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🎸Music History – 1850 to Present

🎸music history – 1850 to present review

5.1 The Birth of Jazz: Ragtime, Blues, and New Orleans Style

7 min readLast Updated on August 13, 2024

Ragtime and blues laid the groundwork for jazz in the early 20th century. These genres blended African-American rhythms with European musical structures, creating new sounds that captivated audiences across America.

Jazz emerged as a unique art form, combining improvisation, syncopation, and collective creativity. It quickly spread from New Orleans to other cities, influencing popular music and becoming a symbol of American culture.

Ragtime's Origins and Jazz Influence

Ragtime's Emergence and Characteristics

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  • Ragtime emerged in the late 19th century as a style of piano music that combined African-American rhythms (syncopation) and European classical music structures (march-like bass lines)
  • Ragtime's syncopated rhythms, characterized by accented notes on weak beats, became a defining feature of the style and influenced the development of early jazz
    • Syncopation involves shifting the accent to the off-beats or weaker beats in a measure, creating a lively and energetic feel
    • This rhythmic complexity was a departure from the more straightforward rhythms found in European classical music
  • The piano roll industry and sheet music sales contributed to the widespread dissemination of ragtime music across the United States
    • Piano rolls, perforated paper rolls that could be played on player pianos, allowed ragtime compositions to be heard in homes and public spaces
    • Sheet music sales made ragtime compositions available to amateur and professional pianists alike, increasing the genre's popularity

Scott Joplin and Ragtime's Influence on Jazz

  • Scott Joplin, known as the "King of Ragtime," composed many famous ragtime pieces, including "The Entertainer" and "Maple Leaf Rag," which helped popularize the genre
    • "The Entertainer" (1902) became one of the most well-known ragtime compositions and was later used in the 1973 film "The Sting"
    • "Maple Leaf Rag" (1899) was one of Joplin's earliest and most successful compositions, selling over a million copies of sheet music
  • Ragtime's influence can be heard in the works of early jazz composers and pianists, such as Jelly Roll Morton and Fats Waller, who incorporated ragtime elements into their compositions and improvisations
    • Jelly Roll Morton, considered one of the first jazz composers, blended ragtime, blues, and other styles in his compositions ("King Porter Stomp")
    • Fats Waller, a stride pianist and composer, built upon ragtime's foundation with his virtuosic playing style and innovative harmonies ("Ain't Misbehavin'")

Blues Music: Characteristics and Significance

Musical Characteristics of the Blues

  • The blues originated from African-American work songs, spirituals, and field hollers, reflecting the experiences and struggles of the African-American community in the post-Civil War era
  • The blues is characterized by a 12-bar chord progression, often featuring the I, IV, and V chords, and a AAB lyrical structure, where the first line is repeated and the second line rhymes with the first
    • The 12-bar blues progression provides a framework for improvisation and storytelling
    • The AAB lyrical structure allows for call-and-response patterns and emphasizes the emotional content of the lyrics
  • Blue notes, which are slightly flattened or bent notes, are a distinctive feature of the blues scale and contribute to the genre's emotional expressiveness
    • The blues scale is a six-note scale that includes the flattened third, fifth, and seventh notes of the major scale
    • These "blue notes" create a sense of tension and release, mirroring the emotions expressed in the lyrics

Social Significance and Influence of the Blues

  • The lyrics of blues songs often deal with themes of hardship, love, and social issues, serving as a means of storytelling and personal expression for African-American musicians
    • Blues lyrics often reflect the struggles and experiences of African Americans, including poverty, discrimination, and heartbreak
    • The blues provided a platform for musicians to share their stories and connect with audiences on a deep, emotional level
  • The blues had a significant impact on the development of various music genres, including jazz, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and soul music
    • Jazz musicians incorporated blues elements into their improvisations and compositions, creating a more expressive and emotive sound
    • Rhythm and blues (R&B) and rock and roll drew heavily from the blues, with artists like Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley bringing blues-influenced music to mainstream audiences
    • Soul music, which emerged in the 1950s and 1960s, combined elements of blues, gospel, and R&B, with artists like Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin showcasing the enduring influence of the blues

