Pop-ular Music

The Beginning

To truly understand the foundation of American Popular Music, we need to go back to the early-1800s. We're not going to do that.

To get a feel for where our music began and to understand populist styles, we would need to truly dig into the time period around the US Civil War and Reconstruction Eras. We're not going to do that either.

Instead, we're going to fast-forward to where the technology of the time forcefully shoved music into the American parlor (a room in your house) and where music began to make a truly indelible impact on American society. This is only a high school class, after all!

American popular music got its footing during a time of a very different social dynamic in American history. Upheaval... unrest... vast social discrepancies... welcome to America in the 1920s!

Keywords & People

Jazz Age
Big Bands
Disc Jockey (DJ)
Swing
Prohibition
The Great Depression

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington
Benny Goodman
Count Basie
Louis Armstrong
Glenn Miller
Woody Herman

The Big Bands

1929-1941

Reading

Click the logo to the left side of you screen to enter Perusall. Perusall is a tool to engage with readings by discussing them with others virtually. Use your iPride22 Google account for Signing In.

Then, use the following code to enroll in our course and access the materials: SCHATT-EPPDQ

Post three (3) questions or comments in Perusall as you review the passage.

Also, check out:

Crooners

Recording Technology of the 1920s

Student Prezi

Time To Listen

Click the Spotify logo to the left to find a sample of some of the songs from our reading.

Points To Ponder

What were the new technologies that changed the sound of popular music during the 1920s and 30s?
What were some stylistic features of the Big Band era?
What was happening in America during this time that made it possible for jazz to take hold as America's popular music?

Add To Your Timeline

Click the logo on the right side of your screen to enter Knightlab's Timeline JS. Using Google Sheets, we are going to create multimedia timelines of the events from our exploration of music history. Start with the logo on the right, read EVERY word, and take it step-by-step. Once you have created your URL for your timeline, enter it in the Google Form below for teacher review.

Then...

Choose three (3) key musicians or songs from this week's reading and enter them on your timeline. At least one (1) should have a graphic or media clip attached to it and ALL should have a short one-sentence description.

Also, select three (3) societal or world events that occurred during this time period on your timeline. At least one (1) should have a graphic or media clip attached to it and ALL should have a short one-sentence description.

Google Sites

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