Jazz In The 1920's

Jazz drastically altered social aspects of the typical American citizen’s life. Examples of such include the creation and popularity of Jazz in this era, the extended independence citizens felt, and the general populace’s desire to assimilate with everything new. Jazz came into power during the Roaring Twenties, or the 1920s, which is unfortunately chiefly known for its Hollywood image of Flappers dancing the Charleston in Speakeasies visited by Al Capone’s mobsters, along with contributions from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, while its less than screen-worthy events are practically forgotten past the History Classroom. However, superb musicians and syncopated rhythm is what the Jazz Age symbolizes, and frankly, this representation

In other words, I will be discussing my theory on how an upstart, radical genre of music was able to reverse the expectations which society held for women, to combine, alter and create an entirely new culture from the best of other ones, and begin a path for rehabilitation from the years of racial discrimination. Frankly, this may seem quite ludicrous at first. After all, the point that I am trying to make is that Jazz literally altered American society. By altering society, it altered human behavior, which in turn then altered people’s choices, which would eventually change the future. Nevertheless, upon further inspection, the train of thought becomes clear. The Roaring Twenties also brought about a new age of change. Citizens believed that a new era of independence and freedom had come to being, with mass produced appliances and freer fashion fads. To elaborate, this era brought about mass production of cheap appliances that Americans (especially homemakers) could use to simplify their work. In addition, the Roaring Twenties brought about a series a radical fashion for the common citizen. The

I would like to believe that by preserving their African roots through their musical culture, they were also preserving the potential for jazz to one day come into effect. The African roots to which I refer to are such techniques as harmony or syncopated rhythm, each of which requires each musician to be in total synchronization with the others. Also, instruments such as drums would also contribute to jazz. First, the combination of the Harlem Renaissance and Tin Pan Alley brought about the Jazz Age. Technically speaking, this era should have never existed, since the Harlem Renaissance is a proud display of African-American culture, while Tin Pan Alley is an exclusive genre of music usually reserved for white bands of the time. Tin Pan Alley was a collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century, where songwriters cared more for their next paycheck than their next masterpiece. From these two genres of Harlem and Tin Pan Alley came forth the Rag-Time, a style of music that combined traditional European musical forms with African syncopated rhythms; usually written for piano. An example of ragtime is in Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag,” with the player’s left hand moving