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.
No comments:
Post a Comment