Task 1-Genre research

Jazz music research

Jazz music has some key features including syncopation, swing and blues, all of these factors are used in order to create the classic jazz sound. Jazz music originated around 100 years ago in New Orleans because it developed from ragtime that was found in the city. Although Jazz originated from New Orleans, its roots can also be found in traditions of both Africa and European countries.

Louis Armstrong was a very talented trumpeter who revolutionised the way people viewed there instruments in the 1920s-30s and one of the most influential jazz artists in history, his career spanned over 5 decades and grew up in a time where jazz wasnt a prominent as it now is. He was born in Louisiana and he sang in a quartet of boys. In around 1913 he was sent away to the coloured waifs home as a juvenile delinquent, whilst he was there he learnt to play the cornet and from there his passion became music. He was influenced by King Oliver who was the leading New Yorks cornetist. He spent five years in this place but his music advanced rapidly so by 1918 he was playing in jazz bands and was even skilful enough to replace Oliver in kid Ory. Despite Louis tough upbringing he didn't allow that to stop him from doing what he is most passionate for, he is now one of the most influential jazz artists in history. By 1929 Armstrong was famous, he moved from Chicago to New York and he performed in theatre review hot chocolates. He ended up touring America as a trumpet soloist whilst being accompanied by big bands, for years Lois Russell's big band served as the Louis Armstrong band.

Ella Fitzgerald was one of the most popular female jazz singers in the Unites States for over half a century, over her lifetime she won 13 grammy awards and sold way over 40 million albums. Ella had such a wide vocal range therefore she was able to sing different genres of music like ballads and sweet jazz. She worked with many other influential jazz artists of the time including Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra and Benny Goodman. In 1946 Ella was on tour with Dizzy Gillespie and fell in love with bassist Ray Brown who at the time was working with producer and manager Norman Granz on the 'jazz at the philharmonic' tour. Norman saw Ella had the potential to be a worldwide star and she ended up signing with him which was the beginning of a lifelong business relationship.

The jazz age

The jazz age was the time between 1920 going through to the 30s, its the period of time where jazz gained such popularity throughout the States and around other parts of the world. Events that led to the jazz age include the roaring 20s, jazz recording and the great migration.

Some common chord progressions used mostly in jazz music are F, Bb, Eb or Ab major.

Sub genres of Jazz

Jazz is a very diverse genre within music, it has evolved so much giving a rise to many other subgenres.

Swing

Swing jazz dates back to between 1914-1926, during this time period old jazz was a very popular kind of music. One of the things about swing jazz was that it wasnt limited to just large ensembles, anyone could  create a swing jazz group no matter how many of you there were/are. Back in the 1910s-20s, swing jazz became a very popular kind of music to dance to, people were able to easily connect with this kind of music.

Bebop

Bebop jazz was heavily influenced by swing jazz but wasnt quite the same. Bebop jazz was unlike other subgenres of jazz, Bebop was very fast, exciting and loud. This music style originated in the 1940s when artists like Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie came to become popular. Bebop was different to swing as it was a much quicker kind of music with heavy usage of instruments and complex compositions. People didnt really understand or connect with this kind of music therefore it led to the rejection of the old jazz music style from the public. Despite this, Bebop did get the recognition it deserved from the public and ever since then this kind of old jazz has made its mark in history.

Cool jazz

Cool jazz emerged in the 1940s-1950s, it served as an alternative style of Bebop and many people enjoyed listening to this style due to its mellow and slow vibe. Cool jazz originated in California and was inspired by classical music, this kind of jazz always had very formal arrangements. Some popular artists at this time include Gerry Mulligan, Paul Desmond and also Dave Brubeck.

Punk music research

Punk music became popular in the 1960s in the united states specifically in New York city and soon after it became a lot more popular around London and other parts of the world. Some of the characteristics of Punk music include fast tempos, shouty lyrics and often has stripped down instrumentation. Punk music often had complex guitar solos whereas now its a bit more of a simple guitar break throughout punk songs. Punk music also normally has a very high energy, and on guitar usually there are lots of power chords played making the song feel more powerful.

The sex pistols were a very influential punk rock band from the 1970s, they are arguably the  most iconic and influential bands of all time. The Sex Pistols came about in around 1975 and the reason they ended up being named The Sex pistols was because their manager at the time Malcolm Maclaren was trying to promote his clothing store which was called sex. They had their first show in November of 1975 at St Martins College of art in London. Their career only initially lasted just 2 and a half years but despite this they are still one of the most culturally popular artists in popular music.

