History of Rock and Roll Exam 1
QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS (RATED A)
Define Rock and Roll - ANSWER
Analytically - ANSWER Characteristic music features
Instrumentation - ANSWER electric guitar/ bass/ drums
Rhythm - ANSWER Driving, moderately syncopated 4/4 beat
Melody - ANSWER largely pentatonic, with blues/sole inflections
Texture - ANSWER lead vocal accompanied by instrumental and (occasional) vocal harmonies
Harmony - ANSWER simple triads ("power cords" often based on 1st, 4th, and 5th degrees of scale
Historically background of Rock and Roll - ANSWER evolutionary development of rock and roll: Popular-
music form bleeding of rhythm and blues, folk, gosspel, and country.
Origins in African American traditions; cross over to mainstream pop-mass market.
Socially Culturally: Performative Context - ANSWER -Mass mediated thru recordings and networks of
clubs, radio stations, TV programs etc.
- Strongly associated with youth cultures and generational identity.
-Connotations of transgressive or counter-cultural adolescent rebellion
,Ethnicity vs. Race - ANSWER Cultural-Genealogical background vs. ascribed social role based on skin
color
Sex vs. Gender - ANSWER Biologically based reproductive role vs. socially constructed sexual identity.
Wealth - ANSWER Material basis pf prosperity consisting in abundance (of lack) of socially valuable
property, possessions, and goods.
Class - ANSWER Demographic division, stratum, or rank defined by persistent, shared socio economic
status. Ex. Shared factors like preside, power, or culture/
-Often understood in relation to industrial means of productions
ex. Factory owner (capitalist) vs. Factory worker (proletariat)
Age - ANSWER Length of time an individual as lived (lifespan)
Generation - ANSWER Birth cohort of age group of individuals born/living in sam time period with
socially recognized collective identity.
Collective cultural or political identities formed by common experience of historical events.
Before the Rise of Rock and Roll: What was the business model based on? - ANSWER Sales of Sheet
Music
Before the Rise of Rock and Roll: How were Payments made? - ANSWER In form of royalties.
-Typically split 50/50 between songwriter and lyricist
-Skewed business interests in favor of songwriters over performers
-collected by licensing companies (ASCAP and BMI)
ASCAP stands for: - ANSWER American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers
, BMI stands for - ANSWER (Broadcast Music Incorporated)
What is the Rivalry B/w ASCAP and BMI? - ANSWER - By 1939 ASCAP licensed 90 percent of mainstream
pop songs and threatened broadcast ban if networks didn't turn over more money.
-Broadcaster responded by founding BMI in 1940 and signing non-mainstream composers (e.g. race and
hillbilly songwriters)
What is Tin Pan Alley - ANSWER Reference both place (W. 28th Street in Manhattan) and process of
creating music.
What did tin pan alley music do? - ANSWER - Streamlined music production
-Made an "office job" out of songwriting
What did Tin Pan Alley Music consist of? - ANSWER Prof'l songwriters relied heavily on AABA form.
- Songs popularized in broadway musicals
-Sung by crooners like Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and Nat "King" Cole.
-Professional songwriters wrote songs for all people to sing.
Frank Sinatra: "Love and Marriage" (Sammy Cahn -Jimmy Van Heusen) - ANSWER -1955 hits a record by
Frank
-AABA form
-Incoroprates a bridge (B section)
-"B" section starts on a new chord
-Final "A" section has a phrase extension.
What did the radio consist of? - ANSWER -4 nationwide networks dominate pre-War broadcasting.
-NBC,ABC,CBS, and MBS (Mutual)
QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS (RATED A)
Define Rock and Roll - ANSWER
Analytically - ANSWER Characteristic music features
Instrumentation - ANSWER electric guitar/ bass/ drums
Rhythm - ANSWER Driving, moderately syncopated 4/4 beat
Melody - ANSWER largely pentatonic, with blues/sole inflections
Texture - ANSWER lead vocal accompanied by instrumental and (occasional) vocal harmonies
Harmony - ANSWER simple triads ("power cords" often based on 1st, 4th, and 5th degrees of scale
Historically background of Rock and Roll - ANSWER evolutionary development of rock and roll: Popular-
music form bleeding of rhythm and blues, folk, gosspel, and country.
Origins in African American traditions; cross over to mainstream pop-mass market.
Socially Culturally: Performative Context - ANSWER -Mass mediated thru recordings and networks of
clubs, radio stations, TV programs etc.
- Strongly associated with youth cultures and generational identity.
-Connotations of transgressive or counter-cultural adolescent rebellion
,Ethnicity vs. Race - ANSWER Cultural-Genealogical background vs. ascribed social role based on skin
color
Sex vs. Gender - ANSWER Biologically based reproductive role vs. socially constructed sexual identity.
Wealth - ANSWER Material basis pf prosperity consisting in abundance (of lack) of socially valuable
property, possessions, and goods.
Class - ANSWER Demographic division, stratum, or rank defined by persistent, shared socio economic
status. Ex. Shared factors like preside, power, or culture/
-Often understood in relation to industrial means of productions
ex. Factory owner (capitalist) vs. Factory worker (proletariat)
Age - ANSWER Length of time an individual as lived (lifespan)
Generation - ANSWER Birth cohort of age group of individuals born/living in sam time period with
socially recognized collective identity.
Collective cultural or political identities formed by common experience of historical events.
Before the Rise of Rock and Roll: What was the business model based on? - ANSWER Sales of Sheet
Music
Before the Rise of Rock and Roll: How were Payments made? - ANSWER In form of royalties.
-Typically split 50/50 between songwriter and lyricist
-Skewed business interests in favor of songwriters over performers
-collected by licensing companies (ASCAP and BMI)
ASCAP stands for: - ANSWER American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers
, BMI stands for - ANSWER (Broadcast Music Incorporated)
What is the Rivalry B/w ASCAP and BMI? - ANSWER - By 1939 ASCAP licensed 90 percent of mainstream
pop songs and threatened broadcast ban if networks didn't turn over more money.
-Broadcaster responded by founding BMI in 1940 and signing non-mainstream composers (e.g. race and
hillbilly songwriters)
What is Tin Pan Alley - ANSWER Reference both place (W. 28th Street in Manhattan) and process of
creating music.
What did tin pan alley music do? - ANSWER - Streamlined music production
-Made an "office job" out of songwriting
What did Tin Pan Alley Music consist of? - ANSWER Prof'l songwriters relied heavily on AABA form.
- Songs popularized in broadway musicals
-Sung by crooners like Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and Nat "King" Cole.
-Professional songwriters wrote songs for all people to sing.
Frank Sinatra: "Love and Marriage" (Sammy Cahn -Jimmy Van Heusen) - ANSWER -1955 hits a record by
Frank
-AABA form
-Incoroprates a bridge (B section)
-"B" section starts on a new chord
-Final "A" section has a phrase extension.
What did the radio consist of? - ANSWER -4 nationwide networks dominate pre-War broadcasting.
-NBC,ABC,CBS, and MBS (Mutual)
