21M.295 | Fall 2014 | Undergraduate

American Popular Music

Course Description

This course surveys the development of popular music in the United States and in a cross-cultural milieu relative to the history and sociology of the last two hundred years. It examines the ethnic mixture that characterizes modern music, how it reflects many rich traditions and styles, and provides a background for …
This course surveys the development of popular music in the United States and in a cross-cultural milieu relative to the history and sociology of the last two hundred years. It examines the ethnic mixture that characterizes modern music, how it reflects many rich traditions and styles, and provides a background for understanding the musical vocabulary of current popular music styles.
Learning Resource Types
Written Assignments
Instructor Insights
Two guitars combined into one.
An acoustic and an electric guitar. In this course, students analyzed the instrumentation form of various assigned popular songs. (Acoustic guitar courtesy of Megan Allen on Flickr; electric guitar courtesy of Ethan Prater on Flickr. Licenses: CC BY.)