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70 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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The speed of a song is known as:
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Tempo
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The musical instruments used in a song are referred to as its:
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Instrumentation
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The term used to differentiate the tone quality of one instrument from another is:
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Timbre
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The loudness or softness of a musical sound is known as:
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Intensity (may also be referred to as dynamics on a larger scale)
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A shift in the rhythmic accent that results in an increase in the complexity of a piece's rhythmic profile is:
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Syncopation
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A succession of single tones or pitches perceived as a unit is called a:
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melody
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The element of music that describes the relationship between independent musical lines within a musical work is called:
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texture
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A sequence of chords that moves toward some established goal is known as:
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chord progression
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The quality of a piece of music that represents structure or organization refers to its:
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Form
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A feature of texture in which different voices or instruments exchange musical ideas in dialogue with one another is known as:
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call-and-response
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backbeat
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The backbeat is the percussion hits on the second beat or the off-beat.
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pitch
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The pitch is the note that sounds. The faster the vibration, the higher the pitch. The slower the vibration, the lower the pitch.
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riff
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A riff is a short musical idea that is usually easy for the listener to remember. Riffs can be used to build a melody.
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verse + chorus form
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Verse/chorus form is where the song alternates between verses and a chorus. Verses usually have the same melody but use different words. The chorus uses mostly the same melody and words each time.
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mainstream
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Mainstream means it is the most common or popular style of that time. Artists can go towards mainstream and blend their style and sound with it, creating something new.
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The most important songwriter in 19th century American popular music was:
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Stephen Foster
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Songs written with the intention of being performed in the intimate surroundings of one's living room are known as:
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Parlor Songs
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House pianists who could play new songs for the prospective customers of music publishers were known as:
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Song Pluggers
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A type of African-American religious song, often performed by Jubilee choirs in the nineteenth century is:
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Spiritual
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The process of incorporating songs into a musical show because of their popularity is known as:
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Interpolation
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In a minstrel show, the interlocutor is:
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the emcee (or master of ceremonies) who also serves as a "straight-man" for the comedic endmen
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During the late 1800s, the success of a song was determined by:
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the amount of sheet music sold
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The Fisk Jubilee Singers made their first appearance in 1871 in Cincinnati as performers of what type of music?
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spirituals
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The community orchestra of the post-Civil War era brought American music to:
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families with little or no access to major metropolitan areas like New York.
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The John Philip Sousa Band was best known for performing a style of music known as the:
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march
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oral tradition
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Oral tradition is when a tradition is not written down but is passed by word of mouth. Musically, it is when music is not learned by sheet music but it is learned just by listening to it.
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olio
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An olio is the second part of a minstrel show that follows the opening. It is the "variety portion" which means it contains a wide range of different acts that do not have to relate to one another.
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burlesques
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A burlesque is a parody found in the olio of a minstrel show. They were usually parodies on well known material such as Shakespeare's plays, Italian operas, etc.
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walkaround
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A walkaround is the final portion of a minstrel show. This portion is a "grand finale" of the entire troupe performing in song and dance.
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ballad
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A ballad is a type of folksong that tells a story. Ballads were usually simple and often contained morbid stories with a moral.
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The style of piano playing that is credited with introducing the rhythmic vitality of African-American music to white audiences is known as:
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Ragtime
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What American composer is known as the king of ragtime?
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Scott Joplin
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The process by which a musician makes up music on the spot with seemingly no preparation is known as:
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Improvisation
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Who is known as the "father of the blues"?
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W.C. Handy
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The region of the United States credited as the home or birthplace of the blues is:
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The Mississippi Delta
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Improvisation is most important in what type of African-American music?
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jazz
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What is the principal musical characteristic of ragtime?
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rhythmic syncopation
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Which best describes the form of a traditional blues text?
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AAB
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Which type of blues was typically performed by woman and is typically accompanied by a small jazz combo?
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classic blues
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In New Orleans jazz, which instrument usually plays the melody?
