In Time: A Music History Podcast

When does music become modern? What is the difference between modern and contemporary music? What trends exist in the landscape of 20th century art? All that and more in the final episode of In Time: A Music History Podcast's exploration of the various musical and artistic eras in history. 

What happens when the Western Tonal System that stood for four hundred years collapses? Well, Jazz takes over. This week, the end of one art form gives way to the rise of another. 

The late Romantic era sees an explosion of technological progress, but with that shift comes a change in what it means to not only be an artist, but what it means to be human as well. With each new revolution, comes a fundamental psychological and spiritual shift in the mind of composers, artists, authors, and musicians.

The start of the 19th Century is the age of giants. In politics, art, literature, and music this age is defined by its large number of creative forces, who shape not just their age but our own as well. 

The Enlightenment provides some of the most unified artistic visions in our shared history. The irony of this is that while unified, the art, music, and philosophy of the age is not a reflection of the world that birthed it, but rather a product of its ideals. 

The modern world begins here. Science, reason, political liberalism, and modern sounding music all add together to turn this era into the first one in which we can truly call our world.

Beneath the veneer of the Renaissance, a movement of reform and destruction was occurring. Martin Luther’s Reformation, while intended to merely change church practices and reinvigorate the doctrine itself turned into a movement of destruction for the art lover of the day. To fill the void, music stepped into the forefront of the newly formed Lutheran church and culture would never be the same. Still elsewhere, King Henry VII staged his own reform movement of sorts and through the drive of his ego, he would set England on course for literary greatness.

The Renaissance is the first period of time in which we can truly see ourselves in history. This week, Zach explores the major artistic, philosophical, and musical developments that helped turn this period into the first of the modern world. 

The Dark Ages or the Middle Ages seem horribly impenetrable to us in our modern, secular age. Buried beneath this heavy weight of religious belief and strange images is a culture that is rich in meaning, symbolism, and a logical extension of how anyone would behave if they could possibly die tomorrow. Join us this week as we explore this misunderstood period in our history. 

In this episode, Zach and Susan explore the vast region of time that precedes our recorded history and try to piece together how music and art came to be.  

In our second season premier we revisit a part of music that Zach neglected to mention when we began the show - the overtone series. Join us and learn how it influences the tendencies and sound of our music. 

In this excerpt from our upcoming season, Zach muses on what could have driven humans to create flutes from bone.

A quick announcement from In Time: A Music History Podcast. We're on break until September 6th, but we'll be back with our next season shortly. 

This week in our Summer Season finale, Zach and Susan discuss why we've chosen to canonize certain musicians over others and our thoughts on its general merits. 

This week, we have a follow up to an interview that I did with Chris Munce of the Choralosophy Podcast. I wanted to explore the idea of being a "Cultural Custodian," the implications it has for those of us outside of education and how all of us can be one.

Eric Schrantz is a music teacher and gigging musician in and around Springfield Missouri. His band Funk Tank can be found at https://www.funktankmusic.com/

This week, Susan leads us through the tales of John Phillips Sousa and Adolphe Sax. 

Jin J. X is a jazz guitarist based in Springfield Missouri. Last year, during the pandemic, he released two albums "The Narrator" and "Songs for Liz." You can find his music on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/jinjxmusic/playlists 

Brant Jester is a jazz pianist now based in Kansas City. You can hear him play on YouTube, or find him at the Majestic Restaurant on Saturday nights. In this talk, Brant shares with us some of his teaching philosophies, as well as his opinions on jazz, theory, education, and when music peaked.

Last week, Zach released an audio essay titled “What Happened to Music?” This week, Susan is on hand to either put Zach in his place, or help him sharpen his thesis. Which one will it be?

What happened exuberance?  Why are our modern pop singers so self consciously aware of their image? This week, Zach explores these questions and more. 

Music is one of the most basic of human forms of expression and through out the centuries, our ability to play it has been a key aspect of what it means to be human. This week, we’ll examine how our ability to express ourselves through music changed as our ability to notate ideas developed and improved.

It's our summer season! During this time, we're going to be exploring some topics that we haven't been able to talk about during the course of our first season. This week, we ask what does a conductor do?

In Time: A Music History Podcast returns June 7th. See you all soon. 

It’s our season finale. Join us as we wrap up our story, share the things we’ve learned, evaluate how we did, and answer a listener’s question. We’ll be taking a break after this week, but In Time: A Music History Podcast will return June 7th with our summer season. Until then, remember to #StayInTime.

