Muar 211 Exam 3

Front 1

What is aphorism?

Back 1

Aphorism is the shortening of music to avoid repetition, essentially conveying the same ideas without "decadent" decoration.

Used to refer to the work of Anton Webern of the Second Viennese School.

Front 2

What are string harmonics?

Back 2

High pitches achieved through lightly touching the string of a string instrument, enabling the creation of pitches two octaves above the regular ones.

Front 3

What is col legno?

Back 3

Playing string instruments with the back of a bow instead of the horse hair. Produces strange, unstable pitches.

Front 4

What is the Darmstadt School?

Back 4

A school of avant garde composers in Darmstadt, Germany. Included Pierre Boulez.

Front 5

What is integral serialism?

Back 5

Also called control music, integral serialism is a musical system which extends serial procedures to all realms of music (pitch, dynamics, instrumentation, etc.). Contrasts with classical serialism as the latter only extends serial procedures to pitch.

Emphasized logic.

Front 6

What is pointillistic texture?

Back 6

Music which is seemingly random, though thoroughly organized in an abstract sense. As notes are isolated in separate ranges, there is no melody.

Front 7

Who was an important early composer for the percussion ensemble?

Back 7

John Cage.

Front 8

What is a prepared piano? Who invented it?

Back 8

An extended technique for piano accomplished through inserting some desired objects between piano strings.

Invented by John Cage.

Front 9

What is aleatory music? Who advocated it?

Back 9

Aleatory music, also called chance music, is music in which some elements are left to chance or the performer. This could include the composition, performance, or both.

John Cage was an advocate of this type of music, which fit well with his prepared piano.

Front 10

What is electoacoustic music?

Back 10

Music which implements electronically produced sounds.

Front 11

What is musique concrete?

Back 11

Electroacoustic music made with recorded sounds that can be found naturally in the world. Producers take such sound objects and manipulate them to fit their creative needs.

Front 12

Who was an important early composer of musique concrete?

Back 12

Pierre Schaeffer. French National Radio.

Front 13

What transformations to sound objects were possible within 1950's musique concrete?

Back 13

1. Editing out portions of sound.

2. Varying playback speed.

3. Playing the sound backwards.

4. "Overdubbing" by playing sounds over one another.

Front 14

What differentiates music concrete from electronic music?

Back 14

Music concrete limits sounds used to recorded sounds (natural), while electronic music allows for electronically created sounds (artificial).

Front 15

What is additive synthesis in electronic music?

Back 15

The combination of sine waves ("pure" pitches) to create sounds with artificial overtone structures. The original pitches are created through sine wave generators.

Front 16

What is substractive synthesis in electronic music?

Back 16

The filtering of complex sounds (usually white noise containing all pitches) into specific sounds.

Front 17

What are the two approaches to combining electronic music with live performance?

Back 17

Mixed music: live performers playing alongside pre-recorded music.

Live electronic music: sound produced by the performer is modified live, with the modification being controlled by the instrumentalist.

Front 18

What are sound-mass compositions?

Back 18

Works which reject traditional melody, harmony, and rhythm in favour of "sound masses". These are comprised of groups of sound which are sometimes static and sometimes dynamic. The interaction of these sound masses is the focus of the work.

Front 19

What is micropolyphony?

Back 19

A textural effect which involves the use of non-imitative and imitative polyphony to hide individual parts in a complexity of sonic activity.

Front 20

Where is the Studio di Fonologia? Which relevant composer served as co-director?

Back 20

Milan. Berio.

Front 21

What was Berio's fantasia genre?

Back 21

Fantasia as a genre term always denotes a single-movement work for solo instrument, characterized by an imaginary, formally innovative, and virtuosic and perhaps improvisatory character.

Berio's sequenzas meet these criteria.

Front 22

What was the vitaphone system? Who invented it?

Back 22

The vitaphone system was a mechanism which enabled sound to be synced with motion pictures. Ended the era of silent film.

Invented by Warner Brother Studios.

Front 23

What are the four functions of music in film?

Back 23

1. Establishes mood.

2. Sets time and place.

3. Runs counter to the action (creates unease).

4. Character establishment and development.

Front 24

What is the purpose of a leitmotif in film scores?

Back 24

Often used to symbolize characters and show character development.

Front 25

What are the two principle types of film music?

Back 25

Source music (diegetic): music which is supposed to be occurring within the plot itself (characters should hear it).

Underscoring (nondiegetic): music which is external to the plot, and solely for the audience.

Front 26

For which film score did Tan Dun win a Grammy?

Back 26

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Front 27

Why is Tan Dun correctly described is internationalist and polystylistic?

Back 27

His diverse background and combination of Western/Eastern and Classical/Modern styles of music and composition.

Front 28

How is minimalism generally characterized?

Back 28

Incessant repetition of short musical motives.

Front 29

What is phase shifting in minimalist works?

Back 29

The slow shift in rhythm over time in a minimalist piece. Very clear progression, yielding the name "process music" because the process is clear.

Front 30

Is minimalism a genre?

Back 30

No. Style term.

Front 31

What is the difference between classical minimalism and postminimalism?

Back 31

Classical minimalism was focused on phase shifting, and was consonant, rhythmically simple, and texturally transparent for the most part.

Postminimalism is more complex in terms of ensemble and scoring, textural activity, and faster in terms of development.

Front 32

Why is the term spiritual minimalism used to describer Arvo Part's works?

Back 32

His combination of minimalist composition techniques and his emphasis on sacred works.

Front 33

What is quotation music?

Back 33

A style term for music which refers to other musical or literary works.

Front 34

Name the 6 periods covered in class and their time frames.

Back 34

1. Medieval (450-1450).

2. Renaissance (1450-1600).

3. Baroque (1600-1750).

4. Classical (1750-1800).

5. Romantic (1800-1900).

6. Modern (20th and 21st century).

Front 35

Name two composers from the medieval period.

Back 35

Hildegard von Bingen. Perotin.

Front 36

Name two composers from the renaissance period.

Back 36

Josquin Desprez. Michael Praetorius.

Front 37

Name two composers from the baroque period.

Back 37

Johann Bach. Atonio Vivaldi.

Front 38

Name two composers from the classical period.

Back 38

Beethoven. Mozart.

Front 39

Name two composers from the romantic period.

Back 39

Frederic Chopin. Richard Wagner.

Front 40

Name two composers from the modern period.

Back 40

Schoenberg. Messiaen.

Tan Dun. Part.

Front 41

How old is the first extant piece of music?

Back 41

Was made in 800 AD.

Front 42

When did Bach die?

Back 42

July 28th, 1750.

Front 43

When did 4'33 by John Cage come out?

Back 43

1952.