In this
class, I am excited to further my learning into vernacular and popular music.
In order to do this, we have to start at the beginning. Music has such a rich
history that us full of development, but nothing is as interesting in looking
at the past 200 years. Just the advancement of technology over these past years
shows the impact on music and how we as an audience listen and have access to
it. In order to get a better understanding on popular music, we must start from
the beginning. The listening examples for this week do just this.
The first
piece that was introduced is “Barbary (Barbara) Allen”. This was included as an
example of a British Ballad Tradition. “The British ballad tradition is one of
the main roots of American music and is the predecessor of such diverse genres
as urban folk music, country music, and rock ‘n’ roll” (Starr & Waterman,
2014, p. 21). When listening to the recording of this piece by Jean Ritchie,
you can hear the folk roots, specifically with vocal ornamentation. I really
enjoy that this piece is recorded a capella because it gives the story a very
pure sound. This can be a great teaching tool for students to understand
storytelling in music.
The other
recordings that are a part of the old-time music section are examples of
“Soldier’s Joy”. I knew this music before listening because we would play it in
my fiddling ensemble. This was a popular piece with students because it was fun
to play and had exciting parts to play. I liked the Tommy Jarrell version
better than the Skillet Lickers version. I enjoy the way it sounds with the
solo violin over the ensemble. The Tommy Jarrell version still has a roughness
in his fiddle playing that gives it an edge without sounding out of tune. This
is what I enjoy about fiddle playing. I feel that my students enjoy this
playing because it quite different than classical music. I plan on using these
recordings in the future to give my students an idea of how a tune can be
interpreted differently between performers. “Listening to these two examples—one
a popular commercial recording made at the very dawn of what would later be
called “country music,” and the other an informal recording by an octogenarian
Appalachian fiddler who learned his craft in the first decades of the twentieth
century—will serve to give us some sense of the deep historical continuity and
creative vitality of the southern string band tradition” (Starr & Waterman,
2014, p. 25).
“Long John”
gives a great example of the call and response idea that started in the south.
This recording done by the Lightning Washington and fellow convicts sets a very
raw and emotional scene for the story that it tells. This is another great
example of storytelling. I also really loved the song “Stagolee (Stack O’Lee).”
This guitar playing is exactly what I thin of with folk music. “In his original
1928 recording, Hurt (Mississippi John Hurt) shows off his virtuoso
fingerpicking guitar style, in which the thumb plays a steady bass pattern and
the fingers play syncopated patterns that interlock with the bass” (Starr &
Waterman, 2014, p. 33). This shows how adding an instrument to the storytelling
of these pieces can enhance with a simple polyrhythmic sound. The guitar portion
really adds to the music without taking away from the storytelling.
The portion
of this chapter dedicated to Latin American music is very important because we
tend to focus heavily on jazz, the blues, and the African American influence
when thinking of the development of popular music, but there is a lot to be
said about the Latin American style as well. “Musicians in the Caribbean, South
America, and Mexico have developed a wide range of styles that blend African
and European traditions and have in turn influenced popular music in the United
States” (Starr & Waterman, 2014, p. 35). This can be heard in the
Afro-Cuban Rumba, “Enigue Nigue,” performed by AfroCuba de Matanzas. I have
always enjoyed the percussion in music such as this, full of different
instruments and polyrhythmic entities. The percussion parts are just as important
as the vocal portion of this music. This music is full of life and one can
easily understand its connection with dance. This music breathes life and
movement and can be incorporated into any lesson dealing with dance and
percussion.
“Jeanie
with the Light Brown Hair,” by Stephen Foster, is a great example of the AABA
form that is very well known in American popular music. It is easy to follow
and understand. “Forms such as AABA are not just technical features or
blueprints for the composer. They also become the basis for listening habit”
(Starr & Waterman, 2014, p. 53). This is a very true statement and an
important one that the book points out. Many popular songs follow the same
format so the listener knows what to expect and understands the progression of
the music written. I do not think this is a bad thing for familiarity is something
that listeners enjoy.
Resource:
Starr, L., Waterman, C. (2014). American popular music: From minstrelsy to MP3. New York: Oxford
University Press.
