Module 1

The old-time music selections provided a look into the origins of British ballad tradition and the string band tradition. I noticed that in all three selections, the vocals (if there were any) were very simple melodies. I didn't hear any vocal embellishments or deviations from the melody. In "Barbary Ann," every verse sounded the same. The two versions of "Soldier's Joy" really allowed me to hear the fast and technical playing style. I personally preferred Tommy Jarrell's version because I felt his solo version allowed him a little more freedom.

"Coo Coo," "Long John," and "Stagolee" were all examples of early African American music. I found that "Coo Coo" was difficult to understand the lyrics, but the form reminded me of early blues music. There was an acoustic guitar and solo singer. The singer would sing a short verse then play a response with his guitar. Similarly, in "Long John" the call and response format is followed, but with singers. The leader would sing a line and everyone would echo him. This work song was probably my favorite of all of the listening selections from early African Americans. I found that while "Stagolee" was more melodic than the other two songs, I had a difficult time staying focused and enjoying what I was hearing.

The two versions of "La Comparsita" were very different from one another. My preference was on the Gardel recording. I loved the operatic singing with minimal instrumentation. The guitars were there to support the singer, but obviously the singer was the main attraction of the song. I noticed in the Canaro version, many instruments were added. I thought this arrangement was okay, but felt there was just too much going on. There were too many instruments and it sounded like they were all fighting for attention.

In "Enigue Nigue," I found myself confused. I honestly didn't know what was happening. It seemed like all the musicians were "marching to the beat of their own drum." By that, I mean that the rhythmic patterns didn't seem to fit. Perhaps I had found a really poor version of the song, but I just couldn't figure out how everything worked together. Then suddenly, people just started singing over the crazy percussion parts. "La Negra" was completely different. This was exactly how I thought a mariachi band should sound like. There were many instruments that we haven't really heard played together in these chapters (until now), like the trumpets with the singers, guitar, and violins. I felt that the instruments and the singers had a good balance of call and response.

Last, were the first real popular songs in America. Stephen Foster's composition "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" is not my favorite. However, he follows his traditional style where the accompanying instrument plays the melody first then the voice comes in with minimal accompaniment. This makes sense because parlor songs were composed with the idea of an amature musician being able to play and sing for people. I had never heard "After the Ball" before and was surprised to see that it was composed around the same time as Stephen Foster's compositions. I felt that this was the first time we're starting to hear hints of the American Musical Theatre genre. The music is fairly simple and telling a story, but I noticed that every time the singer got to the chorus, it was sung just a little differently. I also noticed that each section (A, B, and C) were drastically different in sound, plus the addition of a speaking part was interesting.

Hearing one of Stephen Foster's compositions this week inspired me to listen to my favorite Foster composition, "Beautiful Dreamer."

Prea Saunders Timeline