MUSI 225 Midterm 1

Tin Pan Alley

Area in NYC where sheet-music publishers and professional songwriters concentrated at the turn of the 20th century; professional songwriters standardized popular songs, commonly using 32-bar forms.

Tin Pan Alley Style

Sheet-music-focused pop written by professional NYC songwriters; commonly uses a sectional verse-chorus format with an introductory sectional verse and a 32-bar AABA or ABAC sectional chorus.

Sectional Verse

Introductory section of a Tin Pan Alley song that establishes context before the chorus.

Sectional Chorus

The main, recognizable, and memorable section of a Tin Pan Alley song.

Sectional Verse-Chorus Form

Song structure in which the introductory sectional verse sets up the main, recognizable sectional chorus.

AABA Form

Standard 32-measure song pattern: two 8-bar A phrases, an 8-bar contrasting B bridge, and a return to the 8-bar A.

1920s Popular Music Trend

Jazz Age; commercial radio begins; sheet music is important through Tin Pan Alley; regional styles begin to blur into national audiences.

1920 — Commercial Radio

First commercial radio broadcasts go on the air, including KDKA Pittsburgh and WWJ Detroit.

1928 — NBC National Network

NBC establishes the first coast-to-coast national radio network, helping blur regional cultural boundaries.

Disc Jockeys (DJs)

Radio presenters who became influential tastemakers in the 1950s by playing records over AM radio.

Payola

Illegal practice of record companies paying cash, merchandise, or gifts to radio DJs to secure record airplay.

Crossover

When a record originating in a regional or niche market such as R&B or C&W breaks onto the mainstream pop charts.

Big Band Era

1935–1945 era of mainstream American popular music led by celebrity bandleaders, featuring rhythm sections, horn sections, and solo vocalists.

Big Band Swing Style

Popular music style driven by celebrity bandleaders; features piano, bass, drums, guitar, horn sections, and solo vocalists.

1935–1945 — Big Band Era

The Big Band Swing Era dominates American popular music.

Bing Crosby — Who Was He?

Major popular singer associated with relaxed crooning and a wholesome, paternal image.

Bing Crosby — Trademark

Relaxed, easygoing crooning vocal delivery and a wholesome, paternal image ("Der Bingle").

Frank Sinatra — Who Was He?

Major popular singer who helped transform the singer into the star of the show rather than simply part of a band.

Frank Sinatra — Trademark

Targeted bobbysoxers and based vocal phrasing on big-band horn arrangements, helping make the singer the central star.

Johnnie Ray — Who Was He?

Popular singer associated with a highly emotional style that contrasted with traditional crooning.

Johnnie Ray — Trademark

Emotional melodrama, vocal fry, nasal timbre, and drawing out consonants rather than vowels.

Patti Page — Who Was She?

Country-pop crossover singer who used multitrack recording technology.

Patti Page — Trademark

Recorded duets with herself through multitrack technology, including "Tennessee Waltz."

Ralph Peer — Who Was He?

Recording director who traveled throughout the Southeast searching for "hillbilly music," or authentic regional folk music.

Ralph Peer — Trademark / Importance

Recorded Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family while searching for regional Southern music.

Southeastern Country / Hillbilly Folk Style

Acoustic folk derived from British Isles traditions; features twangy timbre, nasal vocal diphthongs, white gospel harmonies, and unpretentious confessional lyrics.

Diphthong

Vocal technique in which one vowel receives two distinct sounds; common in twangy, nasal country singing.

Maybelle Carter — Who Was She?

Member of the Carter Family and an important early country musician.

Maybelle Carter — Trademark

Pioneered the "Carter scratch": playing melody on low guitar strings with the thumb while strumming the high strings; also used twangy vocal diphthongs.

Jimmie Rodgers — Who Was He?

Country music's first national star, known as the "Blue Yodeler" and "Singing Brakeman."

Jimmie Rodgers — Trademark

Acoustic guitar, trademark yodeling, and a contrived rustic/hobo image.

Gene Autry — Who Was He?

Hollywood singing cowboy whose music helped connect country music with mainstream popular music.

