Origins of the Popular Style: The Antecedents of Twentieth-Century Popular Music

by Peter Van Der Merwe

Analyzing popular music from a musical, rather than a sociological or political viewpoint, this book examines the nineteenth-century split between classical and popular music and surveys all styles of Western popular music to uncover the musical language uniting them.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

366 pages, Paperback

First published December 7, 1989

Reviews

[Maggie]

Fascinating; a deep weird dive. Might want a piano, and the ability to sight read

[Kiof · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elegantly written, deeply learned and full of original insights and speculations (to cite just one example, the argument that blues songs often end on a dominant seventh chord because of the influence of the barbershop quartet) but also somewhat unfocused. We meander about, learning some of the musical intricacies of parlour music, blues, African music, British folk, among other subjects, without a clear picture of why we are hearing about it or what thesis the author is driving at, in a particular section or, more crucially, the entire book. Obviously the goal in some sense is to divine the origins of the so-called “popular style” but I do not think nearly enough time is spent clarifying the boundaries of that term. (To those who say it is simply about nonclassical music, Van Der Merwe writes in his introduction that the book is as much about classical as it is popular music—and most of its pages are in fact spent analyzing folk music.) Van Der Merwe at the beginning sketches out the many things the book is not, and claims that the book is merely a work of musicology—which itself isn’t necessarily the most clear designation—to remedy some of this confusion, but that kind of definition by antithesis only goes so far. However, as long as the reader doesn’t worry too much about where they’re going, or why they’re going there, they’re likely to enjoy themselves.

[Bill Mayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though most of the music theory was over my head, I found this book to be enlightening and well written.

[J.O. Teague · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is very dense, very informative book on music development and history recommended by Rhiannon Giddens in an interview. Highly recommended to serious musicians. This is not written for laymen.