Midterm Flashcards
Nearly every aspect of popular music that is today regarded as American in character has sprung from three broad “streams.” What are the three streams?
African, Latin American, European
Define: Ballad
A series of verses telling a story, often about a historical event or personal tradgedy, sung to a repeating melody. This form of music is often called strophic.
Define: Chorus
Repeated melody with fixed text inserted between verses
“Certain features of African music form the core of African American music and, by extension, of American popular music as a whole.” The book lists at least 5 of these features. What are they?
- Buzzy tones,
- Low Pitched sounds
- call-and-response forms
- polyrhythms (multiple interlocking repeating rhythmic patterns)
- repetition (and riffs)
What was a rhumba-based style pioneered by Cuban and Puerto Rican migrants in New York City in the 1960’s?
salsa
What is the name of the Brazillian dance style strongly rooted in African music?
samba
What is a “Cool sophisticated style of Brazillian music”, popular in the US in the 1960’s?
bossa nova
What kind of music were Americans listening to before minstrelsy?
English/Irish ballads
What year was the first minstrel show?
1828
Who were the two first big minstrel stars?
Thomas Dartmouth Rice
George Washington Dixon
The Minstrel Show started in the city of _________
New York City
What city became the center of the music industry at the end of the nineteenth century?
New York City
When was Stephen Foster writing songs?
1840s-1860s
Name three Stephen Foster songs?
Camptown Races
Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair
Oh! Susana
When did big brass bands first become popular?
After the Civil War
Who was America’s March King?
John Phillip Suza
When did ragtime first come on the scene?
1880s
When did ragtime popularity peak?
1900-1910
Define: Ragtime
Syncopated music typically (though not exclusively) played on the piano.
Who is the most famous ragtime composer?
Scott Joplin
Name two famous Tin Pan Alley composers.
Paul Dresser
Harry Von Tilzer
When was the photograph invented?
1877
Who invented the phonograph (in America)?
Thomas Edison
Define: Nickelodeons
Machines that would play the latest hit for a nickel