The Savannah Philharmonic and Equinox Orchestra play the
“Great American Songbook”
• The “Great American Songbook” is a term used to describe American popular songs from the 1920s to the 1950s, many of which were popularized on Broadway or in Hollywood movie musicals
• There is no definiRve list of musicians or song writers whose works are considered by music criRcs to be part of the “Great American Songbook” however some of the most well known names include:
– George and Ira Gershwin – Harold Arlen – Jerome Kern – Cole Porter – Rodgers and Hammerstein – Rogers and Hart – Savannah’s own, Johnny Mercer
Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II
• Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II created many popular Broadway musicals in the 1940’s and 1950’s, beginning the era of the “Great American Songbook”
• Rodgers composed the music • Hammerstein wrote the lyrics • Their partnership has been called the
greatest of the 20th Century • Addressed social issues such as racism,
sexism, and classism in their music (ex: Carousel/domesRc violence and South Pacific/racism) – Carousel h]p://www.academia.edu/3535913/
Whats_the_Use_of_Wondering_if_Hes_Good_or_Bad_Carousel_and_the_PresentaRon_of_DomesRc_Violence_in_Musicals
– South Pacific h]p://prospect.org/arRcle/when-‐love-‐meets-‐racism
Savannah’s Own Johnny Mercer
• Prolific songwriter, over 1400 songs wri]en including over 100 for movies
• Co-‐founder and president of Capital Records • Created Song Writers Hall of Fame in 1969
with Howard Richmond and Abe Olman • In 1980, The Johnny Mercer award was
created to honor excellent songwriters and composers
• Frank Sinatra was the first winner of The Johnny Mercer Award h]p://www.johnnymercerfoundaRon.org/iniRaRves-‐charity/for-‐educators/
Frank Sinatra
• 1940 signed a contract with the biggest band in the country, the Tommy Dorsey Band
• 1942 went solo • 1953 signed a record contract with Capital
Records • Career spanned 50 years • One of the top entertainers of the 20th
Century
The Great American Songbook was popularized by “Big Bands”
• As jazz music grew in popularity in the 1920s, a type of musical ensemble known as the “Big Band” emerged – A Big Band typically consisted of 17 instruments: – Five saxophones – Four trumpets – Four trombones – Four piece rhythm secRon
• Big Bands oien included strings as well. Big Bands with strings were called orchestras even though they did not play “classical” music
• Big Bands, as opposed to tradiRonal jazz combos, are characterized by sweet and romanRc melodies, and the presence of a string secRon
• Music played by Big Bands was typically craied in advance by an arranger, not improvised, like jazz
• Radio programs and movies made Big Bands and the songs know considered to be part of the Great American songbook famous
• The term “Ba]le of the Bands” originated in the “Big Band” era and referred to a theatre performance featuring several different bands How have “Ba+les of the Bands” been modernized?
Jazz
• Uniquely American style of music • Jazz music is characterized by improvisaRon • “Second Line” is a tradiRonal New Orleans
Standard with a repeRRve melody • Swing is the basic rhythm of jazz • To create this rhythm the 2nd and 4th beats
are accented • Swing dancing became the naRonal past-‐Rme
of the 1930s-‐40s • Follow a strophic form
– Strophic, all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music
– The opposite of strophic form, with new music wri]en for every stanza, is called through-‐composed
Contemporary ArMsts that that have performed American Standard Music today
• Natalie Cole • Keith Richards • Gloria Estefan • Barry Manilow • Queen LaRfah • Joni Mitchell • Boz Scaggs • Norah Jones • Sir Paul McCartney • Harry Connick, Jr • Michael Buble
Why do contemporary ar/sts “cover” songs vs. crea/ng original music?
Glossary
• Composer-‐ a person who writes music • ComposiMon, also called a “piece” of music,
is wri]en by a composer • Conductor-‐ a person leading an orchestra or
band using his/her arms and hands to show the steady beat as well as when and how to play
• Rhythm-‐ the flow of music that includes pa]erns of sound over a steady beat
• Tempo-‐ speed at which a piece of music is played
• Dialogue-‐ a conversaRon between people or instruments
• Crescendo-‐ music genng louder, li]le by li]le
• Decrescendo-‐ music genng soier, li]le by li]le
• Sight-‐Reading-‐reading and performing a piece of wri]en music specifically when the performer has not seen it before
What makes music popular?
• Relate importance of music to culture and historical events What songs past and present can you think of that relate to cultural events?
• IdenRfy popular music of different decades What makes the music popular? How are new styles created and then how do they gain notoriety?
Listening Tips
• Think about what instruments you hear • What music words might you use to describe
the music • If you can’t idenRfy individual instruments,
try idenRfying the instrument families