Tin Pan Alley and Early Blues – Key Terms (Video Notes)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the video notes on Tin Pan Alley, blues, ragtime, and early jazz.

Refrain

A main repeated section of a song’s music or lyrics that recurs, often after verses.

The Cotton Club

Harlem nightclub where Duke Ellington’s band established itself in the 1920s.

W. C. Handy

Composer of St. Louis Blues; an early blues pioneer often called the 'Father of the Blues'.

Sheet music

Printed music sold for performance; Tin Pan Alley earned much profit from selling sheet music.

aab form

A three-part blues form with two A sections followed by a B section.

Timbre

The tone color or quality of a sound that distinguishes different voices or instruments.

Bubber Miley

Trumpet soloist in Duke Ellington’s orchestra, known for the solo on East St. Louis Toodle-oo.

Country Blues

A rural blues style that predates modern blues, exemplified by early Johnson and Hurt recordings.

Ethel Merman

Singer who recorded I Got Rhythm; renowned Broadway star with a powerful vocal style.

Blue note

A pitch lowered slightly from the standard scale, creating a bluesy effect.

Ballad

A narrative song, typically in a simple, repetitive form often associated with storytelling.

Strophic form

A musical form in which the same music is repeated for each verse with different lyrics.

Oral tradition

Passing songs and stories by mouth rather than through written notation.

George Gershwin

Composer of I Got Rhythm; part of the Gershwin brothers; influential in American popular and concert music.

Jazz

A genre that originated in African American communities, characterized by improvisation and swing.

1920s

The decade in which many early blues and jazz recordings, including those by Mississippi John Hurt and Stagolee, appeared.

Classic Blues

A polished blues style often associated with urban, studio recordings like St. Louis Blues.

Maple Leaf Rag

A famous ragtime piece by Scott Joplin, first disseminated through sheet music.

Ragtime

A syncopated American musical style from the late 19th to early 20th century, heavily notated.

Tin Pan Alley

Nickname for the early 20th-century U.S. music publishing industry.

I Got Rhythm

A George Gershwin song from Girl Crazy; commonly performed in verse-refrain or verse-chorus form.

Verse-refrain form

A song structure with verses followed by a recurring refrain.

East St. Louis Toodle-oo

A Duke Ellington composition featuring a notable trumpet solo by Bubber Miley; a Jazz-era standard.

Slide guitar

A guitar technique using a slide (bottleneck) to glide between pitches.

Race records

Record industry term for recordings marketed to African American audiences in the 1920s.

Cross Road Blues

Robert Johnson song in the country blues style, notable for its slide guitar technique.

Call and response

A musical interaction where a lead statement is answered by another musician or group.

Stagolee

Traditional folk ballad about the murder of Stagger Lee; commonly spread through oral tradition and often sung in a strophic form.

Waltz

A dance in triple meter; the old-fashioned style that influenced After the Ball.

After the Ball

A ballad modeled on the waltz, illustrating early 20th-century popular-song influences.