The Beginning of Jazz and the Effects Early Jazz Had in the 1920s

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Jazz could be what describes America to a “T” in the 1920s. It was very popular throughout the entire decade of the 1920s. This era was called “The Jazz Age”, which was a term coined by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Campbell 52). It not only affected music, but it also contributed to an entire cultural renaissance in Harlem, brought other cultural groups together in a time of segregation, and the lifestyle of many Americans throughout the 1920s. Jazz would be the mold for everything American in the 1920s and could possibly be one of the best things that ever happened to this country.
Jazz has a long and complicated history. It did not progress from one musical style to another overnight. It was a hodgepodge of multiple musical styles added together. This would be crucial to the development of Jazz over time. Jazz developed into what it is today by taking multiple styles to fit the tune of the times.
Ragtime, the precursor to Early Jazz, was a mix of the rhythms from a Cakewalk and a March (Atkins 16). To be specific, a composer would take the rhythms from the Cakewalk and put music to it, thus creating Ragtime. Once Ragtime became popular, African American spirituals were added to it. Blues Style would also become widely popular in America but specifically the North, right along the still prosperous Ragtime (Atkins 17). However, a new musical style was emerging onto the scene.
Dixieland was a combination of Ragtime and improvisation and was played by a brass band. The Dixieland music style, unlike any of the other styles listed above, which were usually played on piano. Dixieland featured lots of improvisation and was mostly popular in the South, more specifically New Orleans (Atkins 18). The music was played for all kinds of occasion...

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...ampbell, Michael. "Unit 3 - The Emergence of Black Music." Popular Music in America: The Beat Goes on. Boston, MA: Clark Baxter, 2013. 52. Print. Fourth Edition.
Feinstein, Stephen. "The Harlem Renaissance." The 1920s: From Prohibition to Charles Lindbergh. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2001. 26. Print.
Harvey, Edmund H., Jr., ed. "The Unruly 1920's." Our Glorious Century. Pleasantville, NY: Reader's Digest Association, 1994. 126-27. Print.
Rodgers, Marie E. "Chapter 13." The Harlem Renaissance: An Annotated Reference Guide for Student Research. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1998. 85. Print.
Shadwick, Keith. "The Classic Jazz of the 20s." The Illustrated Story of Jazz. Edison, NJ: Chartwell, 1995. 35-36. Print.
Wold, Milo Arlington. "Chapter 13." An Introduction to Music and Art in the Western World. Dubuque, IA: W.C. Brown, 1991. 350-53. Print. Ninth Edition.

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