Stefanie Buscher Listening Journal Week 2

After completing the listening for this week, which included American jazz music from 1917 into the 1930s, a few central themes and questions came to mind. I noted a continuous relationship with the commercialization and simplification of music introduced into the main stream culture. While listening, I wondered how musicians, who did not compose music, were able to be creative before the use of improvisation. I recognized how the lack of technology, specifically social media, made it possible for musicians and their songs to stay relevant longer.  Lastly, I noticed the beginning of the trend of credit for “hits” going more to the performer than to the writer. Below I will detail these concepts with examples from the listening.

                “The Castle House Rag”, by James Reese Europe, catered to the dance style of Vernon and Irene Castle. While the Castles’ dance moves and Europe’s music were new and fresh and edgy, their success came greatly in part of their ability to “water it down” for their customers; Americans. The Castles put together combinations of simplified tango dance moves so that it could be easily learned and repeated throughout a song. That component of the dance transfers over to Europe’s “The Castle House Rag” as you can see with the repeat of sections in its AABBACCDEEF form. Additionally, the integration of the waltz in the C section is possibly a strategic break for the dancers from the new fast paced moves to a slower, more familiar, and less skilled dance style. While “The Castle House Rag” did wonders for getting Americans involved in the new dance and music movement, I wonder what would be different in the composition if Europe had not considered commercialized motivations.

                The Original Dixieland Jazz Band and King Joe Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band both brought respectable music to Americans in the jazz era, but modern day critics view Oliver’s ensemble as “the first authentic evidence of a mature jazz style”  (Starr & Waterman, 2014, page 87). If you compare the recordings of ODJB’s “Tiger Rag” to Oliver’s “Dipper Mouth Blues” one very noticeable difference is the use of improvisation. Both groups furthered improvisation in jazz music, but King Joe’s ensemble’s use of a solo section is more elaborate than the ODJB’s use of “collective improvisation.” Additionally, Oliver’s ensemble, which included trumpeter Louis Armstrong, made use of various mutes to create new and exciting sounds.

                Technology did many great things for the American music industry during this time period, including the development of the electric microphone for recording. This microphone inspired the recreation of a popular 1921 hit “April Showers” over a decade after the original release. While technology allowed for both of Al Jolson’s “April Shower” recordings to be popular, I believe that the lack of technology also contributed. Modern day technology allows for us to enjoy “new” music with a push of a button through many different avenues (radio, computer, cell phone, television). The instant gratification that we receive by having this music on demand pushes us to want more new music constantly. I do not believe that Jolson would be able to re-release his song the same way in today’s music industry, even with a newly founded technological advance.

                “I’ve Got Rhythm” performed by Ethel Merman is a very powerful song for many reasons beyond Merman’s full throttle voice. This is the first suggested recording in the text that is performed by a woman and the recording date is 1947! Jean Ritchie’s “Barbary Allen” (page 21) was recorded later in 1960. Although the lyrics of “I’ve Got Rhythm” were written by a man (Ira Gershwin), the words are very inviting for a female singer.  The order of the lines, “I’ve got rhythm, I’ve got music, I’ve got my man”, places emphasis on the singer’s love of music and choice to place her love music first (before her “man”). I first saw Merman perform a part of  “I’ve Got Rhythm” on the I Love Lucy show in an episode from 1964. Her musicianship and stage presence is to be admired and should be credited for the development of later female performers.

Link to I Love Lucy clip with EthelMerman

Starr, L., & Waterman, C. (2014). American popular music: From minstrelsy to MP3 (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Stefanie Buscher Listening Journal Week One

                The old time music examples of “Barbary Allen” and the two arrangements of “Soldier’s Joy” all have different qualities. “Barbary Allen” defies the standard formula for present day popular music with its length of well over the three minutes and a wide vocal range. Additionally, the lack of instrumentation and repetitive melodic pattern throughout gives it similarities to that of a work song. Even further, performer Jean Ritchie discusses not needing to write down these “old songs” and knowing them like “butter churning chants.” The two recordings of “Soldier’s Joy” carry the same meaning but have very different deliveries. Tommy Jarrell plays his instrumental only version at the army bases while the Skillet Lickers perform it with lyrics at rural house parties. One reason for this could be that the words contain a rather dark message about morphine and alcohol while the instrumentals lines are rather cheerful. When comparing these three recordings it is evident which one would be considered the most “commercial” of the three. The Skillet Lickers “Soldier’s Joy” is under three minutes and also contains a short comedic segment in which the performers pick at a stereotype of themselves.  

                The recording of “Coo Coo” by Dink Roberts and “Stagolee” by Mississippi John Hurt have several musical similarities. Both incorporate call and response form with a string instrument as well as polyrhythmic textures. The lyrics however are quite different between the two songs. Roberts, who learned “Coo Coo” nearly 65 years before the recording, sings a song about conversing with an independent women. Hurt, on the other hand, sings about the “bad man” Stack O Lee (black) who kills a white man because he stole his hat. It is interesting to think about Hurt’s motives with “Stagolee.” As a black man himself, is he endorsing the “bad man” black image that many white Americans believed after the abolition of slavery, or is he trying to exemplify what characteristics should really define a “bad man” in order to prove that being black is not synonymous with “bad.”

