1

Hayden Murphy
Jean Coco
English 1001
23 November 2015
Audience: My audience is people who do not understand how certain elements (such as
environment, inspirations, etc.) can affect a piece of music, specifically music with no words.
My goal is to allow my audience to join me in my discovery for determining the elements that
affected the composition of Rhapsody in Blue.
Preface
The strengths of my draft are the great details I have been able to give due to my sources.
I believe the draft does a thorough job of answering my line of inquiry because of this.
I believe there is potential to still add more content, especially pertaining to each
individual theme of Rhapsody in Blue.
The only road block I face is trying to decide what information could be expanded further
and what information should be briefly explained.

Old World Blues

1.

Music surrounds us all in our everyday life. The endless possibilities of meanings,

genres, sounds, and rhythms in music makes every song a unique and fascinating work of art.
When George Gershwin composed Rhapsody in Blue in 1924, he created a musical experience
unlike anything before it. The composition was extremely complex, and contained primarily
Jazz rhythms and scales. Rhapsody in Blue changed the way the world viewed not only Jazz
music, but American Music. With a piece that includes so many different sounds, one must
question: What ideas, inspirations, and other elements affected Gershwins composition of
Rhapsody in Blue?
2.

Many cultural inspirations affected the piece, including the very reason why the piece

was made. The popular genres of music in the timeframe and environments at the time had a

huge effect on the piece. In the early 1920s, Jazz was becoming extremely popular amongst the
American public. However, music critics and enthusiasts were not pleased by this fact. They
described Jazz music as being barbaric and degenerate (Nillson, The Birth of Rhapsody in
Blue). Then, in late 1923, Paul Whiteman announced a concert titled An Experiment in
Modern Music. The news of this concert sparked international attention, including some of the
most famous American composers of the time. Whiteman felt that this concert had the potential
to change the minds those who spoke poorly of Jazz. Whiteman asked Gershwin to compose a
piece that would show that jazz deserved to be regarded as a serious and sophisticated art
form (Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin, Performed for the First Time). Whiteman and
Gershwin had done previous events together, and both shared a passion for Jazz and Blues
genres. Due to their prior successes together, Gershwin agreed to compose a piece for the
concert. However, Gershwin had forgotten about the request until he saw an article in the
newspaper in January, 1924. With a short deadline approaching, Gershwin began hastily
working to compose a piece. Gershwins overall idea for the piece was this: Jazz, they said,
had to be in strict time. It had to cling to dance rhythms. I resolved, if possible, to kill that
misconception with one sturdy blowNo set plan was in my mind, no structure to which my
music would conform. The Rhapsody, you see, began as a purpose, not a plan (George
Gershwin: American Composer.). Gershwin still, however, needed to determine all the
different aspects of Jazz and American Culture to incorporate into the piece.
3.

Gershwin was well-known amongst the New York population as almost all of his prior

performances and premieres were held in New York City, his place of birth. Due to this,
Gershwin came up with many musical ideas and expressions from listening to the sounds of the
city. When Gershwin encountered problems thinking of one of the themes for Rhapsody in Blue,

he decided to take a train and listen to its sounds, as well as his surroundings. It was on the
train, with its steely rhythms, its rattle-ty bang And there I suddenly heard, and even saw on
paper the complete construction of the Rhapsody, from beginning to end. No new themes came
to me, but I worked on the thematic material already in my mind and tried to conceive the
composition as a whole. (Gloag 2). This urban and industrial surrounding ultimately created the
skeleton of the composition. Gershwins ride on the train from New York to Boston was so
influential to sounds of the piece, that one of the five themes heard in the piece is known as the
Train theme. (Paige, Rhapsody in Blue Analysis).
4.

