Chapter 1- Musical Orientation, Musical Elements Flashcards
Timbre
Quality of sound, tone, or color
All instruments have distinct qualities
Something we control
Mutes
Physical devices inserted into the bell of the instrument to distort the sounds coming out
Timbre variation
Use of unusual sounds for expressive purposes; physically change the sound with mutes, musical variation in jazz and can be used to find ones owns sound.
Ensemble
Vary in size. Most common is trio (3-4) in groups. Combos or rhythm section. Large ensembles can include horn, wind, and percussion sections
Inventing a musical statement
Improvising
wind players generate a slight wobble in pitch; musicians can modify the sound by adjusting the length of tube or blowing with heavy intensity
vibrato
embouchure
positioning of the lips & other facial muscles. Forces the vibration to suddenly jump to a new level, raising the pitch
trumpet
brass; has unmistakable timbre; a brittle, crisp attack with brillant overtakes, most common brass instrument ; cylindrical tubing except for the bell
half-valving
musician can vary timbre; depressing one or more of the valves only halfway
straight mute
inserts directly into the bell of instrument, quiets the sound without too much distortion
adds an extension that more or less covers the bell, attenuating the sound while rounding out
cup mute
hollow mute with a hole in the center
harmon mute
rubber end of a sink plunger
plunger mute
trombone
occasionally comical slide enables the player to glide seamlessly from one note to another, known as a glissando or smear
slim, cylindrical, wooden tube that produces a thin occasionally shrill sound; standard concept to New Orleans. Achieved greater during Swing Era of 1930s
Clarinet
Bass Clarinet
pitched lower than regular clarinet
saxophone
often used are alto, tenor, soprano, and baritone . Early jazz and vaudeville musicians used it for comic effect as much as anything else. By 1930, became one of main instruments of American music( especially alto and tenor)
cornet
has extra layer of tubing and a deeper mouthpiece, producing a slightly mellower timbre, than from a trumpet. Used until 1926 then trumpet took over
growling
vary qualities of pitches by flicking their tongue against the mouthpiece
multiphonics
blowing intensely enough to produce more than 1 pitch
harmony
instruments naturally designed to play chords
rhythm section
Consists of instruments that provide harmony, bass, and percussion.
What jazz ensemble is built on. The rock of the jazz ensemble
Bass
2 crucial functions to the bass
Harmonic support, and providing basic underlying rhythmic foundations
Most common bass
string bass/ double bass. used more in symphony orchestras
used for more classical musicians; draw a horsehair bow across the strings
Arco (Bass)
plucking the strings with fingers
Pizzicato
Electric Bass
lacks natural resonance of string bass, but has loudness and portability
one-man percussion section within the rhythm section within the band
Drum Kit (traps)
front and center
Bass Drum
Snare Drum
le stand at penetrating, rattling sound, stands on an adjustable stand at knee level
Tom-Toms
2 or more middle-size drums without snares
Ride Cymbal
clear, focused, timbre, and is played more or less continuously. Band “rides” on rhythmic pulse
Crash Cymbal
splashy, indeterminate pitch, used for dramatic punctuations; small
consists of 2 shoulder-level cymbals on an upright pole with a foot pedal at base
High-Hat
strike or literally brush the drum heads
Wire Brushes
conveying a soft, quiet rumble
Mallets
Congas
latin; percussion mostly; tall drums of equal height but different diameters, with the smaller one assigned the lead role
Timbales
2 drums mounted on a stand along with a cowbell and played with sticks by a standing musician
Shakers
(Macraca) is a gourd with ridges
Scrapers
(guiro) is a gourd with ridges
moving at a given tempo(speed); basic approach to Jazz
pulse rhythm
beat
pulse
meter
group pulses into patterns
double meter
beats patterned in twos or fours: (most common)
breath rhythm (meter)
more elusive and flexible
when musician breathe, can speed up or slow down or even for a time(stop) altogether
free rhythm
what music is organized in; highly individualized parts that contrast with one another, even as they serve to create a unified whole
rhythmic layers
polyrhythm/ rhythmic contrast
simultaneous use of contrasting rhythms
African music always at least have 2 different rhythmic layers going on at the same time
foundation layer
most basic rhythms; continuous, unchanging patterns whose very repetition provides a framework for the whole
keeping time
essential part of music making; is persistent and repetitive (bass and ride cymbal)
Adds contrasting parts above the foundation layer; jazz soloists add the layers and also the rhythm section( piano chords, drums)
variable layers
syncopation
a temporary “special effect”; whenever a strong accent contradicts the basic meter; central to jazz rhythm
downbeat
the 1st beat of every measure
backbeat
offers a simple way for listeners to contribute (ex.stop or silently respond)
Groove
Overall rhythmic framework within which rhythmic events occur(ex. 4 beat rhythm with a backbeat)
Swing
Like groove, with an uneven division of beat, with the first division longer then the second . Notes known as swing eighths and written as even eighths.
