1. Could you hear the polytonality in the Ives piece? How does that compare to Sousa's marches?
2. Compare Still's Suite with Copland's Appalachian Spring. Are there similarities in their structure? What about differences? Discuss them.
3. How similar are Revueltas's uses of folk music (mariachi) to the uses of folk music by European classical composers?
4. Many people associate ragtime songs with old movies because they were often used to accompany silent films (typically, a pianist would sit in the theater and play while watching the movie). Why do you think they were used and do you think that people will have the same reaction in 50-80 years when listening to today's music?
5. What is your impression of fusion? Since it has a rock groove with jazz harmonies, should it be considered rock or jazz? Why?
• In the very early years of musical theater, it was common for both white and black actors to use what is known as "blackface" (a technique where the actor paints their face black to look like a stereotypical African-American). This practice has since been recognized as unacceptable, yet there have been movies where black actors have been in "whiteface" that have received very little (if any) criticism. Why do you suppose this is and do you feel that what these movies have done is acceptable? Please make sure your response is sensitive to other people.
1. The "teen idols" of rock performed a water-downed version of rock and roll. In what other styles of music have you seen this occur?
2. How does the music in a movie affect you?
3. How did Gershwin and Bernstein both straddle the worlds of classical and popular music?
4. How does John Williams use music to unify the action in his films?
5. Which rock groups could be considered "classic" and why? Choose two.