Sounds of Change: Jazz and The Beats

Part 1

“Buttons and Bows” by Dinah Shore

“Someone to Watch Over Me” by Frank Sinatra

“Salt Peanuts” Dizzy Gillespie

“Thrivin’ on a Riff” by Charlie Parker

Play the music samples above and consider the following questions:

1. Tempo: does it stay the same, does it get faster or slower? Is it hard or easy to follow?

2. Instrunments: Do any sounds stand out or seem to dominate the song? What do you hear?

3. Energy: How do you feel as you listen? does the music seem calm, happy, upbeat? How might someone dance to this?

4. Structure: Does the song stay the same in terms of pacing, notes, and instruments? Does it change? Is it predictable or erractic? Formal or informal?

Part 2

Watch "San Francisco Scene" by Kerouac. Follow along with the text. After listening, note any specific words or sentences that stand out. Just as the music samples keep track of tempo and structure of Kerouac's piece, paying attention to how it sounds. Keep track of punctuation, considering whether it follows the rules when it comes to sentence structure. Answer the following questions in response:

1. What kind of scene is being described here? What feelings seem to come out? What are some of the sights, sounds, and actions?

2. List 4 to 5 words that popped out to you as you read and listened.

3. What kind of feeling did these words give you? What effect did they have on the sentences where they were found?

4. Can you find any places where the writing seemed surprising?

5. How would you characterize the style of this piece? Are the sentences very structured, or are they more loosely constructed? Provide one specific sentence as an example.

6. Consider your answers thus far, then think: With which song does this piece of writing match best? How might the song have helped to influence the style of the writing? Explain by using at least one specific example from the music and from the text.