Midterm 1 Flashcards
How did Minstrel Shows change during the ‘Nadir’ period?
Before = white youth express feelings of marginalization
After = capitalized on the national obsession with race (& racism)
Jim Crow
First American song (on Minstrel show) to become an international hit
- Performed by Thomas Dartmouth “Daddy” Rice
- Cakewalk dance
Stephen Foster
First professional songwriter (primarily ballads, opera, minstrel)
- “Genteel tradition”
Jeanie With The Light Brown Heart
Folk song (Stephen Foster)
- TPA form (AABA)
- Flute cadenza, then singer cadenza (flourish)
When Tin Pan Alley was born, what were the 2 primary modes of song promotion?
- “Song Pluggers” = sang in department stores, toured clubs to give songs to singers
- “Vaudeville” (variety show)
Explain how the ragtime genre emerged; what was the primary musical technique utilized?
a) Increased black composers & performers in the industry
b) Syncopation = left hand pays on beat, right hand plays weak beats
Scott Joplin
Best known ragtime composer
Maple Leaf Rag
Composed by Scott Joplin, credited as the song which began the ragtime craze
What technological advancement moved music away from broadsides/sheet music at the beginning of TPA? What was the concern with this technology?
a) Phonographs
b) Schizophonia (splitting of sound from the original source)
What were the 2 genres contributing to the Tin Pan Alley tradition?
Ballads (‘genteel’ tradition) and Ragtime
How did Broadway contribute to the promotion of Tin Pan Alley music?
Reviews/Follies (plots designed specifically around TPA songs)
What is the typical Tin Pan Alley song form?
Verse + Refrain (AABA)
- Where the refrain is the ‘real song’ (chorus)
- Think “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
Give Examples of Tin Pan Alley song subject matter.
- No dark themes (racism, Great Depression)
- 1st person narration (opposed to 3rd person ballads)
Who sung “Deed I Do”? What was significant about it?
a) Ruth Etting (crooner)
b) Quintessential TPA song form
“I Got Rhythm”; what was significant about this song?
- Became a TPA standard (& followed TPA song form)
- Shows how in some cases, the ‘throw away’ verse is essential to the song (not just the refrain!)
Why did crooners become popular during the Tin Pan Alley age? Name some examples.
a) In contrast to Vaudville singers, ‘sang’ not ‘shouted’
b) Ruth Etting, Gene Austin, Bing Crosby
“My Blue Heaven” VS “April Showers”; what is significant about this comparison?
a) Singer is Gene Austin (crooner), TPA song form
b) Singer is Al Jolson (Minstrel Show) –> rough edges, yelling
Describe the jazz genre (as it emerged around the time of Tin Pan Alley)
THINK BIG BAND!
Confluence of genres/cultures
- Instrumental roles = Baroque (cornet = melody, clarinet = counter melody, trombone = bass)
Describe the jazz genre (as it emerged around the time of Tin Pan Alley)
- Confluence of genres/cultures
- Instrumental roles (cornet = melofy, clairnet = counter melody, trombone = bass)
James Europe
Influential black musician who is credited for bringing ragtime to dancehall (founding principle of Jazz!)
Who composed “Castle House Rag”? What is the significance of this song?
a) James Europe –> jazz connoisseur
b) Dramatic contrasts in the variety of instruments
What events affected the music industry during WW1?
Business was relatively good!
1) Ecomomic boom (and technology!)/unemployment down
2) Arrival of immigrants
What events affected the music industry after WW1?
1) Rise of radio
2) Film (surpasses Broadway & Vaudeville, incorporates TPA songs)
3) Widespread licensing/copyright agencies
Why were the Original Dixieland Jazz Band important?
Made the first ever jazz recording (led by Nic LaRocca)
- Tiger Rag
“Tiger Rag”; what was significant about this song? What were some of the new musical techniques used in this song?
a) First jazz recording (by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band)
b) Stop time (for cornet solos), shout chorus (energetic end)
Why were the Creole Jazz Band important?
