In taking ups new life across the Atlantic, the early European settlers of the United States did not abandon the diversions with which their ancestors had traditionally relieved the tedium of life. Neither the harshness of existence on the new continent nor line the scattered population nor the disapproval of the clergy discouraged the majority from the pursuit of pleasure.

City and country dwellers, of course, conducted this pursuit in different ways. Farm dwellers in their isolation not only found it harder to locate companions in play but also thanks to the unending demands and pressures of their work, felt it necessary to combine fun with purpose. No other set of colonists too so seriously one expression of the period. "Leisure is time for doing something useful." in the countryside farmers therefore relieved the burden of the daily routine with such double-purpose relaxation as hunting, fishing, and trapping. When a neighbor needed help, families rallied from miles around to assist in building a house or barn, husking corn, shearing sheep or chopping wood. Food, drink, and celebration after the group work provided relaxation and soothed weary muscles.

The most eagerly anticipated social events were the rural fairs, Hundreds of men, women, and children attended from far and near. The men bought or traded farm animals and acquired needed merchandise while the women displayed food prepared in their kitchens, and everyone, including the youngsters, watched or participated in a variety of competitive sports, with prizes awarded to the winners. These events typically included horse races, wrestling matches, and foot races, as well as some nonathletic events such as whistling competitions. No other occasions did so much to relieve the isolation of farm existence.

With the open countryside everywhere at hand, city dwellers naturally shared in some of the rural diversions. Favored recreations included fishing, hunting, skating, and swimming. But city dwellers also developed other pleasures, which only compact communities made possible.

  The development of jazz can be seen as part of the larger continuum of American popular music, especially dance music. In the twenties, jazz became the hottest new thing in dance music, much as ragtime had at the turn of the century, and as would rhythm and blues in the fifties, rock in the fifties, and disco in the seventies.

  But two characteristics distinguish jazz from other dance music. The first is improvisation, the changing of a musical phrase according to the player's inspiration. Like all artists, jazz musicians strive for an individual style, and the improvise or paraphrased is a jazz musician's main opportunity to display his or her individuality. In early jazz, musicians often improvised melodies collectively, thus creating a kind of polyphony. There was little soloing as such, although some New Orleans players, particularly cornet player Buddy Bolden, achieved local fame for their ability to improvise a solo. Later the idea of the chorus-long or multichorus solo took hold. Louis Armstrong's instrumental brilliance, demonstrated through extended solos, was a major influence in this development.

   Even in the early twenties, however, some jazz bands had featured soloists. Similarly, show orchestras and carnival bands often included one or two such "get-off" musicians. Unimproved, completely structured jazz does exist, but the ability of the best jazz musicians to create music of great cohesion and beauty during performance has been a hallmark of the music and its major source of inspiration and change.

  The second distinguishing characteristic of jazz is a rhythmic drive that was initially called "hot" and later "swing". In playing hot , a musician consciously departs from strict meter to create a relaxed sense of phrasing that also emphasizes the underlying rhythms.("Rough" tone and use of moderate vibrato also contributed to a hot sound .) Not all jazz is hot, however, many early bands played unadorned published arrangements of popular songs. Still, the proclivity to play hot distinguished the jazz musician from other instrumentalists.