1. Roots of Rock ‘N’ Roll

2. Warm-up
When you think of the term rock ‘n’ roll, what comes to your mind?
Where do you think rock ‘n’ roll began? (i.e. time or location)

3. European & African Musical Traditions in the New World
Rock only made possible by the connections between Europeans and Africans
North and South America and in the Caribbean
Shared the same geographical space but lived in different social, cultural and musical spheres

4. Folk Music from the British Isles
Music of the lower classes who emigrated from Britain to North America
Tradition still present in the Appalachians and Newfoundland today

5. Barbara Allen Dates back to the 17th century Scottish Song
Storytelling song  “real” story based on long forgotten incident
Covered by Billie Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones, 2013, 4:49

6. Old Joe Clark Up tempo jig 19th century
Americanized version of British folk music
19th century
Story told in everyday language
Melody set to danceable beat
Covered by The Dustbowl Revival, 2015, 3:36

7. Music of the Urban Middle and Upper Classes
18th and 19th century Europeans and Americans shared a common music
Classical (Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert)
Popular dance music
Patriotic Anthems (God Save the King)
Hymns/Church Music
Why?
Adoption of the piano/keyboard as the favored instrument

8. Middle class version of folk songs
Parlor Music
Middle class version of folk songs
Sentimental stories set to simple melodies with basic accompaniment

9. Woodsman, Spare That Tree
Similar harmony to that of “It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll”
Phil Harris, rereleased 2011, 2:34

10. African Influence
We don’t know much about the music of slaves during the 19th century
Why?
Banned as it could be considered a form of communication
How do we know what we know about slave music?
Written documentation by white landowners
Found their music to be “baffling”
Where do we find African influence in music?
Cuba, Brazil, and Latin America

11. Santería
Adaptation of Yoruba religious practice by Cuban descendants of African slaves, mainly from Nigeria
Used to help connect with orishas or personal gods/goddesses

12. Song for Odudua Prominent percussion Complex rhythm
Call and response between leader and group
YouTube

13. Minstrelsy, the First Synthesis
First genre of American popular music
Performed by Anglos in blackface
Burnt cork applied to skin to change skin color
Use of stereotypical speech and physical movement
Synthesis
Mixes folk song and folk dance: upbeat music playing while story is being told
Blends European classical/urban music with black music and turns it into the Anglo-American folk style

14. De Boatmen’s Dance
One of the first minstrel songs
Daniel Decatur Emmet, 1985, 3:36

15. A New Century – New Sounds
20th century
Infusion of African American music (ragtime, blues, and jazz) into prevailing music styles
Cakewalk – social dance fad borrowed from minstrel show
Coon Song – also borrowed from minstrel show

16. Ragtime and Its Impact Caught on around 1900
First time white Americans real embrace an authentically African American style
Essentially black interpretations of European marches played on piano
Animal Dances
Watered down versions of black social dances popular among white youth
Chicken Scratch
Monkey Glide
Bunny Hug

17. Maple Leaf Rag Scott Joplin/Alexander Peskanov, 1899, 3:10
Syncopations based on African rhythmic conception
Dance music based on black beat and rhythm

18. Early Commercial Blues
First appears at the turn of the century (1900s)
Most notable blues singers are often African American women
Success made record companies realize that there was a profitable market for “black music”
Race Records – music by blacks and targeted towards black audiences
Called this style until 1945
Titled Rhythm and Blues in 1949
First “real” music

19. Empty Bed Blues Bessie Smith, 1927, 6:34 Gritty vocal quality
Speech like rhythm
Blue notes
“Real” music that conveys deep feeling

20. Jazz
Developed in New Orleans at the turn of the century
Remained regional until the early 19teens when it caught on across the country
Cornet, clarinet, trombone, brass bass, drums, banjo, and piano

21. Dippermouth Blues King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, 1923, 2:27
Instrumental improvisation
African-derived rhythm
New Sounds

22. Modern Era in Popular Music
New style: Fox – Trot
Lyrics that spoke controversially using everyday speech
A mutation of jazz
The “white version”
Tin Pan Alley
Another name for this style of music
West 28th Street in NY

23. The Varsity Drag/ Dancing Cheek to Cheek
Al Jolson, 1927, 3:09
Riff Based melody
Full rhythm section
Two beat rhythm
Irving Berlin/Beegie Adair, 2008, 3:47