Degree Applicable
Glendale Community College
May 2014
COURSE OUTLINE
Music 121
History of Rock Music
I.
Catalog Statement
Music 121 is a course in the evolution of popular music in the United States since World
War II. Students first study the musical influences which led to the rise of rock and roll in
the mid-1950. They then follow the development of the various musical styles which are
collectively referred to as rock music. Emerging musical innovations are viewed as
reflections of changes within our society.
Total Lecture Units: 3.0
Total Course Units: 3.0
Total Lecture Hours: 48.0
Total Faculty Contact Hours: 48.0
Prerequisite: None
II.
Course Entry Expectations
Skills Level Ranges: Reading 5; Writing 5; Listening/Speaking 5; Math 2
III.
Course Exit Standards
Upon successful completion of the required coursework, the student will be able to:
1. describe the musical influences in American popular music prior to World War II;
2. identify distinguishing characteristics of popular songs in different styles;
3. analyze the structure of a popular song;
4. compare the functions of publishers, producers, distributors, and performing rights
societies as they relate to today's music industry.
IV.
Course Content
Total Faculty Contact Hours = 48
A. Introduction, Definitions, Themes and Issues
1. Popular Music and Mass Culture
2. The birth of a new era in American self-perception
3. Marketing and the politics of race, language and gender
4. Regulating popular music's effect on the American youth
8 hours
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B. Mass Technology and Popular Taste
1. The Tin Pan Alley era
2. Sound recording from Edison cylinders to phonographs
3. The rise of commercial broadcasting
4. Hollywood movies and popular music
4 hours
C. Blues and Country Music
1. Mass media and the construction of racial divisions in music
2. The marketing of race music to black audiences
3. The marketing of hillbilly music to the white working class
4. The dissemination of blues and country into wider audiences
4 hours
D. The Rise of Rhythm and Blues
1. Publishers versus broadcasters
2. Big bands and solo singers
3. Television and the suppression of Frequency Modulation (FM)
broadcasting
4. The rise of independent radio deejays
4 hours
E. The Eruption of Rock and Roll
1. Its roots in cultural diversity
2. Resulting structural changes in the music industry
3. The Doo Wop and Rockabilly
4 hours
F. The Reaction to Rock and Roll
1. The Kingston Trio and related groups
2. Schlock rock
3. The surfer sound
4 hours
G. Popular Music and Political Culture in the Sixties
1. Motown and the Civil Rights movement
2. Folk music and the anti-war protesters
3. The Beatles and the British invasion of American popular music
4. Psychedelic Rock
5. Woodstock
4 hours
H. The Fragmentation of Popular Music
1. Rock music as a serious art form
2. Soul music
3. The feminist alternative movement
4. Country rock
5. Heavy metal
6. The first Latino invasion
4 hours
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V.
I. The Poles of Pop Music
1. Disco and punk
2. Live concerts and garage studios
3. Music Television (MTV) versus the record industry
4 hours
J. Youth Culture and Censorship
1. Grunge rock
2. The rise of rap music
3. The Parents Music Resource Center
4 hours
K. The Present Scene
1. Alternative rock versus mainstream
2. New marketing categories and monster contracts
3. The Latino influence
4. World music goes mainstream
5. Audio delivery formats
4 hours
Methods of Instruction
The following methods of instruction may be used in the course:
1. classroom lecture and demonstration of basic concepts;
2. analysis of commercially recorded musical examples;
3. discussion and review of musical concepts;
4. on-line.
VI.
Out of Class Assignments
The following out of class assignments may be used in the course:
1. reading assignments from the text and from selected magazine articles (e.g reading of
a chapter in the course textbook and/or an article in a music periodical) ;
2. critical listening and journaling (e.g. listening to “Bohemian Rhapsody” and
documenting objective and subjective aural observations in a student’s personal
journal);
3. research projects requiring written and/or oral presentations (e.g. a research paper or
class presentation using multiple primary sources on a historically significant rock
musician or band) ;
4. concert reports (e.g. attendance of a rock concert and a written paper detailing both
objective and subjective experiences for the student at the concert).
VII.
Methods of Evaluation
The following methods of evaluation may be used in the course:
1. evaluation of class participation during instructor-directed discussion;
2. written tests covering terminology and concepts;
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3. final examination which includes listening examples for analysis.
VIII. Textbooks
Charlton, Katherine. Rock Music Styles: A History. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2010. Print.
12th Grade Textbook Reading Level. ISBN: 978-0-07-312162-8.
Covach, John and Andrew Flory. What’s That Sound?: An Introduction to Rock and Its
History. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print.
12th Grade Textbook Reading Level. ISBN: 978-0-393-91204-3.
Connect for Education, Inc., OnMusic Rock. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Online.
12th Grade Textbook Reading Level. ISBN: 9780077302061.
IX.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. describe the musical influences in American popular music prior to World War II;
2. identify distinguishing characteristics of popular songs in different styles;
3. analyze the structure of a popular song;
4. compare the functions of publishers, producers, distributors, and performing rights
societies as they relate to today's music industry.