exam 1

Question 1

What was the minstrel show?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Guy known as the first great American composer?

Answer 2

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

Question 3

4 things to listen out for with music

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Kinds of musical texture

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Three streams of music influence in 19th century america

Answer 5

African-american
european-american
latin-american

Question 6

African-american cultural centres

Answer 6

deep south
appalachia
new orleans

Question 7

Describe spiritual music

Answer 7

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

Question 8

musical devices originating from spirituals

Answer 8

improv
call and response
rhythmic usage

Question 9

components of jazz

Answer 9

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

Question 10

first popular music genre after classical

Answer 10

ragtime

Question 11

components of ragtime

Answer 11

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

Question 12

famous scott joplin piece

Answer 12

maple leaf rag

Question 13

features of new orleans in the early 20th century

Answer 13

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

Question 14

“inventor” of jazz?

what did he use in his music?

Answer 14

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

Question 15

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

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Early famous jazz trumpeters?

Answer 16

Buddy Bolden
Freddie Keppard
King Oliver (NOLA)
Louis Armstrong

Question 17

Describe the origins of Tin Pan Alley

Answer 17

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)

Question 18

Describe the music style of tin pan alley

Answer 18

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

Question 19

what were Race Records?

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Classic blues?

Answer 20

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

Question 21

who was the Father of the Blues?

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Country Blues?

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Famous country blues singers?

Answer 23

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

Question 24

When was radio invented/popularised?

Answer 24

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

Question 25

First popular dancers of the dance craze?

Answer 25

Verne and Irene Castle | popular ballroom dancers that spread the idea of the American social dance to Paris

Question 26

Who was James Reece Europe?

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Who was Paul Whiteman

Answer 27

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

Question 28

How did the idea of New York Stride become popular?

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Who was James P. Johnson?

Answer 29

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

Question 30

Two other notable Stride pianists?

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Famous TPA composers?

Answer 31

``` 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) ```

Question 32

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

Answer 32

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

Question 33

Who was Tom Pendergast?

Answer 33

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

Question 34

What is boogie-woogie?

Answer 34

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

Question 35

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

Answer 35

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

Question 36

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

Answer 36

``` 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 ```

Question 37

Two more influential KC jazz personalities?

Answer 37

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)

Question 38

describe swing

Answer 38

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

Question 39

notable big band entrepreneurs?

Answer 39

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

Question 40

famous jazz clarinet players?

Answer 40

``` 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)

Question 41

What were some popular dances of the dance craze era?

Answer 41

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

Question 42

What were creole bands?

Answer 42

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

Question 43

Notable Latin band leaders

Answer 43

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

Question 44

Famous early soloist that paved the way for bebop?

Answer 44

Coleman Hawkins tenor sax known for 'body and soul' chord soloing helped shift jazz from dancing only to improv

Question 45

Two notable bebop musicians?

Answer 45

Charlie Parker - alto | Dizzy Gillespie - trumpet

Question 46

describe the music style of tin pan alley

Answer 46

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

Question 47

define syncopation

Answer 47

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