The punk movement

The punk movement started off in England between 1976 and 1980 when there was a craze for more aggressive rock bands to appear due to things like economic crises and wars. Punk was more than just a music trend, it was being developed into social and artistic movement "punkitude" which later shook society and proposed alternatives to the solutions which were considered too utopian. The movement specifically attracted people who felt alone and as if they didnt belong, these are the people who were effected by economic crises and unemployment. The movement has origins in feelings of exclusion, anti racism and individualism meaning that they often question freedoms they have in society. The punk movement wants to create a society where people are free as they can be by opposing any form of authority. The punk movement also effected the way that people would express themselves, specifically with clothing choice being more out there and also different makeup looks. People used to express themselves a lot through the use of swear words, this became a common thing in punk songs.

Riot Grrrl

Riot grrrl is and underground punk movement that started within the US in Olympia Washington and the Pacific Northwest during the early1990s. This was a movement created which combines punk music, feminism and also politics of the time. The genre has been described as coming out of indie rock, as the punk scene served as something inspiring for a movement in which women can express their frustrations and emotions in anyway through song writing which was a lot more common for men to do These songs by Riot grrrl addressed real issues in society such as abuse, racism, rape and women empowerment. Some bands associated with the movement include Bratmobile, Heavens to Betsy and also Bikini Kill. Bratmobile- Bratmobile was an American punk band from Olympia Washington, they ended up forming in 1991 and ended up being one of the first Riot grrrl bands formed. The first 2 members of the band met in 1989, they were called Allison Wolfe and Molly Newman and met at the university of Oregon. Both girls were raised in activist families and their shared musical influences included hip hop and pop music. The girls wrote songs and performed them but they would perform acapella as neither of them played any instruments. Calvin Johnson was an indie musician who also co owned K Records offered the girls to play a show on valentines day in 1991 alongside Bikini Kill and Some Velvet Sidewalk. At first they werent confident to do the gig but after some thought they agreed to have some help from Robert Christie from Some Velvet Sidewalk. After this gig the girls realised that they didnt want to be like other male bands and wrote five original songs performing them sharing who goes on drums, guitar and vocals. They then recorded for the first Kill Rock Stars compilation which got released later in the year, the girls then went back to Washington to work on Bratmobile with newer member Erin Smith who plays guitar. They ended up staying together for a few years playing shows together and writing music but ended up breaking up in 1994.

Sub Genres of punk

Street Punk music is usually very fast and punchy filled with lots of attitude, there was still melody to the songs but the main aspect of street punk was more focussed on having high energy especially in performances. Street punk became well known in the 1980s and was an intentional move to cover usual working class issues such as drinking and violence. A great example of a street punk band would be Sham 69 with there song Hurry Up Harry.

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/news/142267/ 

Pop Punk

Pop Punk is a blend of many sub genres of punk, some of these include Punk, Pop and Rock. The main difference between Pop Punk and Street Punk is that pop punk is more focussed on having a catchy melody rather than stage presence and aggression. Pop Punk became a more significant genre of music in the 1990s however The Ramones were a Pop Punk band slightly before this time. Some examples of Pop Punk bands are Paramore, Greenday and Fall Out Boy.

Emotional hardcore (emo)

Emo Punk goes back as far as the 1980s, this is one of the most emotional types of punk music as it is so much more focussed on the vocal melodies and the complexity of the lyrics. This kind of punk is the most similar to Pop Punk as they are both more emotive than Street punk and just punk in general. Some Emo Punk bands include My Chemical Romance and Rites of spring.

Funk

Funk music is a genre of music which is best recognised for its strong basslines, syncopated beats and also funk usually has a very high and infectious energy. Funk music tends to contain strong downbeats and 16th note grooves, a 16th note groove is a rhythmic pattern in music where each beat gets divided into 4 equal parts, each part being a 16th note. This creates a fast and subdivided feel to the entirety of the rhythm. 16th note grooves are often played on drums but can also be played on other instruments.

James Brown was a famous artist in the 50s/60s who was born in Barnwell South Carolina in 1933, he was raised in Augusta Georgia by his great aunt who took him in at around the age of 5. Brown grew up during the great depression in the 30s and he was so badly in poverty that he was sent home from grade school for not having sufficient clothing. He was taught by his neighbours how to play drums, piano and guitar and soon after became quite interested in gospel music. He learnt about gospel music in church were preachers would yell and stomp their feet in order to provoke responses from the congregation. Brown would sing for his classmates and in talent shows but always saw himself in a career like boxing or baseball rather than music. Brown had quite a troubled time growing up, he got arrested for breaking into cars and got given8-16 years but was let out after 3 years for good behaviour. James brown went to a place called Alto Reform School and whilst here he formed a gospel group which soon attracted the attention ofrock and roll and rhythm and blues shouter Little Richard whose manager ended up helping to promote the gospel group. Shortly after this happened James Brown ended up releasing his fist song 'Please Please please' in 1956. This record ended up selling three million copies being his start to a very successful career. He ended up placing almost 100 singles and almost 50 albums best seller charts. Live at the Apollo was James Browns first successful live performance which stayed on the chats for 66 weeks in 1963. In 1964 Brown had a hit single called Out Of Sight which completely helped the launch of the funk sound, he also released another song in 1965 called Papas Got A Brand New Bag which helped to establish the usual fun funk beat. Brown fully established the funk sound by the early 1970s with records such as The Payback. 

