Skip to main content.
Historic Preservation Home > Syllabi > 400 Level Courses > HISP 471-MM Memory and Commemoration in American Vernacular Music

UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION

HISP 471MM-01 MEMORY AND COMMEMORATION
IN AMERICAN VERNACULAR MUSIC
Fall Semester 2006

Mr. Stanton gstanton@umw.edu
TR 9:30-10:45
Combs Hall, 025

COURSE DESCRIPTION
HISP 471mm surveys evolving vernacular music the United States from the Colonial period through the mid-twentieth century and explores the way music was used to memorialize and commemorate socially and culturally significant attitudes and events.  This survey places greater emphasis on the context of performance than sources and composing—the important role of audiences, patrons, and material culture in shaping the arrangement of music.  The class will experience and discuss music for dance, parlor music, music associations, ritual music of parade and procession, and the “sacralization of culture” through the expanding realm of concert performance. The technology of phonograph recordings and radio expanded the possible vicarious musical experiences, as well as melting-pot potential of mass-marketed popular music. However, the mass-marketed popular music has never vanquished the diversity of heritage communities’ musical traditions. Indeed, communities have looked to mass media as a medium for disseminating the vernacular music distinct to their cultural heritage while vernacular musicians have synthesized, revived, and reformulated music balancing the sounds of their roots with the possibility of mass market commercial success.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

(1) Foster a basic understanding and awareness of American vernacular music and explore the content, purposes, instrumentation, and evolution of these sounds.

(2) Critically explore the contested use of music to memorialize, commemorate, and comment upon community attitudes and experiences. Foster a basic knowledge of the complimentary actions of historic preservation and music.

(3) Foster an understanding of the importance of music and dance in the social and cultural construction of communities.

CLASS REQUIREMENTS

TEXTS
The following books are required and will be available in the College Bookstore and on-line from many sources:
John Beale. Public Worship, Private Faith: Sacred Harp and American Folksong. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1997. ISBN 0820319880.

Richard Crawford. America's Musical Life: A History. W. W. Norton, 2005. ISBN 0393327264.

James Bau Graves. Cultural Democracy: The Arts, Community, and the Public Purpose. Urbanna: University of Illinois Press, 2005. ISBN 0-252-07208-1

Lawrence W. Levine. Highbrow/Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1990. ISBN 0674-390776.

Karen Linn. That Half-Barbaric Twang: The Banjo in American Popular Culture. Urbanna: University of Illinois Press, 1994.  ISBN 0-252-06433-X.

TESTS
The student is responsible for all required readings and lecture materials.  Any handouts in class with the exception of lecture summaries should be considered materials that will be tested.  Examinations will test your knowledge concerning basic terms, concepts or significant examples from in-class discussions, films, or required readings.  The tests will include fill-in-the-blank and short answer questions.   There will be two tests: Test 1, Tuesday October 10th and the Final Examination, Thursday, December 12th from 8:30-11am.

CLASS ASSIGNMENTS
In class assignments
From the first day until the last day of class we will be thinking, speaking, and writing about music as a sound, as an expressive art, as skillful performance, and artistic creation and as a container for and commentary about community values. This class is centered upon performance in the context of communities in the United States.  Where we cannot have recordings we may use notated examples in lieu of the sound. However, we will be listening to a considerable number of examples of music in class. What you hear is important and everyone in the class will benefit from your comments. To this end our class will involve your total participation and a portion of your grade directly relates to how thoroughly you participate and how well you prepare to participate.

Out of class Assignment
Each student will spend this semester researching and preparing a term project, typically fifteen to twenty pages in text length, not including the endnotes and appendices. I need to know what your topic will be by Thursday October 12th although I am happy to work this out with you considerably sooner. So we are clear, I will not accept a term project whose topic has not been approved. The papers are due Tuesday, November 28th. The paper must focus on a vernacular music topic and music must be central not peripheral to the investigation.  What is the right approach for this class cannot be a personal musical composition, and the project must be written, not compiled from the words and sounds of others.  You may use the full range of resources available, including the internet, archival collections, books, journals, popular magazines and newspapers.  Heritage issues of memory, or commemoration would be entirely appropriate.
I am excited to talk to each of you about your musical interests that may form the basis for this project. The range of musical abilities and experiences we have within our class is vast. This class does not meet a General Education goal, nor does it cover an Across the Curriculum requirement. Every person chose to be in the class. Beyond the basic understandings mentioned above you are encouraged to seek out and explore vernacular musical expressions that are interesting and meaningful for you. If you are a singer, then the style(s) of song may be most interesting to you; if you are an instrumentalist, then exploring the shifting sounds, repertory, or notable players may be particularly interesting. Interest in a particular ethnic music, or a heterogeneous musical expression may be a subject that you find personally stimulating.
Final copies of the project should be typed, double spaced, using a computer.  I can help you place images into the text, if you wish assistance. I take the Honor Code very seriously and insist that all written work that you submit for my evaluation include the Honor Pledge and be signed.

