MUSIC STUDY GUIDE
December 2016
MOST questions will be matching or multiple choice. Composer names, key words, and song
titles will be provided, so spelling will not count. Extra credit questions will be included.
MUSIC IN AMERICA
1. Native American Singers used syllables called vocables to establish beat and rhythm
Native Americans played three different types of percussion instruments
a. Rasps – sticks with ridges that are scraped to play
b. Drums – buffalo drums, box drums, tom toms
c. Shakers – rattles made of shells, hooves, or leather
2. Ragtime
Ragtime is a bouncy type of music played on the piano
Scott Joplin was the most famous Ragtime composer
The most popular Ragtime composition was Maple Leaf Rag
3. Dixieland
Dixieland is a type of music where different instruments imitate Ragtime
New Orleans, Louisiana, is the birthplace of Dixieland
Dixieland musicians improvise, making up the melodies as they go along
A Dixieland Band can include the clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone,
banjo, piano, string bass, sousaphone, and drums
4. Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a series of theatres across the country where traveling acts
like George M. Cohan’s family would perform
Vaudeville shows featured a variety of acts including musicians, dancers,
comedians, magicians, jugglers, athletes, acrobats, scenes from plays,
animal acts, and short silent films
New York’s Broadway theatres developed from Vaudeville
5. 1920s
The Charleston was the most popular dance of the 1920s
The most popular instrument of the 1920s was the saxophone
6. World War II
Big bands included more saxophones, trombones, and trumpets than
Dixieland bands
Swing was the most popular music and dance of the 1940s
See other side
COMPOSERS OF THE WEEK
1. Kokopelli
Was a hunchback flute player
Lived about 1,000 years ago
Traveled throughout the Southwest US
Has his picture carved on rocks and cave walls
Was an Anasazi Indian
2. Scott Joplin
Was the son of a former slave
Taught himself to play the piano while his mother cleaned houses
Sold 1 million copies of the most popular Ragtime song, Maple Leaf Rag
His song, The Entertainer, is played by ice cream trucks everywhere!
His compositions were made popular by the player piano
3. George M. Cohan Was born into a family of traveling Vaudeville entertainers
Was the most popular Vaudeville and Broadway entertainer of all time
Composed You’re a Grand Old Flag for a musical about George Washington
Composed Over There to encourage men to join the Army during World War I
Has a statue in New York’s Times Square
4. Glenn Miller
Led the most popular big band of the 1940s
Enlisted when World War II started
Recorded In the Mood, the most popular song of World War II
Was killed in an airplane crash during the war