MUSIC

MUSIC
Unit 6
Be sure to answer all questions in full sentences and give as much detail as possible to support your answer. Convince your reader of your newly gained knowledge!

“AN INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAS
MUSIC”(SECOND EDITION)

Reading: Chapter 19: “Stayin’ Alive”: America’s Music in the 1970s: pp. 468-494; Chapter 20: America’s Music in the 1980s: pp. 495-513; Chapter 22: Remix: America’s Music Since 1990, pp. 531-557

Chapter 19 Listening Questions

“Oye como va” Carlos Santana

1 Contrast and compare this recording with either “El cayuco” or better yet, with Tito Puente’s original recording of “Oye como va.” What are the similarities and differences between Puente’s style of Latin jazz and Santana’s Latin rock? Which do you prefer and why?

“Coat of Many Colors” Dolly Parton

1 What musical features connect this song to earlier country songs such as “Can the Circle Be Unbroken” and which ones distinguish it as a product of the 1970s?
2 Compare the subject matter and musical treatment of this song and “Mama Tried.” Do you find one song more convincing than the other? Why? How is your response affected by knowledge that Haggard did not serve life without parole, but that Parton’s story, as far as we can determine, factually accurate (the coat she sings about is on display at Dollywood, her theme part in Tennessee).

“Superfly” Curtis Mayfield

1 “Superfly” juxtaposes sections with a high level of verbal content (verses), a lower level of verbal content (choruses), and little to no verbal content (vamps). Does that musical device draw your attention to the words or away from them? Why?

Birds of Fire John McLaughlin, played by the Mahavishnu Orchestra

1 The same year John McLaughlin recorded this piece, he also collaborated with Carlos Santana on a tribute album to John Coltrane. Compare Birds of Fire with Coltrane’s “My Favorite Things” and with Santana’s “Oye como va.” What are the similarities and differences?

“You Must Meet My Wife” from A Little Night Music Stephen Sondheim
1 What features of this recording would support a description of the performers as “singing actors” rather than “acting singers?” What is gained in this style of performance and what is lost?

String Quartet no. 4 “Amazing Grace” Ben Johnson

7. Try listening to the variations in two different ways: 1. focusing on specific pitches to see if you can hear the characteristics of the various scales, and 2. listening to the musical texture as a whole to detect an overall sound and mood for each variation. Then examine your responses to see if there is any connection between the two ways of listening. How do the shifts in tuning correspond to the shifts in mood?

Chapter 19 Reflection Questions

1 How do developments in rock in the early 1970s resemble developments in modern jazz in the 1940s and 1950s, and how do they differ?
2 What are the stylistic features of punk rock, and how do they distinguish punk from other 1970s trends? What makes punk a “reformation” movement in rock history?
3 How does musical theater fit into the larger picture of American music in the 1970s?
4 Who are some of the principle figures in microtonal music, and what seem to be their aesthetic goals and means of achieving those goals?

Chapter 20 Listening Questions

Title music from Batman Danny Elfman

1 How does the Batman title music resemble the romantic orchestral techniques heard in Amy Beach’s Gaelic Symphony, and how does it differ?

“The Message” Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five

1 What similarities and differences can you note between “The Message” and Curtis Mayfield’s “Superfly?”

Chapter 20 Reflection Questions

1 What are the aesthetic premises of postmodernism, and how do they differ from the tenets of modernism?
2 What are the major phases of film music in the second half of the twentieth century, and who are the film composers associated with each phase?
3 How did MTV’s emphasis on visual spectacle influence popular music in the 1980s?
4 What are the specific techniques that distinguish hip-hop from earlier musical styles? How are those techniques indicative of the live performance contexts in which they emerged?

Chapter 22 Listening Questions

“Devotional,” from In This House, on This Morning Wynton Marsalis

1 What arguments can you make that “Devotional” supports the idea that jazz is now a classical music, not a popular music? How might you argue the opposite: that “Devotional” shows how jazz remains in the popular sphere?

“Orphan Girl” Gillian Welch

1 Each chorus begins with slightly altered lyrics. Why, and what is the effect?

Daniel Variations, fourth movement Steve Reich

1 What evidence is there, if any, of Reich’s early work in electronic music, as described in chapter 18? Does Daniel Variations fit the description of minimalism in that chapter? Why or why not?
2 How does Reich’s choice and setting of text compare with any of the other politically or socially conscious music discussed in this book?

Chapter 22 Reflection Questions

1 What arguments could be made to support the concept of “women’s music” that connects musicians as diverse as Tori Amos, Ani DiFranco, and Gillian Welch, and what arguments could be made against it?
2 What is the “authenticity” that seems so important to so many popular music movements of the past half century or more, from the urban folk revival to punk, alternative rock, and alt. country?
3 What are the technical differences between sampling, remixing, and mash-up?
What is “The Gap,” and what are some indications in our current music culture that it is closing?

Unit 5
Be sure to answer all questions in full sentences and give as much detail as possible to support your answer. Convince your reader of your newly gained knowledge!

“AN INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAS MUSIC”(SECOND EDITION)

Reading: Chapter 16: Classical Music, Jazz, and Musical Theater After WWII: pp. 388-411; Chapter 17: “Good Rocking Tonight”: Popular and Folk Music After World War II: pp. 412-439; Chapter 18: Questioning Authority: America’s Music in the 1960s: pp. 440-467

Chapter 16 Listening Questions

Sonata no. 2 John Cage

1 Play this recording for friends who are not familiar with Cage’s prepared pianos and ask them to identify the instrument(s) they hear. What are their responses, and what do those responses suggest about Cage’s aesthetic goals in writing for prepared piano?