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cornet
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collective improvisation
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Collective improvisation is when all of the performers in a band are improvising at the same time. No one is playing music that has been written. They are simply making it up on the spot.
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Commercial Blues
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Commercial blues is the performance of blues by professional musicians.
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swing
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Swing is a style found in jazz music where there is a four-beat rhythm with syncopated rhythms and irregular patterns being played on top of it.
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race record
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Race records came about when commercial radio began to hurt the record industry. Record companies recorded black performers to sell to a black audience since the white audience was mainly getting their music from the radio.
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foxtrot
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The foxtrot was a type of animal dance that was very popular in the 1920s and 30s. It was made popular by James Reese Europe.
*The dance was actually made popular by Irene and Vernon Castle. James Reese Europe was a composer. -1 |
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The collective descriptive name of the pianist, bassist, guitarist, and drummer in a dance orchestra is:
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Rhythm Section
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The dance that replaced the traditional fox trot as the most popular dance style of the 1920s was the:
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Charleston
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What was the first commercial broadcast radio station in the United States?
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KDKA in Pittsburgh
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The text of a sung part of a musical theater production is known as a:
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Libretto
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"Charleston" was originally written by what well-known stride pianist:
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James P. Johnson
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The use of the microphone by singers changed the manner in which vocal music could be performed. Which of the following statements is true?
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[ ] Singers with softer (or weaker) voices could be more easily heard in a large auditorium or theater.
[ ] Subtle vocal inflections and softer, more intimate-sounding styles could now be heard over an orchestra. [X] Both of the above. |
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One way in which Bing Crosby's role in the Paul Whiteman Orchestra was unique was that he was the first singer to
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be featured solely as the band's out-front vocalist
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Which of the following made popular music more accessibile to the general public during the 1920s and '30s?
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the advent of commercial radio
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A form that was popularized during the 1920s for use in song is:
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AABA song form
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The topic that made the musical Show Boat so controversial in 1927 was:
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miscegenation (interracial marriage)
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song interpretation
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Song interpretation is when a singer takes liberties with the contour and rhythm of the melody to make it more personal.
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vibrato
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Vibrato is a subtle wavering of the pitch of a note. It is a technique used by both vocalists and instrumentalists often to add warmth and color to specific notes (especially notes held for longer durations).
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rhythm songs
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Rhythm songs were songs whose focus was primarily on the rhythms instead of the lyrics or melody. The melody does not really change or develop but the rhythm is often syncopated and challenging.
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speakeasy
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A speakeasy was a club during Prohibition that illegally served alcohol. In order to gain entrance to the club, a person had to softly say a password.
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crooning
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Crooning is a singing style that is more intimate and personal. Crooning is low-key and laid back which was made possible by the use of the microphone. Vocalists no longer had to belt out the lyrics in order to be heard.
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A style of bass playing characterized by a single note played on each beat is known as:
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Walking Bass
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What led to the changes of the rhythm section in the dance orchestras between 1930 and 1940?
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The change from the two-beat fox trot rhythm to the four-beat swing rhythm.
*And the inclusion of more complicated melody lines that required a more prominent rhythm section. -1 |
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Who is considered jazz music's greatest composer?
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Duke Ellington
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A type of music played by big bands, which is characterized by little syncopation, slow tempos, and an emphasis on flowing melodies, is known as:
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Sweet
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Duke Ellington emerged not only as an African-American figure of great elegance but as the greatest:
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composer of jazz music for jazz orchestra
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Who is most responsible for shaping the sound of big band swing?
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Fletcher Henderson
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The "King of Swing" whose band launched the Swing Era in 1935 was:
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Benny Goodman
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The "Swing Era" refers to American popular music:
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in the 1930s, as popularized by the Benny Goodman Orchestra
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call and response
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Call and response is where one instrument or section plays and another instrument or section responds creating a dialogue between instruments.
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exchange rhythm
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Exchange rhythm is the speed at which sections alternate material. Ellington was well known for using the exchange rhythm to keep the music driving forward. The exchange would happen slowly at the beginning of the song and become quicker as the song progressed.
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