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.
Old World Blues
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. It is usually easy for a musician to determine meaning in a piece of
music, even an orchestral work such as Rhapsody in Blue. However, determining the elements
that affected the framework of the piece is a much more difficult task. Therefore, the question
that arises is: What ideas, inspirations, and other elements affected Gershwins composition of
Rhapsody in Blue?
Many cultural inspirations affected the piece. 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. 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). Due to their prior successes together, Gershwin agreed to compose a piece for the
concert. 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.
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 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. 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.)
Gershwin wanted to accommodate for all the current sounds and music of America by
creating the different themes. 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.
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.
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.
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. 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