Show Notes
Music in this episode: Robert Johnson - “Terraplane Blues” (1936) (I said it was recorded 100 years ago, it was actually recorded 90 years ago, math is hard) Stevie Wonder - “Superstition” (1972) Dan Bubien & the Delta Struts - “Terraplane Blues” (2022) Eric Clapton - “Terraplane Blues” (2004) John Lee Hooker - “Boogie Chillen” (1948) For a nuanced discussion of Robert Johnson and Eric Clapton, I recommend the episode on “Crossroads Blues” from A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs. For a look at how musicologists are analyzing swing, check out this paper by Milton Mermikides on John Coltrane.
Get full access to Ethan teaches you music at ethanhein.substack.com/subscribe
More from Ethan Teaches You Music Podcast
Music in this episode: Louis Armstrong - “What a Wonderful World” (1967) Louis Armstrong - “Hello, Dolly!” (1964) Louis Armstrong - “When The Saints Go Marching In” (1938) Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong - “Dream a Little Dream of Me” (1950) Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven - “Melancholy Blues” (1927) Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five - “Hotter Than That” (1927) Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five - “West End Blues” (1928) Jimmie Rodgers - “Blue Yodel No 9” (1930) Hoagy Carmichael - “(Up A) Lazy River” (1930) Louis Armstrong - “Lazy River” (1931) Louis Armstrong - ‘When It’s Sleepy Time Down South” (1931) Louis Armstrong & the Mills Brothers - “Old Folks At Home” (1937) References: Charles Hiroshi Garrett - Struggling to Define a Nation: American Music and the Twentieth Century (2008) Charles Hersch - “Poisoning Their Coffee: Louis Armstrong and Civil Rights” (2002)
Music in this episode: Dolly Parton - “Traveling Man” (1971) Dolly Parton - “Jolene” (1973) Dolly Parton - “9 to 5” (1980) Dolly Parton - “Travelin’ Prayer” (1999) Dolly Parton - “Marry Me” (2001) Dolly Parton - “Stairway to Heaven” (2002) Dolly Parton - “Don’t Think Twice” (2014) Dolly Parton - “Purple Rain” (2023) References: I include excerpts of a couple of interviews with Dolly. There’s this one: and this one: I also include an excerpt of this excellent Paul Thompson video about the bassline in “Traveling Man”:
Music in this episode, not counting my Suno output: Fleetwood Mac - “Dreams” (1977) Thelonious Monk - “Round Midnight” (1968) Cordelia’s Dad - “Montcalm and Wolfe” (1998) The Bee Gees - “Stayin’ Alive” (instrumental) (1977) Catherine Sikora - “The Knowing of Sums” (2016) Ethan Hein - “The Knowing of Sums remix” (2020) The Velvet Sundown - “Dust on the Wind” (2025) Neil Young - “Out on the Weekend” (1972) Koji Kondō - “Super Mario Bros Underworld Theme” (1985) References I refer to Margaret Boden’s 2004 book, The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms. I also refer to a study of a songwriting class that quotes a student talking about the difference between musicians and artists. You can read that study here: Dweck, J. (2023). Children as songwriters: The social-emotional benefits of songwriting in the elementary grades. Research Studies in Music Education, 46(2). Here’s the interview with Mikey Shulman where he says that people don’t enjoy the process of making music. Here’s my summary of the research on the learning impacts of LLM use:
Music in this episode: Mormon Tabernacle Choir - “Old Folks At Home (Way Down Upon the Swanee River)” (1968) Al Jolson - “Swanee River” (1950) Bing Crosby - “Old Folks At Home (Swanee River)” (1945) Pete Seeger - “Swanee River” (1959) Paul Robeson - “Old Folks at Home” (1930) Louis Armstrong & the Mills Brothers - “The Old Folks At Home (Swanee River)” (1937) Ray Charles- “Swanee River Rock (Talkin Bout That River)” (1957) The Honeys - “Surfin’ Down the Swanee River” (1963) Fu-Schnickens - “Sneakin’ Up On Ya” (1994) The Barbershop Singers - “Way Down Upon the Suwannee River” (2011) Hugh Laurie - “Swanee River” (2011) Al Jolson - “Swanee” (1945) Judy Garland - “Swanee” (1954) Aretha Franklin - “Swanee” (1966) Matthew Morrison’s book Blacksound: Making Race and Popular Music in the United States is a must-read. Read more about the history of these songs and the music education challenges they pose. Here’s my 20th century American popular music history syllabus.
Music in this episode: Julie Andrews - “My Favorite Things” (1965) John Coltrane - “My Favorite Things” (1960) Ethan Hein - “My Favorite Things jam track” (2026) Mary Martin - “My Favorite Things” (1959) Ariana Grande - “7 Rings” (2019) John Coltrane - “Acknowledgment” (1964) Miles Davis - “So What” (1959) John Coltrane - “Giant Steps” (1960) John Coltrane - “Chim Chim Cheree” (1965) John Coltrane - “Spiritual (C)” (1961) John Coltrane - “Greensleeves (B)” (1961) John Coltrane - “My Favorite Things Live in Comblain-La-Tour” (1965) References Thembi Dunjana - “What McCoy Tyner does on My Favourite Things” Sami Linna - McCoy Tyner, Modal Jazz, and the Dominant Chord Cristinel Manascurta - “My Favorite Things - transcription” Milton Mermikides - “‘Straight and Late’: Analytical Perspectives on Coltrane’s Time-feel” Aimee Nolte - “Discovering McCoy Tyner: My Favorite Things Transcription” Lewis Porter - John Coltrane: His Life and Music John Seery - ““My Favorite Things” as Civil Disobedience: a Mingling Descant on Creativity and Contumacy” Vinnie Sperrazza - “Raindrops on Roses”