1969 is when the idealism of the hippie generation rises to its greatest heights, and falls into its greatest lows. This week on In Time: A Music History Podcast, we wrap up the story of the music of the 1960s. Our season finale will release next week on May 3rd.

As 1968 faded into the next year, it seemed like most people were just ready to put the turmoil that defined the previous twelve months behind them. A new president encouraged the nation to look towards the better angles of their nature and John Lennon seemed ready to hear that call. Still though, the scene which had developed over the last few years was continuing its precipitous decline. The Beatles were succumbing to infighting, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix were arrested, and the specters of Charles Manson and the unknown Zodiac Killer were beginning to overtake the popular consciousness. In the midst of all this, mankind achieved a dream that it never truly believed to be possible - stepping foot on the moon.

Do you want to ask a question of Zach and Susan for our final episode of the season on May 3rd? If so, send us an email at InTimePod@gmail.com or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all @InTimePod. Time is running out, so if you want your questions answered in our season finale, please submit them to us by May 1, 2021.

The chaos of 1968 continued well after the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy. With the Democratic presidential race in turmoil, Richard Nixon rises as the eventual winner of the election. This is of course after the disastrous riots at the DNC. As the society at large seems to be coming undone, the music scene goes through an equally tumultuous episode. The chaos of the year does yield three masterful works, which reflect 1968 in its disjointed entirety: Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland, The Beatles White Album, and The Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet.

As 1967 turned into 1968 it seemed like the hippie dream was on the verge of collapse. The Tet Offensive galvanized the Antiwar Movement at home, which led to the sitting President of the United States not running for reelection. In musical circles, The Beatles along with Mike Love of the Beach Boys and the folk singer Donovan sojourned to India to study with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Just as the Vietnam War began another phase of escalation, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, sending the nation into a period of mourning and riots.

The Vietnam War is the defining event of the back end of the 1960s. When it begins in 1948, it is a war for independence that is waged by the Vietnamese people against the French, who had possessed it as a colony. By the time that the Americans become fully involved in 1964, it has morphed into something much harder to describe. Today, we will attempt to lay out how America got into the nation of Vietnam, and some of the actions that were taken during the war that resulted in the creation of the largest anti-war movement in American history.

For every musical change, there is a shift in fashion that follows. New styles bring new images that reflect the new way of thinking. Today on our Time Signature Special we look at how the look of the 1960s changed over the course of the decade. 

As 1966 draws on, a new sound enters the popular landscape. Fueled by a new substance, this form of rock is going to push the boundaries of what is possible on stage and in the studio. By 1967, this sound has a name - psychedelia and it isn't going anywhere any time soon.   

The British Invasion inevitably sparked an American response. What would follow would be a dialogue between Britain and the States that would push music into strange and new directions. The ethos of this line of communication was one of pure artistic freedom and in the spirit of this age, the whole of music history opened up and became ripe for exploration.  What would follow would be a process of oneupmanship between John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Jim McGuinn, Gene Clarke, Bob Dylan, and Brian Wilson that would shape the whole of music going forward. 

Following the arrival of the Beatles in February of 1964 a flood of British acts hit the American market place. Many of these new groups were pop bands who came out of the North of England by the river Mersey in Liverpool. This Merseyside sound became the dominant force on the British charts, and made a good dent in the American market as well. Meanwhile in London, a generation of players influenced by American blues will rise to prominence.  

The most acclaimed band in history probably doesn't need an introduction. In case you've been living under a rock though, we're beginning our next arc on the British Invasion, by looking at the band that started it all - The Beatles. Today, we're going to focus on their rise and early releases from Please Please Me to A Hard Day's Night. 

Music is about communication between different groups - the players themselves, the labels, and the audience that buys the product. Over the course of the late fifties and early sixties, this communication between Soul, Doo-wop, and Rock’n’Roll spur the creation of some of the most influential music forms of the era - Motown and Surf.

Today we bring you the second part of Bob Dylan's 60s career from Another Side of Bob Dylan to Nashville Skyline. (Part 2 of 2)

What more can we say about today's episode topic? Nothing. Just sit back and enjoy this one. Part 1 of 2.

It's the early 1960s and America is at the height of her power. Today, we're going to look at the Kennedy Administration and the culture surrounding this mythic golden age.

