Ragtime
Mid 1800's
African American Style
Primarily Piano
Syncopated Rhythms
Syncopated Rhythms
A rhythm that does not fit an expected pattern of accents (clapping on the &'s)
Left Hand
Alternation between a single note and a chord
Chord
Three or more notes played together
Scott Joplin
Best known Ragtime composer/pianist
"Maple Leaf Rag
Improvisation
Spontaneous music that has not been written or planned out in advance
Popularity of Ragtime
Spread due to the invention of the player-piano, phonograph and jukebox time players
How does Ragtime influence Rock & Roll?
� High energy
� Fun
� Syncopated rhythms
� Development of stride piano
Tin Pan Alley
is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States
� Term comes from thin, tinny tone of pianos in music publishers' offices
� Late 19th - Early 20th Centuries
Vaudeville Shows
� Theatre show
� New music, publishers had to control the industry
� Allowed musicians to premiere music
� Short simple songs that are easy to remember! "Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Primary difference from Rock & Roll
is music on records, where Ragtime is printed music or sheet music
Jazz in New Orleans
o Musicians began adding improvisations and higher energy African rhythms
o Blues and Gospel influences
o Referred to as "hot" music
Hot Bands
� 1917 - first Hot (jazz) band to record
� Original Dixieland Jazz Band (all white musicians)
Front Line
� 1 Trumpet
� 1 Clarinet
� 1 Trombone
Rhythm Section
� Drums
� Piano
� Banjo or Guitar
� String Bass or Tuba
Solo Breaks
Short sections of music where the band stops "breaks" and the soloist or singer plays alone
Swing Dance Bands
� Larger
� Written arrangements
� Walking Bass
� Comping
Big Band Leaders
� Glenn Miller - white
� Count Basie
� Benny Goodman - white but with blacks in his band
� Duke Ellington
Crooners
Soft voices
Bing Crosby
Perry Como
Frank Sinatra
Foreshadowing ...Teen Idol Pop
Used microphones
The Blues
Used to describe feelings of sadness and hopelessness
Griots
Oral poets from West Africa, Memorized and sang their people's history
Country Blues
During hard group work, slaves would follow the African tradition of singing together to keep the work motion going
Call-and-Response (work songs)
A leader sings one phrase, the rest respond
Field Holler
o Sung by one worker alone
o Often lamenting about tasks or hard times
o Less regular rhythm, or no sense of rhythm at all
Delta Blues
� Developed in the Mississippi Delta region
� Most direct influence on rock
� Expressive lyrics-emotional, rough
� Bottlenecks guitar playing
� Muddy Waters- "Mississippi Delta Blues
Blue Notes
� Bending pitches of certain notes
� Most commonly lowered blue notes were the 3rd and 7th scale degrees
� C D (Eb) E F G A (Bb) B C
Twelve Bar Blues Form
� A typical blues stanza might go as follows:
I love my man when he treats me fine (A) I love my man when he treats me fine (A) I just wish he wouldn't drink so much wine (B)
� This form can be called AAB form
� Four measures or bars per line
Robert Johnson
One of the most influential country/blues singer/guitarists who recorded during the 1930s. Myth that he "sold his soul" to the devil in exchange for his playing ability
Twelve-bar blues form (AAB)
Classic Blues
Female singers:
o Powerful, gusty vocal styles
o No amplifications
o Musical characteristics: Gusty moans, Dramatic pauses, Expressive note bending and sliding
Bessie Smith
o Most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s
o Major influence on subsequent jazz vocalists
o Nicknamed "The Empress of the Blues
Technological Advancements
o Magnetic tape recorders
o Dramatic improvements in sound quality
o "overdubbing" - Elvis- "Heartbreak Hotel"
o Transistor radios
Improvements to records
� 33 1/3 and 45 (1954)
� Less expensive
� Could now record on both sides- "B Sides
Radio
o Late 1940s- only four radio stations
� White middle class
o Independent stations
� Catered to local tastes
� Disc jockeys
Televisions
o 1951-Affordable by middle class families
o White radio programs moved to TV
o Left room for independent radio DJs
Urban Blues
� Job vacancies in large northern cities
� African Americans in south were losing jobs
Most urban blues groups included:
Rhythm section (bass, drums, guitars, and/or piano)
Solo instruments (saxophone or other wind instruments)
Invention of electric guitar
o Solo instrument
o T-bone walker (1910-1975)
o Longer and more complex lines than Delta Blues guitarists
B.B. King
o Mississippi
o Known for lyrical and expressive solo style
o Influenced many rock guitarists
o Initials "B.B." derived from nickname "Blues Boy
Chicago Blues
� Style of blues developed in the major northern U.S cities, primarily Chicago
� Forming groups
� Electric guitar
� Combined swing jazz and boogie-woogie piano influences with the passion of the delta blues
Chess Records
o Out of Chicago
o 1950-1975
o recorded every major blues artist of the time
