We open the course with the question that will follow us all semester: what exactly counts as "American" music? Before we can answer it, we need tools — this week introduces the ethnomusicological frameworks we'll use throughout the course, and begins tracing the roots of American popular music in the 19th century.
For Wednesday, listen to a few (or more) of the songs from the playlist, and be ready to discuss what factors make them more or less "American." Consider instrumentation, rhythm, timbre, arrangement, performance style, narrative themes, and so forth.
For Friday, listen to the tracks by the Fisk Jubilee Singers: "Swing Low, Swing Chariot" and "Nobody Knows the Trouble I See." As you listen, pay attention to performance style and arrangement. We'll analyze these together in class today, and the rest of the songs next week.