MUSA1300 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: American Songwriter, Music Of Africa, Thirty-Two-Bar Form
11 Oct 2016
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Minstrel performers competed o(cid:374) the (cid:271)asis of (cid:862)authe(cid:374)ti(cid:272)it(cid:455)(cid:863) (cid:271)ut had little to do (cid:449)ith afri(cid:272)a(cid:374) musical tradition. African american darkened their skin and appeared in minstrel shows. Minstrel troupes toured the united states constantly from the 1840s until the 1870s, helping create an embryonic national popular culture. The minstrel show is also the direct ancestor of the vaudeville, a kind of variety show that became the dominant form of popular entertainment in late nineteenth and early twentieth century america. Minstrel show represents basic themes of concern throughout american popular music. Arose as an expression of a predominantly white urban youth culture seeking expression through the appropriation of black style. As minstrelsy became a mass phenomenon, its form became mutinized, and its portrayal of black characters more rigidly stereotyped. Minstrels borrowed from the diverse traditions including english, irish, german, and african music, dialect and dance. The most influential songwriter of american popular song during the nineteenth century.