Gene Autry — Trademark

Style bridged Tin Pan Alley crooning and traditional Carter Family folk music.

Grand Ole Opry

Famous country music radio show broadcast on WSM in Nashville that helped establish Nashville as the headquarters of Country & Western music.

National Barndance

Major prime-time country music radio show broadcast on WLS Chicago.

Wheeling Jamboree

Significant prime-time country music radio broadcast on WWVA in West Virginia.

Western Swing

Genre combining Western cowboy music with big-band jazz swing.

Western Swing Style

Features syncopated swing rhythms, fiddles, pedal steel guitar, and pentatonic scales.

Bob Wills — Who Was He?

Leader of Western swing.

Bob Wills — Trademark

Combined cowboy music with big-band jazz swing; featured syncopated rhythms, fiddles, and pedal steel guitar.

Pedal Steel Guitar

Slide guitar developed in Western swing that resembles a table and allows smooth sliding between notes without chromatic stops.

Bill Monroe — Who Was He?

Known as the "Father of Bluegrass."

Bill Monroe — Trademark

High-tenor harmonies and rapid mandolin solos.

Earl Scruggs — Who Was He?

Influential bluegrass banjo virtuoso.

Earl Scruggs — Trademark

Revolutionized country instrumental playing with the "three-finger roll" banjo technique.

Bluegrass Style

Post-WWII acoustic string-band music featuring mandolin, banjo, fiddle, guitar, and upright bass; characterized by virtuosic fast solos, three-finger banjo rolls, and high-lonesome harmony.

Delta / Rural Blues Style

Solo male acoustic guitar and vocal style; flexible 12-bar blues form, microtonal blue notes, pitch bending, and personal storytelling.

Bessie Smith — Who Was She?

Classic urban blues singer known as the "Empress of the Blues."

Bessie Smith — Trademark

Powerful, unamplified classic urban blues vocal delivery backed by top jazz musicians.

Robert Johnson — Who Was He?

Rural Delta blues performer who heavily influenced later rock guitarists.

Robert Johnson — Trademark

Expressive pitch-bending, bottleneck slide guitar, flexible 12-bar phrasing, and personal storytelling.

Pentatonic Scale

A five-note folk scale widely used in American folk music, blues, and European traditions.

12-Bar Blues Structure

Stock 12-measure musical pattern arranged in three four-bar phrases with AAB poetic form using chords I, IV, and V.

Blue Notes

Pitch-bending or microtonal lowering of notes used in blues vocal delivery and instrumental solos for emotional expression.

Call-and-Response

Musical interaction in which a lead vocal or instrument is answered by another voice or instrument; rooted in blues and gospel traditions.

Rhythm and Blues (R&B)

Post-WWII marketing term for popular music by and for Black urban listeners; developed outside mainstream pop due to racial segregation.

Jump Blues

Upbeat post-WWII R&B style featuring fast swing dance tempos, saxophone, rhythm section, and humorous vocal delivery.

Louis Jordan — Who Was He?

Leader of Louis Jordan and His Tympani Five and a pioneer of jump blues.

Louis Jordan — Trademark

Pared big-band swing down to a saxophone and rhythm section; used upbeat swing tempos and comical social commentary.

WDIA Memphis

Memphis radio station that in 1948 became the first to program and advertise exclusively for Black urban audiences.

Ike Turner — Who Was He?

R&B talent scout and musician who searched Southern churches and bars for electric blues performers for Chess Records.

Chess Records

Chicago independent label founded by Leonard and Phil Chess, famous for raw, amplified Chicago electric blues and Chuck Berry.

Chicago Electric Blues Style

Urban blues style featuring amplified electric guitars, bass, piano, drums, harmonica, and raw, unpolished expressive vocals.

Muddy Waters — Who Was He?

Chicago electric blues icon associated with Chess Records.

Muddy Waters — Trademark

Raw, unpolished expressive vocals over amplified electric guitar, drums, harmonica, and stop-time riffs.

Hokum Blues

Adult-oriented blues tradition featuring witty double entendres and playful sexual humor.

Big Joe Turner — Who Was He?

R&B blues shouter known for his powerful voice.

