A home for their hearts Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I thought it might be fun for us to do a unit on modern music, (from the past 60 years. What genres would you include, which artists, and why? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Defintiely include jazz music. Classical: Aaron Copland (might be a bit earlier than you like), John Cage Maybe include a study of famous musicals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I'd also probably look into the rise of electronic instruments and the like. Techno, for example, wouldn't exist without modern "instruments." Pink Floyd used synths, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Rock and rap are fairly obvious. DH suggests grunge and alternative rock from the early 90s. I'd also consider famous movie soundtracks. That seems to be like the modern equivalent of writing symphonies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 John Williams :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 ELVIS!!!! *screams and swoons* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 John Williams - because he's John Williams The Beatles - because they were The Beatles 80s music - The original MTV generation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I would grab a DK Eyewitness book from the library to use as a spine and study whoever it told me to study. But I have virtually no music education. :tongue_smilie: Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 (edited) He almost makes your past 60 years requirement, but I'd consider Rachmaninoff for classical. ETA: You could do a progressive study through the last 100 years. For instance, how one style of music lead to the next style. There has to be a documentary or two that show some form of this progression. You could pick one major, influential artist from each style. Edited September 22, 2011 by ChrisB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A home for their hearts Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 I'd also probably look into the rise of electronic instruments and the like. Techno, for example, wouldn't exist without modern "instruments." Pink Floyd used synths, too. Good idea, I don't think I would have thought of this on my own! He almost makes your past 60 years requirement, but I'd consider Rachmaninoff for classical. ETA: You could do a progressive study through the last 100 years. For instance, how one style of music lead to the next style. There has to be a documentary or two that show some form of this progression. You could pick one major, influential artist from each style. Another great idea! Thanks ladies! Keep them coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Philip Glass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angel marie Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 the beetles, fur sure! elvis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Jimmy Buffet!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 John Williams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Food4Thought Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 You could do a series on film music. Start with Aaron Copland and Rachmaninoff to ease into it, then end up with some of the heavy-hitters today. Sure, do John Williams (but listen to Dvorak at the same time, so you can see where he got 90% of his themes). But also include Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, Howard Shore, and even John Powell. Modern classical: John Cage, Morten Lauridsen (Lux Aeterna is heavenly), and Dmitri Shostakovich. Mix Shostakovich with Russian history and WWII and you'll have something incredibly powerful - I'm haunted by him. Oh, also include Benjamin Britten's War Requiem if you tie it in to WWII. You could watch some of the Ken Burns Jazz series from PBS. You could also watch/listen to Koyaanisqatsi by Philip Glass (mentioned earlier). He's a great minimalist composer - you could even mix your music study with one on minimalist and pointillist art. And I wouldn't even know where to start with modern pop. Start with swing, do some do-wop, listen to classic rock (Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Doors), watch folk change from Peter, Paul & Mary to Simon & Garfunkel and Bob Dylan and on into the Avett Brothers. Do the history of emo - start with the crooners like Frank Sinatra and Pat Boone, and then move on to Death Cab for Cutie and Dashboard Confessional. :lol: And Rap - that could be like teaching WWII - so many different places and people involved it's hard to tell what's what. You could also do musicals as an art form in its own right. Now you've got me thinking. I might be back. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 These are the musicians we studied during our Modern rotation (some may be older than 60 years): Peter Tchaikovsky John Philip Sousa Igor Stravinsky George Gershwin Duke Ellington Aaron Copeland Leonard Bernstein The Beatles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristinaBreece Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Look into Ken Burns's Jazz. Good stuff. The Beatles The Gershwins Shostakovich Simon & Garfunkel John Williams Danny Elfman (I <3 him!) The Stones The Runaways Grateful Dead Billie Holliday Woody Guthrie Frank Sinatra Elvis Buddy Holly Bob Dylan Clapton The Monkees George Harrison Post-Beatles Jimi Hendrix Janis Joplin Bob Marley The Doors The Who .... My problem is that I couldn't put modern music history into a concise form. We've started early with our kiddos, and are making music history and theory a part of their lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Can't believe nobody's mentioned Billy Joel, esp 'We Didn't Start The Fire'. Its a year long assignment for Diva this year. To research all the ppl and events in the lyrics and explain the importance. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristinaBreece Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Can't believe nobody's mentioned Billy Joel, esp 'We Didn't Start The Fire'. Its a year long assignment for Diva this year. To research all the ppl and events in the lyrics and explain the importance. :D I only posted a few minutes ago, but I've thought of several people I left out already. Why I could never make this a self-contained class...:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Tony Bennett Eric Clapton, I see he was mentioned Otis Redding BB King James Brown Buddy Guy Sade Led Zeppelin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Sting. The geopolitical commentary in his music is fascinating. I've not always agreed with him, but his lyrics are worthy of note. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 (edited) I would start with classical music of the 1940s and move into swing and jazz. I would also look at folk, gospel and country music as it connects to the development of rock and various pop music incarnations. Then I would spend time on rock music and how it progressed through the 1950s to today. From Elvis right up to punk rock and pop. Electronic music and technology in general certainly deserves some time, it is everywhere. I may be alone on this on a classical education board but no study of music in the last 35 years is vaguely complete without hip hop and rap. It is the single most significant musical development of the period and has now looped into so many other genres, including influence of some new orchestra/symphonic music. I would look at r&b, disco and scat singing and how they developed into, and how hip hop reacted to each. Grandmaster Flash, Sugar Hill Gang, Mary J Blige, Queen Latifah, Public Enemy, Sir Mix a Lot are all artists from the 70s moving into the 90s that made a mark in some way or another. I observe generally many people I know shy away from the whole genre because of gangster rap, but that is far from being all that is there. For non-gangster, newer rap and hip hop I would look at The Roots, Talib Kweli, Jurassic 5 for starters. I love music, not as an expert because I am far from it but as a consumer and enjoy-er of the musical arts as a whole. There are few genres I dislike. We subscribe to the symphony and follow opera (used to go in three cities all the time, not really possible with little kids and new financial priorities like houses and college funds, LOL). But I love all kinds of music and rap and hip hop is a special interest of mine. I would be remiss if I did not also add in a mention of the various waves of punk rock and country music also. Both are really rich with history and innovation and changes, though not as in the mainstream as other genres. Finally, I would also add in that symphonic music is not dead as it is so often approached (focusing only on older works) and is currently being composed and performed. It is a great area of study as well. Edited September 22, 2011 by kijipt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zillymom Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Benjamin Britten Leonard Bernstein Lowell Liebermann John Adams Eric Whitacre ... and many of the others already mentioned :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tohru Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I'd use the artists from the Evolution of Dance: :lol: One of my all time favorite Youtube videos. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Well, the past 60 years means from the 1950's forward. :eek: John Williams Burt Bacharach Elvis Buddy Holly Sam Cooke The Beatles The British Invasion in general The Beach Boys, and similar artists Paul McCartney after The Beatles The Rolling Stones Poet musicians from the 1960's (Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, etc.) The Motown Sound Jimi Hendrix The Allman Brothers Cat Stevens Elton John U2 Sting Michael Jackson I would also look at the rise of the electric guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I talk to the trees Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 (edited) I don't think any of these three have been mentioned yet: Steve Reich (Perhaps start with Different Trains.) Karlheinz Stockhausen John Cage (Be sure to listen to 4'33"!;)) Eta: Arvo Part and Havergal Brian have been popular around my house recently. (I'm sure I'll think of more...) Edited September 22, 2011 by flutistmom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 One of the reasons I suggested Billy Joel and 'We Didn't Start The Fire' is b/c the lyrics cover decades of US history, including Elvis, Chubby Checker, etc. Great starting point. Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe Rosenbergs, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom Brando, "The King and I", and "The Catcher in the Rye" Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye CHORUS We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it Josef Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac Sputnik, Zhou Enlai, Bridge On The River Kwai Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California Baseball, Starkweather homicide, Children of Thalidomide Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, Space Monkey, Mafia Hula Hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land, Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician sex J.F.K. blown away, what else do I have to say We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal suicide Foreign debts, homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law Rock and Roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore We didn't start the fire It was always burning since the world's been turning. We didn't start the fire But when we are gone It will still burn on, and on, and on, and on... We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nono Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I'd include Glenn Miller & Bill Haley for the early end of your scope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I'd also include the modern storytellers like Harry Chapin, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Neil Young, Buffolo Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot, Bread, America, etc. I'm not sure I'd dive too far into individual artists, but the genre and the reasons behind the genre are interesting. Don't forget Big Band music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbecueMom Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Lots of good stuff posted already. It's a little out of the 60-year time range, but as far as classical goes I'd start with Arnold Schoenberg, since he sort of leads the way into modern, atonal music. WWII spawned a lot of interesting music; Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of Time" was written and performed in a Nazi POW camp, where he was being held. Benjamin Britten was a fervent pacifist, even as England was under attack. I wrote my senior research on the changes in the Russian symphony made (or not made) by Shostakovich under Stalin's regime. Stalin wanted a "nationalist flavor" to all compositions, so Russian composers were walking a fine line of creativity and not being exiled to Siberia. I'd definitely do jazz, musicals and show tunes, folk music, pop/rock, movie scores, and even video game music! The Saint Louis Symphony is performing the music of Final Fantasy for a concert this season, and the Halo soundtracks are beautiful. Fun fact: the composer for the Halo games, Martin O'Donnell, also wrote the Flinstones vitamins jingle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 (edited) When we did this for modern history, one of the things I did was let my older dds watch the Woodstock movie and a documentary where they talked to many of the participants now. They talked to Santana, Wavy Gravy, Michael Lang, etc. There is a lot of talk about drugs, but of course the documentary talked about the many artists we lost young due to drug overdose. Edited September 22, 2011 by Mrs Mungo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Beetles, Who, Janis, Grateful Dead, early punk-Ramones, S*x Pistols. Nirvana. We listen to a wide range of music in our house. When I think modern, I think 60s to now. Beetles changed marketing and mass audiences Janis Joplin was one of the first girls in the boy club Who changed how instruments were played and stage performance. Grateful Dead took music out of the studio and made their money predominently by touring punk took music away from the studio and said p*ss on you all :) (But still give us money for our records!) Nirvana (and other grunge bands) started a new movement of music that changed the way people dressed, even. Our boys listen to classical, folk, jazz, rap, metal, pop, bluegrass, techno (my 11yos current favorite, to my dismay), punk, country. It's all on my ipod. They have varied tastes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I talk to the trees Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Yep! I thought of another one! Laurie Anderson. (Try the Big Science album.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang!Zoom! Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 There are several music museums online, if you have one around that's within travel distance, that might be a lot of fun. One of the best I've ever been to was in Seattle. The Experience Music Project. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experience_Music_Project_and_Science_Fiction_Museum_and_Hall_of_Fame Do you have any hard rock cafe's around? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristinaBreece Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 When we did this for modern history, one of the things I did was let my older dds watch the Woodstock movie and a documentary where they talked to many of the participants now. They talked to Santana, Wavy Gravy, Michael Lang, etc. There is a lot of talk about drugs, but of course the documentary talked about the many artists we lost young due to drug overdose. Was that the History Channel documentary? I watched that with my Mom & my grandfather. My mom was born in 1969, and my grandpa was 21 and had friends who were at Woodstock. It was really interesting to watch the doc with someone who remembers that time period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter's Moon Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 The Beatles John Lennon Paul McCartney Elton John Billy Joel Elvis Johnny Cash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dominion Heather Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Motown people Sam Cooke Diana Ross Michael Jackson punk rockers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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