o owned and run by two brother, Phil and Leonard Chess
o Immigrated from Poland
Muddy Waters
o Guitar - bottleneck
o Began in country/delta blues
o NOT TWELVE - bar blues
o Changed to electric guitar and added a band
o One Chord Song
o Two-beat :stop
Elmore James
o One of the first Delta blues musicians to work with groups
� Modern sound with country style guitar playing (bottleneck)
o James slide guitar copied by many rock guitarists - Eric Clapton
o Lifestyle similar to Robert Johnson - lots of wives
Howlin' Wolf
o Played guitar and harp
o Learned harp from Sonny Boy Williamson
o Wolf-like howls and growls
o Aggressive, sometimes raunchy sound
John Lee Hooker
o Based in Detroit
o Dramatic delta based guitar
o Deep, rich voice
o Recorded albums well into the 80's
Break
Instruments stop playing during the vocal line and then respond in the next measure (beats 2,3,4 & 1)
Rhythm and Blues
� Rhythmic dance music
� Called race music until the end of the 40's
� Very energetic
� Suggestive themes
� Formed the basis of 50's rock n' roll
Backbeat
� 2nd and 4th beats accented
� Backbeat was used in blues, but became more obvious and important in rhythm and blues
Louis Jordan
o Alto sax and clarinet player
o "Louis Jordan and His Timpany Five"
o Called his style "Shuffle Boogie" or "Jumpin Jive"
o Songs were just as popular with whites as they were with blacks
o Influenced Rock and Roll
Bo Diddley
o Rhythmic guitar pattern (Imitating the drums)
o His strong rhythmic style was rock oriented but was considered rhythm and blues during the 50's
o Became known as the Bo-Diddley Beat
Boogie-Woogie Piano Style
Developed by AA's - 1920's, copied by many white performers.
o Left Hand - fast, repeated note pattern w/ two notes per beat
o Right Hand - short bits of melody called riffs
Professor Longhair
� One of the most important rhythm and blues pianists to influence rock and roll
� The boogie-woogie style
Spirituals
� Religious folk songs
� White: psalms or hymns
� Blacks: spiritual
� Was not written down
Spirituals Musical Traits
o Improvisation
o Multiple melodies at once
o Lead singers vs. background singers
o Sliding notes and "turns
Gospel Music
� Developed from similar roots as spirituals and the blues
� Gospel and Blues are different, but related
o Blues - individual
o Gospel - group
African American and Christianity
o Christianity brought from Europe
o Slaves attended church with their owners
o Hymns or "white gospel", Steady, even beat. First and third beat accented
Melisma or "turn
vocal embellishment involving sliding up and down notes around the melody
The Soul Stirrers
Use of falsetto lead singing - higher than normal tenor range of pitches sung by men
Mahalia Jackson
o The Queen of Gospel
o Listened to recordings by Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith in secret
o Moved to Chicago when she was 16 to start recording
o Move on up a little higher was the song that made her famous
Edwin Hawkins Singers
o Full-choir style of gospel music
o Recorded numerous songs on the chart toppers
o "Oh Happy Day
Doo-Wop
� Vocal group style
� Mid 1900's
� Gospel oriented African American groups singing secular music
� Usually a lead singer accompanied by other singers
� Nonsense syllables
� Often had a pounding, repeated pattern in the piano or bass of three chords per be
The Orioles
o Baltimore, MD
o One of the first recordings by AA's artists to be successful on the pop charts
o Covered a country song "Crying in the Chapel
Country Music
� Commercial form of folk music
� Regional music made national
� Developed in a variety of styles
Earliest Style - Hillbilly
o Named after the backwoods southerners who played then
o White people from Europe
o Vocal style origins
� Hymns
� Folk ballads
Hillbilly Instruments
o Fiddle
o Guitar
� Steel guitar
o Piano
o Harmonica
o Banjo
o String bass
Western Swing
o Syncopated rhythms
o Emphasis on "offbeat" or back beat
o Sometimes saxophone
o Drums, usually avoided in country (Racism)
o Solos - improvisation
o Notable artist: Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys
Bluegrass
o Primarily string instruments (Fiddle, Guitar, Banjo, String bass)
o No drums
o Group vocals
o Fast tempo songs
o Did not influence rock in the 50's but influenced some later groups (Charlie Daniels Band)
Honky-tonk
o Bar or saloon outside of town where the beer was, music had to be loud and danceable
Also influenced rockabilly
� Boogie-woogie rhythms
� Depressing topics
General Elements Of Country Music
o Steady Beat
o Four, two or three beats per bar
o Even subdivisions (as opposed to swing)
o Simple harmonies (Triadic - 3 notes, no 7th)
o 8-bar periods with two 4 bar phrases each
o Story Telling
o Vocals have a nasal tone quality
Two-beat bass
bassist plays the root of the chord on the first beat of a measure and the fifth of the chord on the third beat of a measure. Associated very strongly with county music.