Yardbird Suite Charlie Parker

1 Keeping in mind that this is a mid-tempo bebop record, compare Yardbird Suite with Lester Leaps In, definitely an up-tempo swing record. What are the similarities and differences, not only in the solos but in the role of each instrument in the ensemble?

“El cayuco” Tito Puente and His Orchestra

1 How does the sound of Puente’s band differ from the sound of jazz ensembles studied so far?
2 On the basis of what you can hear, how important would you say improvisation is in this music?
3 What is the balance of vocal sections to instrumental sections in “el cayuco,” and what does that imply about the role of singers in Latin dance music?

“Tonight” Quintet, from West Side Story Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim

1 What aspects of the “Tonight” ensemble add to its operatic effect, and what aspects deem definitely non-operatic? How does each set of attributes help or hinder the dramatic situation?

Chapter 15 Reflection Questions

1 What effect did émigré composers have on music in the postwar United States?
2 What factors led to a widening gap between postwar composers and the audience for classical music?
3 How does bebop differ from swing, and how do those differences account for the shrinking audience for jazz in the postwar years?
4 Compare modern jazz with the music in the postwar classical sphere.
5 Is Bernstein’s argument for the musical as an American classical art form convincing? Why or why not?

Chapter 17 Listening Questions

“It’s Mighty Dark to Travel” Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys

1 Like bebop in relation to swing, bluegrass continues earlier string-band styles, but with a generally faster tempo, greater emphasis on virtuosity, and heightened intensity (despite the impassive vocal delivery). What aspects of American life in the 1940s might have contributed to the appeal of these new, supercharged styles?

“Lost Highway” Hank Williams

1 What aspects of the performance reinforce the mood of the lyrics, and what aspects seem to work against that mood? What would be the song’s effect if the latter aspects were either eliminated or changed to agree with the former?

“Good Rocking Tonight” Wynonie Harris

1 Although each chorus follows the traditional 12-bar blues chord progression, the lyrics do not conform to the archetypal AAB format (as in “St. Louis Blues”). Instead, certain points in each chorus allow for new lyrics, and others are always the same and thus constitute a refrain. Examine the lyrics and consider their pattern; how might each chorus be described as a verse-and-chorus structure?

“School Day” Chuck Berry

1 What arguments could be made for and against the following statement? “When the thirty-year-old Chuck Berry wrote a song about high school, he was selling out by merely pandering to the teen market instead of expressing his own artistic ideas.”’

“If I Had a Hammer” Pete Seeger

1 In the space of two words near the end of each stanza (“sisters / All”) the melody quickly moves from its lowest note to its highest. What is the interval between the two? Does that wide interval, unusal in a song designed for group singing by amateur musicians, make the song hard to sing? Why or why not?

“Only a Pawn in Their Game” Bob Dylan

1 Compare Dylan’s performance with Woody Guthrie’s rendition of “So Long, Its Been Good to Know You.” Consider vocal style, guitar technique, rhythm and phrasing, and any other aspects that catch your attention.
2 Compare the music, lyrics, and social function of “If I Had a Hammer,” the other topical song in this chapter, with those of this song.

Chapter 17 Reflection Questions

1 What features distinguish the new popular styles of the postwar era—bluegrass, honky-tonk, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll—from mainstream popular music? What similarities tie them to that mainstream?
2 In what ways was rock and roll a distinctly new genre in the 1950s? In what ways was it a continuation of earlier styles?
3 What were the principal trends in folk music after World War II? What social and political developments are reflected in the subject matter of the new topical folk songs?

Chapter 18 Listening Questions

“My Favorite Things” John Coltrane

1 Listen to this song as it appears on a Broadway cast recording or the film soundtrack of The Sound of Music (I’m sure it is on YouTube). What features of the song do Coltrane and his musicians retain in their version, and what features seem entirely different?

“Todas las tardes en Granada” from Ancient Voices of Children George Crumb

1 Many commentators have noted the ritualistic character of Crumb’s music. Is that evident here? If so, how?

“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” The Beach Boys

1 How does the subject matter of “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” resemble the teen-oriented lyrics of 1950s rock and roll songs, and how does it differ? How does the musical treatment relate to the lyrics?

“Mama Tried” Merle Haggard

1 Some critics have noted that “Mama Tried” is not fully autobiographical: Haggard did turn twenty-one in prison, but he was not serving life without parole. Do the discrepancies between song and biography weaken the song? Why or why not?
2 Do the aural contrasts, from solo acoustic guitar to full ensemble with background singers, succeed in creating an aesthetically pleasing effect, or do they seem incongruous? Why?

“Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” James Brown

1 The fadeout ending of this song suggests not that the song has reached a conclusion but that the music continues on, beyond our ability to hear it. In live performance, Brown and his band might stretch this song out for several more minutes. What features of the song encourage that kind of expansive, variable performance? What are some strategies that Brown and his musicians might use to create a longer performance?

“I Heard it through the Grapevine” Gladys Knight and The Pips

1 Listen to Marvin Gaye’s version of this song, which you may find more familiar. How does it resemble Knight’s version, and how does it differ?
2 The function of the Pips in this song is somewhat analogous to the role of the horns in “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag.” How are they similar and how are they different?

Chapter 18 Reflection Questions

1 If jazz originated in the realm of popular entertainment, what elements of entertainment, if any, survive in jazz of the 1960s.
2 How did 1960s rock differ from 1950s rock and roll?
3 What common factors connect rock, country, and soul music in the 1960s?
Compare and contrast the two leading soul music labels, Stax and Motown.