Music in the 30’s
Country
Jazz
Country
History of Country
Music
Who it Came From?
When it Started ?
In the Early 1920s
Immigrants from Great Britain
Country
Where did it start?
Nashville Tennessee
What happened later?
Record companies traveled across the States
in search of Cultural and talented Groups
Hillbilly
Instruments
 Uses Simple Melodies
 Lyrics that express Loneliness Love and
Fiddle
Grief
Guitar
 It began with Small Groups Singing Songs
about Love, HardBanjo
Times and Social
Problems
Western Swing
 Musicians of the Southwest were developing
Western Swing, they blended the Country music
with blues and Jazz
 It was popularized by Bob Wills: a fiddle playing
Texan and his band: “The Texas Playboys”
 The Country instruments used were Guitar, Fiddle
and Banjo, but they added Steel and electric
Guitar, Drums, Saxophone, Trumpet, Piano and
Base
Bluegrass
 It is known for its quick tempo and energetic
style
 Bill Monroe is considered to be the creator
of the style and Earl Scruggs is known for
his Banjo playing. He played with Bill
Monroe’s band, the “Blue Grass boys”
 Its energetic style of playing on the on the
Banjo and the Mandolin made it famous
 There is not much singing in Bluegrass
Jazz
History of Jazz Music
When it Started?
In the early 1930s
Where did it come from?
Black singers talking
about unfair times
Jazz
What country is its origin?
Jazz was Americas only true form of music
What was it for?
It was to be enjoyed and
to relax the mind
Swing
 Smooth
and Steady, flowing and
rhythmic
 Was not as slow as Blues and was
more lively
 It was used to dance to
Blues
 Very
slow and moving
 It was the slowest form of Jazz
 It was not used to Dance to but only
to listen to
Main Musical Instruments used
In Jazz
Bells
Guitars
Electric & Steel
Drums
Saxophone
Brass Instruments
Differences between Country & Jazz
•
•
•
•
Country
Country, as in its name, was
played outside of town
Although played only in
America, it originally came
from England
Country was sung by hillbilly
that were uncultured and
without jobs
Bands that sang Country
music were small ones from
3 to 6 people
•
•
•
•
Jazz
Jazz was played in urban
areas such as bars
Jazz is the only music style
that is 100% American
Jazz was sung by workers in
the city who realized they had
no point in life
Jazz was played by big bands
for more than ten people
Similarities between Country & Jazz
• Lyrics which express loneliness, optimism, hard
times and most of all depression
• They were both sung because people didn’t have
enough money to enjoy themselves so singing
was the only way
Gospel
No Instruments were used
 The most religious kind of Music
 Very Spiritual
 Has Solos
 Soul beat

Conclusion
The music in the 30’s could be depressing in
different ways. There wasn’t much to hope for
in those days and the only thing to cheer
people up was singing. The feeling was
depressing but they were sung with optimism.
The radio was an important device in the 30’s.
It was accessible to people even if they were
isolated and alone. Through the radio songs
became popular and everybody could sing
them. This gave the people a sense of
community and a unification. Thus making the
radio very important for the lives of people.
By
Vincenzo Pansadoro
&
Christopher Gudgeon