GRADING
In an effort to be open about the scoring of writing projects so that we are all clear about how a grade is achieved the following comments are provided: Grades have two parts, (1) an evaluation of the content and the considerable intellectual effort that goes into the creation of a student project, and (2) the skill with which this material is integrated into a coherent thoughtful presentation that reflects student control of the subject.  A paper receiving an outstanding grade must show the intellectual effort of its creation (more than just a cut-and-paste presentation), the skillful integration of the material and evidence of having reviewed and edited the final product.
      Letter grade descriptions and quality point conversions are taken from the Academic Catalog.  This and the Dictionary of Academic Regulations should be consulted for further explanation of these and all other grading details and other academic regulations.
The Office of Disability Services has been designated by the University as the primary office to guide, counsel, and assist students with disabilities.  If you receive services through that office and require accommodations for this class, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible to discuss your approved accommodation needs.  Bring your accommodation letter with you to the appointment. I will hold any information you share with me in the strictest confidence unless you give me permission to do otherwise. If you need accommodations, (note taking assistance, extended time for tests, etc.), I would be happy to refer you to the Office of Disability Services. They will require appropriate documentation of a disability.  Their phone number is 540-654-1266.

FINAL GRADE
Please note: No passing grade can be achieved in this course without completion of all examinations and out-of-class graded assignments.  Your final grade will be based on the following scores--Test I, 25%; In-class participation 20%;  Term Project 30%; Final Examination 25%. The Out-of-Class Assignment will be marked down by ten (10 points) for each day later than the beginning of class on the date due.

MY OFFICE HOURS
OFFICE
Monday-Wednesday-Friday 2 p.m.
Combs 128
Tuesday and Thursday 11 a.m.
Phone: 654-1313

I will be in my office for set office hours (that is, I'll be there and you can drop in whether you have an appointment or not) every weekday, as noted above.  If I must attend a meeting with a faculty committee during one of those periods, I will announce this in class. I am happy to make an appointment to see you at some specific time that suits your needs.

SCHEDULE OF CLASS MEETINGS, TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Week #1 Introduction to American Vernacular Music
Tuesday 29 August 2006
      The place of music in cultural creations
Defining the vernacular
Required Reading: Crawford, America’s Musical Life, “Introduction.”
     Richard Crawford, The American Musical Landscape, Pp. 3-37, 85-107. Reserve
     H. Wiley Hitchcock, “The Vernacular Tradition.” Reserve

Thursday 31 August 2006
      Memory and Commemoration
      Required Readings:  Levine, Pp. 1-9; Beale, Pp. 84-131.
      Robert James Branham "Of Thee I Sing": Contesting "America"  see Links

Week #2  The Colonial Contexts of Music
Tuesday 5 September 2006
      Sacred music—contests of control and musical literacy
      Required Readings:  Beale, Pp. 1-83;  Crawford, Pp. 15-55, 139-172.

Thursday 7 September 2006
      Music of Procession and Dance
      Required Readings:  Crawford, Pp. 56-101
      “Eighteenth Century Social Dance” Library of Congress website see Links      (http://rs6.loc.gov/ammem/dihtml/diessay5.html)

Week #3  The Consumer Revolution
Tuesday 12 September 2006
      The Parlor and Home: Pianoforte, guitar, harp, and song
      Required Readings:  Crawford, Pp. 221-271.

Thursday 14 September 2006
      The Professional Musicians
      Required Reading: Crawford, Pp. 173-195.
      Don Meade, "Kitty O'Neil and Her "Champion Jig": An Irish Dancer on the New York Stage."       New Hibernia Review 6.3 (2002) 9-22 see Links
      Katherine K. Preston. “Popular Music in the Gilded Age: Musicians' Gigs in Late-Nineteenth Century Washington” Reserve

Week #4 Stage and Public Performance in mid-century America
Tuesday 19 September 2006
      Minstrelsy: Inventing the Stage Negro
      Required Readings:  Crawford, Pp. 196-220; Linn, Pp. 1-4, 40-76.

Thursday 21 September 2006
      The Spiritual and Black Music of the Post Civil War
      Required Readings:  Crawford, Pp. 407-428

Week #5 The mid-century influence of European Music
Tuesday 25 September 2006
      Inventing the Classical, demoting the Popular
      Required Readings:  Crawford, Pp. 293-350; Levine, Pp. 85-168.

Thursday 28 September 2006
      Evolution of the Military and Concert Band
      The polka, waltz, and other European couple dances
      Required Readings:  Crawford, Pp. 272-292.
           Jon Newsom, “The American Brass Band Movement: A Historical Overview” see Links
           Elizabeth Aldrich, “Nineteenth Century Social Dance” see Links

Week #6  Popular Music at the end of the Nineteenth Century
Tuesday 3 October 2006
      The popular made playable:  Books of technique and method
Required Reading: Samuel Swain Stewart, “The Banjo Philosophically.” Reserve
                  See Discussion page for Links

Thursday 5 October 2006
      The Business of Sheet Music: Tin Pan Alley
      Required Reading: Crawford, Pp. 471-491; Levine, Pp. 171-242.
      Paul Charosh. “Studying nineteenth-century popular song.” Reserve
      Charles Hamm, “Genre, performance and ideology in the early songs of Irving Berlin” Reserve

Week #7  The threshold of Vicarious Music: Mechanical Reproduction
Tuesday 10 October 2006
Midterm examination--Y'all Come!