Jimmy Rodger
o The Father of Country Music
o Distinctive vocal style - "Blue Yodeling"
o Sang many songs in 12 - bar blues form
o Combined black and white musical styles
o Started writing his own songs, paved the way for other artists
Johnny Cash
One of the most influential musicians of the 20th century"
o Distinctive, bass-baritone voice
o "Boom-chicka-boom" guitar style
o Career developed around the same time Rock and Roll was becoming popular
o Was the first country artist to be played on a roc
Early Rock Musicians with a Country Background
� Bill Haley
� Sam Phillips
� Elvis Presley
� Jerry Lee Lewis
� Buddy Holly
Bill Haley
o Western swing bands
o Disc jockey in late 40's
o Formed a country group called The Saddelmen
o "Rocket 88" - cover song, did not sell well
o Signed on with Decca Records in 1954
o Covered 2 blues songs
� Shake, Rattle and Roll
� Rock Around The Clock
Sam Phillips
o Businessman, record producer and DJ
o (1944) Memphis Recording Service - recorded mostly African American artists
o (1951) Formed the Sun Record Company
o Phillips noticed 2 things: Whites wanted more sex references in music and Whites bought white arti
Elvis Presley
The King of Rock and Roll"
o Singer
o Actor
o Cultural Icon
Elvis (1954) - early style and recording
� Recorded at Sun Records
� Rockabilly (rock + hillbilly)
Combination of country, blues and R&B styles
� "That's Alright Mama"
� "Blue Moon of Kentucky
Elvis (1955) - Expansion and style changes
Colonel Tom Parker took over as manager:
Moved Elvis to RCs
Better publicity
More polished sound
Became a star within a year
What made Elvis popular?
Unique voice
Clean, good-looking
Rebel image - James Dean
Cleaned up lyrics
Dance moves
Elvis (1956) - Reaching for the stars
� TV Performer
� The Sullivan Show only shot him from the waist up to avoid the sexiness of his stage moves
� "Hound Dog"
� 12 bar blues
Elvis the movie star
First move appearance in Love Me Tender (1956)
Elvis (1957)
� Bought Graceland
� Drafted to the army
� Mother dies while Elvis is at basic training
Elvis return to civilian life
� 2 year tour with Army
� Continued recording until the last year of his life
More popular as a movie star
Sustained his career over the next three decades
Elvis The Later Years
� "Burning Love" - last song recorded
The last five years personal life begins to fall apart:
Wife left him
Spends his private time in Graceland
Drug abuse
Died in 1977 at age 42
Jerry Lee Lewis
o Rockabilly - pianist/singer
o Signed with Sun Records
o Nicknamed "The Killer"
o "Great Balls Of Fire"
o Lewis married his 13 year old cousin
Glissandos
sliding fingers across the whole keyboard
Buddy Holly
o 1956 - started recording country songs in Nashville, not successful
o Went back to Texas and formed The Crickets
o "That'll Be The Day"
o One of the first rock guitarists to play a solid body electric guitar -Stratocaster by Fender
Holly was influenced by Elvis but did not imitate him
� Holly wrote his own music
� Vocal style was light, a trademark "hiccup"
� Image was not one of teen rebellion (suit, tie & shit)
� 1958 - developed a "pop" sound
� Died in a plane crash at age 21
Hymn
type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise
Overdubbing
technique used in audio recording, whereby a performer listens to an existing recorded performance (usually through headphones in a recording studio) and simultaneously plays a new performance along with it, which is also recorded