MUS 160 - Popular Music in America

3 Credits, 3 Contact Hours
3 lecture periods 0 lab periods

Study of the history of popular music culture in America through current trends in today’s society. Includes background of music, sources of music, birth of music, syncopated song and dance, jazz, crooners and jazz singers, musical theater, country music, Latin music traditions, and roots of rock and roll. Also includes impact of technology, motown and soul, rock in the seventies, and modern trends.

Gen-Ed: Meets AGEC - FA or HUM and C; Meets - CTE - A&H and C.

2.  Describe forms, structures, instruments, rhythms and styles of the music.

3.  Explain how our culture affects the music, and how music affects our culture.

4.  Discuss the influence of technology upon the music (records, CD’s, microphones, amplifiers, electronics, multi-track recording, video, computer technology).

1. Background of the Music
   1. What is popular music?
   2. Instruments
   3. Melody and harmony
   4. Form, structure and texture
2. Sources of the Music
   1. European heritage
   2. Anglo-American folk song
   3. African heritage
3. Birth of the Music
   1. Stephen Foster and the Minstrelsy
   2. After the Civil War
   3. Ragtime
   4. Blues styles
4. Syncopated Song and Dance
5. Jazz
6. Crooners and Jazz Singers
7. Musical Theater (Broadway)
8. Country Music
9. Latin Music Traditions
10. Roots of Rock and Roll
    1. Rhythm and blues
    2. Chuck Berry
    3. Elvis
    4. British invasion and Beatles
11. Impact of Technology
12. Motown and Soul
13. Rock in the Seventies
14. Modern Trends
    1. Age of MTV
    2. Rap music
    3. “Alternative” styles