American Music History: From Ragtime to Jazz Fusion

Early American Music and Traditions

Benjamin Franklin's instrument: the glass harmonica.

America's music style in the 17th century: European, religious, and functional.

First opera house location: New Orleans, Louisiana.

U.S. Marine Band leader: John Philip Sousa.

19th-century American tradition: The minstrelsy or minstrel show.

What replaced the minstrelsy: Vaudeville shows.

Famous composer of art song: Stephen Foster.

19th-century musical landscape: There was a growing divide between amateur and professional performers in America, similar to Europe.

The Foundations of Ragtime and Blues

Ragtime Characteristics

Stylistically, Ragtime has numerous distinct sections. It is almost always performed on the piano. The left hand plays a steady beat while the right hand plays a melody on the off-beats, known as a syncopated melody. Ragtime is not considered jazz because there is no improvisation.

The Structure of Blues

The form of the Blues consists of 12 measures with an AAB lyric structure. It features blue notes, which are chromatically inflected notes.

The Evolution of Jazz Styles

Dixieland Jazz

Origin: New Orleans, specifically the Storyville red-light district.

Dixieland jazz consists of two parts: the rhythm section and the front line.

• Instruments of the rhythm section: Tuba, banjo, piano, and drums.

Improvisation: In Dixieland, all musicians improvise at the same time, a technique called collective improvisation.

Swing and Vocal Jazz

Swing feel: Eighth notes are played with a long note followed by a short note, as opposed to playing "straight" where eighth notes divide evenly.

Scat singing: This occurs when performers sing nonsense syllables.

Bebop and Modern Innovations

Bebop differs from swing in several ways: it shifts the timekeeper responsibility of the band to the bass instead of the drums, the melodies are jagged and difficult to sing, and the tempo is very fast.

• Vocalese: Bebop for voices.
• Contrafact: A song based on the chord progression of another song with a new melody.
• Formation: Bebop emerged from small, late-night jam sessions in New York clubs where musicians would play after their big band gigs.

Free Jazz and Jazz Fusion

Free Jazz: Characterized by the freeing of melody and rhythm, simultaneous soloing, dissonant melody and harmony, and no preset structures.

Jazz Fusion: Compared to other jazz styles, the eighth notes are usually "straight" instead of "swung," and it features a distinct rock influence.

Musical Theater and the Music Industry

Musicals vs. Opera

Musicals usually have individual songs, called numbers, with spoken dialogue between them, whereas operas are entirely sung.

Famous Broadway songs: "My Favorite Things," "Do-Re-Mi," and "So Long, Farewell."

The Business of Music

Tin Pan Alley: The name of the street in New York where the first major American music publishers established themselves, marking the beginning of the modern music industry.

Studio musicians: Musicians hired by a music studio to perform on records, usually receiving no formal credit.