/MUS 525. Great American Songbook Project

Catalog description

This course will explore the music of 20th century America through performance its popular songs, examining performance techniques made famous by the artists that performed music of the Great American Songbook. “The Great American Songbook” is a loosely-defined term used to describe the repertoire of music written for the theater, cinema, vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley between the years 1914 and 1960. With the advent of mass media, these songs were popularized in various arrangements by the great artist of the twentieth-century and became known as standards. These songs have been at the forefront of our social consciousness, easing the pain of devastating war, challenging stereotypes and shaping our opinions about race religion, life and death, power and politic. This music has helped shape our American experience and is a significant part of our vast cultural inheritance. Prerequisite: Audition required.