exam 1 Flashcards

1
Q

What was the minstrel show?

A

Early live performances of entertaining music.
Used blackface to make fun of african-american culture
Birthed the character of Jim Crow

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2
Q

Guy known as the first great American composer?

A
Stephen Foster, who was known for:
Oh! Susanna
Old Folks at home
My old Kentucky home
Jeanie with the light brown hair
etc
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3
Q

4 things to listen out for with music

A

instruments (including what they’re doing)
Form (what happens and when)
texture (everyone’s roles)
timbre (mood or aesthetic)

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4
Q

Kinds of musical texture

A

monophony - single melodic voice with no accompaniment
homophony - a single melodic voice with accompaniment
polyphony - multiple melodic voices

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5
Q

Three streams of music influence in 19th century america

A

African-american
european-american
latin-american

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6
Q

African-american cultural centres

A

deep south
appalachia
new orleans

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7
Q

Describe spiritual music

A

a type of music that resulted from slaves being stripped of their identity and forced to adopt euro-christian beliefs

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8
Q

musical devices originating from spirituals

A

improv
call and response
rhythmic usage

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9
Q

components of jazz

A

Most definitions of jazz include something about the use of african and carribean rhythms mixed with european and classic harmony mixed with folk and blues

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10
Q

first popular music genre after classical

A

ragtime

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11
Q

components of ragtime

A
lots of syncopation
left/right hand difference
breaks
heavily accented beats
long runs of fast notes
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12
Q

famous scott joplin piece

A

maple leaf rag

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13
Q

features of new orleans in the early 20th century

A

mix of different cultures and musical interpretations after the louisiana purchase
congo square was the big music meeting point
military and naval bases meant for higher population
lots of bars and brothels to play music in

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14
Q

“inventor” of jazz?

what did he use in his music?

A

Jelly Roll Morton
known for the jelly roll blues
Used breaks, eighth note runs, orchestration, blending of forms and other ragtime components

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15
Q

Key instruments in early 20th century new orleans brass bands and their roles?

A

trumpet - melody
clarinet - obligato
trombone - tailgate (slides)

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16
Q

Early famous jazz trumpeters?

A

Buddy Bolden
Freddie Keppard
King Oliver (NOLA)
Louis Armstrong

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17
Q

Describe the origins of Tin Pan Alley

A

Originated from Jewish immigrants in the late 19th century who often went to the same Manhattan street to play music (28th street, which was referred to as Tin Pan Alley)

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18
Q

Describe the music style of tin pan alley

A

Included multiple pianos playing melodies at the same time, usually in a bar-like setting

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19
Q

what were Race Records?

A

Race Records was a promotional catchphrase designed to promote music significant to black communities.
The styles included blues, jazz, gospel, vocal quartets and early folk

20
Q

Classic blues?

A

never written by the performer
typically recorded in high profile cities
created national stars out of blues performers, including Bessie Smith

21
Q

who was the Father of the Blues?

A

W.C. Handy
Wrote famous pieces such as the Memphis Blues and the St Louis Blues, which was performed by Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong
Everyone went to Handy for all their blues-writing needs

22
Q

Country Blues?

A

Less formal, rarely written down
deeply personal
typically just a singer and his guitar/banjo

23
Q

Famous country blues singers?

A
Blind Lemon Jefferson (black snake moan)
Robert Johnson (me and the devil)
24
Q

When was radio invented/popularised?

A

1906
Prior to the 1920s was only really popular in Pittsburgh, Detroit and New Jersey
By 1927 there were 1000 radio stations nationally and Disc Jockey became a real profession

25
Q

First popular dancers of the dance craze?

A

Verne and Irene Castle

popular ballroom dancers that spread the idea of the American social dance to Paris

26
Q

Who was James Reece Europe?

A

bandleader, violinist and composer

his bands that performed in social dances were larger and more orchestral versions of what we know as jazz bands today

27
Q

Who was Paul Whiteman

A

“the king of jazz”
dance band leader and music businessman
sold 2 million records in 1920
writer and composer of many early jazz pieces

28
Q

How did the idea of New York Stride become popular?