                The Latin influence on American popular music is fascinating. “La Cumparsita” performed by Carlos Gardel (with guitar accompaniment and lyrics about betrayed love) and the arrangement without lyrics performed by Francisco Canaro, both paint a beautiful imagery of two people dancing a tango. The instrumental version of Canaro seems to have a stronger sense of pulse, which results in more dramatic articulations at the time of the arrastres (or drags). The Afro-Cuban Rumba example of “Enigue Nigue” is resembled in the work of Pedrito Martinez, who I recently go to see perform live. I feel like I should see his group again now that I know more about the history of Afro-Cuban music, including the purpose of the montuno and the story of the guaguanco dance. The last example of “La Negra” and the origins of the Mariachi style from the Mexican state of Jalisco is striking a chord with me right now. Over the summer I was fortunate enough to get to travel to Puerto Vallarta and had the pleasure of experiencing music all over the beautiful town. Today a terrible hurricane is going to approach the western coastline of Mexico, including much of Jalisco. My heart breaks as I listen to this music right now even though the melodies are normally uplifting and happy. One thing that is evident in the recordings and in the live performances is how the Latin culture approaches music making as a social endeavor. It is even evident in the names of the bands; The Pedrito Martinez Group.

Link to Pedrito Martinez

Link to dropbox folder of some music in Puerto Vallarta

                The last few listening examples focus on music that achieved popularity in the American music industry in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. Stephen Foster’s “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair”, with a Westernized favorable formal structure of AABA, gained most of its fame well after its release. After listening to the suggested recording by Thomas Hampson and several others, I find it impressive that a song can withstand the test of time and be applied in so many different contexts (Looney Tunes, the Flinstones, Sam Cooke). The other song mentioned in the text, “After the Ball”, managed to find immediate star power. I believe this was due to the publishing date. “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair”, published in 1854, was nearly forty years before “After the Ball” in 1892. The sheet music industry was much stronger in 1892 with the immersion of Tin Pan Alley and other technologies that were developed.

Link to Sam Cooke Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair

Musical Assessment and Professional Productivity with Technology

The course work this week covered several ways in which technology can assist music teachers while assessing learning. By far the best resource acquired from this week was the ability to use Flubaroo to grade quizzes made with Google Forms. Using Google Forms to track data from assessments or responses from surveys is very helpful, but the Flubaroo add-on makes the overall grading process extremely easy. Flubaroo is also helpful for students since instructors can send an email with feedback as soon as the assessments are graded.  The ability to provide timely feedback is very important and is even part of the criteria listed by The Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning organization (Bauer, 2014).  

This week also included work on the WebQuest designs. The WebQuest project was good for me because it proved (to myself) that I am capable of using technology, capable of thinking outside the box to make fun and beneficial learning opportunities for my students, and lastly, that this kind of learning can happen in a high school band setting. The need for teachers, especially band directors, to get away from teacher led classrooms is very high. The traditional band setting places a director on a podium with a baton and tells them to lead the group. While my classroom has many opportunities for class discussions and student input, it will be interesting to see how different learning will occur when they complete the WebQuest.  

Bauer, W. (2014). Technology Fundamentals. In Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music. Oxford University Press.

Instructional Design and Technology In Music Education

            This week I got to revisit the backward design model that was focused on in a previous UFL music education course. The backwards design model is a great tool for teachers of all content areas because it focuses on student outcomes (the learning) more so than the teaching (Bauer, 2014). While I do use the backward design with my middle school bands consistently, I occasionally find myself getting wrapped up in the strenuous high school band performance schedule and losing focus on the real goal of student learning. Administering assignments and assessments digitally (with a program like SmartMusic) is a great way to use technology in the instructional design for band, but it is also a digital record keeper. Having the ability to track data electronically means easy adjustments in my backward design and it also makes planning for differentiated instruction easier.

            This week I also became familiar with project based learning in the form of WebQuests. WebQuests, or an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information comes from resources on the internet, seem like a great way to have higher level thinking outside of the band room.  I fear that students often “practice” at home without using deep practice and the use of WebQuests will hopefully provoke thinking at a higher level than just playing through some notes. I look forward to completing a WebQuest for my middle school students on the topic of time signatures. I’ve never tried anything like this with them and I predict they will enjoy being “researchers.” The Driscoll model of constructivism, and the idea that knowledge should be constructed, challenges the typical band rehearsal of warm up and play through music as led by the director. I expect that by incorporating project based learning activities, like WebQuests, my students’ musical skills will strengthen even if the project does not necessarily require playing their instruments.

            Lastly, this week I am using technology to get parent feedback on my instructional design. This is my third year in my current teacher position. I brought back the marching band program (from a 17 year vacation) during my first year here. It seemed as though the students, parents, and community loved it. We began with parade marching in local parades the first year, then attended several parade competitions last year, and now field march at home football games in addition to several parade competitions. Recently I have had a very difficult time getting color guard and drumline students to come to the once a week after school rehearsals. That on top of woodwind and brass players not individually practicing has resulted in a frustrating score at our most recent competition. My goal is to do what is best for the students and, until recently, I thought that was to provide them with marching band opportunities that they didn’t have before. And so I have constructed a survey (with google forms) to try to get feedback from parents and students. Hopefully the feedback will give me information to help the program move forward.

Link to Marching BandSurvey

Bauer, W. (2014). Technology Fundamentals. In Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music. Oxford University Press.