1. Introduction
• Music in America in the Early 1920s (Copland/Gershwin)
• Length of Lesson (90 minutes)
• USII 6. The student will demonstrate knowledge of the social, economic, and technological
changes of the early twentieth century by
c) examining art, literature, and music from the 1920s and 1930s, with emphasis on
Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington, Georgia O’Keeffe, and the Harlem Renaissance.
Learning Objectives
1. Students will understand the origins of Jazz and the Harlem Renaissance;
2. Students will be able to identify those characteristics of Jazz than separated it from classical music of the
day;
3. Students will be able to identify works by Copland and Gershwin that uniquely defined the American
culture of the time;
4. Students will develop an understanding of the role of music in popular culture and the historic context.
Teaching and Learning Sequence
• Introduction/Anticipatory Set –
Building on prior knowledge:
1. What was happening in America in the early 1900’s?
a. Prohibition
b. Movement of African Americans into the northern industrial centers
c. Roaring 20s?
d. Massive Immigration
2. How would this have affected music?
a. People coming from other countries bringing in their folk music;
b. spread of African Music (evolving into Jazz);
c. Less formal events/opportunities to listen to music. Phonograph, radio, increased movement
throughout the country. Between 1923 and 1930, 60% of American households bought
radios.
• Lesson Development
A. Audio 1 – Classic (Claude Debussy: Clair de Lune, Danse Tarantelle; Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody
on the Theme from Paganini)
1. What images come to mind when you hear this music?
2. Do you have any ideas about the people who listened to this kind of music? Wrote and
performed this kind of music?
3. Explain the origin and time frame of the music; the types of typical performances.
a. Prior to the invention and spread of the radio, music usually fell into 2 categories,
folk/religious/spiritual music that was indigenous to particular communities or
nationalities and classical – that which was composed and performed for royalty and
upper classes in concert halls.
b. Average people had little access to performed classical music.
c. Many folk songs and tunes centered around religion or work – rhythmic music designed
to keep time for labor.
i. Certainly the music of African Americans in the southern states fell into this
category;

2. ii. However, most other immigrant groups also had their own music, played on more
portable, less expensive instruments than a piano or harp.
4. All of those things that were happening – movement to the cities, increase in leisure time,
movement of people throughout the country, spread of mass communication in the form of
radio – had an impact on the American musical scene. Popular music (music that the mass of
Americans could enjoy) established a stronghold. The very diversity of America contributed
to the rise of several uniquely American forms of music. America began to develop its own
form of culture, less reliant on european traditions. We start to see American composers and
artists who, after training in Europe, returned to America and were affected by various aspects
of American culture – melting pot, expansion (US is bigger that countries of Western
Europe); less class distinction and more varied scenery.
B. Jazz (powerpoint/w/audios)
1. The Blues – Audio 1 (Ray Henderson: Birth of the Blues; Ma Rainey: Black Bottom
Blues, Blame it on the Blues; Bessie Smith: I Ain’t Got Nobody, The Saint Louis Blues).
a. The blues came out of the south, having their origins in African American
spirituals and work songs.
b. Generally a call, a call back and then a response; using 1st
, 2d, 3d, 5th
chords
c. Instruments: banjo, harmonica & guitar;
d. Ma Rainey – The Mother of Blues (from Georgia)
1) Ma Rainey was known for her very powerful vocal abilities, energetic
disposition, majestic phrasing, and a ‘moaning’ style of singing similar
to folk tradition. Though her powerful voice and disposition are not
captured on her recordings, the other characteristics are present, and
most evident on her early recordings, Bo-weevil Blues and Moonshine
Blues. Ma Rainey also recorded with Louis Armstrong in addition to
touring and recording with the Georgia Jazz Band. Ma Rainey
continued to tour until 1935 when she retired to her hometown.
2) Made over 100 recordings;
e. Bessie Smith – The Empress of the Blues (from Tennessee)
1) Over 160 recordings
2) Toured with Ma Rainey
3) Vaudeville, Broadway, films
f. What is different about the Blues compared to the classical music we just
listened to?
g. To whom do you think the Blues would appeal?
2. Dixieland – Audio 2 (John Harold Kander: All that Jazz; Original Dixie land Jazz Band:
Tiger Rag, Original Dixieland One-Step; Louis Armstrong: Basin Street Blues, When the
Saints Go Marchin’ In)
a. New Orleans
b. The style combined earlier brass band marches, French Quadrilles, ragtime and
blues with collective, polyphonic improvisation.
c. While instrumentation and size of bands can be very flexible, the "standard"
band consists of a "front line" of trumpet/cornet, trombone and clarinet, with a
rhythm section of at least two of the following: guitar or banjo, string bass or
Tuba, piano and drums;
d. Louis Armstrong (New Orleans, Chicago and Harlem)
1) Grew up in NO
2) Moved to Chicago in 1922 – joined Joe ‘King’ Oliver’s Creole Jazz
Band;
3) Played with both jazz bands and traditional orchestras, recorded with
all including blues singers Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith;