Big Joe Turner — Trademark

Unamplified voice capable of rocking a club; known for hokum blues sexual double-entendres.

Atlantic Records

NYC independent label founded by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson, focusing on polished, pop-oriented Black pop and sweet soul.

Atlantic Black Pop Style

Polished NYC R&B focusing on structured vocal arrangements and lead singers rather than long instrumental solos.

Doo-Wop

Urban vocal harmony style often using AABA form and compound time; features background vocal harmonies, nonsense syllables, bass leads, and tenor falsetto.

Compound Meter / Compound Time

Musical meter in which each main beat is divided into three equal subdivisions, such as 12/8 time.

Doo-Wop Progression

Chord progression consisting of I–vi–IV–V or I–vi–ii–V repeating under vocal harmonies.

Stagger Lee Myth

Racial stereotype among white adults depicting Black men as defiant, hyper-masculine, and swaggering.

Alan Freed — Who Was He?

Influential Cleveland and NYC disc jockey who promoted R&B to white teenagers.

Alan Freed — Trademark

Promoted original R&B to white teens, popularized the term "rock and roll," and organized live dance concerts.

Fats Domino — Who Was He?

New Orleans R&B pianist and singer who became a major crossover artist.

Fats Domino — Trademark

Relaxed, loping vocals; rolling piano triplets; warm, non-threatening crossover image.

Chuck Berry — Who Was He?

Pioneering Chess Records rock and roller known for country-influenced delivery and songs about teenage life.

Chuck Berry — Trademark

Country-influenced vocal delivery, teen story-songs, double-stop guitar licks, and the signature "duck walk."

Duck Walk

Chuck Berry's iconic stage movement performed while playing electric guitar solos.

Story Songs

Songs popularized by Chuck Berry that chronicle the daily life, romance, and school struggles of average teenagers.

First-Wave Rock and Roll Style (1955–1959)

Integration of R&B, C&W, and pop; features electric guitar leads, drum backbeats, 12-bar blues/AABA forms, and youth-rebellion lyrics.

Bill Haley — Who Was He?

White rock and roll performer who helped bring R&B-derived music to mainstream pop.

Bill Haley — Trademark

Whitened R&B for mainstream pop by replacing sexual lyrics with dance themes and blending rockabilly with country swing.

Pat Boone — Who Was He?

Clean-cut white pop crooner who recorded sanitized versions of R&B hits.

Pat Boone — Trademark

Polite, clean-cut image and sanitized covers of songs by artists such as Fats Domino and Little Richard for white suburban audiences.

Little Richard — Who Was He?

Flamboyant pioneer of rock and roll.

Little Richard — Trademark

Manic screaming vocals, aggressive piano pounding, flamboyant appearance, facial makeup, and performing while standing or propping up a leg.

Elvis Presley — Who Was He?

Major Sun/RCA rock and roll performer who fused pop, country, R&B, and gospel.

Elvis Presley — Trademark

Swooping vocals, slapback echo, acoustic guitar strumming, pompadour hair, and suggestive hip movements.

Sam Phillips — Who Was He?

Founder of Sun Records and Memphis Recording Service who recorded Black blues singers and discovered Elvis Presley.

Sam Phillips — Trademark / Importance

Developed recording techniques including slapback echo and helped launch rockabilly through Sun Records.

Sun Records

Independent Memphis record label founded by Sam Phillips in 1952; central to electric blues and rockabilly.

Rockabilly

Southern rock and roll style developed at Sun Records; features acoustic guitar, slap bass, electric guitar leads, warm reverb, slapback echo, and initially no drums.

Slapback Echo

Audio effect pioneered by Sam Phillips at Sun Records using a quick, single tape-delay reflection.

Pompadour

Slicked-back hairstyle associated with country-western and rockabilly performers such as Elvis Presley.

Buddy Holly — Who Was He?

Clean-cut rockabilly singer-songwriter from Lubbock, Texas, who wrote his own material and used diverse song structures.

Buddy Holly — Trademark

Clean-cut appearance, vocal hiccups/timbre shifts, strummed electric guitar, and adventurous formal structures.

Ritchie Valens — Who Was He?

First major Latin rock star.