ACADECA music

Question 1

A Cappella

Answer 1

translated literally, it means “in the church (chapel) style”; for musicians, it has come to mean vocal music without instruments

Question 2

alternation form

Answer 2

a pattern related to verse-chorus form, but one in which the “chorus” (b) has new words each time. It can be diagrammed as a-b-
a-b (etc.)

Question 3

alto

Answer 3

the lowest female voice type (see soprano,tenor, and bass)

Question 4

American Theatre Wing

Answer 4

a Broadway supportorganization that undertook projects to support troops during both world wars; they are now best known as the society that sponsors the Tony Awards.

Question 5

arpeggio

Answer 5

a technique in which the individual pitches of a chord are played in rapid succession rather than simultaneously, in the manner that one would strum a guitar or harp.

Question 6

augmentation

Answer 6

the lengthening of a melody or rhythm by increasing the duration (usually pro-portionally) of all of its notes

Question 7

avant-garde

Answer 7

a French term for “military van-

guard”; it has been adopted as a description of cutting-edge artistry that seems ahead of its time.

Question 8

baritone

Answer 8

the designation for a male voice that is lower than a tenor and higher than a bass.

Question 9

bass

Answer 9

the lowest male voice type. (see soprano, alto,and tenor)

Question 10

bebop

Answer 10

a modern jazz style that requires substantial virtuosity because of its complex melodies,rhythms, and harmonies; its irregular phrasing discourages dancing and encourages listening.

Question 11

bichord

Answer 11

the use of two conventional chords simultaneously. (also called poly chord)

Question 12

Billboard, (The)

Answer 12

a magazine devoted to tracking trends in entertainment, especially music broadcasts and record sales.

Question 13

blimp, camera blimp

Answer 13

a soundproof housing that encases a movie camera, muffling the sound of the camera’s motor, so it is not picked up by the microphone.

Question 14

block voicing

Answer 14

a jazz arranging technique in which instruments that belong to the same family are assigned similar music to play (so that trumpets are grouped together, or saxophones, or trombones, etc.); also called sectional writing

Question 15

blues

Answer 15

a style of music that originated among African Americans as a way to lament problems and unhappiness; it relies on a customary sequence of chords—often in a twelve-bar pattern—and a standard AAB rhyme scheme

Question 16

book

Answer 16

a twentieth-century theatrical term for the overall storyline and the spoken dialogue of a Broadway show.

Question 17

boogie-woogie

Answer 17

a jazz (and blues) piano style in which the left hand plays a heavy, bouncy, repetitive pattern while the right hand performs syncopated melodies

Question 18

border blaster

Answer 18

a radio station operating just outside U.S. borders (and therefore outside of U.S.restrictions), usually broadcasting with a very strong signal; also known as an X station because of the “X” that launches its call letters