Some Brief Music History
- We will start by looking at genres
Classical Music –
- usually instrumental
- orchestra or symphony music
- analog and acoustic
- woodwinds, brass, strings, percussion, piano
- the height of musical performance, writing and structure
- eg – Beethoven, Mozart, Bach – 1700 and 1800s
- used to these in soundtracks
- John Williams – the most famous modern classical (soundtrack) composer
- Right now it would be mostly for relaxing, study, etc
Jazz –
- particular instruments – sax, trumpet, piano, guitar, smaller bands called combos
- a very complex kind of music at times, can be challenging to a listener
- associated with black Americans – it started with them in New Orleans
- became a huge trend for dancing and the pop music of much of the 20th Century
- can be linked with clubs, night events, these days older, wealthier people
- at point, jazz was the rebel music – the first kind of music to link drugs and creativity
- solos, huge talent, really complex and usually more mature music
Rock and Roll
- this is a HUGE category and one that needs some examination
- 1956 is the Ground Zero year for rock and roll
- rock and roll is what it is because of the Master Equation
- black music (R&B) plus white music (country), with a taste of more, blacker music (blues) plus white faces and kids to dance = Rock
- Elvis Presley is the first prototypical rock star
- White kid, good looking, good dancer, nice boy, dressed in black style, singing black music in a black style
- In racist America in 1956, where black music is WAY better than white, this was the only way good music for kids could get out there into the mainstream
- Collision of “race music” and smart business decisions
- A ton of southern, white trash, hick boys started recording after Elvis and there was mini-boom of this early rock
- Weird thing – a bunch of black artists also started making more money and cutting records
- Chuck Berry – breaks the pattern
- He was a black guy who played white music – great business decision
- He was a hot guitar genius with an idea to sing and play country style
- Over in England a huge impact was felt from Chuck Berry – kids go nuts for Chuck Berry, including John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Pete Townsend, Eric Clapton, etc
- A giant effect on these kids created a huge wave of powerful British rock that was American Black influenced
- The Beatles totally reinvented Rock and Roll
- Also the Rolling Stones
The Beatles
- they were pioneers in the studio, making rock songs that were really complex and filled with layers and weirdness that had never been done in pop music
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