A

After the NY invasion of the Ragtime craze, many artists began to add their own elements to the genre, includng Jelly Roll Morton and the whole of Tin Pan Alley

29
Q

Who was James P. Johnson?

A

early prominent Stride pianist
studied ragtime in his youth
recorded at the Black Swan label in the 1920’s and even included many of his own compositions

30
Q

Two other notable Stride pianists?

A
Fats Waller (ain't misbehavin, honeysuckle rose)
Art Tatum (known more for his general ability and chromatic harmonies than his compositions)
31
Q

Famous TPA composers?

A
Irving Berlin (blue skies, white christmas, no business like show business)
George Gershwin (rhapsody in blue, which transformed american music as we know it)
Cole Porter (what is this thing called love, night and day, begin the beguine)
32
Q

What kind of bands hailed from Kansas City in the 20s and 30s?

A

territorial bands, which were just like the dance bands of NYC and Chicago except they constantly toured the midwest

33
Q

Who was Tom Pendergast?

A

influential politican / mobster from KC
controlled everything, most importantly the KC music scene.
during his power peak, KC had 300-500 nightclubs, and musicians were treated well
when he was taken down for tax evasion in 1937, the KC jazz scene was never the same

34
Q

What is boogie-woogie?

A

a piano-heavy jazz style influential to later forms of jazz as well as rock ‘n’ roll

35
Q

Describe the biggest band in KC during the 20s and 30s

A

Bennie Moten’s orchestra
Bennie ruled KC, and was so competitive in his music that he would often steal members of other bands
When he died in an accident, pianist Count Basie took over, and they became national stars
Peaked in the 30s but died down when the war started, only to be brought back up in the 50s when working with Sinatra and others

36
Q

Who was in the band’s rhythm section and why is this worth remembering

A
Drums = "papa" jo jones
bass = walter page
guitar = freddie green
Was the first time these instruments had any sort of significant role in a band besides chords and bass lines
Sounded just like the big bands of today
also paved the way for rock music
37
Q

Two more influential KC jazz personalities?

A

Joe Turner
(first to transition into r’n’b)
Lester Young
(first great sax player on the tenor and an inspiration for soloists everywhere. member of Count Basie’s band)

38
Q

describe swing

A

encourages listeners to dance
typically associated with jazz
come on you know this shit

39
Q

notable big band entrepreneurs?

A

Fletcher Henderson
Started a band in NYC when he was a piano player in the 20s
collaborated with guys like Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins and Don Redman

Glenn Miller
trombonist and bandleader who worked in NYC
known for his military-themed jazz arrangements
died during ww2

40
Q

famous jazz clarinet players?

A
Benny Goodman (known as the King of Swing)
Artie Shaw (begin the beguine)

(these two were both instrumental in incorporating black performers into their bands even though the stage owners disapproved)

41
Q

What were some popular dances of the dance craze era?

A

turkey trot
tango
grizzly bear

all of which were deemed problematic and a threat to public morality. the turkey trot was even banned in one brooklyn neighbourhood

42
Q

What were creole bands?

A

Bands made up of creole members (mix of european and black heritage) normally based in New Orleans
King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band

43
Q

Notable Latin band leaders

A

Don Azpiazú and his Havana Casino Orchestra
(known for his hit song El Manicero)
Xavier Cugat’s Waldorf Astoria Orchestra

44
Q

Famous early soloist that paved the way for bebop?

A

Coleman Hawkins

tenor sax
known for ‘body and soul’
chord soloing
helped shift jazz from dancing only to improv

45
Q

Two notable bebop musicians?

A

Charlie Parker - alto

Dizzy Gillespie - trumpet

46
Q

describe the music style of tin pan alley

A

the clanging sound of many pianos simultaneously playing songs in a variety of keys and tempos

47
Q

define syncopation

A

a feature of many african music genres where sounds produced by musicians are played very precisely apart from or against the underlying steady pulse of the music