What is rock and roll?
This name was given in the fifties to a new music genre that emerged in the US as an evolution of black rhythm and blues as it mixed with white country. Its name comes from the expression that refers to the sexual act in black American slang. Alan Freed, a radio discjockey,...
What scenes do we have within pop music?
The underground- or basement- designates those counter-cultural movements that are considered alternative, parallel, alien or contrary to the so-called mass cultural or general trend. From the artistic point of view, it refers to the most creative and...
How was it born?
Rock and Roll was born in the social stratum of the most disadvantaged. Black people in the rural areas of the United States developed it in ghettos as a means of expressing their very poor living conditions.
However, rock and roll spread rapidly, infecting first the whites in...
Is the truth of rock in live performances?
The first albums tried to reflect the live performances but, as recording techniques advanced, they were used to make the most of the studio’s unlimited possibilities.
Is it expressed through lyrics?
At first it made an impact because of the sound, which...
How many types of music are there?
Traditionally, Western music was divided into two main currents which reflected the social and cultural division of the audience. While cultured music was linked to the aristocracy, popular music was followed by the rest of the population.
Cultured music, among...
New shows?
The development of the Industrial Revolution and the growth of cities brought in the emergence of new social classes. Within this new division the so-called bourgeoisie, a high middle-class inflenced by Illustration which showed interest for culture.
This resulted in the appearance of...
What were the first ones like?
Northamerican multicultural richness is reflected in its folk or traditional music. It has three main roots that represent the first population groups: natives, immigrants and slaves.
The first Northamerican musicians were those from their native lands who developed a...
How did popular music set off?
Patriotic songs in the American Revolution were the first manifestation of mass popular music. They spread through all the colonies by means of cheap prints, reaching homes and battlefields.
Later on, during the Civil War, soldiers from across the country mixed with...
What was Western popular music like?
At the end of the 19th century most music was disseminated in scores, mainly for piano, and created for domestic consumption. They are works written by liberal professionals and marketed by music publishers.
In Europe we find the German lieder by Schumann or the...
What was Tin Pan Alley?
This term designates a group of music producers and composers who dominated the American music industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The term was born around 1885, when several music publishers settled in an alleyway in Manhattan, New York. The name was...
What is a musical?
The musical is a theatrical or cinematographic production that combines music, song, dialogue and dance. It is performed on large states such as the London West End theatres, or in Broadway or New York.
Its orgins go back to 19th century theatrical sources like operetta, music...
When did music cinema establish?
Encouraged by the success of her early music films, Warner Bros, it turned to producing them using an early version of Technicolor. She also followed a strict policy of talent selection.
One of them, choreographer Busby Berkeley, revolutionized the genre in the...