Gershwins many inspirations led to the creation of these many themes throughout the

piece. The five themes are: Train, Shuffle, Stride, Ritornello, and Love. The Ritornello
theme is considered to be the overall characteristic sound of Rhapsody in Blue. The variety of
genres and styles these themes incorporate are the key to Rhapsody in Blues success (Paige,
Rhapsody in Blue Analysis). Each theme is a song that of its own, and is heard at different
points in the piece. Themes such as the Ritornello theme and stride theme are reoccurring
throughout the entire tune. Other themes like the love theme are heard for a long period of
time, but never reoccur. Each theme in the piece has different instrumentation, style, dynamics,
rhythms, and expressions that give each its own characteristic sound. Gershwin decided upon the
creation of these themes in order to either include a specific genre of music, incorporate a
specific musical idea. Gershwins mastery of combining these complex musical structures paired
with his inspirations from popular genres of music allowed him to develop these themes and
melodies in Rhapsody in Blue. (Chilton, Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin is celebrated.)
5.

Gershwin wanted to accommodate for all the current sounds and music of America by

creating the different themes. He stated the Rhapsody to be, a sort of musical kaleidoscope of

America, of our vast melting pot, of our unduplicated national pep, of our metropolitan
madness. (Gloag 2). In order to achieve this, Gershwin needed to use his knowledge learned
from prior experiences as a musician. Gershwin was a famous piano player, which included his
abilities at Jazz piano. He incorporated his piano playing into the piece by putting multiple piano
solos into the piece, as well as playing almost all of the themes on piano. The importance of the
piano varies in each theme. For example, the Ritornello theme is played by the orchestra with
great impact, but is later passed to the piano where the theme is played softly. However, themes
such as the stride theme and shuffle theme are played primarily by the piano, with only
minor lapses of melody in the orchestra (Paige, Rhapsody in Blue Analysis). By creating this
importance of the piano in the piece, Gershwin was not only able to show off his skilled piano
playing, but also show his love and passion for this instruments effect on the different genres of
music in American Culture.
6.

Gershwins idea of including all popular genres of music led him to be even more

creative. Gershwin decided to bring the traditional/classical genre of music to the piece by
adding in the love theme, which is the only theme that the piano does not play in the tune.
Although the piano has an accompaniment part, the orchestra took over entirely in this theme. It
includes string instruments that play a melody unlike anything heard prior throughout the piece.
Gershwin created this theme to incorporate sounds of famous orchestral compositions at the
time, as well as expand on what is less familiar to him as both a musician and composer (Chilton,
Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin is celebrated.). Rhapsody in Blue was Gershwins first
orchestral composition. With Gershwins prior experiences with piano compositions, it was
essential that he stuck to what was familiar to him. This is one of the reasons why all the
previous themes were included on piano. However, the love theme proves that Gershwin went

out of his comfort zone to include these musical expressions in the piece. Gershwin would not
let what was unfamiliar hinder him from achieving all of his ideas he had for Rhapsody in Blue.
7.

Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue was the final and most successful composition played at

An Experiment in Modern Music and has had a larger impact on the view of Jazz music than
any other piece. There are many fragments of influence that helped to create Rhapsody in
Blue (Gloag 2). Jazz, piano solos, Gershwins experiences with classical music, the cities
Gershwin lived in, the places Gershwin traveled, and the current American Culture are these
influences that have affected the composition of Rhapsody in Blue. The many themes of the
piece can be associated with these different influences. Each theme can be heard by the listener
as a musical expression containing styles, rhythms, and specific instrumentation that correspond
with these factors. The combination of these themes, each a song of its own, into one
composition is what gave birth to the most revolutionary piece of music in the twentieth century.
George Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue.

Work Cited
Gloag, K 1998, Music & Letters, Vol. 79 Issue 3, p453, 2 p.
George Gershwin: American Composer. Brittanica, 2015. Web. 19 November 2015.
< http://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Gershwin >
Chilton, M 2014, Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin is celebrated. The Telegraph, pg. 1
Nillson, J 2014, The Birth of Rhapsody in Blue, The Saturday Evening Post, pg. 2
Paige 2015 Rhapsody in Blue Analysis, Research Journal
Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin, Performed for the First Time History. 2015. Web.
20 November 2015. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/rhapsody-in-blue-by-georgegershwin-performed for-first-time