20th Century

Question 1

Define Era

Answer 1

A long and distinct period of history with a particular feature or characteristic.

Question 2

Define mood piece

Answer 2

Music that describes a feeling

Question 3

2nd Viennese school

Answer 3

Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, Anton Webern

Question 4

1st Viennese school

Answer 4

Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven

Question 5

Define dissonant

Answer 5

unsuitable or unusual in combination; clashing

Question 6

Define consonance

Answer 6

the combination of notes that are in harmony with each other

Question 7

Define atonal

Answer 7

Music not written in a key

Question 8

Sprechstimme

Answer 8

Half singing half speaking

Question 9

Define Tone Row

Answer 9

a particular sequence of the twelve notes of the chromatic scale used as a basis for twelve-tone music.

Question 10

Tritone

Answer 10

an interval of three whole tones

Question 11

Aleatoric

Answer 11

Random; music involving elements of random choice during their composition, production, or performance.

Question 12

Tape looping

Answer 12

loops of tape used to create repetitive, rhythmic musical patterns or dense layers of sound when played

Question 13

Neo

Answer 13

New

Question 14

Challenges/goals

Answer 14

• People didn’t understand it, thought they were crazy (schoenberg)
• didn’t have technology that we have now (looping)

Question 15

Impressionism

Answer 15

Conveys the moods and emotions aroused by the subject rather than a detailed picture

Question 16

Expressionism

Answer 16

Response to impressionism, dramatic and expressive, shock listeners

Question 17

Serialism

Answer 17

Based on a special series of 12 tones that can be changed slightly

Question 18

Minimalism

Answer 18

a reductive style of music utilizing only simple rhythms, and patterns, with minimal embellishment.

Question 19

Neo-classical/romantic

Answer 19

New music that draw inspiration from the Classical and Romantic Eras

Question 20

How world events affected music

Answer 20

War and politics visibly intertwined with music in the 20th century, under totalitarianism and after it. classical music blared constantly in the choreographed background to Nazi life. For a time, the classical repertoire was deemed to have lost its moral stature because of the Nazis’ embrace. This was one reason why some composers tried to scrap classical forms and explore the alternatives, leading to the dissonant pandemonium of experimental music in the 1950s. Theodor Adorno, a left-wing sociologist and musician, wrote in 1949 that preserving tonality betrayed a fascist mentality.