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Rock to Bach Exam 1
Chapter 2-5 keywords
66
Music
Undergraduate 2
09/21/2008

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Term
contours
Definition
(pitch) the overall linear shape of a melody as the pitches rise and fall
Term
rhythm
Definition
interrelationship between music and time
Term
tempo
Definition
relative speed of the musical beat, may be described subjectively (fast, slow, mod) or objectively (120 beats per min.)
Term
pitch
Definition
sound created by a vibrating body; the greater the frequency of vibration, the higher the resulting pitch is perceived to be; sometimes used interchangeably with note or tone
Term
melody
Definition
series of musical pitches (notes) in traditional music (all pop styles) series creates a recognizable and memorable tune or melody
Term
range
Definition
distance from highest to lowest pitch, thus the range of melody might be quite narrow or very wide, same with the range of singer's voice
Term
conjunct
Definition
a melodic style characterized by primarily stepwise motion (ie each note moves up or down to nearest note in the key) creates smooth melodic countour
Term
disjunct
Definition
melodic style characterized by leaps (ie notes moving to nonadjacent notes) creates more angular melodic contour
Term
motive
Definition
short, rhythmic and/or melodic idea, to be recognized as such, a motive should be distinctive enough to establish its identity and retain that identity through subsequent usage in a given piece of music
Term
harmony
Definition
collection of pitches (2 or more) sounded simultaneously
Term
chord
Definition
3 more pitches sounded simultaneously
Term
triad
Definition
chord consisting of 3 different pitches
Term
root
Definition
fundamental or generating pitch of a chord; thus, in the C major triad, the root is C
Term
octave
Definition
distance from given pitch to its next occurrence in the musical alphabet, frequency of higher pitch is twice that of lower pitch
Term
tonality
Definition
creates the key (ie F major)
Term
key
Definition
a combination of pitch relationships that establishes one of the pitches as the tonal center, ie "family of pitches" FGABsharpCDEF
Term
timbre
Definition
tone color, refers to the tone quality of various instruments or voices
Term
texture
Definition
term that describes the relative presence of musical lines and the way those lines relate to each other, thus the musical texture may be thick (many music lines occurring simultaneously) or thin (few lines), and relationship among various musical lines (monophonic, homophonic, polyphonic)
Term
monophony
Definition
type of musical texture in which there is only one line or melody, with no accompanying parts
Term
homophony
Definition
type of musical texture in which there is one predominant melody to which other parts are secondary (ie melody and accompanying texture)
Term
polyphony
Definition
type of musical texture in which there are two or more simultaneous, independent, and generally equal melodic lines
Term
synthesizer
Definition
electronic device allows user to generate and manipulate electronic signals to create music, although music synthesis can be traced back to late 19th century began in late 60's
Term
volume
Definition
informally used to describe the loudness levels of a sound (including music) the more technical term is amplitude, refers to amount of displacement of vibrating body, greater displacement, higher loudness
Term
dynamics
Definition
degrees of loudness in music, indicated by variety of musical notations
Term
form
Definition
organizational structure of piece of music, overall form is determined by sequence of sections in a given composition and how each section relates to earlier sections
Term
indies
Definition
artists that intentionally placed themselves in opposition to the mainstream in musical sound, fashion or image
Term
yodel
Definition
vocal technique characterized by rapid shifts from normal voice to falsetto
Term
sequencer
Definition
70s step sequencer was an electronic instrument, when programmed, triggered a sequence of pitches, rhythms, timbres, and volume levels on synthesizer, programed repetively, broadened to include any device
Term
musical instruments
Definition
guitar, voice, drums, keyboards, saxophone,
Term
digital interface
Definition
Term
MIDI (musical instrument digital interface)
Definition
technology that enables rela-time communication between electronic musical instruments and computers, this industry-standard protocol, developed in the early 80s, allows for successful interface among a wide range of digital technologies
Term
12-bar blues
Definition
musical form that is extremely comon in R&B, rock, jazz consists of 3 4bar phases basic chord progression (one chord per measure)
Term
crossovers
Definition
song that originates in one segment of music market but achieves success in one or more other segments
Term
cover versions
Definition
subsequent version of an original song
Term
backbeat
Definition
extra emphasis on the second and fourth beats in quadruple meter, basic characteristic of rock n roll
Term
rockabilly
Definition
one of the early trends in rock and roll, style of rock n roll that leaned toward country music, with roots both R&B and C&W developed into country rock
Term
slapped
Definition
1) slapping the stings of an acoustic bass with four fingers of the right hand in time with the drummer 2) plucking acoustic bass string so hard that it bounces off the fingerboard
