Popular Music Case Study

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1. Why has it been difficult to research the earliest popular music?

Answer- It has been difficult to research the earliest popular music because, many centuries ago, music was unclear and poorly documented. Additionally, it wasn’t even until the sixteenth century that people became literate enough to document music. However, most literate people of the time were clergy men and students of universities run by the church, so as a result, the vast majority of recorded music was religious. Therefore, any other forms of music that was comprised were not preserved unless they met the traditional standards of the church, which limited the amount of recorded music even further.

2. What were English forms of popular music that came to America?

Answer-
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What were American forms of theater that encouraged popular song?

Answer- American forms of theater that encouraged popular song were minstrels, which offered an established ensemble of performers, and Vaudeville, which featured individual performers and, ultimately, helped to lead the “pop” of the music industry.

5. Contrast Tin Pan Alley songs before and after “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”.

Answer- Before “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”, songs in Tin Pan Alley were more classical, storytelling, and narrative like. They also consisted of sentimental waltz songs and operettas. After the “Alexander Ragtime Band”, Tin Pan Alley songs became more casual and expressed a carefree attitude. They also encompassed free thought and dynamic urban styles. As a result, the public’s taste of music began to shift from the sentimental waltz songs and operettas of the earlier Tin Pan Alley era toward the livelier “duple-rhythm songs” of the ragtime era.

6. Describe the two types of the 32-bar song form.

Answer- The 32- bar song form helped to usher songs away from narrative ballads and towards more in the moment feelings like love, etc. The first division of the 32-bar song ballet was two halves with identical melodies. The other form of the 32- bar was four groups of eight measurers that involved an eight bar melody of AABA. The A was a repeated melody that consisted of a contrasting melody, B, which made songs shorter, concise, and catchier for the
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The creation of electrical recording made it possible for musicians to record their voices in a wide range of subtle sounds, which affected the style of many artists. Eventually audiences began to prefer a more natural, conventional, and intimate style of song, rather than the previous louder theater versions, which the microphone offered. Additionally, electrical recording allowed for a more natural pronunciation of words, making songs sound clearer and better. The invention of the radio also made it possible to transmit music to listeners from all over. The formation of the radio, and the new preference in style of music, ultimately impacted the arrangement of music practices. The once concentrated sounds of musical instruments began to decline in favor, and therefore, music began to focus more on the singers and their

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