New Orleans Jazz: Features and Musicians

Characteristics of New Orleans Jazz

  • New Orleans jazz, also known as Dixieland jazz, developed in the early 20th century and is characterized by a collective improvisation style, where multiple musicians improvise simultaneously
    • Collective improvisation involves musicians creating spontaneous melodies and countermelodies within the framework of a given chord progression
    • This style of improvisation creates a lively and energetic sound, with musicians responding to and building upon each other's ideas
  • The typical New Orleans jazz ensemble consisted of a "front line" of cornet or trumpet, clarinet, and trombone, and a "rhythm section" of piano, banjo or guitar, drums, and double bass or tuba
    • The front line instruments often played melodies and improvised solos, while the rhythm section provided harmonic and rhythmic support
    • The combination of these instruments created a distinctive sound that was both polyphonic and rhythmically complex
  • The New Orleans jazz style often featured a 2/4 or 4/4 time signature, syncopated rhythms, and the use of "breaks," where a single instrument or small group would improvise while the rest of the band remained silent
    • The 2/4 and 4/4 time signatures provided a strong, danceable beat that was well-suited to the lively atmosphere of New Orleans dance halls and clubs
    • Breaks allowed individual musicians to showcase their improvisational skills and added variety to the overall texture of the music

Notable New Orleans Jazz Musicians

  • Louis Armstrong, a renowned cornetist and trumpet player, was a key figure in the development of New Orleans jazz, known for his virtuosic playing, innovative improvisations, and influential vocal style
    • Armstrong's virtuosic playing, characterized by his powerful tone, high range, and expressive use of vibrato, set a new standard for jazz trumpet playing
    • His innovative improvisations, which often included extended solos and melodic paraphrasing, helped to establish jazz as a soloist's art form
    • Armstrong's distinctive vocal style, known as "scat singing," involved improvising melodies and rhythms using nonsense syllables, adding a new dimension to jazz vocals
  • Other notable New Orleans jazz musicians include King Oliver, Sidney Bechet, Jelly Roll Morton, and Kid Ory, who contributed to the genre's distinct sound and style
    • King Oliver, a cornetist and bandleader, mentored Louis Armstrong and helped to popularize the New Orleans jazz style through his recordings and performances
    • Sidney Bechet, a clarinetist and soprano saxophonist, was known for his expressive playing style and his role in bringing jazz to European audiences
    • Jelly Roll Morton, a pianist, composer, and bandleader, claimed to have invented jazz and made significant contributions to the genre's development through his compositions and arrangements
    • Kid Ory, a trombonist and bandleader, played a crucial role in the early development of New Orleans jazz and helped to establish the trombone as an important jazz instrument

Jazz's Rise in the Early 20th Century

Cultural and Historical Context

  • Jazz emerged in the early 20th century, primarily in New Orleans, Louisiana, a port city with a diverse population and a rich musical heritage
    • New Orleans' cultural diversity, which included African, European, and Caribbean influences, contributed to the development of jazz as a fusion of various musical traditions
    • The city's thriving music scene, which included brass bands, dance halls, and street performances, provided a fertile ground for the growth of jazz
  • The closing of Storyville, New Orleans' red-light district, in 1917 led to the migration of many jazz musicians to other cities, such as Chicago and New York, contributing to the spread of jazz music
    • Storyville, which had been a center of jazz performance and development, was shut down due to pressure from the U.S. Navy and local reformers
    • The migration of jazz musicians to other cities helped to establish regional jazz scenes and styles, such as Chicago jazz and New York swing
  • The Great Migration of African Americans from the South to the North during the early 20th century exposed a wider audience to jazz music and influenced the development of regional jazz styles
    • The Great Migration, driven by economic opportunities and the desire to escape racial discrimination in the South, brought African American musicians and their musical traditions to northern cities
    • The interaction between southern and northern musical styles contributed to the evolution of jazz and the emergence of new subgenres

Popularization and Cultural Significance of Jazz

  • The rise of the recording industry and radio broadcasting in the 1920s helped popularize jazz music and establish it as a mainstream genre
    • The advent of recorded music allowed jazz to reach a wider audience and helped to establish the reputations of individual musicians and bands
    • Radio broadcasts, such as those from the Cotton Club in Harlem, brought jazz into homes across the United States and helped to create a national audience for the genre
  • The Harlem Renaissance, an African-American cultural movement in the 1920s and 1930s, embraced jazz as a symbol of black artistic expression and identity, furthering its cultural significance
    • The Harlem Renaissance, centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, was a period of artistic, literary, and intellectual flourishing among African Americans
    • Jazz became an integral part of the Harlem Renaissance, with musicians like Duke Ellington and Fats Waller becoming prominent figures in the movement
    • The celebration of jazz during the Harlem Renaissance helped to establish the genre as a vital part of African American cultural heritage and a symbol of black pride and resilience


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© 2025 Fiveable Inc. All rights reserved.
AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.