The History of Music

The History of Music

In this essay I will be identifying, explaining, and evaluating the

history of Music whilst involving references to musical examples. The

four main sections I will be evaluating are;

* The origins of popular music

* The styles and characteristics of popular music since 1950

* The role of at least four different leading artists/producers

* The impact on instrument and recording, of the musical

applications of technology.

In the first section – The origins of popular music I will be

concentrating on;

* The music of the slaves

* Gospel music

* Negro Spirituals

* Delta Blues

* New Orleans Jazz

* Ragtime

* Folk and

* Bluegrass

I will then move onto the styles and characteristics of popular music

since 1950 where I will be identifying such details as melody, rhythm,

harmony, instrumentation, and structure. I will be concentrating on

Rock ‘n’ Roll, Country and Western, Mersey beat, British Invasion,

R*B, Psychedelia, Folk, Soul music, Progressive Rock, Disco, Glam

Rock, Heavy metal, Reggae, Punk, New wave, Rap, Hip-Hop, Dance and

Grunge.

I will also look at how fashion and cultural influences such as James

Dean, Teddy Boys, Flower Power, Free Love, Civil Rights Movement,

Black Power, Ban the bomb, Punk, Rap and Hip-Hop, New Romantics, and

drug culture have influenced musical development, as well as

considering the political/economic environment of the birthplace of

these styles.

The third section of my essay will be based on The leading Artists and

Performers. Although I will be bringing up the leading artists and

producers in each generation I write about in this section I will go

into great detail about my chosen artists/ producers and how they

affected both music and fashion. My chosen artists are;

* Aretha Franklin