Music

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Atonality/Atonal music

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principle of avoiding both tonic and corollary; music that is not centered around a central key or scale

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Expressionism

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movement in the arts that sought to express deep emotions that lie under the surface and are often obscured by objective reality; used harsh dissonances, extreme registers, unusual vocal and instrumental effects, and avoided traditional harmony

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Sprechstimme

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"speech voice"; vocal style between speech and singing that approximates pitches but sticks closely to the rhythm

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Impressionism

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late 19th and early 20th century movement in the arts that favored exploration of elements such as light, color, and sound over literal representation

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Whole-tone scale

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implies floating because it avoids the tonic and there is no sense of cadence

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Primitivism

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use of insistent rhythms and percussive sounds, dissonance, narrow range melodies, primeval subjects

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basic plot of "The Rite of Spring"

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ballet about pagan rituals which culminate in a girl dancing herself to death as sacrifice to the god of Spring

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John Philip Sousa (1854-1932)

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famous band leader/conductor and composer of band music; known as "March King"; America's best known composer during his lifetime

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Concert band

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large performing ensemble consisting of woodwinds (including saxophones), brasses, and percussion instruments; associated with John Philip Sousa

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March

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work (for concert band) that typically includes 4 or 5 melodies or "strains" that are 16 or 32 measures in length, usually written in duple meter and performed at a brisk walking tempo

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Charles Ives (1874-1954)

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considered the 1st great American composer by the 1940s and arguably the most original composer; used 20th century techniques such as polytonality, atonality, polyphony, and unusual chords, while quoting familiar songs

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Carlos Chavez (1899-1978)

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Mexico's most important composer and musical figure during middle of 20th century; 1 of the composers who sparked "Aztec Renaissance" of classical music that was distinctly Mexican in theme and style

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Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

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America's best-known classical composer; created accessible style with distinctly American identity - Post-Modernism; used jazz influences, folksongs, hymns, and familiar songs with 20th century techniques such as thin textures, wide intervals, and using silence

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Ragtime

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forerunner of jazz; ragging a rhythm or Ragged time meant syncopation; Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag caused Ragtime to become associated with the piano

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Blues

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forerunner of jazz; characterized by 12-bar form, call and response between voice and instrument, blue notes, and phrases that start on high notes and end low; very personal topics; rhythmed couplet with repeated 1st line; 12 bar harmonic framework based on 3 basic chords

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Jazz

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birthplace: New Orleans; genre consisting of a group of popular related styles primarily for listening; more syncopation, extensive improv, more adventurous harmony, distinctive tone colors, and performance techniques

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scat singing

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improvised instrumental style vocal with no words

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call and response

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regular exchanges between contrasting voices

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Bebop/Bop

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new kind of jazz, primarily for listening; evolved during mid 40s and featured rapid tempo and irregular melodic lines that at times sounded like the style's name; liberated rhythm section from just keeping time; complex harmony; aggressive sound

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Nationalism

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means of asserting national identity by drawing on legends, history, and literature of the people, creating vocal music in their own language, on drawing on folk song and dance

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Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)

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1 of leading Expressionist composers; a pioneering composer of atonal music; created Serialism/12 Tone Composition

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Serialism / 12 Tone Composition

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system of pitch organization in which all 12 pitches within octave are organized in a series

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tone row

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arrangement of all 12 pitches with octave in a particular sequence

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prime

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original row of tone row

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retrograde

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backwards tone row

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inversion

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upside down tone row

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retrograde inversion

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upside down and backwards tone row

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Anton Webern (1883-1945)

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student and friend of Schoenberg; wrote brief, clean, delicate pieces; composed using Serialism, Total Serialism, and Klangfarbenmelodie

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Total Serialism

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expands the concept of 12 Tone technique to include organization of any musical element such as rhythm, texture, dynamics, and timbre

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Klangforbenmelodie / Tone Color Melody

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succession of tone colors treated as structural equivalent to melody

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Musique Concrete

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music created by recording actual sounds, extracting snippets, and subjecting them to various modificiations such as adjusting speed, editing, filtering out parts, altering sound, and choosing order of performance

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electronic composition

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sounds produced on or in electronic equipment such as synthesizers and computers

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Steve Reich (born 1936)

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pioneer in Minimalism; "Music for 18 Musicians"

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Minimalism

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umbrella term used to describe a diverse body of music with little activity or little change in activity; steady pulse and insistent repitition, produces hypnotic effect because of slow rate of change, rhythm is most important element, began as American musical style

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John Cage(1912-1992)

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American composer; inventor of prepared piano; most famous and influential creater of chance music

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prepared piano

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invented by John Cage; piano is "prepared" with screws, bolts, nuts, and pieces of rubber and plastic and an eraser which alter the timbre of the piano

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Chance music

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20th century avant-garde music that introduced element of chance into composition and performance, such as determining order of performance thru toss of coin

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musical comedy

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lighthearted stage entertainment which featured singing, dancing, and comedy, but didn't have very deep plots

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verse-chorus form

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most widely-used popular song form through late 1950s; featured storytelling verse followed by tuneful chorus

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chorus

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part of song in which both melody and lyrics are repeated; aka "refrain"

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Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)

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1 of America's most multi-talented musicians of the 20th century; conductor, composer, pianist, lecturer/commentator, and author; combined classical and popular music styles in his works

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basic plot of "West Side Story"

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retelling of Romeo and Juliet story set in contemporary NYC among rival gangs, Jets and Sharks

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rock musicals

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theater work that shows influence of rock in spirit and style

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boogie woogie

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blues piano style characterized by repetitive accompaniment patterns in low register

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Bob Dylan

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Subterranean Homesick Blues; originally well-known for Folk music; significant for poetry/lyrics

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The Beatles

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early works inspired by early American rock and roll groups; among the 1st to write melody-oriented songs that were in step with changes in popular music; created music that supported their lyrics

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spotting

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process during composing for film that involves viewing the film and determining those scenes where music will enhance on-screen events

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John Williams (born 1932)

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composer, arranger, conductor, pianist; popular film composer for nearly 100 films; also composed numerous concertos; Neo-Romantic style

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concept album

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an album unified by a particular creative
theme