Starr and Waterman (2014) describe American vernacular music as imported from "three broad “streams”: European American music, African American music, and Latin American music." (p. 17) The European American stream, including folk ballads, were typified by strophic works that told a story in a narrative format using verses. Starr and Waterman also describe the English ballad opera tradition as a strong influence, whereby songs were rewritten to utilize English rather than Italian opera roots, and described the conditions encountered by immigrants. (p. 18) Dance music was also quite common in the nineteenth century, with country dances such as the square dance forming a genre that continues today in the country and western tradition. (p. 19) Folk music was a contributing factor to musical development, as styles such as Polish Polka, Jewish Klezmer music, and Cajun (Acadian) fiddling were utilized in community gatherings. (p. 19) Spirituals, call-and-response style singing, and Gospel music also had a pronounced effect on the development of American vernacular music styles. (p. 20) Each of these styles played a role in the development of, “old-time music, a category that comprises string band music (ranging from fiddle and banjo duets to larger dance ensembles with guitar, mandolin, and autoharp); ballad songs, performed with or without instrumental accompaniment; sacred songs and church hymns; and a variety of functionally specialized music genres such as lullabies and work songs.” (p. 21)
The first three music selections for listening this week are derived from the early development of American cultural identity. "Barbary [Barbara] Allen” is a selection that was performed by Jean Ritchie, recorded in 1960. This song clearly exemplify the ballad style, with a single voice using a strophic pattern to communicate the narrative story through multiple verses, ending on the second scale degree. The melodic treatment in the performance features idiomatic elements that sound very Irish to my ear, but according to Starr and Waterman, are “ornamentations typical of Appalachian hill country singing.” (p. 22) The text describes the story of a man, who on his deathbed, seeks out Barbara Allen, all too late. Following the loss, the she tells her mother, “Young William’s died for me today, and I’ll die for him tomorrow.” The second two songs share the same title, but have different approaches to the performance of the song, “Soldier’s Joy.” The first rendition, by the Skillet Lickers, an ensemble consisting of a guitar and two fiddles, has two distinct musical ideas. Starr and Waterman describe the lyrics as borrowed from another popular song of the time during the first two stanzas, followed by instructions for the square dancers on the subsequent two stanzas. (p. 24) The fiddle playing sounds as if there is a melody that is embellished from an existing melody on one fiddle, while the other is roughly doubling in some portions, while also adding to the harmonic elements in other portions. The guitar acts as the musical constant, outlining the bass notes, and also filling in a simple I V, I IV I chord pattern. The second version of “Soldier’s Joy” is performed by Tommy Jarrell on solo fiddle. The melodic structure is very similar to the Skillet Lickers version, with a bit more rubato to the performance. In this version, it is far easier to perceive the double stopped playing style typical of the fiddle. By dropping the tuning to a more open “old-time D tuning” allows the droning to become a strong element in the performance. The combination of the strophic, verse-based song, with driving dance-inspired rhythmic playing seem to be contributing factors in the development of what we currently call country music.
“I Dream of Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair,” by Stephen Collins Foster, is another song that demonstrates elements from the European American stream of development of American Vernacular Music. Starr and Waterman describe this piece as a four-section song, with an AABA structural format. Each of the A sections contains a slight variation in the consequent function of the section, the third A section finishing with a strong cadential ending, finishing the verse iteration. The performance by Thomas Hampson, released in 1992, features accompaniment by guitar, piano, flute, and violin. The melody is rather disjunct in sections, with large ascending and descending leaps in the vocal line. In an related assignment this week, we reviewed a video entitled, “How Pop Songs Work,” a section of which was devoted to matters of musical structure. In the video by the BBC, contributors discussed how 3-minute songs were mostly driven by the recording limitations of 78 and 45 RPM records, forcing music creators to state their message quickly. The elements of musical structure utilized pervasively in these 3-minute songs included an introduction, multiple verses and choruses, often a bridge, and an outro. It is interesting to note that the arrangement of this particular version of “Jeannie” uses structural elements through each verse, connected with a bridge with instruments modifying and elaborating on the original melody.
“After the Ball,” published in 1892, was the first mega-hit pop song, according to Starr and Waterman. This performance features Joan Morris on vocals and William Bolcom on piano, and was released in 1990. Continuing the development of the European American stream of musical development, this tune is developed with a narrative story set to a simple melody, repeated multiple times, much as the strophic “Barbary Allen.” In this work, the verse element is similar to the AABA structure of “Jeannie,” but is expanded with the introduction of a chorus following the first and second verse. This chorus section contains similar musical material, but is played a bit slower, and features the same text in both iterations. The words “after the ball” are repeated at the beginning and end of the chorus section, providing the “hook” that is described in the video, the text that is intended to firmly place the memory of the tune into your memory. The third verse is treated differently than the first, as it is spoken text that completes the story while the primary musical material is played behind the performer. The final chorus is played even slower than the prior two iterations. The introduction is a shortened version of the consequent, and is used as a bridge between chorus endings and subsequent verses, and finally as the outro or closing.
Starr and Waterman provide great insight into the development streams of European, African, and Latin American music. The three examples of literature above provide an overview of the European stream of influence, from the strophic narrative style of story telling, to dance music, and ballad opera styles that ultimately developed into songs that described the new American condition. Students studying the cultural influences of old-time music would also be informed about how the transmission of music changed from an aural only scenario to written and recorded forms. From a curricular perspective, demonstration of the foundational elements of verse and chorus are still evident in the current musical landscape, largely unchanged from their roots over 200 years ago.
Starr, L., & Waterman, C. (2014). American popular music: From minstrelsy to MP3 (Fourth ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Starr and Waterman provide great insight into the development streams of European, African, and Latin American music. The three examples of literature above provide an overview of the European stream of influence, from the strophic narrative style of story telling, to dance music, and ballad opera styles that ultimately developed into songs that described the new American condition. Students studying the cultural influences of old-time music would also be informed about how the transmission of music changed from an aural only scenario to written and recorded forms. From a curricular perspective, demonstration of the foundational elements of verse and chorus are still evident in the current musical landscape, largely unchanged from their roots over 200 years ago.
Starr, L., & Waterman, C. (2014). American popular music: From minstrelsy to MP3 (Fourth ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