fundamental unit of melody; collection of pitches within the octave
Scale
divided equally into 12 notes, counting white and black sets( piano keyboard)
octave
half-step
distance between each 2 adjacent notes, shortest distance between notes on a piano
chromatic scale
scale of 12 notes
major scale/mode
The Do Re Mi scale. Made up of 7 degrees. happy, peaceful, most basic in western music
minor mode
white keys from A to A; used in classical mode as major’s opposite. sad, moody, angry, tragic
follows a specific pattern of half steps and whole steps, consists of 7 notes
minor and major mode
whole steps
distance of 2 half steps
blues scale
collection of pitches, but also central musical influence(African American); system of making melody that includes variable intonation (blue/bent notes)
variable intonation
tuning system that allows for certain pitches to fluctuate by microtunes; creating blue notes or bent notes
Blue/Bent Notes
notes in which the pitch is bent expressively. Available on most instruments but piano is problematic. Occur on the 3rd, 5th, and 7th degrees of the scale
2 or more notes played at the same time
chord
3 notes playing every other white key on piano (C-E-G, D-F-A, E-G-B)
triads
root
each triad takes its name from the bottom note
extended chords
producing more elaborate harmonies
series of chords placed in a strict rhythmic sequence, movement from chord to chord, also called change
harmonic progression
unstable or jarring, chords pulled as if by gravity to consonant(stable) chords
dissonant
tonic (I chord)
first degree of the scale, or the chord built on the first scale degree
phrase
chord progression comes to rest
cadence
stopping places that divide a harmonic progression into phrases
half-cadence
musical stopping point on dominant, sound incomplete; like a comma providing a stop but not signaling a full closure
full-cadence
melody and harmony conveying on the stable home chord(tonic) 1st phrase like a question, 2nd answers
balance between harmony and melody
texture
melody supported by harmonic accompaniment
homophony
melody exists on its own; without harmonic accompaniment
monophony
2 or more melodies of equal interest or played at the same time
polyphony
block chord texture
big bands; 2 or more instruments play some phrase with the same rhythmic patterns, but with different pitches filling out the harmony
countermelody or obbligato
subordinate instruments have melodic interest of their own, but not enough to complete with the main melody
rests
silences
breaks
the rest of the band briefly stops playing to let the musician solo; usually 2 or 4 bars long
stop time rhythm
ensemble plays a short chord at brief intervals; once every bar or once every other bar. soloists improvises with just these interruptions from the band prodding them on. Open ended; but can last as long as the musician wants
cadenza/ radiant trumpet fanfare
keeps us on the edge of our seat until the rest of the band enters
Sometimes you “get” jazz , sometimes you don’t
Empathy
Largest category of jazz instruments
Wind
Winds
Produce sound by vibrating a column of air that can be modified by changing the length of the column or overblowing
Overblowing is achieved by
Changing the embouchure and by increasing pressure
Controls the length of tubing
Valves
Reed instruments
Sounds created by vibrating reed that is clamped to a mouthpiece and placed between the lips.!jazz instruments use single reeds, which can vary in thickness
Sound can be varied in reed instruments by
Pressing the tongue on the reed, changing lip and tongue pressure, flicking the tongue against the reed, or overblowing , which can result in multiphonics
Harmony instruments
Piano(most important b/c of popularity and range), guitar, banjo, electric piano, organ, vibraphone. Most common rhythm section is bass, drums, and piano.
In early jazz, which instrument provided the bass
Tuba
How percussion section can alter timbre
Tape on cymbals, different size sticks, wire brushes, mallets
Latin percussion
Congas, bongos, timbales, maracas, guiro
Indicators of loudness (dynamics)
Softest( pianissimo; pp), soft (piano;p), medium soft( mezzo piano; mp), medium loud (mezzo fort; fm), loud (forte;f), loudest(fortissimo;ff)
Triple meter
3 pulses or beats per measure ; irregular meters can be in fives
Measure
Distance between down beats. Can be thought of as a small cycle; a repeated fixed unit
Difficult to define but occurs when all the rhythms interlock
Swinging
Pitch
Measure of notes frequency: higher the frequency the higher the note.
Major scale is a major because
It’s pattern of pitches made up of whole steps and half steps regardless of the first note. They can be transposed
Diatonic scale
Both major and minor scales have seven notes
Pentatonic scale
Five notes
Whole tone scale
Six more scale made up of whole notes
Phrasing includes
The length of each phrase
Licks
Phrases that are part of the common vocabulary of improvised jazz
Motive
Small musical idea that is used as a source of variation
Riff
Repeated fragment of melody, ostinato riff; a riff repeats insistently