Term
doo-wop
Definition
style R&B and soft rock characterized by use of nonsense syllables, most basic form features small vocal group singing cappella
Term
close harmony
Definition
type of harmonization in which at least 3 upper voices are within an octave; typically the top voice takes the melody note, and the second and third voices take the nearest adjacent chord tones
Term
beats
Definition
metrical pulses found in most music usually grouped into recurring patterns (meter)
Term
meter
Definition
organizational grouping of beats, various meters are identified according to the number of beats grouped together, (ie vast majority of rock does quadruple beat 4 beats)
Term
measure
Definition
aka bar notational device that allows for the grouping of beats (delineated by vertical line at the beginning and end of each group)
Term
subdivision
Definition
secondary pulse within a beat of music, most common subdivisions are dupe triple and quadruple
Term
boogie
Definition
piano style popularized in 1930s usually based on the 12 bar blues and characterized by rhythmically active and repetitive bass pattern (L hand) elaborate improvising (R hand)
Term
eight-bar blues
Definition
musical form related to 12bar, although there are frequent variations to basic pattern, 8bar pattern often has following chord progression I-I-IV-IV-I-V-I-V
Term
trade-offs
Definition
improvisational technique in which players alternate the lead for a given number of measures, players may trade or swap four,(alternate 4 bar improvs, related to call and response practice in african music and religious ceremonies
Term
glissandi
Definition
continuous sliding movement through a series of musical pitches (ie sliding fingers up or down piano keyboard or sliding over a series of adjacent pitches on string instruments, trombone, or clarinet)
Term
glottal stop
Definition
momentary closing of the glottis (opening between vocal cords in larynx, to feel say "uh-oh" (ie Peggy Sue-ooh-ooh)
Term
hook
Definition
usually specific line of lyrics in a song that is intended to be particularly appealing and memorable, line is usually repeated often throughout the song (ie riff of satisfaction)
Term
payola
Definition
illegal practice in which payments or other inducements are offered by record companies to broadcasters to play spec. recordings
Term
payola
Definition
an illegal practice in which payments or other inducements are offered by record companies to broadcasters to play specific recordings
Term
cadence
Definition
brief harmonic progression that closes a phrase or section of song
Term
folk music
Definition
music (songs) of unknown origin that has been conveyed by the aural tradition from generation to generation (often with changes to melody and lyrics) some of the songs of the folk revival were true songs, other ( most ) were newly composed in the style of traditional folk music
Term
motown
Definition
record company established by Berry Gordy Jr. in Detroit, thrived throughout the 60s with African American artists whose backgrounds were in gospel, R&B, and doo-wop styles, by combining elements of these styles with pop styles, its various labels appealed to a wide audience of white and black
Term
calypso
Definition
popular style of music developed in the Caribbean especially trinidad and jamaica, originated in the very early 20th century, since the 40s associated with timbre of steel drums
Term
LPs (long playing)
Definition
recording format introduced in 1948 that became the standard album format, until replaced by CDs in 80s , originally a 10inch vinyl placed disc, a larger 12inch disc became the standard, turn at 33 1/3 RPMs and usually contain about 50 minutes of music (25 min. per slide)
Term
vibrato
Definition
slight fluctuation in pitch to enrich or intensify the sound, the listener percieves a fast wobble in the pitch, some pop singers begin a given pitch with a straight tone (no ) and then initiate it
Term
symmetrical forms
Definition
characterized by uniform, regular, and balanced lengths , (ie many 32 bar pop song forms can be subdivided into 2 16bar sections, four eight bar sections, and eight four bar sections, contrast with Beatles who had irregular lengths (ie Hello Goodbye with a 15.5 bar section that subdivides into phrase lengths of four, four, and one half, three, and four bars each)
Term
diatonic
Definition
melodic and/or harmonic use of pitches of a given key's scale
Term
echo effects
Definition
audio effect that records a signal then plays it back after the desired delay (ranging from several milliseconds to several seconds) originally achieved using tape loops, now accomplished electronically
Term
overdubbing
Definition
recording technique in which one or more-supplementary tracks are added to previously recorded tracks
Term
theremin
Definition
electronic instrument invented around 1920 by Leon Theremin, utilizes two oscillators and two antennas to generate a singletone, the player controls pitch and volume by moving hands in varying proximity to the antennas, result is an eerie or alien sound (ie Good Vibrations)
Term
disco
Definition
popular in 1970s, dance crazy served as precursor
Term
block chords
Definition
series of chords in which the notes of each chord all move simultaneously to notes of next, thus all voices are dependent on each other
Term
dissonant
Definition
adds more tension "bite" to a harmony
Term
a cappela
Definition
without accompaniment
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