The Blues, Swing, and Beyond

            The Blues is such an important musical genre in the development of American music. This music was a representation of the black communities of the Deep South and was full of expression and emotion. This music was the inspiration for many future artists, so the development of the Blues is very important. One of the pieces I always made sure to play for my students was one of the first talked about in this chapter. “St. Louis Blues” is a piece written by W. C. Handy, but made famous by the blues singer Bessie Smith. Her haunting performance really makes the audience feel the sadness that people associate with the Blues. “Although Smith was by no means a rural blues singer herself, she approached the song as one intimately familiar and comfortable with many of the varied oral traditions of African American music, and consequently her performance treated Handy’s composition with considerable—but never inappropriate—freedom” (Starr & Waterman, 2014, p. 133). This quote is the exact reason Bessie Smith made this piece relatable and popular among blues fanatics. Listen to the recording below to get a sense of her vocal style:

            “That Black Snake Moan” is a great example of the Blues with that country edge. The recording by Blind Lemon Jefferson adds the layer of the guitar riffs to his very specific vocal styling. It is noted that the guitar playing doesn’t supply us with the typical chord changes we expect to hear from the Blues. I like this element because it really has you focused on the lyrics. I actually feel that the saddest part about all of this is how unfairly these musicians were treated. Blind Lemon Jefferson was denied any profits of his talents and was buried in an unmarked grave in Texas. It is sad to see these important musicians treated in such a way, but maybe that is what makes the Blues full of so much feeling.

            Though it is not always the choice of music I would listen to, I really enjoyed “Blue Yodel No. 2,” written and performed by Jimmie Rodgers. The hillbilly and country feel makes it very fun to listen to. The “boom-chick” of the guitar playing is a very common feel of music such as this. The yodel is something that someone would not originally think would be a part of the blues structure, but Jimmie Rodgers does a nice job blending the two ideas together without sounding campy. “Rodger’s performance of this song conveys a sense of freedom through unpredictable phrasing and of course through the yodels that occur between stanzas” (Star & Waterman, 2014, p. 149). The Cater Family contributes to the hillbilly genre with their recording of “Gospel Ship”. I have always been a fan of the Carters, especially in the later years with June and her influences on Johnny Cash. The carters use their rich harmonies to really develop the sound of this country music.

            Now we look more into the development of Jazz and head into the era of Swing. Swing music is one of my favorite forms of Jazz because of its up-tempo dance-like feel. It is hard to listen to great swing music and now have the urge to at least tap your foot. “Wrappin’ it Up” by Fletcher Henderson does just this. The sounds of the saxes all playing together makes the music sing! The walking bass provides the quick pulse that just takes you onto the dance floor. The form of this piece is also much more extensive and developed than what is heard with the blues. I also like that our listening brought us to a Benny Goodman piece other than “Swing, Swing, Swing”. “Taking a Chance on Love” gives us an example of swing music that is slower paced, but still offers that ability to make you tap your foot. This orchestration and arrangement by Fletcher Henderson show just how rich a jazz ensemble can make a piece of music.

            Finallly, we looked into the classic country with “New San Antonio Rose.” Written by Bob Will and performed by Bob Will and His Texas Playboys is a fun fast paced classic country song. We get the similar AABA form from Tin Pan Alley. “The vocal takes us through the entire thirty-two-bar AABA structure of the song, Duncan’s singing supported with soft harmonies in the brass and reeds and occasionally interrupted by Wills’s trademark vocal interjections” (Starr & Waterman, 2014, p. 183). We also experience Latin music in the swing era with music such as “Brazil” by Ary Barroso and performed by Xavier Cugat and His Waldor-Astoria Orchestra. This music also has that Latin rhythm one expects with the fast rhythm section and the lush string harmonies. This music is meant for dancing!

Resource:

Starr, L., Waterman, C. (2014). American popular music: From minstrelsy to MP3. New York: Oxford University Press.

Timeline

Social Dance, Jazz, and Tin Pan Alley Songs

            As we moved along in this week’s listening assignments, we started with a recording of “Castle House Rag” performed by the James Reese Europe’s Society Orchestra. At first, this recording was hard for me to listen to for the quality is very poor. However, it has a historical relevance being that it was recorded in 1914. The quality of the recording is almost as important at the music itself. “While the sound quality of this recording is primitive by today’s standards, it nonetheless gives us a sense of the style of Europe’s band and some of its musical influences, including ragtime and marching band music” (Starr & Waterman, 2014, p. 84).  “Tiger Rag”, written by Nick LaRocca, was a ragtime piece that still had the quality recording you would expect from that time era, but better intonation and aesthetic quality. I enjoy that there is no strongly defined melody with much of the music. “This means that the listener’s attention is focused on other aspects of the music, including the ensemble interaction, the variations played by individual instruments, and the rhythmic drive of the performance” (Starr & Waterman, 2014, p. 87).  See the following video for a recording of this piece:

            Moving on to dance music, we come to “East St. Louis Toodle-oo”, written by Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley. Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was a very well known musician and had an important influence in the jazz world. You can hear his creativity in music such as “East St. Louis Toodle-oo”, where we get that feel of the dance band. You get a full sense of the arranging abilities of Duke Ellington by the rich textures and timbres heard in his orchestra.

            One of my favorite pieces to listen to this week was “My Blue Heaven,” written by Walter Donaldson and George Whiting. This music is simple and beautiful and very care-free sounding. The solo Cello really gives this piece warmth, and sounds great with the piano and the voice in harmony. You can hear the early “crooner” influence that was about to take over. Gene Austin has a very smooth voice that complements this song very well. See the following recording of Gene Austin singing “My Blue Heaven”:

            Next, we had two recording of “April Showers,” written by Louis Silvers and Buddy DeSylva and performed by Al Jolson. This song can be identified as that Tin Pan Alley songwriting with a very campy time of singing. Even though this song is considered a ballad, it still has an upbeat feel that keeps the attention of the listener. “Where with Austin (singing “My Blue Heaven”) everything is quiet and intimate, Jolson’s dominating, larger-than-life approach turns this gentile song into a grand statement” (Starr & Waterman, 2014, p. 113). I personally enjoyed the singing of Austin better than Jolson, for the overdramatic singing seems to take away from the music. However, this is an important historical moment to teach about, because of what was popular at that time.

Resource:
Starr, L., Waterman, C. (2014). American popular music: From minstrelsy to MP3. New York: Oxford University Press.

In the beginning...

            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.