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Scott Joplin (1868-1917)
The "king of ragtime", Joplin was the first African-American musician to gain worldwide renown. Raised in Texas, Joplin composed many pieces which became insanely popular, most notably "Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer" -
Ma Rainey (1882-1939)
Known as "Mother of the Blues" was one of the pioneers in Blues recordings. Ma Rainey was known for her powerful voice and phrasing. -
Ragtime (1890s-1920s)
Precursor to Jazz, Ragtime was a piano style that was the result of a fusion of African-American syncopated rhythms and European musical structure. -
Blues (1890s-present)
Also a predecessor to Jazz, Blues originated from African-American work songs, featured sliding tones, a repetitive 12-bar progression (I, IV, I, V, IV, I), and poetic lyrics. -
Duke Ellington (1899-1974)
Composed hundreds of songs and pieces. Was a pioneer as a band leader of both Swing and Big Band in their respective eras. Ellington played at the "Cotton Club" in New York where the city's elite would go to listen to Jazz. -
Music in radio broadcasts
The first time that music was played over the radio was by Lee de Forest's Radio Telephone Company. The broadcast was a live Metropolitan Opera House performance. Later when more and more American families were buying radios for the home to listen to in their free time, his made music more popular in the radio. -
Jazz (early 19th century-present)
Originating in the early 19th as a predecessor to Ragtime and Blues, Jazz became popular soon and brought forth many subgenres such as Scat Singing, Swing, Big Band, and Bebop. Recently there has been a shift towards jazz again as people are trying to recreate the roaring twenties. -
Thelonious Monk (1917-82)
Thelonious Monk was a virtuoso bebop jazz pianist and composer, he improvised in a lot of his performances which featured dissonance and unorthodox techniques. One of his most famous pieces is Round Midnight -
Swing and Big Band (1930s-40s)
A substyle of Jazz, Swing and Big Band were considered Jazz for dancing because of its energetic style. Mainly played in night clubs with dance floors -
Elvis Presley (1935-77)
The "King of Rock N Roll", Elvis Presley originally performed Gospel and Blues. It wasn't until later in his career when he started his Rock N Roll style. He became an idol to teen audiences across America and is still a symbol of American culture today -
Steve Reich (b. 1936)
Reich was a pioneer of minimalistic music. His works include compositions with repetitiveness, tape loops, canons, and slow harmonic rhythms. -
David Del Tredici (b. 1937)
American pianist, composer, and leader of the Neo-Romantic movement. Del Tredici still publishes new works. His most recent one was "The Last Rose" (2018). -
Bebop (1940s)
A highly virtuosic style of Jazz which allowed highly skilled musicians to express themselves with raw emotion, blazing speed, dissonance, and many solo opportunities. -
Rock 'N' Roll (1950s-60s)
Rock 'N' Roll is the result of a mixture of Blues and Honky-Tonk along with a more rebellious sound. Mainly aimed at teenagers. -
Neo-Romanticism (1970s-present)
Born as a result of certain composers wanting to forgo the "intellectual" styles such as Atonalism and Serialism, Neo-Romanticism features a harmonic style similar to that of the Romantic era, but now with new instrumental combinations. -
Minimalism (1980s-present)
Uses repetitive patterns of melody, harmony, and rhythm. Features few or slowly changing variations, and may sound hypnotic. -
Globalization (1990s-present)
Also known as World Music, it includes music from across the globe. The rise of the internet in the 1990s, and social media in the 2000s and 2010s allowed for music to be shared much easily across borders and oceans. This has allowed a much more global perspective even for people who have never left their country.
