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Jazz influence on American culture in the 20th century
Jazz influence on American culture in the 20th century
How did the jazz age influence American culture
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Music was one of the most prominent and defining aspects of the 1920s. World War I had just ended, and young Americans were feeling free spirited and were moving away from tradition. New inventions such as the radio and phonograph records allowed people from coast to coast to listen to the same music. This also allowed for jazz music to be popularized everywhere and for new talented musicians to become household names. 1920s marked a huge jump in advances in the music industry. The phonograph record became the common way of releasing music, surpassing the sales of sheet music and piano rolls. New independent companies started to take shape and were brave enough to take a chance at competing with the bigger companies. Some great early Jazz artists started out with the indie labels. Near the end of the decade, however, the radio became a common household item and the indie companies either merged with bigger ones or died out. …show more content…
Jazz music was America’s first big contribution to the musical world; it was new and exciting. In the past, music was always particular and meticulous, with set beats and phrasing, while Jazz music was felt and required immense improvisation skills. The swing and syncopation that Jazz is known for can not be put into musical notation. Jazz musicians would improvise melodies and solos, and would even create new tones called bent notes, which were created by bending a guitar string or sliding between notes on a
The 1920s were known as the Era of Mass Popular Culture. People were extremely social and loved to be entertained in large social groups. These social groups allowed people with the same interests to spend time together and enjoy themselves. Sports brought people together more than all other events. The people of the 1920s were entertained by sports that were also played by Negros and women.
The music of jazz became an important aspect of American culture in the early 20th century. The crisp syncopation of ragtime and the smooth tunes of the blues seeped into American mainstream music through dance halls and saloons and later through ballrooms. Instruments like the piano, trumpet, trombone and clarinet became important and symbolized the “swing-feel” of jazz because of their capability to syncopate and improvise precisely. With the help of the booming recording industry, musical geniuses were discovered and their talent and contributions to the emergence of jazz spread throughout the entire country. Such musicians include composer, arranger and pianist Jelly Roll Morton who heavily influenced the development of early jazz by his unique piano style, his “invention” of musical notation for jazz, and his compositions that have become the core in the jazz repertory. Because the style was new and different and so successful in drawing in large audiences, musicians around the world tried to mimic it. Furthermore, Morton’s masterpieces were the first to show notation for complicated jazz music and thus, formed the basis for standard notation in jazz compositions today.
During the 1920’s music was very important to the people and exacerbated racial tensions in the postwar period (citation). The music industry began to take off because new technology started making it easier to produce and share music around.
Many of the inventions during the 1920s modernized America. Inventions of the 1920s include the American Hammond Organ, adhesive bandages, car radios, loudspeakers, electric shavers, and traffic signals. Household items like electric irons, toasters, refrigerators, air conditioners, radio, television, and vacuum cleaners made daily life very different from previous generations. The radio was in almost every home and provided listeners with sports, concerts, and news. Radio quickly became a national obsession. For those that could not afford a radio, the radio in public places became a gathering place and allowed people to keep up with issues and share ideas and opinions. The first movie with sound was introduced and started the movie industry. As automobiles became more affordable, movie theatres became more popular. The 1920s not only introduced sound to movies, but also Technicolor. Movies soon became America’s favorite form of entertainment. The aviation industry was also stimulated with Charles A. Lindbergh’s first flight across the Atlantic Oce...
The word “jazz” is significant to America, and it has many meanings. Jazz could simply be defined as a genre or style of music that originated in America, but it can also be described as a movement which “bounced into the world somewhere about the year 1911…” . This is important because jazz is constantly changing, evolving, adapting, and improvising. By analyzing the creators, critics, and consumers of jazz in the context of cultural, political, and economic issue, I will illustrate the movement from the 1930’s swing era to the birth of bebop and modern jazz.
What comes to mind when thinking of the 1920’s? Most people think of the freedom the United States felt after World War I and that is exactly what jazz and the Charleston symbolize (Boundless.com par. 1). Jazz and the Charleston were extremely controversial in the 1920’s because they promoted a new way of thinking, which outraged the older generations (Knowles 160). Older generations did not like the fact that young people were becoming more and more daring with their actions just by playing music and dancing (Boundless.com par. 6). Today, jazz and the Charleston are thought of as out of date, but without them, music today would be completely different. Jazz and the Charleston revolutionized modern music and dance by altering the rhythm of classical music, changing the culture of American society (Boundless.com par. 1).
