Music Appreciation Final Study Guide

Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun by Claude DebussyEnsemble: Orchestra; Genre: Tone PoemBased on a poem by Stephane Mallarme about midafternoon exploits of mythical faunErotic subject matterMusical climaxed are consistently evaded at the last moment (lacks tonal pull)

The Rite of Spring by Igor StravinskyBallet premiered by the Ballet Russe in 1913; caused a riotScenes from Pagan Russia; Girl chosen to dance herself to death to ensure Spring

Symphony No. 5, Mvt. 4 by Dmitri ShostakovichMinor key, ending in major; Toned down modernist tendencies

"Danse Macabre" from Black Angels by George CrumbElectric String Quartet, must use other extended techniques (water classes, whistling, etc)Religious tension in the 70s and Vietnam War

Ghosts N Stuff by Deadmau5Progressive or Electric house music; Canadian Artist

Keep on the Sunny Side by The Carter FamilyCountry Artists 1927-1956; AP Carter, Wife Sara, and sister-9n-law Maybelle

40 Miles from Denver by Yonder Mountain Spring BandBluegrass Band from Nederland; influenced by rock/other styles. “Elevations” Album

Lost Your Head Blues by Bessie SmithTwelve-bar blues; Five choruses; Highest paid black artist of the time

West End Blues by Louis ArmstrongNicknamed Satchmo and Pops; Early Jazz music, Scat Singing

Main Theme & Imperial March from Star WarsLeitmotifs; by John Williams

Theme Song from Mario Brothers by Koji KondoMost recognized video game/ programmed music, Leitmotif; also wrote Legend of Zelda

Hound Dog by Elvis Presley“King” of Rock and Roll; Influenced by Country, Blues, and R&B; Black music for whites; Signed by Sam Phillips of Sun Records

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by The BeatlesFrom Liverpool, England. Beatlemania, used unconventional formsMixed meter, modulation, tamboura

The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel by Grandmaster FlashPopularized scratching, cutting, backspinning. Born Joseph Saddler;

Beat: (or pulse) divides music into equal segments; can be strongly felt or barely perceptableTempo: speed of the beat. lento, andante, moderato, allegro, presto.Meter: (duple, triple, suppressed, time signature) regular grouping of strong and weak beats

Time signature: top: beats per measure; bottom: note value of a beatRhythm: the organization of time in musicSyncopation: displaces the natural accent; gives unexpected bounce

Melody: (conjunct & disjunct) a series of notes forming a distinctive, recognizable unitConjunct: stepwise motion, up and down the scale; Disjunct: movement by leaps

Pitch: the relative position of a musical sound (high/low) determined by frequencyFrequency: the number of times a sound wave completes a cycle in a given period of timeOctave: when one frequency is exactly twice another frequency, often perceived as the same

noteWhole Step & Half Step: Western culture octave divided into 12 equal half-steps/semitones.

whole step = two half stepsKey: (modulation) when a melody makes use of a particular scale. Modulation: changing keyPhrase: a distinct section of the melody that may be marked by commas in lyrics, breaths, rests,

or shape of the melody. Ends with a cadence (musical formula bringing closure)Harmony: results when multiple pitches sound simultaneously, enriching the melodyDissonance & Consonance: dissonance: unstable/disturbed; consonance: aggreable/stableMotive: a short, reoccurring musical ideaAmplitude: the height of a frequency determining loudnessTimbre: (tone color, overtones, attack) tone color: sensation in terms of which a listener can

judge two sounds having the same loudness and pitch are dissimilarovertones: more than one sound is produced when an instrument is soundedattack: the onset of a sound (beginning of a note)

Texture: (monophony, polyphony/counterpoint, homophony) monophony: a single soundpolyphony: two sound of equal importance; homophony: one sound backing up another

What makes a work tonal? Use of major/minor scales; use of chords built from thirds; bassline that grounds composition; central note to which others must return*

Stretching/Breaking Tonality: stretching: all whole steps, pentatonic (5 notes), built on other intervals, abandoned chords, tone clusters (chords using consecutive notes)breaking: obscuring or obliterating the central note, more than one central note, nocentral note

Atonality: no central note or keyImpressionism: borrowed term used to describe the style of primarily Debussy and RavelPhonograph: device used to record and reproduce sounds. Invented by Thomas EdisonWhole Tone Scale: scale which each note is separated from neighbors by interval of whole stepTone Clusters: chords using consecutive notes of the scaleClaude Debussy: French, ground-breaking use of whole tone scale, blurry tonality, Claire de

Lune, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, La MerMaurice Ravel: French, linked to Debussy, brilliant orchestration, Bolero, Rhapsodie Espanole,

Dphnis and ChloeExoticism: borrowing “exotic” music features from other culturesModernism: (Stravinsky, Schoenberg) rising from changes in Western Societies in

The late 19th century. Industrialization, urbanization, devastation of WWI, rejects Realism and ideas of Enlightenment, rejects conventional harmony, melody, and Form, early on was called Avant Garde. Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; Shchoenberg: created atonal music dispensed with the triad as a structural principle, created twelve-tone composition, Suite for Piano, Trio.

