aerophones
a general term for wind instruments in world music
aleatory
employing the element of chance in the choice of tones, rests, durations, rhythms, dynamics
arch form
sectional structure for a piece of music based on repetition, in reverse order, of all or most musical sections such that the overall form is symmetric, most often around a central movement
avant-garde
very current, modern, and experimental
bebop
a jazz style that emphasizes small ensembles playing very active and complex music. (a.k.a. bop)
blue notes
in blues and jazz, any of the notes produced by flattering the third, fifth, or seventh notes of a major scale
blues
a lamenting, melancholy song characterized by the three-line lyrical pattern in AAB for, a twelve-bar harmonic progression, and the frequent use of blue notes.
call and response
a song style in which phrases sung by a leader alternate with responding phrases sung by a chorus
chance music
music in which the composer sets out to remove the decision-making process from his or her control
chordophones
a general term for stringed instruments in world music
cool jazz
a restrained, controlled jazz style that developed during the elate 1940’s
Dixieland
a jazz style based on the original hot jazz from new orleans
ethnomusicology
the study of non-western, or world , musics
expressionism
an artistic school of the early twentieth century that attempted to represent the psychological and emotional experience of modern humanity
front line
in jazz bands, the instruments that carry the melodic material
fuging tunes
psalm or hymn melodies that are sung as canons or written to contain imitation, popular in britain and the u.s. during the 1700s
fusion
a style of jazz developed in the late 1960s that has beens influenced by rock music through the inclusion of amplified instruments, short riffs and even bean subdivisions
glissando
a rapid sliding up or down the scale
Idiophones
a general term for solid percussion instruments in world musics that are struck together, shaken, scraped, or rubbed to create their sound
impressionism
a late nineteenth century artistic movement that sought to capture the visual impression rather than the literal reality of a subject
improvisation
the practice of making up music and performing it on the spot without first having written it down
indeterminacy
Music in which the composer sets out to remove the decision-making process from his or her control
neoclassicism
in music of the early twentieth century, the philosophy that musical composition should be approached with objectivity and restraint
membranophones
a general term for drums in world music
microtones
intervals smaller than a half step
minimalism
a late-twentieth-century movement that seeks to return music to its simplest, most basic elements
musicals
dramas that are told through a series of songs, usually with spoken dialogue between the songs
musique concrete
“concrete music”
pentatonic scale
a five-tone scale
polyrhythms
two or more contrasting and independent rhythms used at the same time
polytonality
the simultaneous use of two or more keys
prepared piano
a piano with the sound altered by the insertion of items such as bolts, screws, pencils, cloth, and even paper on or between the strings
primitivism
in music, the use of frenzied, irregular rhythms and percussive effects to evoke a feeling or primitive power
raga
an ancient melodic pattern still employed in Indian music
ragtime
a composed music of the 1890s, usually for piano
rhythm section
in jazz or rock bands, the instruments that supply the harmonic and rhythmic accompaniment
rounds
a contrapuntal technique in which a melody in one part is strictly imitated by another voice or voices
scat singing
a jazz vocal style in which the singer uses nonsense syllables in the place of words
serialism
a system of composition developed by Schoenberg that consists of arranging the twelve pitches of the chromatic scale in a particular order
swing
a big band jazz style particularly popular for dance music during the 1930s through the middle 1940s
spechstimme
“speech voice” a vocal technique in which a pitch is half sung, half spoken
symbolism
a subtle French poetic style from the late nineteenth century that stressed the sound and color of the words that suggested rather than clearly outlined the meaning or story behind the text
tala
one of the ancient rhythmic patterns still employed in Indian music
tone cluster
a chord produced by playing a large group of adjacent notes on the piano with the flat of the hand
tone row
An ordering of notes employing all 12 pitches of the chromatic scale
twelve tone
a system of composition developed by Schoenberg that consists of arranging the twelve pitches of the chromatic scale in a particular order
middle ages
476-1450
renaissance
1450-1600
baroque
1600-1750
classical
1750-1800
romantic
1800-