Imagine you are walking the streets of New Orleans. You are standing right where jazz was established in the United States of America. Jazz wasn’t just about music, it also affected the culture involving social, economic, artistic and jazz leaders.
As the United States entered the 1920's it was not as unified as one might think. Not one, but two societies existed. The Black society, whose ancestors had been oppressed throughout the ages, and the White society, the oppressors of these men and women. After emancipation the Whites no longer needed the Blacks, but were forced to live with them. The Blacks despised the Whites, but even so they became more like them in every way. Even though these two races had grown so similar over the past century and a half, they were still greatly diversified. One aspect of this great diversity was the difference in music trends. The White society was still in love with the European classical music. The Blacks on the other hand had created something all their own. Jazz, Blues, and Ragtime originated in New Orleans in the 19th century, but by the 1920's it had become famous throughout America. The Whites tried to suppress the Blacks with new laws, but the power of this strengthened race was too great. The Negro music of the 20th century had a huge affect ...
Like if there were more certain instruments being played in songs, they would probably think that was the type of thing the 1920s would listen to. Or how singers would sing their tunes and if that type of singing was found in more songs, they would also probably think of it being popular in that decade. More importantly, the beat and rhythms that would be found in most of the songs.
The time period known as the Roaring 20’s was filled with a lot of changes and exciting times. Every age and gender were affected by this era. Many of the changes during this time are still in place today. From courting and dating, the etiquette of women, to the changing of our education. Multiple things from the 1920’s are still being used today in our everyday life; from jobs to clothing to careers.
Jazz is referred as “America’s classical music,” and is one of North America’s and most celebrated genres. The history of Jazz can be traced back to the early era of the 20th century of the U.S. “A History of Jazz” presents From Ragtime and Blues to Big Band and Bebop, jazz has been a part of a proud African American tradition for over 100 years. A strong rhythmic under-structure, blue notes, solos, “call-and response” patterns, and
Trumpeter and band leader Maynard Ferguson once said that “change is always happening. That’s one of the wonderful things about jazz music.” Ferguson’s view of America’s most beloved and celebrated genre of music can refer to the main element in jazz, improvisation or the developing styles that emerged in different locations and eras in the United States. Jazz itself has no set time period or location where it was born and because of this many scholars, as well as, the public have various opinions in regards to the beginning of jazz. A popular lore is that Jazz was created in Storyville, a red-light district in New Orleans. However, research has shown that it developed from both African and European influences of the past. Since the combination
Jazz music is one of the only musical genres originally developed in the United States. Almost all other forms of music come from other parts of the world, obviously predating the creation of the jazz. This is perhaps why jazz music is one of the most diverse, original, spontaneous, and wild forms of music. Jazz music draws from a rich history of African, Latin American, and European influences. Jazz was created at time in which women in the United States were making great progress in securing equal rights. However, this progressive form of music still held fast to deep seated discrimination against allowing the involvement of women.
Now a days, many believe that jazz is not that important of music genre, but with our history, jazz plays a big role. “Jazz does not belong to one race or culture, but it is a gift that America has given to the world.”, quoted by Ahmad Alaadeen. Jazz in the 1920’s opened the eyes of whites and invited them into African American culture; it evolved Americans to where we are today since it brought a change to the music scene, an acceptance of African Americans, and a change of lifestyles.
Jazz is the best-known artistic creation of the Harlem Renaissance. “Jazz is the only pure American creation, which shortly after its birth, became America’s most important cultural export”(Ostendorf, 165). It evolved from the blues. In the formally standardized, instrumentally accompanied form of “city blues”(as opposed to the formally unstandardized and earlier “country blues”), the blues was to become one of the two major foundations of 1920s jazz (the other being rags). City blues tended to be strophic songs with a text typically based on two-line strophes (but with the first line of each strophe’s text repeated, AAB) and a standard succession of harmonies underlying each strophe’s melody.... ...