How Did American Music Change During The Twentieth Century?

Many events occurred during the twentieth century, some good and some bad. Two world wars happened and the beginning of a cold war between Russia and the United States. There were also many new advances in technology, for instance sound recordings, computers, humans walking on the moon and the internet. The beginning of the twentieth century called for a time for revolt and fundamental changes in the music world since the baroque period. A variety of styles, music styles evolved during this time and majority of the time it also represented the diversity of life at that time. It was at this time that the U.S was a potent force in the music world. People of color and women began to play roles in the music scene, whereas before they weren’t allowed. …show more content…
As for melodies, they were no longer tied to traditional chords, mayor or minor keys or a tonal center. One characteristic that was abandoned in the twentieth century was the traditional distinction between consonance and dissonance. The new use of chord structures and alternatives to the traditional tonal system were highly explored. One of the most striking features of this time was rhythm, since it was used to generate power, drive and excitement in music pieces. Music in 1945 can also be distinguished separately for example, some artist’s embraced tonal music and a return to tonality was at the start of this period it was abandoned. Element of chance was introduced to music of performance and composition. A twelve tone system was expanded to include elements such as rhythm, timbre and dynamics beside just pitch. Objects like computers, tape studios and synthesizers made notable innovations in music. In this period percussion instruments had the greatest expansion and were experimenting more with to produce a certain sound. Since each period of time has new styles emerged, through twentieth we had jazz, rock, blues, swing and music for stage and screen