American Music History Flashcards
Grade 11 · Music · Flashcards
Key artists, genres, events, and concepts across the full sweep of American musical history.
Flashcards
- Delta Blues
- Form of blues originating in the Mississippi Delta, characterized by solo vocals/guitar, slide technique, and raw emotional expression.
- Chicago Blues
- Electric, amplified blues style that developed when African American musicians brought blues north during the Great Migration; associated with Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf.
- Jazz
- American genre born in New Orleans around 1900, combining African rhythms, European harmony, and blues; central feature is improvisation.
- Bebop
- Complex jazz style of the 1940s with fast tempos, intricate harmonies, and virtuosic solos; key figures: Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk.
- Rock and Roll
- Genre that emerged in the 1950s merging R&B and country; groundbreaking for racial integration of American popular music.
- Motown Sound
- Soul and pop style from Detroit's Motown Records (founded 1959); polished production, gospel roots, crossover appeal; artists include Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.
- Soul Music
- Genre blending gospel fervor with secular R&B themes; flourished 1960s–70s; voices of the Civil Rights Movement.
- Funk
- Genre pioneered by James Brown emphasizing rhythm over melody, syncopated bass lines, and the downbeat ('the one').
- Hip-Hop
- Cultural movement and genre originating in the South Bronx, 1970s; four elements: DJing, MCing (rap), breakdancing, graffiti.
- Sampling
- Using a recorded segment from existing music as a new composition's foundation; cornerstone of hip-hop production.
- Great Migration
- Movement of ~6 million African Americans from the South to Northern/Midwestern cities (1910–1970), reshaping American cultural geography including music.
- Woodstock (1969)
- Landmark music festival in upstate New York that drew ~400,000 attendees; symbol of 1960s counterculture featuring Hendrix, Joplin, and more.
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