pop music in the us

What century is associated with a rise in the prominence of art music?

19th century

Which of the following is not a characteristic of blackface minstrelsy?

It is named after a type African American folk dance.

When did the Blues start to take shape as a specific genre of music?

Incorrect: During 19th-century African-American funeral marches in New Orleans.

Who composed Memphis Blues, and performed in its original 1912 recording?

WC Handy

Between the years of 1923 and 1928, about how many songs did Ma Rainey record for Paramount Records?

more than 90

Which of the following is not among the characteristics that Patricia Hill Collins attributes to "call-and-response" in African-American discourse, according to Angela Davis?

incorrect: it depends on collective participation

Listen to the passage between 0:53 and 1:22 in the sound file linked below. Which of the following time codes corresponds to the "B" phrase of the 12-bar blues form? (I know this is a new kind of question for many of you! If you're worried, consult the outline from lecture 3.2: Blue notes, blues structure, which has a similar example.)

She's a mighty mean woman, did me just that way

She's a mighty mean woman, did me just that way

When I leave this town pretty mama, I'm goin' away to stay

I once loved a woman, better than any I'd ever seenI once loved a woman, better than any I'd I've ever seen[after 1:22 Treat me like I's a king, and she was a doggone queen]

1:07

What is melisma?

A group of notes sung on a single syllable of text

[Fill in the blanks with a sequence below.] Whereas folk music tends to involve , art music is cultivated in , and is associated with _.

inter-generational transmission … elite institutions … educated listeners.

Which of the following is not associated with the popularization of "parlor song"?

songs catering to conservatory trained, virtuosic musicians

Who said the following?

"Let the blare of the negro jazz bands and the bellowing voice of Bessie Smith singing blues penetrate the closed ears of the colored near intellectuals until they listen and perhaps understand, we negro artists who create now intend to express our dark skin selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased, we are glad. If they are not, it doesn't matter. We know we are beautiful and ugly too. The Tomtom cries and Tomtom laughs. If colored people are pleased, we are glad. If they are not, their displeasure doesn't matter either. We build temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how, and we stand on top of the mountain, free within ourselves."

Langston Hughes

Which of the following is a good definition of musical improvisation?

A practice of spontaneously inventing or modifying musical material, to express something novel or individual "in the moment."

In what clubs were the "big band" swing styles popularized?

The Cotton Club and the Savoy Ballroom in Manhattan

What is pitch?

The experience of a note being high or low; the qualitative relationship (i.e. stability and instability) between notes in context.

Which of the following is not an example of how jazz musicians "reinterpret" melodies?

Re-negotiation of how the audience should attach symbolic meanings to lyrics or stylistic features.

Listen to the first 1'30" of this recording, which was among the required listening examples from your "Swing" playlist. Which of the following time codes corresponds to the first "B" phrase?

Hint: the "A" melody occurs twice prior to the first B and the same player (trombonist Juan Tizol) begins to "improvise" over the B. After B is finished, there is a change in instrumentation to muted trumpet. (Also please do not attempt to keep your mind or body still while listening after about 45 seconds. It won't work.)

Duke Ellington (piano) with Juan Tizol (trombone), Barney Bigard (clarinet) and members of the Duke Ellington Band: Juan Tizol's "Caravan" (1936)

0:39

Which of the following is true of Irving Berlin? [Select all that apply.]

He composed "God Bless America";

Gershwin called him "the greatest songwriter who ever lived.";

He composed "Cheek to Cheek"

Which of the following are true of Duke Ellington? [Select all that apply.]

Collaborated with Billie Holiday on songs like "Solitude.";

Collaborated with openly gay and activist African-American songwriter-composer Billy Strayhorn.;

Worked with wide range of musicians whose individual talents flourished in a highly collaborative swing-band setting.

Which of the following best describes George Gershwin? [Select the best answer.]

Wrote "I've Got Rhythm" and the operatic "Porgy and Bess", which inclues "Summertime", tried to bring a "serious"/"high art" sensibility to popular music.

Which of the following are songwriters associated with Tin-pan Alley? [Select all that apply.]

Irving Berlin

Jerome Kern

George Gershwin

Why, in Lawrence Levine's estimation, do the economic conditions of the Great Depression not lead to revolution?

The cultural values through which Americans viewed the Great Depression were values of self-reliance, and a kind of worship of "rugged individuals."

[Select the best completions of blanks in the following sentence:] Distinctive professions such as _ contributed to Jewish immigrant communities' roles in their new environment in New York City, and laid the foundation for the popular music known as _.

printing and publishing, theatrical and musical entertainment … Tin-pan Alley

Which of the following is one way that Jelly Roll Morton's music was ahead of its time?

