MUH2019 Exam 1 Study Guide Introduction to the Study of Popular Music Theodor Adorno The Frankfurt School He viewed popular music as a strongly negative force in society He was critical of Culture Industry Saw rise of Nazis new technologies commercial marketing and political propaganda popular music as a tool for subjugation of the masses popular music as cheap escape to boredom Viewed popular dance such as Jitterbug and Swing as a cultural decadence Deemed it ritualistic and compulsive mimicry Coined the term quotation listening to describe the type of listening encouraged by popular music complaining that the music pacifies the audience Adorno believes that the possible effect of a distracted listening audience is that it prevents people from pondering their existence in the world The Music Industry Vertical Integration Single companies that want to control the chain of business sale production etc Horizontal Integration Actions by a business to buy other companies at the same level of production Ex iTunes a monopoly Regulation of copyright in attempt to control the marketplace Mainstream appeal to widest possible audience for large market base Marginal marginalized groups of people in society independent record labels rock n roll Major Record Labels part of larger conglomerates with obligation to stockholders and motivated by profit margin Musically conservative Enormous marketing and distribution resources Independent Record Labels seen as agents of musical innovation Romanticized conception as politically engaged and on the artists side Important contributions to the development of new previously marginalized musical styles Atlanta Records Sun Motown Sub Pop Tin Pan Alley Structure Business Model Expanding urban market Public music education popularization of amateur piano playing in the home Increase in retail value of sheet music Songpluggers musicians or singers hired to promote publisher s songs They would advertise in public areas by performing such as in department stores or theatres They tried to convince theatre managers to promote songs Vaudeville Complete separation of singer and songwriter Devaluation of performing original music Standard Song Form AABA song form 4 sections of equal length Verse refrain form of Anglo American ballad tradition Verse sets dramatic tone important in 19th century song then serves at introduction and then dies out Refrain presents main melody the vocal line sung by the singer the tune Part referred to as the actual song today A section presents main melody A section repeated with different lyrics B section contrasting music and different lyrics the bridge A or A return of A music with slight melodic changes Themes of song lyric content Privacy and Romantic Love Privacy historically restricted to elites New reality of the middle class idealized goal of owning a home and domestic life Home as a place for courtship family image of cozy parlor Romantic Love Precursors in European song and literature traditions Vantage point of the 1st person singing about love Reflected in both lyrical context and vocal delivery Vaudeville vs Crooning Style Vaudeville and Al Jolson Vaudevillian pop star Career overlapped era of Vaudeville stage and new popular music media Singing style reflected the loud stage voice exaggerated gestures Al Jolson frequently performed in black face which was a tradition of minstrelsy Racial stereotyping of African Americans was in mid to late 1800s Blues very basic level a form 12 bar blues Marketing category of popular music Blues developed in black communities of the deep South especially within the region from the Mississippi Delta to east Texas around the end of the 19th century Form 3 line AAB text Basic 3 chord pattern Rural inspiration of classic blues songs displayed a much wider range of forms like 8 and 16 bar blues and added beats Harmony in chords is not systematic or consistent Classis Blues songs composed for Tin Pan Alley pop Normally composed by middle class black songwriters who were also big band leaders and composed ragtime songs The name Classic Blues is a paradox Is farther removed from rural sources of genre Romanticized as authentically Southern Bessie Smith Empress of the Blues 1894 1937 The 12 bar blues form of St Louis Blues is more strophic folk blues and lament specific situations than Country Blues Race Records and Blues Country blues As a music of the impoverished black workforce in the South Country or rural or down home blues was characterized by a dynamic flexible framework for publicly recounting aspects of the human experience Robert Johnson Country blues artist who reflected looking toward the future Life shrouded in mystery Only 22 songs 11 records recorded in his lifetime Died mysteriously Myth sold soul to devil for talents Robert Johnson song spotlight Crossroad blues Music representative of the Mississippi Delta Blues Heavier emphatic style of playing Rhythmic guitar technique Influence to Rock n Roll guitar Achieves a wide range of timbres on the acoustic guitar Hillbilly records AKA old time music Performed by and intended for sale to southern whites Three things in common between race and hillbilly records originated in American South rooted in long standing fold music traditions disseminated across the country by new media Proliferation of radio broadcasting commercial radio central to popularization to hillbilly music By contrast radio played no role in the promotion of race records Hillbilly radio shows in barn dance format predecessor of TV Medicine show guitar and fiddle players theater performances First generation of recording artists influenced by Anglo American ballads and square dance tunes The Carter Family from Clinch mountains of Virginia A P Doc Carter collected and arranged folk songs Wife Sara lead vocal guitar and auto harp Maybelle sung harmony Repertoire adaptations of Anglo American folk traditions Hymns Sentimental songs from turn of the century Tin Pan Alley 300 recordings Issues of copyright Gospel Ship exemplifies the importance of sacred music in southern culture Popularity of recorded religious genres First group act in country music Significant differences between white and black performances of gospel music Jimmie Rodgers quintessential rambling vagabond footloose country artist Progressive and versatile musician Influenced all other early country artists such as Hank Williams Will Nelson etc Success partly due to receptivity of African American
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