popular music of 19th century America

Question 1

list the various forms of popular music in the 19th century

Answer 1

1. minstrelsy troupes
2. vaudeville theatre
3. brass bands and patriotic songs
4. ragtime
5. parlour songs (sold as sheet music)

Question 2

define and describe minstrelsy

Answer 2

• entertainment and storytelling through the use of parody and stereotyped characters
• illustrated the national obsession with racial difference
• layers of parody meant that it was more morally nuanced than many assume: white identity parodied Black identity (blackface), which itself parodied white identity (cakewalk step)
• both Black and white performers

Question 3

define and describe vaudeville theatre

Answer 3

• large theatrical performances that were comprised of many smaller individual performances
• influenced by minstrelsy
• would form the basis for what later became Broadway theatre

Question 4

what was the significance of brass bands and patriotic songs?

Answer 4

served as a form of community music-making

Question 5

define and describe ragtime

Answer 5

• emerged with the mass production of pianos
• involved rhythm, syncopation, and dance/movement
• pioneered the formula that was later used in jazz and other forms of music

Question 6

define and describe parlour songs

Answer 6

• sold as sheet music, which made classical music accessible outside of formal performance
• often sentimental themes