Stephen Foster helped create American popular song, but his melodies carried beauty, commerce, racial caricature, and national...
Music
From mourning songs to concert tributes, music helped Americans remember, reinterpret, and claim Abraham Lincoln across generations...
American vaudeville transformed comedy, celebrity, censorship, touring, film, and radio into the foundations of modern mass entertainment....
From Greek choruses to Broadway scores, music has carried theater’s emotion, rhythm, spectacle, and storytelling power across...
Medieval farces and soties used fools, tricksters, courts, households, and public laughter to expose the fragile performance...
From Old Comedy to viral protest, street theater has used satire, spectacle, and interruption to make power...
In an era dominated by streaming platforms and instant access to millions of songs, the resurgence of...
Creating custom music for videos, games, and ads traditionally required a significant investment in professional skills, expensive...
A piano in your home is a centerpiece. It’s the elegant backdrop to holiday gatherings, a conversation...
Exploring gospel music’s essential place as an outlet for African Americans to express their spiritual and cultural...
Greenfield forced people to reconcile their ears with their racism. Introduction In 1851, a concert soprano named Elizabeth...
The original form of ancient Greek tympanon, a big hand-drum with a roaring sound, lives on in...
The church dates from 1208, and in 1361 a large organ (not there now) was installed. By...
The guitar in Tudor England was the instrument of gentlemen, the middling sort, and of apprentices. In...
The banjo was introduced by enslaved Africans and continued to evolve in the Americas. When I was...
What “dance” meant in the Byzantine context is not always clear. By Dr. Leslie BrubakerProfessor Emerita of...
Some concertgoers reported being so moved by their first concerts due to the pandemic in nearly two...
The craze for castrati in England started relatively late. Introduction For most of the people in this...
Richard Strauss did not specify what precisely his music was attempting to remember. By Jeremy EichlerClassical Music...
Investing in a bass guitar is a significant decision for musicians, whether just starting or aiming to...
Traditional Music: Learning for Yourself With over 40,000 years of musical history behind us, when you learn...
The forgotten folk collectors of the New Deal. Introduction It was October 1935, and the Resettlement Administration was...
Autochthonous functions of space also existed in the middle ages. Indeed without music no discipline can be...
This music was made to entertain and connect communities. By Sophie CastroFormer Intern with Humanities MagazineFashion AssistantMichael...
Seeing ‘Rhapsody’ as a whitewashed version of Harlem’s vibrant Black music scene. By Dr. Ryan Raul BañagaleAssociate...
Various performances that took place in and around churches served the basic tenet of Christianity. Introduction In...
Protest music captures people’s dissatisfaction with the present and repackages it in a politically potent form. By...
The word “carol” once had a wider meaning and referred to several different genres of music in...
Most popular histories of jazz music skip over the importance of the mob’s patronage. Introduction Every civilization...
When the Nazis annexed Austria, the von Trapps realized that they were on thin ice with a...