American Music

Front 1

Rhythm

Back 1

the organization of time in music

Front 2

Beat

Back 2

an even pulse that divides the passage of time into segments

Front 3

Tempo

Back 3

speed of the beat, which can deviate

Front 4

Allegro

Back 4

fast

Front 5

Andante

Back 5

medium

Front 6

Accelerando

Back 6

getting faster

Front 7

Ritardano

Back 7

getting slower

Front 8

Rubato

Back 8

varied tempo, not steady

Front 9

Meter

Back 9

regularly occuring group of accented beats

Front 10

Duple Meter

Back 10

grouping of two beats per measure

Front 11

Triple Meter

Back 11

grouping of three beats per measure

Front 12

Syncopation

Back 12

stresses where meter is not stressed in measure

Front 13

Melody

Back 13

a series of tones that add up to a recognizable whole

Front 14

Tone

Back 14

sound that has a definite pitch

Front 15

Pitch

Back 15

sound vibrations caused by a an object being struck

Front 16

Octave

Back 16

Western grouping of eight notes starting and ending on the same note

Front 17

Harmony

Back 17

accompanies melody; adds depth and color to melody

Front 18

Minor Chords

Back 18

chords that sound serious and melancholy

Front 19

Major Chords

Back 19

chords that sound bright and cheery

Front 20

Timbre

Back 20

the "color" of a sound

Front 21

Suite

Back 21

a conglomeration of the best pieces of a longer work

Front 22

Musical Form

Back 22

created by a combination of repetition, contrast and variation

Front 23

Repetition

Back 23

the repeat of a melody or tune; most popular form is AABA

Front 24

Contrast

Back 24

B to A or other melodies to enhance overall piece

Front 25

Variation

Back 25

different notes or effects in the same overall melody

Front 26

Texture

Back 26

how melody and harmony blend together

Front 27

Homophonic Texture

Back 27

one main melody with subservient accompany; found mostly in popular music

Front 28

Monophonic Texture

Back 28

one sound or melody, done in unison with no harmony

Front 29

Polyphonic Texture

Back 29

many sounds and many melodies or same melody sounded at different times (e.g., a rondo)

Front 30

Rondo

Back 30

It.: little circle (e.g., row...), often found in classical music

Front 31

Antonin Dvorak

Back 31

Taught Americans how to sound like Americans; mixed Indian music with European

Front 32

Folk Music

Back 32

written and sung by amateurs in intimate settings; songs passed down orally

Front 33

British Ballads

Back 33

narratives in strophic form often set to drinking songs

Front 34

Strophic Form

Back 34

Music for multiple verses stays the same as the text changes

Front 35

Broadside Ballads

Back 35

newspaper printing, often political, music and politically-charged songs on back

Front 36

Native American Music

Back 36

often contained vocables; work music, done by amateurs, songs got by spirit not made, no harmony, solo voice, call-and-response

Front 37

African Music

Back 37

strong rhythms, banjo and drums, influenced jazz, blues, etc; slave music

Front 38

Field Holler

Back 38

call from one person to another with vocables, could be heard far away

Front 39

Blue/Bent Notes

Back 39

notes rising or lowering from other notes typical of African music

Front 40

Work Song

Back 40

a song used to motivate, keep time and describe feelings

Front 41

Call-and-Response

Back 41

a single singer sings a line and the group repeats after him

Front 42

Catholic Music

Back 42

very ornate, many instruments, sung in many languages, taught by Spanish missionaries to Indians

Front 43

Protestant Reformation

Back 43

music written simply, with easily understood words and music, simple melodies that could be used for a number of songs

Front 44

Puritan Music

Back 44

sung a cappella and without luxury in church, at home sung in harmony and with instruments

Front 45

Psalter

Back 45

book containing Psalms set to a few pieces of music

Front 46

Bay Psalm Book

Back 46

first book printed in the U.S. in 1660, contained Psalms set to music which could be easily identified

Front 47

Lutheran Music

Back 47

joyful music set to instruments; often from drinking songs

Front 48

Moravian Music

Back 48

well-trained choirs people would travel far to see

Front 49

John Antes

Back 49

first American-Moravian composer

Front 50

Lining Out

Back 50

one person sings a line, the congregation follows, often caused discord

Front 51

New England Singing School Masters

Back 51

1720, traveling singers who taught people for a fee

Front 52

William Billings

Back 52

self-taught Singing School Master, wrote first American pop song

Front 53

New England Psalm Singer

Back 53

written by William Billings, first book of American popular songs

Front 54

Chester

Back 54

first American pop song, written by William Billings

Front 55

Canon

Back 55

sophisticated round with continuous imitation

Front 56

Fugue

Back 56

when instruments or voices imitate the first line a singer or instrument plays, repeats as three or more melodies, form ABB

Front 57

Subject

Back 57

main melody of a fugue

Front 58

Countersubject

Back 58

secondary melod(ies) of a fugue

Front 59

Art Song

Back 59

songs written to poems in strophic form

Front 60

Classical Period

Back 60

1750-1825, symmetry important, balance, themes and cadences

Front 61

First New England School

Back 61

William Billings, first true American sound

Front 62

Romanticism

Back 62

1825-1900, into nature, expression, big sounds from the German brass, the individual, etc.

Front 63

Program Music

Back 63

music from nature or to create a sensation or image for listener; Richard Strauss was most important here

Front 64

Musical Reform

Back 64

cues from German big, brassy Romantic sounds, incorporating social and political ideas

Front 65

Lowell Mason

Back 65

taught sophisticated music, rid of shape notes, added both new and traditional works, relied on German and European influence; responsible for getting music into formal education in 1838

Front 66

Stephen Foster

Back 66

wrote sentimental parlor ballads and rollicking plantation songs, was a northerner

Front 67

Patriotic Music

Back 67

nationalist music, created from drinking or English songs, Star Spangled Banner and America the Beautiful

Front 68

Singing Families

Back 68

Hutchinsons, etc. who toured together singing social issue songs about slavery, suffrance, etc.

Front 69

Second New England School of Composers

Back 69

unofficially led by John Knowles Paine, created distinct American sound w/o european influence, centered in Boston

Front 70

Yeibeichai Chant Song

Back 70

Stropic. Steady pulse rhythm. Starts high and goes low. Vocables.

Front 71

Barbara Allen

Back 71

Strophic. Melody based on pentatonic scale. Unknown composer.

Front 72

Chester

Back 72

William Billings. Strophic. Quadruple meter. Homophonic.

Front 73

When Jesus Wept

Back 73

William Billings. Rondo or canon. Monophonic then polyphonic. Triple meter.

Front 74

Sherburne

Back 74

Daniel Read. Fuguing tune. Homophonic, then polyphonic.

Front 75

Sonata in E for the Piano Forte

Back 75

Alexander Reinagle. Modified rondo. ABACADA. Duple meter.

Front 76

I Dream of Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair

Back 76

Stephen Foster. Strophic form. Quadruple meter.

Front 77

Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen

Back 77

Anonymous. Strophic. homophonic

Front 78

The Stars and Stripes Forever

Back 78

John Sousa. Duple meter. AABBCDCDC

Front 79

Le Bananier

Back 79

Louis Gottschalk. Theme and variations. Creole melody. Duple meter.

Front 80

Fuga Giacosa

Back 80

John Knowles Paine. Fugue. Subjects and countersubjects

Front 81

Symphony in E Minor

Back 81

Amy Beach. ABA