Year 8 investigation:
C20th American music
Save this sheet to your computer and fill
everything in on here. If you need a different
file format (because you do not have Word
on your computer), ask you teacher for help.
Remember it is extremely important to write
in your own words—do not copy and paste!
1. Investigating some different American styles
Fill in the grid below to answer the questions, researching online to find information
where necessary.
Gospel
Listen to Walk in Jerusalem
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrTEcyr3ugg
Comment on the mood of the music (and the
musicians!)
Now listen to Oh Happy Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXq6fdOXdLg
List at least two similarities and one difference
between this song and Walk in Jerusalem.
Identify the texture of what the choir sings. Choose
from: call & response, unison and harmony (look these
words up if you don’t know them)
Beginning (0:11):
Middle (4:08):
End (4:58):
Did you choose from the options in the question?
Freedom songs
Research the civil rights movement in the
USA.
What were people campaigning about? Who were the
leaders? How successful were they?
Research Jim Crow laws
When were they in force, and what did they
say?
Watch Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me
Around https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPuBGcng6Tw
How is this music similar to and different from gospel?
How does this song relate to the civil rights movement?
Dixieland jazz
Watch Oh When the Saints
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8FOOu4TS80
There are six different instruments being played. Identify them
all (you may need to research Dixieland jazz to find out their
names).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Dixieland is not a real place!
Where did it start?
What musical styles did Dixieland grow out of (i.e. what came
before)?
Where did it spread to later?
What musical styles did Dixieland grow into (i.e. what came
after)?
Name a famous Dixieland musician.
Country music
Watch Stand By Your Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMXnu31-k_U
This is sung by Tammy Wynette, one of the
most famous country singers. Find the names
of five more (male and female).
1.
2.
3.
4.
You will hear one of these in
Stand By Your Man.
5.
What is it called, and what does the musician
do to play it?
Research country music
Which part of the USA did country music start in, and
when was this?
Here is a clue:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrbSL92Kz1Y
What musical styles grew into country?
What are its musical characteristics?
What country singers are around now?
Hip Hop
Watch Rapper’s Delight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5-ASsIa37w
This was one of the first hip hop hits.
Research the song (i.e. on Wikipedia).
The song uses another song as its backing. What is
it?
What legal problem did this cause, and how was it
resolved?
Watch Harder Than You Think
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCx5Std7mCo Why do you think this song was so popular at the
time?
This song was released in 2007. How has the
musical style of hip hop changed since Rapper’s
Delight?
Research hip hop
Which part of the USA did hip hop start in, and
when was this?
What musical styles grew into hip hop?
This was chosen as the theme song for the 2012
Paralympics. Why do you think they chose this
song?
What other art forms come under the heading of
hip hop?
What hip hop artists are around now?
3. Create an extended piece of work about American music of the 20th century.
You can choose how you do this:
 A piece of extended writing (word
document) - this should be over
1000 words
 A podcast (i.e. audio recording)
 A video
 A powerpoint (minimum 8 slides,
include diagrams, pictures and
hyperlinks)
 A detailed mindmap or infographic (for
more info on how to do this, visit
http://www.mindmapping.co.uk/make-mindmap.htm, http://www.easel.ly/ or
http://infogr.am/ )
The focus is up to you:
 Origins
and history of one
particular style
 The
evolution of styles in the
USA in the C20th (like a
family tree)
 Ways
in which history/politics
have influenced American
musical styles
.
 Recommended
websites to find more info
You will find lots of information of Wikipedia about all the different styles.
 Subject-specific
terms that can/should be used: tempo, metre (beats in a bar),
harmony, tonality, instrumentation, dynamics, accompaniment, melody,
rhythm, chords, structure, minor, major, consonant, dissonant, riff, sample.