Music 160 Midterm 1

• Narrative songs (songs that tell a story)

• Many verses

• Some ballads include refrains or choruses

• Usually sung solo

• Traditionally sung a cappella
– But can also be accompanied by an instrument, such as a banjo or guitar

– Can have male or female voice

• Strophic form - sa me melody used for every strophe (includes verses, verse and chorus)

Lady leaves husband "House Carpenter", goes and sails the sea, but then she misses her baby, and then the boat sinks out at sea.

• Mostly third person narrative in “The House Carpenter”

• Told in a straighporward manner

• Economical approach to the details of the story (in other words, a minimalist approach to details)

Strophic Form

A young man lies dying for the love of Barbara Allen; he has a servant summon her to his bedside for solace, but she does little but scorn him. Denied his true love, the hero succumbs to illness. Then when she hears he died, she experiences heartbreak and dies. "A warning young people marry"

Strophic Form

V1: Takes her out to the valleys and kills her then bury's her. 4 lines per verse

V2: Different lyrics, same idea. 3 lines per verse.

(In American versions of these ballads, no pregnancy or ghosts. Also "localization of events" from America"

Strophic Form

Older sister pushes younger sister in water for jealousy of man, and when she gets out she offers "The Miller" 5 gold rings to push her back and and he does. Then he is hung for it.

Strophic Form (verse refrain)

• Restrained attitude towards sexuality and humans as sexual beings

– Adultery is a sin
– Emphasis on marriage and family

• Sense of austerity
• Sense that sinners are doomed in some way, often via death.

– Sense of God’s will via nature and/or justice served in some way

• omission of details that explicitly state a woman has either had a baby or become impregnated outside of wedlock

• Often omission to references of ghosts

– E.g., omission of interactions between humans and ghosts – Reflects a different attitude towards the supernatural world

Was derived from a ballad about a racehorse named Skewball and a race in the British Isles

– This ballad about Skewball made its way to New England and the South

• Was also sung by African Americans in the South – horse known as Stewball or Kimball

Strophic Form (verse chorus)

Also Uses 1st person narrative (diff. than british ballads-usually 3rd person)

African American Ballad.

Emerged in 1870 from West Virginia

Like British American ballads, “John Henry”

– Tells a story

– Uses third person narrative voice (mostly)
– Employs a straightorward manner of telling the story – Is in strophic form (verses)

• Can hear a connecBon with African American work songs, too, with the tapping sound

– Synthesis of British American and African American culture

D: How loud/soft the music is. Volume

T: The tone quality of the Music.

O: The way the note is decorated.

Sacred Harp singing as another tradition of British American folk music

• Type of communal, participatory singing

– Participants sit in a square formation

Sing religious music (Christian)

Usually sing at "gatherings" or conventions

"The Sacred Harp" is the name of the tune book that they sing out of. (published 1844)

Led to "Singing Schools", to enhance singing in church.

The "Four shape note system" used in The Sacred Harp originated in 1800 (fa so la)

often starts with fasola symbols to warm up

Connections:
• Melody to “Wondrous Love” based on ballad of

“Captain Kidd”
• Both are based in Christian ideologies

• Both have connections to Europe

Differences:
• Individual (Ballad) vs. Communal (Sacred Harp) • Sacred Harp uses harmony
• Harmony: the simultaneous combination of tones

“Spiritual: Religious music of African

Americans during slavery”

“Folk spiritual: The earliest form of indigenous a cappella religious music created by African Americans during slavery” (Burnim 2006: 52).

– Late 18th century crea&on (ibid) – Created by and for black people

– Prominent from late 18th century through Civil War era

“A form of folk spiritual which incorporates highly stylized religious

dance as par&cipants move in a counterclockwise circle” (Burnim 2006: 55).

– Also called a “shout”

– Earliest on record dates from 1845, though prac&ce predates that record (Floyd, Jr. 2002: 50)

Photo from c. 1930

• Have evidence of ring shouts performed in the South and in the North

• Emerged as a form of Christian

worship or ritual strongly influenced by African approaches

• But also became

something African American

Didn't cross feet

Form: Call and Response

Heterogeneous sound ideal – contrasting timbres

Tendency to fill up musical space— “high density of musical events

Ring Shout

African and African American conceptual approaches to

music, including:

– Body mo&on as an integral part of music making

– Polyrhythm

– Polyrhythm – “More than one rhythmic pabern played simultaneously”

– Wilson emphasizes

idea of rhythmic contrast/clash

– Call and response

– Heterogeneous sound ideal (use of a variety of timbres)