Sub Genres of Funk

Punk Funk- This music genre combines both Punk and Funk and it first emerged late in the 1970s. It combines the energy of Punk and rock with the fun more danceable rhythms of Funk. Punk Funk is known to have complex rhythms and is instrumentally quite difficult and demanding. An influential artist who took over this style of music would be Rick James, he was a singer, songwriter and also a producer who was famously known for his Punk Funk style of music.

Modern Funk

Modern Funk is a blend of Soul, Funk and R&B, it tends to feature catchy melodies, funky guitar riffs and also groovy basslines. This genre has only quite recently came back i with artists like Bruno Mars, and similar to Punk Funk its also a genre of music that you would dance to.

Afrobeat

Afrobeats originated in Nigeria in the late 1960s, it features elements of Jazz, Funk and soul music. Afrobeat music tends to include long instrumental solos, jazzy and complex rhythms and also contains strong lyrics which are often written politically. Influential artists include Yemi Alade, Tiwa Savage and also Tyla who recently won a Grammy for her afrobeat song Water.

Pop Music

Pop Music is the most modern genre of music that i have mentioned in this blog, pop songs tend to usually all have a very similar structure. The songs tend to all contain 2- 3 verses with the chorus being made to be the pat of the song that everyone knows, the choruses tend to have catchy melodies and are known to be the most singable part of the song. Some pop songs also contain a bridge section sometimes know and the middle 8 section of a song, this part of the song usually is 8 bars of a song which sounds a bit different from the rest of the song. Pop songs tend to have a hook within the song, this is basically something within the song which is repeated a lot in the song and is the thing that makes the song known to a wider audience. Pop music most commonly includes Bass Guitars, Drums, Keyboards, Electric Guitars  and also vocals with a strong melody. Pop music first emerged in the 1950s and was given the name pop  (Popular) as it was neither classical or jazz which were the more popular styles back in that time.

https://www.themusicstudio.ca/characteristics-of-music-pop/ 

Influential Pop Artists

Michael Jackson- Michael Jackson revolutionised pop music in the 1980s and was known back then as the King of pop music. His music was a blend of Funk, Rock, Pop and he also broke many racial barriers for other black musicians at the time.  Michael Jacksons career started in the Jackson 5 when they became the first pop group in history to have their 4 first singles all hit number one. After achieving this, the group earned their first Grammy nomination for  the best  contemporary vocal performance by a Group or a duo. In 1982 Michael Jackson released his album Thriller, this album was considered on of his most successful albums and it was co produced by Quincy Jones and Jackson himself. This album got Jackson 7 top ten hits and was one of the best selling albums of the time. Jackson then went on to creating the moon walk which went on to be his most significant and signature move. In 1984 Michael became the first artist to win 8 Grammys in one night, he won Album of the year and also record of the year from his song Beat It. Michael Jackson had a long lasting career until he sadly passed away on the 25th of June 2009.

https://www.grammy.com/news/michael-jackson-10-achievements-that-made-him-the-king-of-pop 

Taylor swift- Taylor Swifts pop career began first  with her album 1989 that was released in 2014, this was her first pop album released. To date Taylor has sold over 200 million records and is one of the best selling artists in the world. Taylor Swift has one may Grammy awards for her pop music including Best vocal pop album and also Album of the year. She first won album of the year for her album Fearless in 2008, she also won in 2020 for her album Folklaw becoming the first women to win best album of the year three times. She also won best pop vocal album for her album in 2022 for Midnights.

Sub Genres of pop

Pop Punk- Pop punk tends to be a very fast paced genre of music, bands that you may lik with this genre could be The Beatles or Beach boys. It tends to show themes of being young and also politics. Pop punk songs tend to have catchy melodies and it emerged in the 1990s .

Dance pop- Dance pop is a genre of electronic dance music which tends to be played in social settings such as nightclubs. The music tends to be very upbeat with a danceable tempo and rhythm, the music also contains catchy melodies. It also features strong beats, simple but strong hooks and also electronic sounds. Some influential artists that fit this genre of music includes, Madonna, Rhianna and Michael Jackson.