Music Appreciation

soundtrack

All of the sound that accompanies a film, including the music and the sound effects.

plantation

An estate or farm usually found in the southern United States.

Nation of Islam

A black nationalist movement that advocated black unity and political separation. Spiritually, the group follows a combination of writings of the Qur'an and the teachings of its founder, Elijah Muhammed.

high-hat cymbal

A double cymbal with a foot pedal that snaps them together.

musical

A form of theater combining song, dance and spoken dialogue.

big band

A large ensemble of 12-16 jazz instrumentalists often joined by a singer.

overdub

A multi-track recording technique where one voice is recorded and then a second voice added after the first. Before, everything had to be recorded at once.

blues

A musical form based on the repetition of a specific 12-bar chord progression.

drum fill

A musical pattern played by a drummer to fill up time and space at the end of phrases.

Black Panther Party

A progressive political party led by Huey P. Newton that focused on political and social reform for African Americans.

spiritual

A religious song often coming from African American culture.

chromatic scale

A scale that includes all of the 12 notes contained in one octave.

rhythm section

A section of a jazz band usually made up of a piano, bass, and drum. The rhythm section may include a guitar, as well.

music video

A short film or video that accompanies a piece of music.

improvisation

A spontaneously created musical melody over a given harmonic progression.

Jazz fusion

A style of jazz music that combined elements from other musical styles. Traditional jazz concepts could be fused with rock, R&B, or funk.

Latin jazz

A style of jazz music that combined the jazz element of improvisation with traditional Latin American rhythms and melodies.

Afro-Cuban

A style of jazz music that made use of rhythms imported from Africa and Cuba.

free jazz

A style of jazz music where the performers were freed from traditional rules. The important thing was for players to contribute their own feelings for the music in the moment.

bossa nova

A style of music from Brazil that used an altered samba rhythm and jazz harmonies with smooth melodies.

ragtime

A style of music that combined traditional European musical forms with African syncopated rhythms. Usually written for piano.

call-and-response

A style of music where a soloist sings or plays a melody and then a larger group or other soloist sings or plays an identical or similar pattern back, in a musical "question and answer" format.

vaudeville

A variety show or theater that featured live acts, including singers, actors, and comedians.

falsetto

A vocal technique used to sing notes much higher than would be expected in the normal range. Often, a thinner and softer vocal sound quality.

syncopation

Accenting notes on weak or unexpected beats.

synthesizer

An electronic instrument that relies on computer-generated algorithms to create sound waves, as opposed to the physical sound production of traditional acoustic music.

hard bop

An energetic and emotional style of jazz music that developed in response to cool jazz. Fast tempi, loud dynamics, and a renaissance of gospel and blues influences were the hallmarks of this style.

Tony Awards

Annual awards given since 1947 by the The American Theatre Wing to recognize excellence in musical theater.

Compact Disc

CDs are small, portable digital storage devices that hold more minutes of music than vinyl records or cassettes were able to hold.

music publisher

Company that collects, edits, duplicates, and distributes printed music. The publisher is also responsible for paying composers and arrangers for their writing.

Love Supreme was made by what artist?

John Coltrane.

Keep time

Keeping the pace or tempo of music steady.

prohibition

Laws that prohibited the production or sale of alcoholic beverages of any kind.

MTV

MTV or Music Television. The first television channel dedicated solely to showing music videos.

royalty

Money paid to a composer to gain rights to use a composition in recording or performance.

chord change

Movement from one chord to another in a harmonic pattern. Improvisation uses a given pattern of chord changes as its underlying structure.

film score

Music written specifically for a film

cues

Musical patterns that prompt other musicians to play.

blue note

Notes that are lowered by a quarter step to form the blues scale. The only exception is the piano, which is only capable of lowering notes in half-step increments. The 3rd, 5th, and 7th degrees of the scale can be lowered to become blue notes.

social activist

One who participates in organized movements for social and political change.

amphitheater

Outdoor theaters that have a stage and tiered seating for the audience.

Overdubbing

Recording an instrumental or vocal part over previously recorded music.

music theory

Rules and traditions that recommend how notes and chords should fit together to make music.

walking bass line

Series of notes a bassist plays to set the time and provide the roots to harmonies.

motives

Small musical ideas or phrases.

dissonant

Sounding harsh or full of tension.

collective improvisation

Style where the entire group of musicians improvises at the same time.

copyright

The exclusive ownership of and right to reproduce intellectual property (e.g. ideas, music, poetry). Copyright laws govern how the creator of a work is compensated for use of that work.

tape splice

The process of cutting recording tape and splicing it back together in a different order.

subtitles

The words of the actors written across the bottom of the screen, very similar to the closed captioning of today.

chord

Three or more notes sounding simultaneously.

Famous arts and music festival held in the late 1960s was called

Woodstock

Contemporary Jazz

a style of jazz music that focuses less on improvisation and more on ensemble playing; It tends to smooth out the aspects of jazz that listeners might find offensive or startling.

Bud Powell was a pianist during the----era. He played alongside---.

behop, Charlie Parker.

Contemporary jazz is sometimes called.

smooth jazz

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI), Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC)

three companies established to protect the rights of composers and songwriters. Among other services provided, the company collects fees and distributes them to composers for their work.