Today, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we look at the relationship that the Civil Rights Marchers of the early 1960s shared with the music they chose to sing together. 

We're back! This episode is a brief recap/ catchall episode wherein we discuss some of the things that we missed before we went on break. Joining Zach is the new co-host/producer/ Susan Zahringer. 

The late 1940s and early 1950s are mostly remembered as an optimistic time, wherein musicians and composers flexed their intellectual muscles and boldly pushed the boundaries of jazz. Outside the confines of jazz, folk, Western, the blues, R&B, soul, and rock'n'roll are all gaining their own momentums. In our mid-season finale, we look at the development of the new American music of the post war years, and how the seeds to the music of the 1960s are planted. 

It's that time of year again. The snow is falling (maybe), the hall is being decked, and it's cold outside. If it seems like I'm leading up to something, it's because I am.  There is one song that while definitely overplayed, doesn't deserve the ire it's receiving these days. Today on In Time: A Music History Podcast I am joined by our new co-host/producer/editor/fount of all knowledge Susan Zahringer as we explore the misunderstood Christmas classic: Baby, It's Cold Outside. 

As World War II ended two new senses swept the world. For some, this post-war period was an optimistic experience, wherein America was the dominant power on earth. For others, this was a deeply troubling time, where paranoia, suspicion, and fear reigned.  Today, we are going to examine the latter of these emotions, and how they led to the creation of some of Western Art's most cynical creations. 

In this brief episode, we look at two works that going forward will provide two seperate templates for the American Experience: Richard Wright's Native Son and Betty Smith's A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. 

War erupts in Europe. This time, the lines between good and evil are cut and dry (mostly) and music is going to play an international role in the effort. By the end of this conflict, the world of the 1960s will be coming into view, but first we have to defeat some Nazis. 

While Jazz, Country, Folk and the Blues are being discriminated through the radio, there are other artforms that are growing and morphing during this period. The “high culture” of society is going on its own historical course. In this episode, our last looking at the world as it was before World War II, we examine the path that Western Art, Art Music, and Literature during the 1930s.

There has been a split in music, art, and culture. As Western Art mediums go one way, a new popular culture begins to develop thanks to the advent of the radio. As swing becomes the dominant identity of jazz, the blues and country are developing outside of the city centers of New York, Washington, New Orleans, and Chicago. 

How does the Great Depression affect the politics of a nation? In this episode, we look at the political reactions of two nations and see how the greatest economic catastrophe of the century plays a role in setting the world towards another great war.  

The war has come and gone. Now those that survived it are left to process their experiences. The likes of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Erich Remarque leave us records of the thoughts and minds of their generation while simultaneously, Langston Hughes rises to promote the view of what it means to be Black in America during the 1920s.  Underneath all of this, new and deadly political forces are emerging, and they will set the world on course towards the next war. 

The Great War is over. What remains in the aftermath? How do artists and musicians process their experiences in the conflict? This is the age of Dada, Serialism, Realism and Jazz. 

As Jazz is starting to come into its own, half a world away Arnold Schoenberg is busy redefining Western Art Music. While this is going on, the likes of Kandinsky, Picasso, and Stravinsky are all searching for new forms of inspiration.  All of these experiments will come to a grinding halt however when war breaks out on the European continent. This conflict, unlike any before it, will do more to scar the psyche of not only the European powers, but the world. When all is said and done, ancient empires will collapse and new powers will emerge to dictate world events. 

As the Long 19th Century comes to a close, new and powerful ideas begin to upend the sensemaking abilities of the world. The ideas of Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Sigmund Freud all combine to create new means of thinking as the old religious order dissolves at an astounding pace. While this is happening human invention reaches new heights culminating in mankind achieving its oldest dream: flight.    

Gustav Mahler is dead. His passing signifies a transition from one generation of composers to the next and this is where things will get strange. Before we talk about that though, we need to understand how things existed before the artistic world gets thrown into chaos.  In this episode, we explore the musical, artistic, and technological world that the Long 19th Century created. All that and more on In Time: A Music History Podcast. 

In this introductory episode to In Time: A Music History Podcast, we will discuss some of the general ideas and themes that we will be exploring over the course of this show. 

A brief introduction for our show. In Time: A Music History Podcast may be reached at Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @InTimePod or via our web page at www.intimepod.com. All questions feedback may be sent to InTimePod@gmail.com. Hope to see you soon!