Less than a Century old, the modern drum kit is a relatively new instrument, however, the drums have been the driving force and heartbeat of popular music through the times. From the change through marching music, to jazz, big bands and rock, the drums have been used as a means of keeping time, and of musical expression.
During the period of the Civil War (1861-1865) marching music dominated the music scene. Every military unit had its own squad of musicians, usually formed according to locality. Occasionally some bands stayed together after the war Brass bands were very commonplace and nearly every town in the United States had outdoor bandstands and stages where concerts could be played. Each brass band consisted of two or more drummers that
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Many of the ethnic instruments they brought with them were adapted into the drum set: gongs, “Chinese” cymbals, tacked tom toms, Temple Blocks, Woodblocks and Cowbells. Greek immigrants contributed a small musical disc known as the “Greeko” cymbal, and a Turkish immigrant family named Zildjian brought with them an ancient technique for manufacturing high-quality, hand-hammered cymbals that would shortly make them a household name among drummers around the world. This early sit down “contraption” included a variety of percussion instruments including whistles, sand paper blocks, gongs, woodblocks, triangle, temple blocks, cowbells, and a goose neck style cymbal stand. By 1920, this set up became the standard. these early sets were known as “trap kits,” a name that’s still used occasionally to describe the drum …show more content…
The effect was produced by rotating the brush fan over the top of a calf skin drum head.
Drum sets began to become more and more intricate The drum set developed further as a long line of percussionists of all stripes demanded certain configurations to suit their styles. In the 1930s, one of the first great drum-set players, Gene Krupa of the Benny Goodman Orchestra, ditched the contraption kit and opted for a four-piece kit with bass and snare drums, a small tom mounted to the bass drum, and a larger one on the floor, complemented by a hi-hat and ride, splash and crash cymbals: the drum kit in its modern incarnation. This setup enabled Krupa to develop into a vivid soloist.
The modern drum kit is what allowed players like Max Roach to play polyrhythms at racing tempos and, in the 1940s, develop a highly complex new jazz idiom: bebop. They began using the ride cymbal to delineate time in a swinging way, and this pattern, is still the basic rhythmic unit of
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, more commonly known as Jelly Roll Morton, was born to a creole family in a poor neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. Morton lived with several family members in different areas of New Orleans, exposing him to different musical worlds including European and classical music, dance music, and the blues (Gushee, 394). Morton tried to play several different instruments including the guitar; however, unsatisfied with the teachers’ lack of training, he decided to teach himself how to play instruments without formal training (Lomax, 8). ...
When discussing the history of Jazz, an important type of music is developed that changed the music industry. This music, bebop, helped to influence other types of music, and it also let us appreciate jazz more
This type of integration went both ways, as black bands would hire young, adolescent white musicians in an effort to get more gigs. Jazz went to war, too, and would serve to remind men and women of home. On the home front, the music industry found itself struggling once again. Black-outs and late-night curfews darkened some nightclubs and dance halls. “The rationing of rubber and gasoline eventually drove most band buses off the roads, and the draft stole away good musicians.
Oliver, along with Jelly Roll Morton, Sidney Bechet and others who created a distinctive and wildly popular new band out of blues and ragtime. By 1924 small companies and recorded companies would make jazz their household name.
Marching Bands: Brass Bands spread through out the area of New Orleans making this the birthplace of this original sound. Many would gather just to hear the smooth melodies that these bands had to play. Many bands were composed of such talented artist that eventually went on to make their own music. These musicians went on to play their distinct instruments in such a profound way that spoke to the soul. They played melodies and added vocals to speak on certain things within this time. Hence the birth of early jazz. Marching Bands take origin from as far back as the Civil War. During this time ...
In the 20’s, the era right after World War I, music and dancing became a focus. Many musicians were moving Northward from southern cities such as New Orleans, which was a main focus for what would become jazz music. As these musicians came up to more urban cities, they introduced the country to a world of music based on Caribbean music tones and southern blues. Syncopation was common in the songs that were known in this area, as were the common bluesy sounds and rhythms of those gospel songs and old hymns. This would all greatly influence the jazz creation. Jazz began as a music type that was focused more on orchestral sounds and bigger bands than smaller bands, such as seen with Whiteman, and this was evident in the types of dances and music the people listened to, with large piece orchestras. In this time period, there were big bands, but few solos or focus on jazz technique individually, as the bands showcased the overall sound of the band’s polyrhythmic and polyphonic sound more than its homophonic solo sounds. People such as Louis Armstrong began to be interested in focusing more on chords than melodies and on solos than group collective improvisation, and this started the move to a new wave of jazz: swing.
