history of rock n roll

beat

the pulse underlying/implied by the music (not always played directly by an instrument, but what you tap your foot to)

tempo

speed of the pulse/beat

meter

basic organization of beats of a consistent number (typically determined by accent notes; rock is typically in a meter of 4)

measure or bar

a meter

syncopation

rhythm accented between the beats or on the "weak” beats (=backbeats=2 & 4)

backbeat in the 1950’s rock n roll

considered sexually suggestive

pitch

highness/lowness of the sound; determined by frequency/vibration

timbre/tone

quality or nature of a musical sound

articulation

how a note is played

melody

succession of notes

chord

simultaneous sounding of three or more notes

ostinato

regularly repeated musical phrase

antiphony

call and response; the music has two or more alternating parts

race

how the races interact, what they listen to, and how they view each other’s music developed the history of rock n roll

post-war baby boom

the boomers (children of the WWII soldiers) controlled the first 30 years in the history of rock n roll

rebellion

prime motivator in the evolution of rock n roll; due to their sheer size, the boomers had a very influential rebellion

technology

rock n roll has been more influenced by technology than most other genres due to the rapid advancements in technology at the time

record companies

what sells, how it is sold, and who controls what is produced will direct the evolution of music

rock n roll is influenced / directly descended from

blues, created by African American slaves (mostly from West Africa) once trafficked to the US

roles of music in West African culture

-omnipresent

-functional (used to accompany life’s activities/rituals)

-oral society (not written, but kept in songs/myths)

-participatory; thus, providing community

-music and dance are conjoined, as well as music and speech (ex. talking drums)

instrumental characteristics of West African music

-layers of ostinatos, fitting together cohesively

-typically constant volume, steady tempo

-syncopation, all creating a strong, driving, infectious groove

-percussive

-favors rougher timbre rather than clean

vocal characteristics of West African music

-call and response

-rough timbre vocals and effects

-sliding into/between notes; ‘imprecise’ (by Western standards) pitch areas

worksongs

-accompany work of repetitive nature (mining, chopping, etc.)

-sung by group

-steady pulse

-call and response

-coordinate work and make it faster

-uplifting and motivational

field hollers

-accompany nonrepetitive work (plowing, planting, etc.)

-sung by individual

-no steady pulse, no call and response

-make work go faster

-often complaining

blues call and response (derived from worksongs)

between the singer and the instrument

12-bar blues

AAB lyric structure (A=repeated melody about a problem; B=differing melody of resolution); each line rhymes

The Great Migration

-migration of black americans into Northern cities to work in steel mills

-the spread of black music to white ears

—1920-1949 it was called ‘race’ music; changed to Rhythm and Blues in order to get more schmoney to white-owned record labels (coincidentally when rock n roll branched off from black music)

how did RnB reflect the upbeat/optimistic times for AAs in the late 1940s?

-the music was faster and easier to dance to, allowing an escape

-more optimistic tone

-this was around the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement

how were young whites involved in the consumption of RnB?

-transistor radios (could listen privately now; AM radio travels far) and TV later on

why did young whites listen to RnB?

-integration of schools and sharing cultures; possibly rebellion

-they loved the backbeat jitterbug vibes

-nuclear age made the children want to live like theres no tomorrow (because there might not have been)

RnB

-blues but more refined/processed

-more of a pre-jazz swing feel

-more upbeat

-backbeats promoted popular dance of the time (jitterbug)

-marketed to and performed in majority AA neighborhoods

-at first, very limited production bc white-controlled → independent record companies eventually formed

riff

short background ostinato (repeats regularly) usually played by horns

the boomers influence on music

-Brown VS Board 1954?

-huge generation controlling the directionality of music and its sales

-how Rock n Roll evolved from RnB

rock n roll

= AA RnB + young whites (boomers)

-now, black and white audience

-rebellion against 50-60s conformity

-sexual inuendoes

-whites didnt care about social justice until later (not why they listened to rock n roll)

-initially AA slang for sex

Sam Phillips

-Sun Records founder

-had the idea to get a white person (Elvis) to cover black songs

rockabilly / early rock n roll / country-rock

-early Elvis sound

-derogatory of poor Scottish/Irish folks in mountainous areas

Elvis

got popular off of not changing black music (stealing their music AND style)

-first mass-marketed star; first merch; first rock artist marketed on TV; top-selling of all time (1B records worldwide)

-starts rock n roll as a MASS social mvmt (for everybody)