Music tastes are constantly changing. It’d be pretty cool to look at these changes and what led to them.
The Civil Rights movement sparked the genres of soul and hip-hop for example. I’d be able to look into famous artists such as Aretha Franklin and Kool Herc. Aretha Franklin was a famous soul musician and the genre of soul is heavily influenced by jazz. It’d be fascinating to explore jazz and how many genres such as soul adapted things from it.
Going with jazz, I’d look at the early 20th century. New Orleans is especially known for its rich history of jazz music. I could lay a foundation here and then check its influence on other genres.
There have also been other key turning points in music such as the Vietnam War. This fueled songs of protest and punk rock.
I’d probably keep it in the 20th century at most. There is so much change that takes place in music, especially now. Overall, I think it would be good start with the history of jazz in America and go from there. I’m still in the brainstorming faze, but there is a lot for me to work with. I just have to make sure I focus in on my ideas.
Hi John!
I really like this topic and I think it could be a very engaging TedTalk, especially if you show a few examples of music/songs. I would love to hear more about this and think you have a good foundation for the rest of the speech/essay.
– Amalia
John,
This is a great topic! I think that you’ll have a lot to work with being that music really has changed so much in such a short time. I also think that in a TED talk format this topic could work really well since you’ll be able to play songs for the audience. I don’t know much about jazz so I am excited to learn more.
Sophia
John,
I think this topic is easily the most expansive topic you can pick and there’s a lot to say about music over the past century. You are well suited for it too, as a music major. I hope that there is not too much to say and that you can still keep it concise.