African music concentrated a lot on rhythm while Western European liked to hear harmonic sounds. The dissonant sounds and polyrhythms of African music was not understood by the Europeans, but jazz musicians took a great liking to it. The reason for this was because Europeans used music for listening enjoyment. In Africa, music was very functional. It was the only form of communication between tribes and a universal language of percussive instruments. The music was used to announce special events such as birth, death, marriage, and the reaching of puberty. Everybody got musically trained very young and when Africans were brought to America as slaves, they brought the music. Some of the most noticeable influences of this African music is seen in work songs, spirituals and field hollers of slaves. When slaves became free, and chose to leave their plantation, there was no work for them. Many became street musicians and sang what is known today as the Blues. European musicians were playing a march style of music known as Rag. The rise in jazz happened when the two styles of music started combining.
Beginning in the mid-1920s, big bands, then typically consisting of 10–25 pieces, came to dominate popular music. At that time they usually played a form of jazz that involved very little improvisation, which included a string section with violins, which was dropped after the introduction of swing in 1935. A few bands also had violas and cellos, usually one or two along with them. The dance form of jazz was characterized by a sweet and romantic melody. Orchestras tended to stick to the melody as it was written and vocals would be sung (often in a tenor voice) and in tune with the
The first jazz was played in the early 20th century. The work chants and folk
All types of music require musicians. In the H.R (Harlem Renaissance), there were many who contributed to this new style of music known as jazz. These musicians all have their own style and form. Each of these styles has in some way influenced the evolution of jazz. Louis “Sachmo” Armstrong is recognized as the most famous trumpet player of this time. His “hot bop” style was heard in places like the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theatre. Everyone from all over the country would come to see him. Armstrong recorded such works as I’m in the Mood for Love, and You Rascal you (http://library.thinkquest.org/26656/english/music.html). Another famous person during this era was Coleman Hawkins, a saxophone player. Hawkins is recognized as the first great saxophonists of Jazz. His most famous work was a piece named Body and Soul (http://library.thinkquest.org…). Hawkins has also recorded with artists such as Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. Other people such as Bessie Smith, Josephine Baker, Duke Ellington, and “Dizzie” Gillespie have also made many contributions to the development of Jazz.
Most early jazz was played in small marching bands or by solo pianists. Besides ragtime and marches, the repertoire included hymns, spirituals, and blues. The bands played this music at picnics, weddings, parades, and funerals. Characteristically, the bands played hymns on the way to funerals and lively marches on the way back. Although blues and ragtime had arisen independently of jazz, and continued to exist alongside it, these genres influenced the style and forms of jazz and provided important vehicles for jazz improvisation.
Later on, when the black people started to have some civil rights, jazz bands were starting to merge and the first bands were created around in New Orleans at the early 20th century. The bands included instruments as trumpets, clarinets, trombones, tubas, banjos and drums. Jazz started to grow popular and a string bass or a piano was also found in the new bands. As the jazz grew more popular, it also started to appear new styles of jazz and the “swing” jazz were made. In the original jazz, there were only a few instruments played at the same time. But in the new jazz there were lots of instruments playing at the same time creating a more organized feeling. The “swing” jazz was way more popular and it was common to dance to swing jazz. The swing jazz grew popular in the 30's after the wall street crash and depression roamed in America. Since the swing jazz were so easy to dance to, people started to cheer themselves up with dancing. A few more different sorts of jazz have developed throughout the years and left us with the jazz we got toda...
The captivating elements of ragtime, the booming instruments of marching band music, along with highly emotional Blues, created a genre of music that encapsulates history during important transitioning phases in the United States. Jazz music is considered an American art form, developed by citizens of the United States through tough times of trouble and turmoil. Jazz was the domestic starting point to many creative artists, one in particular Louis Armstrong. Armstrong grew up in New Orleans where music was an important part of culture and in the community (Famous People). Through hard work and determination, Armstrong became one of the most important jazz figures in history, and influenced American
A leading pioneer in jazz music and education was drummer Max Roach. He is considered to be one of the leaders of bebop along with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and others.
Mainly the West Africans used percussive instruments. These drums came in all sizes ranging from ten to twelve inches to ten to twelve feet. Their drums were made out of hollowed out logs and gourds with a tight skin over the hollow. They also used idiophones to make music. They used a variety of bells, castanets, gongs, and sometimes they made small xylophones or small pianos. Aerophones weren't as prevalent as the percussions or idiophones. Some explorers made small flutes, horns and trumpets from elephant tusks.