Louis+Armstrong+2

Music, we all listen to it today. The twenties was the birth place of great music. Music in the Twenties was a huge thing and was one of the biggest ways to enjoy entertainment. Music included dancing, many musicians, styles, and instruments. There were many music styles in the 1920's. One big one was Jazz. This period was also called the Jazz Age. Dance is popular all over the world. In dance, you can either Tango, Shimmy, Waltz, or even dance the Charleston. In dance, it may just seem that someone is just moving in a fluent motion, but it isn't like that. Dance is full of steps, kicks, leg pumps, and confusing step motions. Dancing may seem challenging at first, but learning it will make you want to be an expert on it. With dancing and music there has to be musicians. The 20's had a great assortment of them. In the Twenties there was a vast variety of instruments. Some instruments were new and others became very popular. The brass family had the instruments that were used the most. Hope you enjoy the wonderful world of music from " The Roaring Twenties".Today, we like genres in music like Pop, Rock, Hip-Hop, and Rap. What were the genres before us? Did they listen to the same music as we do today? Check out the 1920's music styles. There were many styles of music in the 1920's, also known as " The Roaring Twenties". The main style of music was Jazz. This time period was also called " [|The Jazz Age]". Almost everybody listened to jazz at the time. "This "movement" in which jazz music grew in popularity by immense standards in the U.S., also influenced other parts of the world." ( Team C005846, The Jazz Age and Louis Armstrong). One big name during this time period who played jazz was the famous Louis Armstrong. I'm sure that you have heard the name. He is one of the greatest jazz musicans ever! The Hot Five ( later named the Hot Seven after getting 2 more members) were a great band. They were started by "Satchmo" ( Louis Armstrong). Blues also was a big part of the 1920s music. Blues was right behind jazz as most popular music during the 1920s. This period could easily have been called ' The Blues Age". Many blues singers were women. This style is what most women sang. They sang about lost love, love to come, and just bad days. Blues was part of the African American culture. This music was called "race music" for marketing stratagies so they could sell music by black for black and by white for white, respectively. Did you know that Duke Ellington used blues towards his Jazz music?    ( Wikipedia, blues).  After World War I, there were many African Americans in search of better jobs and moved to the northern part of the United States. Moving north, they brought thier culture with them. The works of African Americans especially in music, rose greatly in popularity! Now African American music became quite popular. As I said before blues music was part of the African American style. One African American blues singer was Ma Rainey, "The Mother of Blues"     ( Calliope Film Resource, The Classic Blues and the women who sang them).

It is very true that styles of music were a main part of the Roaring Twenties. Dance starts to follow under this topic, because a specific type of dance could fall under a specific type of style or genre of music. For example, the jitterbug is danced to something of a jazzy tune. The mood of the dance also gives you a hint on what style of music it is. Dancing was also a way, and still is a way, to get out emotions inside of you and share them with others. You need music in order to dance. Dancing was a huge part of the 1920's, but could not be done without styles, songs, or the instruments of music. Music was a sensational hit in the 1920's, and dancing was a big part of this hit. One of the popular dances was the Charleston. The Charleston was one of the most popular dances in the 1920's. To start this dance, all you have to do is kick. Just like if you are playing soccer. Then, just step back with your right foot. After that, all you have to do is kick back with your the opposite foot. Then, step forward with your left foot. If you're dancing the Charleston like a pro already, you should be right back where you started. Next, kick forward with your right foot. And then, you repeat the whole thing again. This is only the first part of the Charleston. If you would like, try moving your arms around. When you start the kicking step in this dance, you start to move your left arm in front of you, and your right arm behind you. Now do the same thing using opposite arms. Hold your arms right in front of you and bend your elbows into a 90-degree angle. Swing your arms in a circular motion. First, do it towards the right, and then you do it in the opposite direction. Put both of these movements together and you have mastered the Charleston. (How To Dance The Charleston 1). Another great dance in the 20's was the Shimmy. The Shimmy is a belly dance. It is really quite entertaining. It is actually an Egyptian dance. You dance this by first having the right posture. When belly dancing, or in other words, doing the shimmy, it's very important to be conscious of your body at all times during the dance. Stand up, and put your feet on the ground about a foot apart from each other. Focusing on your hip area, bring your shoulders back and firm up your stomach and buttocks. Stick your chest out and up, and put your hand down to your side. To shimmy in belly dancing, you need to take advantage of the power in your knees. Bend your knees slightly, and then raise them up and down quickly like you're running. Be sure that you're feet don't leave the ground! This will move your hips back and forth, creating a shimmy effect. Be sure not to start off too quickly or you're probably going to hurt yourself. When you first practice this dance, you should do it in slow motion until you develop the correct movement. Be sure to pay close attention to your form. Your left knee should control your left hip, and the same goes for the right side. Once you get a more fluent motion, try to speed up the process. It should be almost seamless in movement, and your knees will pump as quickly as they can go. (How To Shimmy Hips Belly Dancing 1) Follow these steps and you'll be shimmying like a pro in no time! Just be sure you don't hurt yourself! Guys and girls in the "Roaring 20's" would usually go to dance marathons or dance competitions in their spare time. Well, what would they wear? The ladies who went to dance in the 1920's wore skirts. Skirts were long between 1920-1923, but then in 1924, skirts became much shorter. "Evening dresses were generally sleeveless, with deep V or U-shaped necklines." Women would also have decorations on their dresses. Some materials used would be fringe, feathers, and beading, which would at some times, take up the whole dress. Focusing on the face, women in America, as well as all over the world, had short hair. The other women with long hair simply put it back behind their ears. In other words, it would be put into a knot at the nape of the neck. With dark eyes, red lips, and powdered skin, make up was very visual. Dance shoes would be small-healed at the time. Now, men would dress up for dance occasions as well, but they would not get as dressed up. Men preferred tailcoats during the 1920's, being after World War II. They were worn with white waistcoats and ties. If the occasion was at night, they would wear black or midnight blue tuxedos. Tuxedos had either rolled collars faced in silk or notched collars" (Arbor 1) . That's pretty much it in the fashion category.

Another great thing in the 1920's was dance marathons. They were mainly popular in 1923. People would go and take their spouse and dance for as long as they possibly could. Some would last for over 45 hours! The police were starting to get very concerned though. Some people would come out of a marathon with swollen ankles, bad backs and even bleeding feet. One women crossed the line when she had a siezure as a result of losing 21 pounds dancing in a marathon. Officials were then tired of it at that point. They stopped the marathon. Follwing that incident, they let the courts decide whether these marathons should be illegal or not. (Stewart 23). That is dance in the Roaring 20's!