Ragtime Music Research Paper

The swing era took place from 1935-1945. It took place during a time that the Great Depression was going on. People argue that the time during the Great Depression made a shift from the “hot syncopated dance music to a type of sweeter ballroom dance music. (Star, 2013) In this paper I am going to discuss how the Tin Pan Alley and Swing are similar, how Tin Pan Alley and Swing are different, and lastly why the Swing era lasted so much shorter than the Tin Pan Alley.

The arts in the 1920s helped earn the Roaring Twenties its name because it began a revolution. The Harlem Renaissance made black poets, singers, and musicians very popular. With the radio now being used, it was easier to promote their talents countrywide. Through the writings of African Americans such as Langston Hughes, the white American discovered the nation according to the black man. African Americans also made Jazz music very popular. With the easygoing and smooth listening feel, Americans began to dance to the music of Jazz musicians such as Handy “Jelly Roll” Morton and Joe “King” Oliver. In later years, the 1920s would not only be known as The Roaring Twenties, but would be recognized as the Jazz Age.

“For some this has been, at least partially, a nostalgic trip to the “simplistic and charm” of the past(...)ragtime’s direct melodic and harmonic message, its irresistible, foot-tapping, rhythmic impulse.” (Berlin) Ragtime was the type of music that was intended to evoke happiness and joy using instruments like piano, guitar, and drums. Through the genre of Ragtime, many popular dances of the late 1900s became prominent like the “cake walk”, “ragtime marches”, “two-steps”, and many more. (Berlin) One of the most prominent characteristics of Ragtime is the fact that it has syncopation which was fairly new at the time. Syncopation is the emphasis of notes that are played in the off beats. Irving Berlin describes the relationship between syncopation and ragtime as

s toured throughout the country. It reached its peak in the 1850's and 1860's as it became the popular music of the people. It ran on New York's Broadway for over forty years, and it was the music of the Mexican War, the California Gold Rush, and the Civil War. This form of popular music gave birth to our Ragtime, Blues, Dixieland, Country, and Bluegrass music of today. When a plantation owner had a man with musical talent, he might send him to New Orleans or up north to be trained in violin so he could play Celtic music for the cotillions and parties. But, when that man was alone in his quarters, he would pour his African soul into his Irish fiddle. This was the music the blackface minstrels tried to copy.

“Other kids could play cowboys and Indians and imagine that they’d grow up to be cowboys,” he wrote in his Living Proof autobiography. “I couldn’t do that. I knew that I would never grow up to be a cowboy or a fireman or the president of the United States. I knew I’d grow up to be a singer. That’s all there ever was, the only option, from the beginning.” http://www.hankjr.com/career-biography/

Butch Cassidy and his members of the Wild Bunch left a remarkable chapter in the history of old American West. Interestingly, Butch was no mean robber, but someone full of charm. The story of the group was made more interesting with the addition of Butch’s constant partner-in-crime, Sundance Kid.

Jelly Roll Morton was one of the greatest most talented mans to play the pianist at the tempo he plays it’s at. After sitting and listening to for an hour and a half I realized what a great pianist was. I was exotic when I heard him playing; it was nothing to do but flow with the music after hearing it. It really lit a fire under me to actually enjoy music with a nice pitch and a definite tone.

In the 1890’s, a number of music publishers set up shop in a district of Manhattan, referred to at the time as Tin Pan Alley (Brackett, 1). These New York City music publishers and songwriters dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Before the decade was over, musicians from the African American culture created a new genre of music called “ragtime” which heavily influenced jazz artists. During the 1920’s jazz was one of the most popular

One of the two most important musical influences was Ragtime, a style of music of insistent syncopated “ragged” rhythm created by black piano players. Photos and video clips of people playing and dancing to ragtime are examples of Burns amazing use of art photography and photojournalism to make the story more vivid for the viewers. Ragtime was a style of music the youth enjoyed to listen and dance to while the older generation of white men considered it a product of anarchism. A quote by a Massachusetts attorney and politician of the nineteenth century, Edward Baxter Perry explains that “ victims in [his] opinion can be treated successfully only like the dog with rabies, with a dose of led,” when talking about people who listened, and danced to ragtime. As segregation took over New Orleans, formerly freed creoles, whites who were of black descendants began to play together with the African Americans, combining their musical styles and creating an entirely new one that incorporated which came to be known as jazz. Creoles were affluent in classical music and piano, which they incorporated into the making of jazz music.

The 1920s was the beginning of a decade of change in the American arts. Jazz, along with such inventions as the phonograph, radio and sound movies, transformed the music industry. By the end of the decade, 40% of all Americans had radios in their homes. Not surprisingly, 58% of households in New York City owned a radio. New York became the center of the music world, and at the center of New York was a small area called Tin Pan Alley. Radios initially provided the young century's second uppercut to the music publishing business of Tin Pan Alley. Burton Lane was part of a well-known Cape Town-based duo, who delivered a powerful, emotive and distinctive blend of acoustic rock stated, "Tin Pan Alley was a real alley on East

James Brown Miller, also known as “Killin’ Jim”, “Killer Miller” and “Deacon Jim”, was the son of Jack and Cynthia Miller. He was born on October, 25, 1866 in Van Buren, Arkansas, and was married to the cousin of another famous old west outlaw, John Wesley Hardin. And at the age of one, he moved with his parents to Franklin, Texas. However, just a few years after the move, both of Miller’s parents died, and he was sent to Evant to live with his grandparents. At the age of eight, Miller was again orphaned after both of his grandparents were found murdered in their home. Miller was arrested for the crime, even though he was only eight years old; in the end, he wasn’t charged.

During this time period, music began to evolve. Woog says, “These immigrants, naturally, brought their music. During the next decades, black popular music flourished, developing into several key genres and moving steadily into mainstream American culture” (20). As they did, music began to grow into three obvious styles: ragtime, blues, and jazz. Starting this new era was ragtime. As pianos became common in saloons, clubs, brothels and middle-class homes (Woog 22), ragtime became very popular. Pianos were one of the main instruments, although a piano could have also been accompanied by bongo drums or an acoustic guitar. The ambiance of this genre is generally expressed in a fluent and joyful way.

Good morning choir members, I pray all is well with each of you. As each of you know, Sister Kimberly Edwards decided it was best to step down as President of the Liberty Hill Choir. The church administrators set standards in which the next president must already achieve or have before he/she could become president of the choir. Some of those standards include:

Benny Goodman was born on May 30, 1909, in Chicago Illinois. He was known as “The King of Swing” to many people during his lifetime. Benny Goodman had to start somewhere though. Benny grew up in a poor Jewish family during his childhood. Benny was ten years old and he was already good at the clarinet. Benny Goodman got his education from the Hull house and started his career.

African-American music is a vibrant art form that describes the difficult lives of African American people. This can be proven by examining slave music, which shows its listeners how the slaves felt when they were working and gives insight into the problems of slavery. The blues, which is significantly connected to the American history, discusses what the American spirit is like and teaches a great deal through the stories it tells. And hip-hop, which started on the streets and illustrates themes such as misogyny, sex, and black-on-black violence, reveals reactions to the circumstances faced by the contemporary African Americans.