American Popular Music Test 2
Irene and Vernon Castle
Dancers who codified the parallel stepping dads, giving the fox trot steps to dignity and form, and christened the Castle Walk
Microphone
This technological advancement in electronic broadcasting was the "device/instrument" that made it possible for male singers to "croon"
Improvisation
To create new music in the moment -Spontaneous musical creation and the essence of what jazz music is all about
Boogie-Woogie
A Blues piano style that "chases the blues away"
Hi-Hat
A cymbal which is part of the standard drum set. (Often sounds like the backbeat)
Duke Ellington
A feature that made his music distinct came from his use of musicians with unique timbres
Taking Film
A film with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image
Rhythm Song
A song in which the primary interest comes from its rhythm rather than the flow and contour of its melody
Album
Originally was used to describe recordings bundled together (originally used for classical music)
Ma Rainey
The Mother of the Blues
Blues
Style of music evolving from African American spirituals and noted for its melancholy sound
Sweet
Style played by a big band that was melodious, slow, and without much syncopation
Benny Goodman
The "King of Swing" whose band launched the Swing Era in 1935
Bing Crosby
The dominant popular singer of the 30's and 40's
WC Handy
The Father of the Blues
Flapper
The stereotypical new woman of the 1920s
Speakeasy
A bar or night club that operated illegally during prohibition
Swing (as a style and as a technique)
A fundamental element of jazz that your book defines as rhythmic play over a four-beat rhythm -Relaxed, Long-short rhythm
Dance Orchestra
A group of musicians playing popular music for dancing
Rhythm Section
A heterogeneous group of instruments that includes at least one chord instrument, one bass instrument, and one percussion instrument -To provide band with rhythm and harmony (banjo, piano, tuba, and drums)
Crooning
A kind of singing associated with Bing Crosby
Electric Blues
A post-WWII blues style characterized by the use of a full rhythm section, including electric guitar; most popular form of contemporary blues Features: -Regular blues form -Rough-edged vocals -Vocal-like responses and solos from the lead guitar or harmonica -Dense texture, with several instruments playing melody-like lines behind singer -Rhythm section laying down a strong beat, usually some form of a shuffle rhythm
Deep Blues
A powerful music that gave expression to, and release from, the brutal conditions of the Delta
Song Interpretation
A rendition of a song which emphasizes a performer's unique understanding and emotions
Ragtime
A type of music characterized by syncopation in the melody. Syncopated rhythms called "ragged." Musical Characteristics: -Fully composed instrumental music -Notated and sold as sheet music and piano rolls for player pianos -Short, syncopated melodies in the right hand of the piano -Heavy best and march-like rhythms in left hand of piano imitating foot stomping
Billie Holidy
Ability to transmute popular song into personal statement using song interpretation
Acoustic vs Electronic Recording
Acoustic Recording: sound vibrations were transferred directly to the recording medium by means of a large horn or cone. Electronic Recording: converts sound into an electric signal before recording and then converts the electric signal back into sound for playback.
Storyville
All brothels in New Orleans where Jazz music was being performed -The core of the early jazz scene moved from New Orleans to Chicago in the 1918 due to the closing of Storyville
Blue Note
An African inspired alteration of certain conventional scale tones
Amplifier
An electric device that boosts sound to a level that everyone can hear clearly
Hokum
An upbeat, good-times blues style which emerged between the first and second world wars
Foxtrot
Became the dominant social dance of the 1920's and 1930's
Classic Blues
Blues written by professional songwriters and performed by professional female blues singers such as Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey -Were often viewed as blues influenced popular songs -Performed in cities or in Vaudeville tours -Recored and marketed as race records
Singles
During the modern era, popular songs were typically recorded on singles
B.B. King
Electric blues musician who named his guitar Lucille
Creoles
Group of Europeans that created cultural mix in Early Jazz Music
Robert Johnson
He is considered jazz music's greatest composer
Louis Armstrong
He is known as the first great soloist in jazz, inspiring jazz and popular musicians of the era
Joe "King" Oliver
He was a bandleader and corner player who was one of the major figures of "New Orlean's Jazz"
Muddy Walker
He was one of the most influential Electric Blues musicians
Glenn Miller
His death marked the end of the Swing Era
Griot
In West African culture he was a healer, historian, and a musician
Jim Crow Laws/Legislation
Legislation which passed in 1892 which favored racial segregation
Scott Joplin
Most popular Ragtime composer
12 Bar Blues
Most widely used form for a blues song
Front Line
Responsible for Melody and Improvisation (clarinet, trumpet, and trombone) In a jazz band, this phrase refers to the horn soloists
Melisma
Several notes sung to a single syllable
Riffs
Short melodic (usually instrumental) ideas
Race Records
Slang term for recordings featuring African-American performers
Country Blues
The earliest form of the blues performed by solo male singers accompanying themselves on guitar Characteristics: -The purest form of the blues -Free of commercial influences -No pop, no jazz, no horns -Words were rough but expressive and usually about the lives of the performer -Melismas -Call and response -Rough untrained voice
Fletcher Henderson
The man most responsible for shaping the sound of big-band swing
Bessie Smith
The most influential and greatest of the classic blues singers
The Charleston
The most popular and enduring of the vigorous new dances of the early 1920's
Congo Square
The place in New Orleans where people of African descent could use drums and perform the traditional rhythmic music of their heritage
Prohibition
This made purchasing alcohol illegal
Urban Blues
Urban Blues focuses lyrically on life in the city. The term "Urban Blues" was initially used to distinguish between Uptown and Country Blues styles, but came into its own as a style in the 1940s
T. Bone Walker
Was among the first musicians to use the electric guitar as a solo blues instrument
Collective Improvisation
When you improvise collectively as a group -Not easy (had to be skilled)