Rite of Spring: ballet premiered by the Ballet Russe in 1913, choreographed by Nijinsky,Produced by Diaghilev, Caused a riot in Paris, scenes from pagan Russia, Girl chosento dance herself to death in sacrifice to ensure the coming of Spring

12-tone Method: based on tone row; consists of all twelve notes in a unique order for eachcomposition; no note repetition until the entire row is played; row order consistent through entire composition

Ruth Crawford Seeger: American modernist composer and folk music specialist, first womanTo receive a Guggenheim Fellowship; String Quartet Mvt. 4: features free violin lineAgainst a 10 note row (looser interpretation of 12 tone technique)

Dimitri Shostakovich: internationally acclaimed at age 19; complex relationship with SovietGovernment, honored and denounced his music, Stalin walked out on performance,Symphony No. 5: more conservative

Aaron Copeland: adopted a distinctly American style designed to appeal to the averageConcert goer; incorporated jazz and folk, western and rural themes. Influence in film;Tonal and slow harmony, widely spaced texture, keeps instruments in family groups;Appalachian Spring

Postmodernism: eclectic, juxtaposition of different elements such as bending of high and lowArt, traits from different periods, genres, and cultures, electronic instruments, new ways of playing traditional instruments, new instruments, what is music?

John Cage: chance music, unpredictable musical events, questioned the principles of Western music. Created prepared piano. 4’33”.

Charles Ives: insurance salesman, experimented with polytonality, quoting many famous songswithin one piece.

Extended Techniques: techniques that are not considered traditional for a given instrument:string piano, prepared piano, singing while playing, using body of instrument as drum,clicking keys, multiphonics on woodwinds (playing more than one note)

Microtones: pitches found in between the notes of the chromatic scaleGraphic Scores: composers make picture of what the piece should look like instead of notationMinimalism: early 1960s, rejected modernism & neo-romanticism. Reduction to the simplest

elements. Influenced by jazz, rock, and non-western music. Influential to Velvet Underground and Radiohead. Simplified rhythm, melody, and harmony. Incessant repetition of small motives, constant harmony.

Musique Concrete: working directly with recorded sounds, not with musical notation orPerformers.

Prepared Piano: placing objects inside of a piano to alter the tone and timbreEdgar Varese: innovator of electronic music, created musique concrete. Influence John Cage,

Frank Zappa, the Beatles, and Pink Floyd. Poeme Electronique.Karl Stockhausen: one of most influential figures in electronic music. Integrated electronic

Sounds with human voice. The beatles were influenced by him. “Gesang der Juenglinge”Sampling: taking a portion of one sound recording and using it in another Chicago House: originated in the clubs of Chicago in 80s. Influenced by disco, but more

Electronic and minimalistic. Beats in 4/4. Use of drum machines and synthesized bassLines. Kick drum on every beat.

Detroit Techno: offshoot of House music. Use of Roland Synthesizers, hi-hat on every beat. Ex. Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson.

Dub: originated in Jamaica. Accidentally created by producer leaving out vocal track andPlayed it at a party. Enhanced with lots of effects. Led to many subgenres.

Popular vs. Folk vs. Art Music: popular: made for mass appeal; folk: made by/for everydaypeople; art: made for its own sake

Origins of American Folk Music: various parts of Europe and Africa. Mostly the UK and West Africa.

Alan Lomax: Folklorist/ethnomusicologist. Headed Archive of Folk Song for Library of Congress. Recorded folk music for preservation in US and Europe.

Country Music: story-telling tradition from the rural South in 20s. Originally called hillbillymusic. Strong tradition of song writing.

Ballad: tells a story traditionally in 3rd person from disinterested perspective. Broadside Ballad:Published on sheet music usually in 1st person. Strophic form.

Jimmie Rogers: known for rhythmic yodeling. Wrote his own songs later covered by Johnny Cash and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Blue Yodel No. 1 (T is for Texas)

Carter Family: Folk music group composed of AP Carter, wife Sara, and sister-in-lawMaybelle. Maybelle’s guitar playing made them famous. Covered by Elvis/Bob DylanKeep on the Sunny Side.

