Essay on American Music at the Turn of the 20th Century

Jazz has always been a part of the American tradition. Some may say they like Jazz for its rhythmic twist and turns. Others may love the soothing melodies from an improved Trumpet solo. All in all, Jazz has been an American staple and has molded today’s popular music, into what it is today. It’s very different from classical music, which is written out and strict. Jazz is much more. It’s made up of spontaneity and improvisation, which makes up an idea on the spot. There are many wide varieties in Jazz. There is Bebop Jazz, Avante Garde Jazz, Acid Jazz, Free Funk Jazz, Soul Jazz, Swing Jazz, and many, many more! These forms of Jazz can be seen and heard in some of your favorite music of Today. It’s been widely used by the world. There is an important reason as to why this genre contributes to the growing of music. We first take a look into the root of all Jazz. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the country of Africa was the first known country to use rhythm primarily for the element of musical expression, and ensembles composed entirely of percussion instruments created extended polyrhythmic works. These polyrhythms, which means the “layering of multiple rhythms.”, were record in Western music. African music did not use paper, or sheet music. Instead, they relied on Aural rituals, learned by ear and also used” spontaneity, which is later said to be known as improvisation”. In Africa, most of the music that was expressed was for religious

1. What is syncopation? Syncopation is placing emphasis or accents on beats that are unexpected, or, alternatively, it can mean not having emphasis or accents on beats that are expected. 2. What is ragtime?

Since the creation of the genre in the late seventeenth century, patriotic music has told the stories behind many of the songs that have now become part of the American national heritage. Since the creation of the genre in the late seventeenth century, patriotic music has told the stories behind many of the songs that have now become part of the American national heritage. Since the creation of the genre in the late seventeenth century, patriotic music has told the stories behind many of the songs that have now become part of the American national heritage.

American Music is a melting pot of different cultures, emotions, experiences, and therefore genres. It is incredible to see how as music evolves and changes with the time, so does The United States. We are a mixed bag as a country, accepting all different cultures and backgrounds. This has led to many breakthroughs and innovations in music throughout history. We are all influenced by our experiences in life and this is no different in the evolution of music in American History. The Blues was created from African American Slave songs, with lyrics that narrate the hardships of the human experience at the time. These rhythms and forms carried over and eventually created what is now Rock and Roll. Over the next five weeks, we will explore and discover five key genres and artists who are known to specialize in that genre as a way to reconnect with our history and explore the possibilities for innovation in music in the future.

Europe was not the only part of the world that experienced change in music. The United States also began a change in music that drastically improved the way we listen to, compose, and disperse music. Before the 1960s, there was an increase in different types of music that displayed characteristics much different from the nineteenth century and beyond. People began to play with tone, timing, rhythm and much more.

Jazz music was originally developed by African Americans during the start of the twentieth century. Throughout the semester we have studied the timeline of musical periods including the Romantic and Classical eras of music. Becoming internationally popular in the 1920's, jazz music has been typically described as "America's Classical Music." The musical periods we have discussed in this course have influenced and show a strong relation to jazz music and also jazz musicians. Among these musicians, is John Coltrane, considered one of the greatest jazz saxophonists and composers of all time. He was also one of the most important and influential musicians of the twentieth century.

Jazz is a musical genre that originated from the African-American communities of New Orleans, United States. It had evolved from roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s, it has become recognized as a major form for musical expression. As it spread around the world, many different cultures contributed their own experiences and art styles to the art form. It has been hailed all around the world as “one of America’s original art forms”.

The geographical proximity is misleading. The cultural gap between these two types of music is dauntingly wide. By the time Bolden and Bechet began playing jazz, the Americanization of African music had already begun, and with it came the Africanization of American music--a synergistic process that we will study repeatedly and at close quarters in the pages that follow. Anthropologists call this process "syncretism"--the blending together of cultural elements that previously existed separately. This dynamic, so essential to the history of jazz, remains powerful even in the present day, when African-American styles of performance blend seamlessly with other musics of other cultures, European, Asian, Latin, and, coming full circle,

Jazz is one of the most important art forms created in the united states. Jazz originated in the south during the 1800s and slavery. On plantations, slaves would sing to pass the time and create rhythm while working. Slavery is an very dark time in the history of the united states, but it has created one of the most influential forms of music to this day. In the city of New orleans musicians would fill the air with jazz music. Congo square was an area in New Orleans in which musicians would play and showcase their music. The civil war was the main start of the jazz movement because African americans were free from their enslavement and now they could be musicians. When the civil war ended many African Americans moved from plantations to big

For well over a century now, jazz has been the father of American music. It has

It grew out several different forms of music in the melting pot of the United States known as New Orleans, in the 1800s, where African American, European, Americans, French, Spanish, English and Native Americans mingled and mixed (American Jazz). The culture of the city absorbed elements from each of these groups, and is immediately obvious is music. The musicians of the city shared their musical styles and played together (Matthews, Andrew). The music styles they shared formed one of the earliest styles of jazz.

Often labeled as America’s classical music, jazz has spread like wild fire since it’s origin in the early 20th century. Jazz was birthed by post Civil War African-Americans that finally had the freedom to express their African heritage combined with their new American culture. Initially, jazz was seen as inferior music in America and it was only played and heard in heavily African-American communities. However, the reach of jazz has grown to an international scale. This global outreach has musically connected cultures that now have a common ground where they can allocate ideas and traditions.

One cannot speak about music especially in America with referencing Jazz or the Blues. The two genres of music are synonymous with the American music scene originating from Southern America. Their similar point of origin has caused much confusion in distinguishing the two mainly due to the way today’s artists’ music crossover. Both Jazz and Blues, are two independent genres that formed concurrently in the 20th century and were produced at the same time.

The style that preceded jazz is labeled by many as the first genuine American style of music. This style gained momentum by the end of the 19th century as its popularity grew bigger and bigger. It was born in Missouri by the African American communities’ bands. Such bands mixed dances and songs of the afro communities along with the tunes of the marches and funerals. According to Verity (2015), this style of music which came before the outburst of sound recordings became popular through the sale of already published piano rolls and sheet music. The contrast from early jazz is visible here as the latter was made famous by recordings and live performances.

Jazz as we know it to be originated from Africa brought over by black slaves who were treated with great cruelty and used music as a method of consolidation. The music that was brought over with the slaves inevitably ended up mixing with the popular American music of the time creating many different genres including blues, ragtime and eventually jazz. Slaves would have been introduced to typical American music by their masters which usually consisted of music such as Gospel music which would have been very popular at the time [1]. This type of music and the traditional tribal music that the slaves brought with them that makes use of the polyrhythms from the multiple drum beats and chants come together to create a type of music which would have been like nothing ever heard before at the time.