– High density of musical events (filling all the space)

– Use of the body

– Polyrhythm (rhythmic contrast/clash)

• Strategies of surviving and musically thriving, of forging a distinctive African American culture

Percussive approach to singing

• Example of a folk spiritual (not performed as a ring shout)

• Note call and response approach as an African/ African American conceptual approach

Listening also for characteristics that are shared with European music

• Verse-chorus strophic form
• Language used (in this case, English)

• “The post-Civil War form of spirituals, which evolved in schools created to educate emancipated slaves”

• Emerges in the 1870s

These types of spirituals adapted to audiences who were more comfortable with european style of music.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers
• Established in 1871
• Fisk College (now University) in Tennessee

• Go on tour to raise money for the college

"Arranged Spirituals"

• Listen for approaches associated with European art music:

– Homogeneous sound ideal – voices blend
– Timbres used, too, are what are preferred in

European art music – Pronunciation of text

"Arranged Spiritual"

Concert/Arranged Spiritual

*

– Heterogeneous sound ideal, call and response

– But have rich harmonies in the chorus

– So for this class, will call this example simply a spiritual

Mental resistance to oppression: themes in the texts

"Run Mary Run, You Got a Right to the Tree of Life"

Could be code for escaping.

Notice technique of lining out
– a leader sings out (or chants) a line of text that is then echoed by a group

• But lined hymns called “Dr. Watts songs” by some older African Americans whether wriHen by Watts or not; and,

• Tradition of lined hymn singing called “Dr. Watts singing” (Reagon and Brevard 1994)

• Note the slow tempo, is characteristic of Dr. Watts songs/singing

Examples: Go Down, Old Hannah

Mighty Bright Light

*

“Full-length theatrical entertainment featuring performers in blackface who performed songs, dances, and comic skits based on parodies and stereotypes of African American life and manners”

• Considered to be the first distinctly American form of popular culture (Starr and Waterman 2010: 20)

• 1840s – 1880s – predominant form of popular culture in the U.S.

George Washington Dixon

Thomas Dartmouth Rice

“Jim Crow” - Caricature of the plantation slave

“Zip Coon” - Caricature of the urban black male

* The banjo, fiddle, tambourine and bones were typical instruments used in minstrel shows

*Watch a little of clip "Ethnic Notions" about the Minstrel show.

• During slavery, justified slavery

• After slavery, justified racial violence against blacks

• Expression of fear and anxiety about blacks

• A means to show “whiteness”

• Expression of a fascination for blacks, on some level a desire to be black

• A way of identifying with African Americans?

• Earn money
• Try to improve race

relations

• Travel

• Assert their authenticity

Very Racist Minstrelsy song written by Stephen Foster

“[R]ecordings of performances by African American musicians produced mainly for sale to African American listeners”

How did race records start?

Referred to as "The Devils Music"

Sings about a variety of topics/emotions (not always sad)

Often AAB Form

* Guitar/Voice. Guitar acts as second voice. Call/Response with voice and guitar

Descending "Melodic Contour" in vocal parts

– Example of a country blues song by a female singer and guitarist

• Recorded 1933

• Notice relationship between voice and guitar, AAB form, and double meanings (more sexual innuendo)

Written and performed by Charley

(or Charlie) Padon (b.1880s-91? d.1934)

• Recorded in 1929

• Note the frank, personal dimension of the way the story is being told much like ballads.

Marketed as "Hillbilly Records" from 1920's-40's.

Developed mostly out of folk songs (including traditional ballads) and dance music of immigrants from the British Isles

Early hits were “Barbara Allen” (E-reserves Unit 7) by Bradley Kincaid and "The Prisoners Song" (E-reserves Unit 7) by Vernon Dalhart

• Also important in the disseminaUon of early country

• 1920s – rise of commercial radio staUons and network radio

• Many who could not afford new records could purchase a radio on a monthly installment plan

• Programming on the radio was affected by issues of race

A.P. (“Doc”) Carter (1891-1960)

• leader, sang bass

Sara Carter (c. 1899-1979)

• sang most lead vocal parts

• played autoharp or guitar

Maybelle Carter (1909-78)

• sang supporUng parts

• played guitar and autoharp

• Image of conservatism, “wholesome values”

• Issue of cultural ownership

– A.P. Carter collected folk songs

– Copyrighted arrangements

– Who owns “traditional” songs?

