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View of america's music history by jean ferris
Evolution of keyboard when
Essay on music in america
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The forty-one-year span between 1864 and 1905 was marked by the ending of the American Civil War and the emergence of industrialization. As troops came home and the rise of big factories became more prevalent, people found themselves with more time for leisure and more money in their pockets. With this time and money, many of the middle class and elite found themselves turning to music as a form of entertainment. Between the late 1800s and early 1900s, middle class families were able to afford to have instruments in their homes. In fact, it was common for women to learn to play piano as a means of making themselves more attractive to men. Due to the rise of industrialization, factories were able to mass produce instruments. Companies made catalogs that provided people with many different options of musical instruments as a means of to efficiently sell the products. These catalogs presented pictures of the instruments along with their prices. To purchase an instrument, customers would follow the instructions on the front of the catalog and make their order through mail delivery. …show more content…
Not only did it symbolize music, but theatre as well. People often turned to theatre as a form of entertainment in addition to music. The artwork on the cover of the sheet music shows the faces of iconic actors from the theatre that audiences miss. A piano piece published in 1900, depicts the tale of Ben-Hur, a fictional nobleman who achieves prosperity through piety. “The Midnight Fire Alarm,” is a non-lyrical piece that people would gather around a piano to listen to. This song gave the American people hope that they too could rise through the ranks. It was a song that restored the concept of the American Dream. Also, the fact that the piece was non-lyrical went to show the improvements in the construction of instruments. These improvements allowed composers to write more complex
During the 1960s and the early 1970s, music reflected the political and social changes that America was undergoing at the time. Some of these major changes included the African-American civil rights movement and the conflict over America’s role in the Vietnam War. During these hard times, people turned to music for hope, peace, happiness and answers.
Nearly a century’s worth of compositions has earned Aaron Copland extensive recognition as the foremost American composer of his time. Ironically, Copland was raised the son of Russian Jewish immigrants and inhabitant of a colorless city environment, yet would become known for producing the music of “rugged-souled Americans” (Mellers 4). Unbounded by historical musical constraints such as those present in the culture of France, where Copland studied for many years, Copland found himself free to explore and experiment in pursuit of a unique, undoubtedly American sound.
As the 1930’s began, the effects of the great depression still ravaged the United States, which in turned caused a dramatic change in the music industry. Membership in the musicians’
For almost half a century, the musical world was defined by order and esteemed the form of music more highly than the emotion that lay behind it. However, at the turn of the 19th century, romantic music began to rise in popularity. Lasting nearly a century, romantic music rejected the ideas of the classical era and instead encouraged composers to embrace the idea of emotionally driven music. Music was centered around extreme emotions and fantastical stories that rejected the idea of reason. This was the world that Clara Wieck (who would later marry the famous composer, Robert Schumann) was born into. Most well known for being a famous concert pianist, and secondly for being a romantic composer, Clara intimately knew the workings of romantic music which would not only influence Clara but would later become influenced by her progressive compositions and performances, as asserted by Bertita Harding, author of Concerto: The Glowing Story of Clara Schumann (Harding, 14). Clara’s musical career is an excellent example of how romantic music changed from virtuosic pieces composed to inspire awe at a performer’s talent, to more serious and nuanced pieces of music that valued the emotion of the listener above all else.