Thursday 12 October 2006
      The Virtue of Virtuosity: Variations on a familiar theme and other early recording agendas
      Required Reading: Anya Peterson Royce, “Virtuosity: The Masque of Nonchalance.”
Reserve
      Term Paper topic must have been submitted by this date

MID-SEMESTER BREAK

Week #8  Ragged Meter Man
Thursday 19 October 2006
      Ragtime: the first recorded musical enthusiasm
      Required Reading: Crawford, Pp. 536-546.
      John Edward Hasse, “Ragtime from the Top.” Reserve

Week #9 The revolution in musical instrumentation
Tuesday 24 October 2006
      Banjo Bands, Mandolin Orchestras, Accordion, Hawaiian guitar and ukulele, and xylophone
      Required Reading: Linn, Pp. 5-36;

Thursday 26 October 2006
It was all about Sound: Moaning Saxophones, Squawking Clarinets, and laughing Trombones
Novelty: Whistling, Ocarina, Jugs, Musical Saws and other musical depreciation

Week #10 All That Jazz
Tuesday 31 October 2006
      Black and White Bands: Hot or Sweet?
      Required Reading: Crawford, Pp. 576-579, 619-653; Linn, Pp. 81-111;
      Interview of Jeffrey Magee, on Fletcher Henderson: The Uncrowned King of Swing. Reserve

Thursday 2 November 2006
      Electrical Amplification in the studio and on the Radio: The Genie is out of the Bottle
      Required Reading: Marvin R. Bensman “The History of Broadcasting, 1920-1960.” see Links
      Steven E. Schoenherr, “Microphones part 2 - The Electrical Era.” see Links
      TECnology Hall of Fame “Electrical recording process—Western Electric/Bell Labs” Links
      “History of the Electric Guitar” see Links

Week #11 The Rise of Regional Music
Tuesday 7 November 2006
      From Hillbillies to Country-Western Music Stars
      Required Reading: Linn, Pp. 118-153.
      Archie Green, “Hillbilly Music: Source and Symbol.” see Links for these articles
      Norman Cohen, “The Skillet Lickers: A Study of a Hillbilly String Band and Its Repertoire.”
      John Greenway, “Jimmie Rodgers: A Folksong Catalyst”
      Norman Cohen, “Robert W. Gordon and the Second Wreck of ‘Old 97’.”

Thursday 9 November 2006
      Classic Blues and Country Blues
      Required Reading: Jeff Todd Titon. Early Downhome Blues. 2nd Edition Reserve

Week #12 Ethnic Music in America
Tuesday 14 November 2006
      European Music: Roots and Rendered Sounds
      Required Reading: James Leary and Richard March, “Dutchman Bands: Genre, Ethnicity, and Pluralism in the Upper Midwest.” Reserve

Thursday 16 November 2006
Hispanic and Afro-Caribbean Hybrids: Calypso, Cha-Cha, Mambo, Samba
      Required Reading: Michael Eldridge: “There Goes the Transnational Neighborhood: Calypso       Buys a Bungalow.” see Links
      Guy Bensusan, Charles R. Carlisle. “Raices y Ritmos/Roots and Rhythms: Our Heritage of       Latin American Music.” see Links

Week #13 From Regional to National Music
Tuesday 21 November 2006
      From style to sound: Early Bluegrass Music
      Required Reading: L. Mayne Smith. “An Introduction to Bluegrass” see Links
      Neil V. Rosenberg, "From sound to Style: The Emergence of Bluegrass." see Links

Thursday 23 November 2006
      No Class Traditional American Festive Event

Week #14 Vocal Styles go Popular: Radio and Recordings Trump Sheet Music
Tuesday 28 November 2006
      Early vocal stylists in popular recordings
      Required Reading: Crawford, Pp. 664-688.
Term Project is due

Thursday 30 November 2006
      Twentieth-Century Gospel Sounds
      Required Reading: James R. Goff Jr., “Introduction.” Close Harmony: A History of Southern Gospel. Reserve

Week #15 Recycling-Revivals: Reinventing Popular Music
Tuesday 5 December 2006
      The Folk Song Revival
      Required Reading: Crawford, Pp. 597-618, 745-754.
      Jens Lund and R. Serge Denisoff, "The Folk Music Revival and the Counter Culture:       Contributions and Contradictions." see Links

Thursday 7 December 2006
      Advocacy and Vernacular Music
      Required Reading: Graves, all; Levine, Epilogue.

Tuesday 12 December 2006
8:30-11am  final exam HISP 471mm-01