.  I asked my students about how they select music now.  They tell me they decide based on what is popular, what they see on TV, the internet and movies.  This process is the same as it was 100 years ago.

With this race music came the blues style that we all know so well.  "St. Louis Blues" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rd9IaA_uJI) is a textbook ( no pun intended) example of this blues style.  We still play every day music based on the chord progressions pioneered in this early music.  The chord progression is simple yet is the basis for how I teach improvisation.  This piece of music is an example of that.  Also, you cannot beat the accompaniment of Louis Armstrong on the cornet.  This slow blues moves had an unending march forward making the effect quite striking.

This blues music with its tie to race begins its push into the mainstream consciousness.  From the other side of the equation we have the effect of "country blues".  This style although similar to classical blues has a more folk song style.  A great example of this is "That Black Snake Moan" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3yd-c91ww8) with it's strophic style and little to no chord progression.  This style of music had the simple ability of catching a feeling typical to middle class and lower class America.  The moaning of Blind Lemon Jefferson is famous.  This kind of music with it's country feel would also have an effect on American music.  These styles mixed with the record companies of the time pushing all this music on the American public would cause a revolution in the music industry.

This would all lead to what would be referred to as the swing era, a mixture of the blues styles, the dance music that was popular, even some latin influences.  The best example of the popularity of the swing era is the music of Benny Goodman.  A great stage man, and an even better businessman, Goodman would change the course of popular music in America, especially as World War 2 got rolling, this kind of music would unify the country.  Goodman's rendition of "Let's Dance" gives us a view of what became truly popular during this time.  Goodman would be joined in swing superstardom by the likes of Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie.

We are seeing popular music really take hold in America and we are starting to see how radio and TV would start to put music into a new realm of popularity and prominence.

Module 2

This week we begin to jump into the jazz age of music in America.  This type of music really begins to shape America in a way never seen before.  We saw last week how many different styles and traditions from Europe, Africa and Latin America begin to take hold in the United States and begin shape our music here.  In the early 20th century two styles of music would basically come together to form the music the comprised the jazz age. Ragtime and the blues.

Ragtime is a style of popular music known for its jaunty and straight rhythms that come right out of the brass bands and marching bands of the late 19th century.  "Castle House Rag" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu16WTdT3hQ) demonstrates this underlying march-like beat as it is played. This rag follows the conventions of an American March style with the 4 distinctive strains and a very different 3rd strain of trio.  My classroom has begun to study the American march and its effect on American Band literature, it will be interesting to introduce this piece along with the traditional Sousa marches so that the student can see the similarities and the differences between them and begin to see how American popular music was born.

Along with the rag style, the blues style also began to form.  When listening to a piece like "Dipper Mouth Blues" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEF9QeHxrYw) we can hear some of the rag style come through with a very prominent 4 beat pattern.  As a percussionist my ear hears the drummer playing a distinctive "stop time" where beats 1, 2 and 3 are emphasized, and beat 4 is a rest or weak beat.  This gives "Dipper" a driving feel.  My students would point out that the clarinetist sounds amazing and uses improvisation as way to convey his ideas.  His virtuosic playing style flows over the band in a way indicative of this style of music.  It is easy to see how this style of music became popular as it is very easy to listen to and appreciate.

The two selections discussed are both instrumental in nature, but it is important to consider how the voice also developed in this time.  We see the the development and use of the "tin pan alley" form in the song "My Blue Heaven"(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w-_xbBmXJ4).  This two part song was typical of a vocal style that became popular in the early 20th century and is still a popular form today.  One interesting note is that this song uses a "hook" and can be easily recognized by someone that has heard this piece before.  I talked with my students about hooks and asked them to sing or hum there favorite song without really thinking about it too much.  I explained that the little part of the melody that came to their head first was the hook.  "My Blue Heaven" was a great example of hearing the hook from 100 years ago and hopefully it got stuck
 in their head as well.

In my opinion George and Ira Gershwin really brought a lot of these styles together and, for lack of a better term, legitimized this style of music propelling jazz and its associated styles into fame not yet seen in America.  Before this time we were effected by the music of the world and our style of music was an offshoot of other cultures.  Here in this time however, American music began to have that effect on other cultures.  "I've Got Rhythm" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4hI-xhGZug) solidifies this idea for me.  Gershwin's amalgamation of african dance styles, contemporary orchestrations, classical forms brings this American style to the forefront.

Music truly is an amazing thing, and through the recordings of this week, I found that American music is beginning to influence the world.