His band often explored the organic, spontaneous, and collaborative player interactions that would become important in the late Swing and bebop eras.

Which of the following is not an important bandleader of the swing era?

Frank Sinatra

Which are three of the five important ingredients of Rock and Roll?

Small ensembles, blues-influenced singing, and a back-beat.

Which of the following contributes to diminished ensemble sizes in the late 1940s? [Select the best answer.]

Record companies, broadcasters, and performance venues are less likely to invest in the expense of a large ensemble.

What two styles of Cuban music did Arsenio Rodríguez mix?

Son and rumba guaguancó

Which of the following is a good summary of the phrase "tele-legible personality"?

A capacity to convey one's personhood strongly and charismatically over television.

What's the difference between a "swing" and a "shuffle" rhythm?

Whereas swing creates ambiguity between simple proportions like 1:1 and 2:1 , shuffle pushes more toward a familiar 2:1.

Which of the following describes a significant evolution of James Brown's style in the mid-1960s?

Brown's band increasingly favored "whole ensemble" rhythmic grooves, that could repeat perpetually.

How do Donna Summer's early projects differ from the funk/soul compositions of Isaac Hayes and Barry White?

incorrect: Whereas Hayes/White made sexuality explicit, Summer relied on metaphorical, dialed-back lyrics.

Which is not among the factors that transformed African-American experience & life in the early 1970s?

Reparations for slavery were available in some states.

Which are examples of some genres and artists popular and influential in England at the time of the Beatles's adolescence? [Select all that apply.]

Skiffle (and the related sounds of rock-and-roll and rockabilly in the U.S.); Motown, including the Supremes

Prior to the advent of multi-track recording, which of the following was not true about a typical studio session?

A new layer could easily be added to an existing recording without redoing the original layers.

Why did Capitol Records (initially) turn down the Beatles?

their "raw" sound didn't fit the grand "Wall of Sound" model favored by American producers

What factors lead to a new professionalization of music production and songwriting in the early 1960s? [Select all that apply]

the payola scandal;

a need for greater industry control following the shock of the grassroots, unpredictable nature of rock and roll; the desire to replicate rock and roll's unprecedented success.

Who occupies the top layers of the Motown workflow hierarchy?

Songwriters and producers, including Barry Gordy himself

What was DJ Kool Herc's name for break-beat DJing in the 1970s?

The Merry-Go-Round

What factors lead to increased investment in hip-hop by major studios, in the late 1980s?

In 1988, the Grammys add a rap category.; In 1988, Billboard adds rap singles chart.; 1987-88, MTV's dedicated rap program is widely popular.

What was the nick-name for Public Enemy's production team?

The Bomb Squad

What did post-punk band "The Beastie Boys" allegedly do during negotiations to be represented by Def Jam records?

Emphasize rap, incorporate Rick Rubin as a break-beat DJ, and fire their only female member.

What is the full name of the CBGB Club in New York City?

Country, Blue-Grass, Blues, and Other Music For Uplifting Gormandizers

To what kinds of musical communities does the term "hillbilly" refer to?

A member of a remote and rural mountain communit

Which of the following is not an essential element of Rock and Roll?

Classic tin-pan alley and jazz covers

How did producer Tom Wilson popularize Simon and Garfunkel?

he overlayed an electrified, British-invasion sound on the acoustic track "Sound of Silence".

Which of the following is a good description of the "wall of sound" technique?

recording large numbers of instruments in the same room, sometimes several of each kind, in order create a dense, symphonic feeling

What factors lead to increased investment in hip-hop by major studios, in the late 1980s?

In 1988, the Grammys add a rap category.

Correct! In 1988, Billboard adds rap singles chart.

Correct! 1987-88, MTV's dedicated rap program is widely popular.

What did post-punk band "The Beastie Boys" allegedly do during negotiations to be represented by Def Jam records?

Emphasize rap, incorporate Rick Rubin as a break-beat DJ, and fire their only female member.

According to Rose, what makes Public Enemy's music video for "Night of the Living Baseheads" so effective?

Its collaging of political, historical, and pop-cultural messages and references

According to Schilt, what motivated the use of the word "girl" in the formation of Riot Grrrl?

A desire to focus on childhood, when girls' self-esteem and self-belief is at its highest

What is syncopation?

incorrect: The placement of weak notes on strong beats

Which of the following did not contribute to African-American artist Huddie Ledbetter's initial fame as a singer-guitarist?

His use of swinging and syncopated rhythm in text delivery; His repetoire included opera, "art song", and parlor songs adapted for church organ.

Which of the following are common characteristics of "the blues" in the 1920s, despite its stylistic variety?

"Soaring" melody: first few syllables of a line reach upward to a long-lasting high note;

Ambiguity between major and minor; Melodies tend to be syncopated

What led to a radical change in the music industry in the 1920s?