When the United States were showing signs of economical growth, the unimaginable happen. When the 1929 stock market crash marked the day that the United States slowly crept into the Great Depression. The Great Depression caused nationwide panic. There was a decrease of production and the sale of goods. Many businesses started to collapse and close. Banks closed down since they took people’s money and invest in stocks. When the stocks crashed, banks went bankrupt and people lost their money and savings. Then there was a rise in unemployment and thousands of workers lost their jobs. Countless amount of people were homeless and they were trying their best to save their money. People were trying to figure out how to deal with their economic difficulties. During that time, people wanted to escape from their problems. They would watch movies and listen to music. At the time Jazz music was very popular. Jazz music had musical freedom and the songs show the way many people felt. It had the power to lift the gloomy spirits of the people affected. Jazz music has a style that appeal to many people, both young and old. One of the earlier Jazz
In 1918 when World War I ended, American society and culture changed immediately after. World War I resulted in the death of nine million soldiers and twenty one million wounded. Families were left mourning the loss of their relatives and people titled World War I as a “war to end all war.” With the nation going through such tragedy, change was bound to happen. During the 1920s there was a change in consumer culture, art, music and literature. So much changed happened during the 1920s that it’s referred to as the roaring twenties. Entertainment was on a rise and the way that Americans were used to living started to change. Along with that came immigration laws that changed American culture as well.
Therefore, to endure the pains and sufferings the slaves had to use music. As illustrated above, the advent of music had far reaching results as it encouraged and gave them hope to continue working. The early music composers are the evidence of existence of early music which in turn has shaped today’s music like the blues and pop lyrics. In this case, the culture of the past has been rescued from getting lost.
During the 1920’s music was very important to the people and exacerbated racial tensions in the postwar period (citation). The music industry began to take off because new technology started making it easier to produce and share music around.
Music’s role on society has changed drastically through the course of its history as it has become ever so increasingly expansive. Many of the previous musical movements were only for the wealthy as entertainment
Throughout history, music have defined or depicted the culture and social events in America. Music has constantly played an important role in constituting American culture, where people have expressed themselves through music during flourishing and turbulent times. In the 1930’s, Swing music created a platform for audiences to vent their emotions in the midst of Great Depression and political unrest. Such strong relationship between music and culture can be seen throughout history, especially in the sixties.
The classical music score sheets represents a story, ideas, emotions, even controversy. It’s a powerful sheet of paper that shares the history of these composers and their life in secret code which I may add is not easy to comprehend. Once classical music was widely popular in the 19th and 20th century, critics always debated how these musical pieces should be played and that’s the beauty of classical music. There are a million ways to play a single piece and each time you share a different idea, story, emotion, and so on. Lastly classical music culture is something we as humans can all share with one another, we can create new bonds like Brahms and Beethoven, or even share the spotlight on stage while telling the tale of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” like Mozart once did.
Also known as the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties, the American people felt that they deserved to have some fun in order to forget the emotional toll and social scars left from the war. The Jazz Age was appropriately named due to the illegal activities and good times, which included music, parties, and flapper girls. Jazz was a new style of music that originated out of the New Orleans area, where one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time – Louis Armstrong – began his career. The energy of jazz was a very new and almost uncomfortable style for the very traditional, rigid family of the 1920s. Young people in particular seemed to enjoy this new music the most, as it made them feel carefree. The energy of jazz was symbolic of the era’s trans...
The revolution blew the minds of older generations. After World War 1, foreign propaganda spread over to the United States. Many women's husbands were being sent out for war and were left at home, resulting in many economical changes. With all of the changes, their began to be a cultural shift. The 1920’s was the beginning of the Jazz Age and a new renaissance of rebellion, new thinking, and new norms.
Before the pianoforte was brought into existence, the keyboard instrument of the orchestra was the harpsichord. The timbre of the harpsichord was much different than that of the pianoforte, this being primarily because of the harpsichord’s strings being plucked, whereas the piano’s strings
The first half of the twentieth century marked a time of immense hardship for the United States and many other nations around the world. In just three decades, the world saw two of the most destructive wars in history, the Great Depression, and countless other tragedies which would leave an indelible mark on human history. Surprisingly, this bleak and hopeless era also gave rise to one of the liveliest and most beloved forms of music of the twentieth century – swing. But swing music became much more than just tunes to listen to on the radio or music to dance to at clubs. It became a veritable venue for patriotism, unity, and even revolution – both in times of peace and in times of war, in the United States and even in war-torn Europe.