Music, like all art forms, evolves over time. These developments can be attributed to increased innovation, better creative facilities, greater resources and changing audience preferences. The possibility of being exposed to music from other cultures might inspire them to create alternative music. This progression has been evident in American music, which can be seen through the compositions from different historical periods. Music created at the end of the twentieth century was markedly different from music composed in the first half of this century. These distinctions are evident in a number of musical components including melody, structure, melody and instrumentation. These differences highlight the multitude of musical and social manifestations music can have. The 1927 composition Hotter Than That, by Louis Armstrong, and Scott Joplin’s 1901 song The Easy Winners are two excellent examples of music evolution in terms melody, rhythm and form.
Music melody is the combination of different musical tones. However, pitch and duration are also important. Pitch is the way that musical tones are arranged into notes. While duration refers to the time each note has been held (Vidulin 2017, 2017). The musical skills shared by Scott Joplin and Louis Armstrong in Hotter than That are easily identified. Armstrong’s tone is shorter but more repeated than Joplin’s melodic notes, which are longer and more artistically extended. This discrepancy indicates that American musical advancement has included an increase of the musical note length as a component to melody.
Contrary to rhythm, rhythm refers to the idea of using multiple notes and generating musicality within a piece. To achieve the desired musicality, however, modifications must be creative. Joplin directed his musical notes in The Easy Winners to move quickly, while Armstrong had them follow a slow tempo in Hotter than That. The change in tempo is still noticeable and listeners can recognize the differences between the songs.