Crossroads: The Music of American Cultures

Crossroads: The Music of American Cultures by Elizabeth F. Barkley is a digital, interactive textbook designed for today’s more diverse students to promote active and engaged learning. Requiring no prior music knowledge, it traces the development of genres such as jazz, blues, Gospel, Cajun, Zydeco, Tejano, Banda, salsa, Rock ‘n’ Roll, Motown, Soul, Funk, Urban Folk, Country, Reggae, Hip Hop and Rap from their origins in immigrant traditions to their development into uniquely American musics that have gone on to impact the world.

Crossroads: The Music of American Cultures explores these genres’ history, structural characteristics, stylistic categories, and key musicians using 400 carefully selected listening examples from the extensive Napster/Rhapsody digital library of more than ten million selections.

Crossroads: The Music of American Cultures:

• Is an interactive, visually-appealing package that promotes active learning and greater retention by presenting material ‘chunked’ rather than linear like traditional print textbooks.
• Integrates 400 listening examples including Grammy Award winners.
• Features seven components for each chapter, including Preview Questions, Chapter Narrative, Music Listening Guide, Review Flashcards, Chapter Quizzes, Discussion Forum, and Reflection Questions.
• Includes Supplementary Student Materials such as Chapter-Specific Student Learning Outcomes, Chart of Additional Resources, and Student-to-Student Tips.