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Why Is Late 20th Century Big-band Jazz So Wussy?

MetalMaster (admin) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 07:43:42 +0000

I’m not a big jazz fan – I can recognize Satchmo, and I like S. Bechet, some B. Goodman (sing, sing, sing!!), Fats Waller, Cab Calloway.
But, the big band music recorded since 1980 has no bite, so little spirit. It’s like a muzak version of 1920s and 1930s big band music.
Am I a fuddy-duddy, am I missing something, or is that why big-band music is not very popular anymore?

What Kind Of Music Was Around Yucatan During The 16th Century?

MetalMaster (admin) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:50:32 +0000

I know Spain invaded Yucatan during the 16th century but I’m wondering if Spain forced their music onto the Mayans or did they keep their own music, any links would be awesome as well as anything involving “music” i.e songs, dances etc – Thx!

How Have The Blues Helped Shape The Sound Of 20th Century Popular Music?

MetalMaster (admin) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:45:31 +0000

One way is structure. The Blues is based on a three-chord pattern: I-IV-V (1-4-5), and usually through a progression of eight or twelve measures/bars. This framework can be heard in the popular music throughout the 20th Century.
The Blues has also influenced popular music in form, usually taking the form AAB and call-and-response. Many cultures from around the world use call-and-response, as well as in West Africa. In the United States, it was first heard in church music and field hollers, which also had an influence on the Blues. A preacher or a lead field hand would call out a verse, and then the congregation or laborers would repeat the verse back. A strict interpretation would be:
I, A, Call
I, A, Repeat/Response
IV, A, Call
IV, A, Repeat/Response
V, B, Response
Another way is the the use of “blue” notes. Typically, they are described as flatted thirds, fifths, and sevenths (from the major scale), but they really are lowered by semitone. Semitones are not found in Western music, but are prevalent in West African music (an influence of Blues music) so Blues musicians found other means of achieving them: by use of the human voice, bending the sound pitch of a harmonica, bending the strings of a guitar, or by use of a slide on the neck of a guitar. Blue notes are so widely used, and are part of the popular music language, they sound perfectly normal, and usually go unnoticed.
Up until the 1950s, featured instruments were usually piano, saxophone, or clarinet. The guitar was a band instrument, rather than a solo instrument; however, with the popularity of musicians like Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley, and electric Blues musicians like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and BB King, the guitar became the driving force behind popular music.
I’ll post this for now, and probably come back to it later….
Up until the first half of the 20th Century, music was segregated the same as the country. Records made by African Americans were called “race” records, and played only on radio stations also defined by race. Even big bands of the Pre-war Era were not integrated, and white was marketed to the general population, while race records and black bands were marketed only for the black market; however, that did not stop many whites from getting the records. That might seem like a strange statement now, but back then, a white kid from Brooklyn would have to go to Harlem in uptown Manhattan to purchase black music or see black bands perform. This was actually the case of my father.
The real crossover began with Sam Phillips who had a record label in Memphis called Sun Records. The short story is that Sam was a big blues fan, and wanted to find a white singer that sounded black–meaning, someone who could sing and perform in a blues style, yet be white and appealing to whites. He found that exact performer in Elvis. This opened the door for a flood of music, black and white. Many black artists were sought-after by record labels, and white record-buyers, too. They were looking for music by Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Bo Diddley, but the music was still classified by race, just as it was in the decades prior to the 1950s.
Record companies started recording hit black music but covered by white performers. They knew that kids were buying the black music, but wanted to cash in on the larger, mainstream market. However, to paraphrase Little Richard, the white kids had Pat Boone’s versions of “Tutti Frutti” and “Long Tall Sally” out in the open, but his records under the bed…. until mom and dad went out.
But by the close of the 1950s, popular music was once again changing, and many black musicians found themselves without contracts, ripped off, and very broke. At the beginning of the 60s, many blues, rock n roll, and r&b artists began playing in Europe, and influenced all of the early British Invasion bands, to include The Beatles, The Animals, The Rolling Stones, Them, The Yardbirds, The Pretty Things, etc.

What Is White Music In 20th Century Classical Music History?

MetalMaster (admin) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 22:18:35 +0000

It’s supposed to be some kind of term used in early 20th century classical music when atonality began to emerge.

What Aspects Of Pop Culture In The 19th Century Were Influenced By Classical Liberalism?

MetalMaster (admin) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 01:49:13 +0000

Its for a class powerpoint need some help! Should represent various perspectives and demonstarte the positive and negative reactions of classical liberalism.

What Is The Likelihood That A Blues Guitarist Like Me Can Make A Living In The 21st Century?

MetalMaster (admin) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:41:23 +0000

I know I have the chops, feel, tone, and drive to make it big, the problem is good music isn’t popular and probably won’t be for awhile

What Were The Goals Of 19th And Early 20th Century Classical Archaeologists?

MetalMaster (admin) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:42:16 +0000

What were the goals of 19th and early 20th century classical archaeologists? How did they go about achieving them? What were some of their most important discoveries? How did their discoveries change our view of classical written sources?

What Are The Best Classical Compositions Of The 21st Century So Far?

MetalMaster (admin) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:10:29 +0000

We’re nearly at the end of the noughties (2000s, zeros, aughts) so it’s time to make some lists – what classical compositions make the grade? Stuff by Golijov? Adés? Adams? Reich? Johnny Greenwood? Maxwell-Davies? Jocelyn Pook? What do you think? We’ve had nine years.