"Carter Picking"

Influential guitar playing technique – pick melody on the lower strings, brush or strum accompaniment on the upper strings

– Developed by Maybelle Carter

• Ballad

• Performed by an African American singer

• Voice and guitar

• 1950s recording

• Derived from a British ballad “The Unfortunate Rake”

• Ballad
• Version of a British ballad

• Performed by Leadbelly

• Voice and guitar

• From a 1948 radio broadcast

• Elements of call and response

• Exploitation of speech-song continuum

• Role of the guitar

• How do these aspects affect the telling of the story?

• Image contrasts with that of the Carter Family

– Image is more of a footloose wanderer

• Can hear the influence of white and black musics

Famous for his Yodel. Can hear in his song "Blue Yodel No. 1"

AAB structure of the text of the verses

Performed by Lead Belly

or Leadbelly

(Huddie LedbeLer; 1888-1949)

– Voice and accordion

Tells the story of a man, John Hardy, who was hanged for murder in 1894

Instrumental roles

• Active role of the accordion

• Call and response relationship

• Accordion “talks” (much like guitar in country blues)

• 1840s-1880s – First Wave

• 1940s-1950s – “Intermitient Ripple”

• Since 1965– Second Wave

possibly there for Gold Rush/Railroads

Formed Settlements, including chinatowns

First Opera/theatre in SF (1850)

Hit with a series of exclusionary laws

Naturalization law (1790)/Anti-Chinese Legislation. Also Chinese Exclusion Acts.

• Social and cultural isolation

– Chinatowns

• Jobs

– “Chinese laundryman”

• Absence of women

– “Bachelor society”

• Chinese Americans (including immigrants) establish a sense of community via music, including Chinese opera

• Emphasis on visual splendor

– Make-up, elaborate costumes

• Combine acting, dancing,

singing

• Stories drawn from legends, myths, and historical and semi-historical narratives

• Different regional styles

One type of Chinese Opera

Accompanying ensemble divided into sections:

– Percussion
• Includes drum (below lef), gongs, cymbals, woodblocks

-Melodic section of the accompanying ensemble

– Accompanies singing and dancing or gesturing

– Characterized by a variety of stringed instruments; sometimes

have winds, too

In second wave, see diversity – Cantonese and Mandarin speakers

– Working as well as professional classes – Includes students, professionals – Mostly come from urban areas

• Contributes to different experiences in U.S.

• Families

• Some live in Chinatowns, others do not

• Find more interac5on and feelings of acceptance in “mainstream” American society

• Contributed to emergence of Peking opera clubs

• More interaction with American mainstream with Peking opera clubs

• Cantonese opera clubs, too, but largely separate from Peking opera clubs

Chinese ensemble music

• Have had Chinese ensembles in the U.S. since the 19th century

• “Purple Bamboo” (E-reserves Unit 9)

• Example of Chinese ensemble music

• From a 1997 album

Erhu: like a violin but less strings

Pipa: looks like a small banjo

Dizi: like a flute

Yangqin: Table looking thing of strings

• Young men

- Educated

- Farming class

- Select group

• Young women

Same Exclusionary Laws as the Chinese faced.

Response?

During war: some tried to emulate American culture- Big Jazz Bands in camps

After War: After WWII see more celebration of Japanese culture

• 1950s –
New genre of group drumming (kumi daiko) emerges in Japan

• Late 1960s – Starts in

America

Emphasis on strength and movement

New sound emerges "spirit sounds" Look it up.

-surviving the reign of the Khmer Rouge (1975-1979)

"The Flute Player" documentary

Arn Chorn-Pond came to America as a refugee to a eastern state. He deals with the guilt of leaving behind cambodians by trying to teach people traditional cambodian music. Helps him to feel like their traditions and history will never die.

Economic reasons- European and Asian

Religious Motivations- for some of the earliest europeans who came to colonies

People sold into slavery- for Africans

(Chinese women sold into prostitution)

People pushed or forced to leave their homeland.

• “De Boatmen’s

Dance” (1843) (E-reserves Unit 5)

• Music and lyrics credited to Dan Emme^ (1815-1904)

Note the instrumentation (instruments used):

• Male voices • Banjo
• Fiddle
• Tambourine • Bones

* The banjo, fiddle, tambourine and bones were typical instruments used in minstrel shows

Example of music thriving in more isolated communities (Chinese Opera)

Ballads 17th-19th Century

Sacred Harp: Book published in 1844

Folk Spirituals: Late 18th Century through Civil War (1865)

Arranged Spirituals: Emerge in 1870