Cornelia's Music Blogg

  "I Got Rhythm"  George/Ira Gershwin I chose the song "I got Rhythm" written by George/Ira Greshwin and preformed by Ethel Merman in the 1930s. George Gershwin was one of the best known american composers, he was the son of an immigrant leather worker, and is known for his bridged gap between concert music and popular music. He also created an American folk opera, called "Porgy and Bess." The song "I got Rhythm" is considered a standard, which means that the song is still essential today. It is a Tin Pan Alley song, these songs were created to escape reality, they were not about any current issues like the great depression or racism. I liked the song, it is very nostalgic and takes you back in time. It reminds me of old movies, and is something they might play in nicer hotel lobbies. I can picture people dancing to this song when it came out. The singer Ethel Merman has a very strong and characteristic voice that is easy to recognize. The song i...

Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin (1899) I chose to listen to Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin. I have heard this song before in cartoons and on TV, however I did not know anything about this song before class. I think it is a fun and entertaining song. There is a lot of things going on at once in the song, it has a very quick tempo, that makes the song sound kinda chaotic. He uses a piano to play the song, I do not know if there is any other instruments in the song. I liked this song a lot more than the other music from the same period. This type of music makes you happier than the traditional Waltz music that was considered proper during that time period. The name rag means to spice things up, which is exactly what Scott Joplin did to the music. His song soon became very popular by the younger generation. The younger generation loved rag music which broke from the traditional AABA form, however rag music was often very racist. And was used to make fun of black people. This surprised me a ...