"Independent" record companies, specializing in folk and blues music, defeated a lawsuit by the much bigger Victor Records, who sought a monopoly, and generally marketed only classical music.

In "Mama's Got the Blues", Davis quotes Lawrence Levine's claim that the blues has an "almost completely personal" characteristic, representing African-American musicians reaching toward a more general American "individualist" ethos. Which best summarizes Davis' response?

Incorect: Davis disputes the claim that the blues is highly personal, saying that Levine has missed the complexity of audience-response that arises in live performance—similar to town-hall debates.

Which of the following did W.C. Handy and Gertrude "Ma" Rainey have in common? (Select all that apply.)

they were associated with a wide range of styles prior to "blues" fame.; They were middle-class Black Americans who helped codify "the blues".

Which of the following is not an example of how jazz musicians "reinterpret" melodies?

Re-negotiation of how the audience should attach symbolic meanings to lyrics or stylistic features.

In what clubs were the "big band" swing styles popularized?

The Cotton Club and the Savoy Ballroom in Manhattan

Which of the following are among the stylistic foundations of jazz? [Choose the best answer.]

All of the above.

What is a scale?

A collection of notes that, when played in order from low to high, sound like steps.

Which reflects a typical 1930s U.S. urban audience romanticizing "rural experience"?

Idealizations of the "singing cowboy" and other rugged individuals, among both rural and urban audiences.

Which of the following are true of Duke Ellington? [Select all that apply.]

Worked with wide range of musicians whose individual talents flourished in a highly collaborative swing-band setting.;

Collaborated with Billie Holiday on songs like "Solitude."; Collaborated with openly gay and activist African-American songwriter-composer Billy Strayhorn.

How would you distinguish the early Harlem Renaissance attitude toward blues and jazz, from the later one?

Early on, Harlem Renaissance thinkers saw blues and jazz as "the problem" but later they changed their mind after witnessing the achievements of Ellington and others

Which of the following is true of Irving Berlin? [Select all that apply.]

He composed "Cheek to Cheek";

He composed "God Bless America"; Gershwin called him "the greatest songwriter who ever lived."

What's the difference between a "swing" and a "shuffle" rhythm?

Incorrect: Whereas swing alternates between simple proportions like 1:1 and 2:1 , shuffle spends far more time on 2:1 patterns.

Which of the following are significant shifts in the media culture and entertainment industry of the 1950s? [Select all that apply.]

FCC regulations loosened after the war, and made radio stations easier to homogenize under consolidated ownership.; 90% of households had televisions by 1949; Radio programming shifts away from live performance, and toward rebroadcast of pre-recorded music

Which of the following musical features does Buddy Holly's music intensify in Country and Western styles, that furthers the evolution of Rock and Roll?

A strong backbeat and a significant blues influence.

What factor helps small record companies promote records easily in the 1950s?

FCC regulations loosen, allowing the first "canned" music broadcasts.

What artist serves as a major influence for Chuck Berry's guitar style?

incorrect: Maybelle Carter

Which artist is known as a prolific songwriter who concentrated on charmingly forthright lyrics and mostly very simple melodies?

Hank Williams

Which best characterizes the major differences between 1948 and 1958 in the radio broadcast industry?

In 1948, radio was the dominant mass media form; in 1958 it was eclipsed by TV.

Which reflects a typical 1930s U.S. urban audience romanticizing "rural experience"?

Idealizations of the "singing cowboy" and other rugged individuals

Which of the following best describes aspects of Hank Williams' biography?

Influenced by blues musicians in childhood; early fame in radio was followed career ups and downs, but prolific hit songwriting.

Which best characterizes the beginning of the swing era, and some historical turning points that mark it?

In the mid 1930s, nationally syndicated radio programming and dance-music centered films brought swing music into the mainstream

Which best describes Louis Jordan's foreshadowing of the Rock and Roll era?

Swing- and shuffle-rhythms, smaller ensembles, blues-influenced singing in novelty songs, and a unique screen persona

Though the "Urban/Rural divide" represented jazz and country as opposites, which factor most contributed their similarity in practice?

In spite of cultural values that distinguished country and jazz, the categories were blurred in real life by mass media, migrations within the U.S., and a shared economic fate.

Who coined the term "Rock and Roll" as a mainstream commercial category?

Alan Freed

Which of the following is not an essential element of Rock and Roll?

Classic tin-pan alley and jazz covers

Listen to the passage between 2:20 and 3:00 in the soundfile linked below. Which of the following timecodes corresponds to the "B" phrase of the 12-bar blues form? (I know this is a new kind of question for many of you! Don't be intimidated—tap your foot and consult the outline from lecture 3.2: Blue notes, blues structure.)