Bluegrass: draws on traditions of Irish fiddle tunes, American string bands, New Orleans Jazz;Traditionally played acoustically, fast tempo, incorporates jazz syncopation

“The Blue Grass Boys”: Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, and Earl Scruggs; one of first blue grass bands

The Blues: originated in the south (Mississippi Delta) in late 19th cent. “Blue Devils”. Sadness, lyrics about everyday life (sex, love, money)

Twelve-Bar Blues: chord progression that repeats each stanza of textCall and Response: leader sings a short phrase followed by response from chorusAfrican Diaspora: (definition and musical traits) movement of Africans and their

descendants to other parts of the world. Were not allowed to bring instruments;developed field calls, work songs, and spirituals (often with hidden meanings)

Ragtime: jazz music with syncopated rhythm. (Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton)Styles of Jazz: (New Orleans, Swing, Bebop, Cool, Fusion) New Orleans: early jazz,

Dixieland, traditional. Louis Armstrong. Swing: Palomar Ballroom, Benny GoodmanBand. Played “hot” arrangements rather than conservative/commercial. Bebop: fast,Focused on soloists, no vibrato; Charlie “bird”Parker. Cool: reaction against bebop, focused on melody and arrangements with complex harmonies; “West Coast Jazz”; Miles Davis, John Coletrane. Fusion: blends jazz and rock/funk rhythms; drums non-swinging; electronic instruments and effects; Heavy Weather, Miles Davis, Chick Corea

Bessie Smith: Empress of the Blues. 2 Million records first year. Highest-paid black artist of hertime. “Lost Your Head Blues” Twelve-bar blues, five choruses

Louis Armstrong: Early jazz. Nicknamed “Satchmo” and “Pops”. Recorded with Hot Five &Hot Seven. Incorporated Scat Singing.

Soundtrack: speech, sound effects and music in filmDiegetic/Non-Diegetic: Diegetic: from fictional world created by film; dialogue, sounds with

visible source, music performed in story. Non-Diegetic: sound from outside realm ofstory; narration, mood music, enhancing sounds for drama.

Leitmotif: originally associated with Richard Wagner; a music theme that acquires propertiesof a symbol with independent meanings that can be called upon when theme is repeated;Imperial March – Star Wars.

Spotting/Cue: Spotting: where initial decisions are made to place music. Cue: each musicalinsertion.

Game Music: (development) originally played by outside source from game system; tones

produced by computer chips inside system; initially only a few tones could be made at a time; did not have capacity to play recorded music originally

Early Rock and Roll: influenced by blues, boogie woogie, r&b, gospel, country. 1950s.Alan Freed: “Moon Dog” DJ known for playing mix of blues, country, and r&b he called

rock and roll (slang term for sex). popularized rock and roll for whites.Chuck Berry: middle class from St. Louis. tried playing songs for black and white audiences.

“Johnny b. Goode”Elvis Presley: “King” of Rock and Roll. Influenced by country, blues, r&b, and black culture;

signed by Sam Phillips of Sun Records to bring black music to white audiencesElectric Guitar: 1931 by George Beauchamp. Rock & Roll generally has two, but some have

none.The Beatles: from Liverpool, England. First popular in UK, but had huge success in America in

60s: Beatlemania. Used unconventional instrumentation, mixed meter, modulation, unconventional forms, etc.

Styles of Rock and Roll: psychedelic, progressive/art, heavy metal, punkDevelopment of Punk: (Sex Pistols, Patti Smith) mid 70s, shorter/simpler songs, reaction

against other genres. nasal/shouted vocals, DIY attitutdeRiff: short ostinato that becomes basis of entire composition. can be the hook, but often in

background.Hook: repeated rhythm, lyric, or melody that “hooks” the listener (the part you remember)

often the chorus, but could be a riff, phrase, or something elseScratching: technique of producing sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forthBreak: break in instrumentals of rock/funk songs when people liked to dance; breakdancingDJ Kool Herc: born in Jamaica, launched hip-hop during a block party that he DJed.

Clive Campbell; father of hip-hopAfrika Bambaataa: leader of Black Spades gang. Outlined MCing, DJing, Breaking, Graffiti

writing. “knowledge, culture, and overstanding”Grandmaster Flash: perfected and popularized scratching, cutting, backspinning.Cadence: rhythmic flow that MC has; chance to show creativityTupac Shakur: born in NY. father member of Black Panther party. moved to Cali, part of

Digital Underground before solo careerNotorious B.I.G.: born in Brooklyn; landed contract with Uptown records. eventually joined

P-Diddy on Bad Boy Records