American Country Music

Vocabulary

If you learn what’s in this

presentation, you will . . .

Before we begin:

Teacher Bao

do better on exams (e.g., CET, TOEFL, IELTS, BEC)

have something to talk about with foreign friends

Let’s get started!

“Country music is the people's music . . .

It just speaks about real life …

and about truth . . .

and it tells things how they really are.”Faith Hill, Country Singer

General Vocabulary

ComposerPerson who writes the music for songs

Lyrics - the words of a songLyricist - the writer of words for a song

Ballad - a slow, sad song that tells a story, often romantic, historic, or tragic

Genre - a type or category, in this case, of music

Crossover

A song that starts in one musical genre and becomes popular in another genre

Twang: when singing, sounds made through

the nose; a characteristic of early

country musicgeorge_strait-twang.mp3

Click here to listen to the sound of TWANG

Hint: in the new page, click on the “play” button in the upper left hand

corner

Yodel- a form of singing where the voice changes quickly between the normal voice and a very high sound (falsetto)

Click here to listen to someone yodel

Cover - a recording of a song that was first recorded by somebody else

The Grand Ole Opry(1) a place; a theater in the

American South (Tennessee) that produces live country music shows(2) a weekly country music radio

program

Roots of Country Music

Sources of Country Music

Trains

Church Singers

Fiddlers

Square Dancing

Banjo Players

Singing Cowboys

Steamboats

Folk Singers

Fiddlers

Instruments of Country Music

GuitarFiddle

BassMandolinSteel guitar

Banjo

Banjo

Fiddle

Mandolin

Guitar

Steel Guitar

Bass

Types of Country Music

Hillbilly

Singing Cowboy

HonkyTonk

Rock -A -

billy

Bluegrass

Nashville Sound

Neo-Country

Country

Music Genre

s

土包子Hillbilly

Country music from Texas and Oklahoma; rough, loud and often including yodeling

Singing Cowboy

A type of country music first played in noisy [热闹的 ] bars;

often included a piano

Honky-tonk

猫王

Rockabillya blend of black music and country

music; part of the roots of rock and roll

Bluegrass

A type of country music played at a rapid speed on banjos and guitars

Country music that includes elements of popular music; broadcast on radio &

TV out of Nashville, Tennessee

The Nashville Sound

Modern country music that takes its inspiration from traditional

country artists

Neotraditional Country

Country Music’s Place in Time

Timeline

Hillbilly1922

1941

1935

Singing Cowboys1955

1941

Honky

Tonk 1955

1954 19

60Rockabilly

1940

BluegrassPresent

…

Present …

Nash

ville

Sound

1958

1980

Present …

Neotraditional

Country music IS the people's music!

Appendix

Word ListCountry music

Twang Banjo Hillbilly

Composer Yodel Bass Singing Cowboy

Lyrics Genre Mandolin

Honky-tonk

Lyricist Cover Guitar RockabillyBallad Grand Ole

OprySteel Guitar

Bluegrass

Crossover Instruments Fiddle Nashville SoundNeo-traditional

In this presentation all vocabulary words

appear in yellow

Hillbilly 1922 - 1941Singing Cowboys 1935 - 1955Bluegrass 1940 - PresentHonky-tonk 1941 - 1955Rockabilly 1954 - 1960

Nashville Sound 1958 - PresentNeotraditional 1985 - Present

Timeline

Anderson, S. E. [compiled by] (2003). The quotable musician: from Bach to Tupac. New York, NY: Allworth Press

Tribe, I. M. (2006). Country: a regional exploration. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press

References