Made the first ever jazz recording by black musicians (led by King Joe Oliver)
- Dipper Mouth Blues
“Dipper Mouth Blues” ; what was significant about this song? What were some of the new musical techniques used in this song?
a) First jazz recording by black musicians (Creole Jazz Band)
b) Unplanned improvisation, stop-time, shout chorus, asymmetrical ending
Louis Armstrong
Developed jazz ‘swing’ and fancy solos
“West End Blues”; who made this song famous? What were some of the new musical techniques used in this song?
a) Louis Armstrong (scat singing!)
b) Cadenza start by cornet, 12-bar blues form
During the Great Migration (movement of rural to city following WW1), what were the music industry’s 2 solutions for diversifying the record market?
1) Race records (by black, for black)
2) Hillbilly records (by white, for white)
***NOTE: Despite segregation, crossing of racial boundaries would frequently occur.
Describe differences between Country Blues and Classic Blues.
Country (Delta) Blues (of the impoverished black workforce of the deep south)
- Varying form
- Aural tradition
Classic Blues
- 12 bar form
- Composed by professional African American writers
What are the characteristics of 12-bar blues?
- 3 sets of 4 bars (each bar has 4 beats)
- Back beat (emphasis on 2 and 4)
- Tonic –> subdominant –> tonic –> dominant –> tonic
“St. Louis Blues”; who sings this song? What is the significance of this song? What were some of the new musical techniques used in this song?
a) Bessie Smith (and Louis Armstrong)
b) Example of classic blues
c) - Form is 12 bar blues & AABC (TPA alternate form)
- Timbre: sadness evoked by voice and organ
- Blue notes (bent)
- Back and forth with Louis’ cornet
“Cross Road Blues”; who sings this song? What is the significance of this song? What were some of the new musical techniques used in this song?
a) Robert Johnson
b) Example of country blues
c) Raw, personalized lyrics with symbolism (opposed to general)
Explain the story of how hillbilly music was discovered ‘accidentally’.
Fidlin’ John Carson recorded when an appointment with a black gospel singer (race record) fell through
- Already had amounted a fanbase through radio
Who were the Carter Family? How could their style of Hillbilly music be described?
a) Family who helped popularize hillbilly music
b) Conservative (no improvisations), a combining of secular and sacred
“Gospel Ship”; who sang this song? Why is this song significant?
a) The Carter Family
b) Introduction of ‘Carter Family Lick’ (pluck melody/strum chords), straightforward and plain arrangement
How does “The Sun Don’t Shine” (Golden Gate Quartet) contrast with “Gospel Ship”?
- Sacred and secular still separate!
- Performative, improvisational (opposed to straightforward, plain)
Jimmie Rodgers
Early hillbilly recording star
“Blue Yodel No. 2”; who sang this song? Explain the specifics in the title.
a) Jimmie Rodgers
b) 12 bar blues base, Yodel chorus, syllabic stress in 2nd verse
- Extra bar in phrase (5) for instrumentation
- Extra beats included (6)
Woodrow “Woody” Guthrie
Hillbilly singer who sung on political themes (‘voice of American worker’)
- This guitar kills fascists!
Do Re Mi; who sang this song? Why was it significant?
a) Woody Guthrie
b)
- Content = farmer leaving Oklahoma for California; though a better life appears there, still got to have the $$!
- Carter Family Lick
How did the Great Depression affect race and hillbilly records?
Devastated hillbilly, destroyed race!
Did the swing era help or hinder the Great Depression?
It was the savior for the music industry!
How did the Swing genre get it’s begining?
