The guitar in America began as an instrument used in popular music in the city and then branched out to minstrel shows, ragtime, and even jazz. Read about the history of this ubiquitous instrument and how it took on its American character.

This comprehensive site covers many aspects of bluegrass banjo music. It includes bluegrass news, information, history, trivia, and multimedia. Also includes lesson plans for banjo, sample tablatures, bibliographies, workshops, and...

This is a brief encyclopedia biography of the ragtime composer, Scott Joplin, whose music was influential in the growth of jazz.

This entry from Encyclopedia Brittanica's Guide to Black History features James Reese Europe, an American bandleader, arranger, composer, a major figure in the transition from ragtime to jazz. This site, rich in detail and breadth of...

This resource presents a comprehensive and in-depth collection on the history of Western social dance from the late Middle Ages onward. Readers will find images of historical dance instruction manuals, historical information on the...

A long list of songs about Texas, both lyrics and audio files in MIDI format. There are well-loved songs, school songs, regional songs, ragtime songs by Scott Joplin, even the theme song from the Lone Ranger television show.

This lesson plan introduces students to the blues. The origin and development of the blues is explored as well as its distinctive structure.

This entertaining site contains the history of Vaudeville along with original soundbites of Vaudeville players.

Duke Ellington's prominence as one of the greatest American composers and key figure in the development of the genre of jazz is highlighted in this encyclopedia entry.

Examines the progression from Ragtime and New Orleans jazz to Big Band.

A well-organized synopsis from the Northern Virginia Ragtime Society of the history of Ragtime music overviewing its origin, important historical names and dates, and Ragtime's relation to the world of music. Special emphasis is placed...