Concept of Mainstream Popular Music and Margins

Mainstream in its own is a term used commonly in arts. Mainstream music could get termed as music that is familiar, tuneful and easily accessible to people of a particular culture. An example is popular music (Stanbridge, 2008). Many are times when generations differ on what is the mainstream at the point in time. The old and the young in a particular culture may not agree on what is mainstream at similar seasons in life. In this script, however, the focus is on how the concept of mainstream popular music and margins have developed and changed since the early twentieth century.

Originally, the American music that dominated was the traditional folk music. This changed after the industrial revolution in the early twentieth century. Music that began to take root was that of vaudeville and music hall. Operettas and waltz music dominated this type of music. An operetta is a light non-serious opera that includes dances and songs whereas the waltz music is music written for the waltz dance.

In the 1890s music began to spread widely owing to technology. A combination of European harmonic beats with complex African rhythms by the African Americans then gave rise to jazz music. This type of music could get characterised by forceful or regular beats, syncopation and its ability to encourage improvisation. The different styles of jazz include; acid jazz, big band, contemporary jazz, cool and crossover jazz.

This changed in 1930 due to the evolution of the sheet music as the primary source of music into the microphone by phonograph records. This update in technology leads to the introduction of radio broadcasting that increased the ability of music to reach rural communities. This lead to the uprising of country music. It is a music style that has root in the west and southern rural areas of the United States and is majorly string accompanied.

In the 1950s most Americans shifted to the northern cities following World War II. Due to this, there was blues to jazz music creating the rock and roll. This type of music style was as a result of woogie, boogie, gospel, the blues, country and jazz music styles. Instruments used in the production of this style of music include; the piano, bass, electric guitar, vocals, and a drum kit. It has been known to influence language, attitude, lifestyles, and fashion of the people in the society especially teenagers.

This later developed into soul and rock music and it happened in the 1970' and the 1960s. Soul music is a genre characterized by the amount of earthiness and emotions it holds. It was developed by basically integrating the components of blues and gospel music. Rock music, on the other hand, can be termed as a genre of music concentrated around the drums and guitar composed, fine-tuned and played in the variability of sounds. In the 21st century, music has been that of punk, disco, hip hop, heavy metal and funk (Stanbridge, 2008).

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is clear that the concept of mainstream popular music and its margins has developed and changed since the 20th century. This has been influenced majorly by factors such as technology and migration of the people. Changes get seen in the style of music, origin and the accompaniment of the instruments of the type of music. These changes led to various styles of music such as the blues, rock and roll, jazz, country, the waltz, and the operettas.

References

Stanbridge, A. (2008). From the margins to the mainstream: Jazz, social relations, and discourses of value. Critical Studies in Improvisation/Etudes critiques en improvisation, 4(1).