3. 3. Chicagoland Jazz – Audio 3 (Irving Berlin: Alexander’s Ragtime Band, Puttin’ on the
Ritz; George Gershwin: Fascinating Rhythm, I Got Rhythm)
a. Chicago;
b. Faster more up pace beat;
c. Substitute guitar for banjo and string bass for tuba
d. More ‘swing style’
e. George and Ira Gershwin:
1) George composer; Ira lyricist;
2) Composed for classical orchestras but also Broadway
3) Many compositions became jazz classics
4. Harlem Jazz – Audio 4 (Jelly Roll Morton: Wolverine Blues, Ham & Eggs; Duke
Ellington: Sentimental Journey, It Don’t Mean a Thing)
a. Harlem, NY
b. Add in piano for Harlem Stride Style
c. Apollo Theatre
d. Cotton Club
e. Duke Ellington – jazz, gospel, big band, popular, swing
1) Composer, pianist, big band leader;
2) Raised in D.C.;
3) Friends nicknamed him ‘Duke’ when he was a boy due to his good
manners and bearing;
4) Best known as the lead group at the Cotton Club in NY, toured Europe
5. Questions for discussion:
a. So what images come to mind when you hear the blues and jazz?
b. What differences do you hear between the blues and jazz?
c. Why is this style of music so appropriate for its time?
d. Do you think that the rise of the blues and jazz played a role in racial integration
in this country? How?
C. Copland – Audio 5 (Rodeo: Hoedown, Appalachian Spring: Allegro, Appalachian Spring: Simple
Gifts, Rodeo: Buckaroo; Fanfare for the Common Man)
1. Changing pace, Copland’s pieces combined elements of classical and folk music;
2. Some of the most well enduring pieces of music – evocative of the American landscape;
3. Dean of American Composers
4. Believed to be a communist sympathizer
5. Questions for discussion:
a. Have you heard any of these pieces before? (Beef, its what for dinner
commercial; fanfare for the common man);
b. What images come to mind when you hear this music?
c. How different from jazz?
D. Conclusion:
Teacher will help students begin to make real-world connections through a series of questions:
1. What are some popular types of music today?
2. What do you think this music says about what is happening in our world?
Homework
ASSIGNMENT: Each student will select a song or musical number and write a 5 paragraph essay. The essay
should contain both introductory and conclusory paragraphs. The essay should identify the time in which the piece
of music was popular and what about the piece is reflective of the time and society in which it was popular.

4. Assessment
• Formative – During the course of the class, participation in the discussion will be noted as a part of the
formative assessment.
• Summative – Students will be graded on the paper assigned as homework. Papers will be graded on
meeting the standards of writing of an essay as well as the description of the connection between the piece
chosen and period in which it was popular.
References
Reference any and all materials used in the creation of this lesson plan. References should be formatted according
to the style outlined in the 5th
Edition of the APA Publication Manual.
http://www.jazz123.info/the-growth-of-jazz-music.php
Appended Materials:
Content Organizer
This form includes:
Curriculum Framework Essential Understandings
Materials and Lesson Preparation
Content Information and Vocabulary
Connections – Cross-Curricular and Real World
Differentiated Instruction Organizer
This form addresses alternate methods to assist and challenge students.