Ragtime/jazz music playing in dance halls –> fed on social/racial integration
Barry Goodman
Band leader credited for the birth of swing
- Signature sound = precise, tidy (appealed to white middle class)
***Think Carter Family!
“Take a Chance on Love”; who composed this song? what was the significance of this song?
a) Benny Goodman
b) Involved a crooner (Helen Forrest), call and response between brass and reeds
Edward “Duke” Ellington
Famous composer for his experimental/dark/jungle swing style
***Not as commercially viable as Benny Goodman!
“Caravan”; who composed this song? Why is it significant?
a) Duke Ellington
b) Experimental texture (exotic instruments, various percussion), cadenza end
Glenn Miller
Head of the most popular swing band in the world
“In the Mood”; who composed this song? Why was it so appealing during the rise of WW2 tensions?
a) Glenn Miller
b) People were seeking comfort/familiarity (simple, predictable song)
- 14 bar trick ending (opposed to 12 bar form)
Why were Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald considered rarities during the swing era?
Most singers who sang alongside big bands were not popular enough to release their own recordings!
“Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday. What was the subject matter of this song?
Protesting the lunch mobs (extrajudicial killings) in the south
- Conveyed by Holiday’s emotive voice
Ella Fitzgerald sang a cover version of which Benny Goodman song? What technique did she borrow from Louis Armstrong?
a) “Air Mail Special”
b) Scat
What were the reasons for the decline of big bands (swing) during WW2?
1) Military service for musicians
2) Economic oppression (shortage of materials, entertainment tax, curfews)
3) Battle for royalties by Performance Rights Organizations (PROs) –> led to the prohibition of big band standards
Describe the music industry post WW2.
1) Mix of conservative veterans and independent record labels (in response to youth)
2) Magnetic tape recording precedes over records (rerecord, layer tracks)
3) Variety of vinyl sizes
4) TV and radio at height!
Frank Sinatra
Crooner who capitalized on the AFM recording ban post WW2
- Classically trained vocalist (Belcanto)
- Strong work ethic
“Nancy (with the Laughing Face)”; who sang this song? How was this song accompanied? What technique used made it difficult for a listener to keep time?
a) Frank Sinatra
b) Strings (not orchestra or big band) –> create romantic atmosphere
c) Tempo rubato = inconsistent tempo
Nat “King” Cole
Most popular black recording artist post WW2
- Career of firsts
- First crossover hit
“Nature Boy” was a crossover hit for which artist? What technique used made it difficult for a listener to keep time? How could the measure of the song be described?
a) Nat “King” Cole
2) Tempo rubato = inconsistent tempo
3) Mixed measure (2, 3, 4 beats/measure)
Describe the birth of R&B music. What advantages did the indie record labels have at their disposal which made them successful?
a) Youth purchasing power reignites race records –> they are renamed R&B
b) Could record on site, committed payola, hustling records to local shops
What is Jump Blues?
Form of R&B by jump bands, downsized big bands who appealed to the club scene
Louis Jordan and the Tympany Five
Most popular jump band (for jump blues)
- Interracial popularity
“Choo Choo Ch’boogie”; who is the artist and what is the theme of this song? What was unique about the rhythm of this song?
a) Louis Jordan and the Tympany Five
b) Black war veteran out of work, embracing the ‘traveling hobo’ life
c) Rhythm depicts train!
What is Electric Blues?
Evolved from Country Blues, an amplified version for the club scene
Muddy Waters
Father of Electric (Chicago) Blues
- Known for gritty tone
“Hoochie Coochie Man”; who sings this song? Why is this song a unique take on 12-bar blues?
a) Muddy Waters
b) 16 bar blues (first 4 bars expanded to 8)
Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton
R&B singer and Vaudeville comedian
- Victim of ‘song stealing’
“Hound Dog”; who sang this song? What is the theme of the song? What component of the song anticipates rock and roll?
a) Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton
b) Lazy man is lambasted by a working class woman
c) Guitar solo, free phrasing
Hank Williams
First country and western star (a hard living rambler)
“I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”; who sings this song? How does the song combine old form with new elements?
a) Hank Williams
b) Old = waltz meter, strophic
New = twang accent, prolonged vocals, voice crack
