Music Collection

Explore musical genres, their history and origins including African, Blues, Classical/Orchestral, Country/Bluegrass, Cuban/Latin/Salsa, Gospel, Hymns and Spirituals, Gullah Music: Evolution of African Music, Hip-Hop/Rap, Jazz, Musical Theater, Opera, Pop and Soul, Rhythm and Blues, and Rock and Roll. Be sure to view the individual assets that stand alone, just below the Topics, and have not been included in a specific topic or genre.

Also explore our Musical Instruments and Musicians and Music History sections. We also have a section on Holiday Music.

Within this Collection

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Woody Guthrie | Artopia

Woody Guthrie was born Woodrow Wilson Guthrie on July 14, 1912 in Okemah, Oklahoma. A keen observer of the world around him, he began to travel across the country as a teenager and spent much of his...

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Celia Cruz | Artopia

Celia Cruz was born and raised in the working class Santos Suarez neighborhood of Havana, Cuba on October 21, 1924. Brought up in a musical family, she began singing in local contests and later...

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Maria Callas | Artopia

Maria Callas was born Maria Anna Sophia Cecilia Kalogeropoulos on December 2, 1923 to Greek parents in New York, New York. At 14, Callas moved to Greece to study at the Athens Conservatory of Music. A...

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Louis Armstrong | Artopia

Louis Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901 and raised in the Storyville district of New Orleans, Louisiana. As a child he was a street singer and learned to play the coronet while in reform school...

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Nam June Paik | Artopia

Illustration by Maria Manhattan 1932-present Nam June Paik was born on July 20, 1932 in Seoul, Korea. He studied music, art history and philosophy at the University of Tokyo, and in Germany at the...

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Ping Chong | Artopia

Illustration by Maria Manhattan Ping Chong was born in 1946 to a Chinese opera family in Toronto, Canada and spent his youth in New York’s Chinatown neighborhood, which influenced the themes explored...

Music Word Bank | Artopia String Instruments: Bass | Artopia

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String Instruments: Bass | Artopia

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Abbey Elmore, Make My Day | Original SC

Listen to s inger and songwriter Abbey Elmore as she performs, Make My Day. Used with permission from Abbey Elmore.

Abbey Elmore, Love You Freely Mix | Original SC

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Abbey Elmore, Love You Freely Mix | Original SC

Listen to singer and songwriter Abbey Elmore as she performs, Love You Freely Mix. Used with permission from Abbey Elmore.

Music Word Bank | Artopia Percussion Instruments: Chimes | Artopia

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Percussion Instruments: Chimes | Artopia

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Music Word Bank | Artopia Woodwind Instruments: Oboe | Artopia

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Woodwind Instruments: Oboe | Artopia

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Music Word Bank | Artopia Woodwind Instruments: English Horn | Artopia

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Woodwind Instruments: English Horn | Artopia

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Percussion Instruments: Cymbals | Artopia

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Percussion Instruments: Cymbals | Artopia

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Rock and Roll | Gullah Music

Episode 9

Blues and country music contributed to a style called rhythm and blues. This was an early form of what we now call rock and roll. It appealed to a younger audience that liked to dance to the sounds of...

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Work Song | Gullah Music

Episode 3

Enslaved Africans sang songs as they worked to help keep the pace of the task they were doing. A leader called out a verse or yell and others responded. This is the call-and-response singing tradition...

Percussion Instruments: Bass Drum | Artopia

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Percussion Instruments: Bass Drum | Artopia

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Gospel | Gullah Music
- Episode 6 Hip Hop/Rap | Gullah Music

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Hip Hop/Rap | Gullah Music

Episode 12

African call-and-response patterns and improvisation survived the Middle Passage and became two of the basic elements of one of today’s most popular forms of music. In the 1970s, rap music began in...

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Middle Passage | Gullah Music

Episode 2

European slave traders brought Africans to the New World on ships as early as the 1400s. These voyages across the Atlantic Ocean are called the Middle Passage. It was a terrible experience for the...