Chapter 7 - The Twentieth Century and Beyond Flashcards
polytonality
a compositional technique where two or more instruments or voices in different keys (tonal centers) perform together at the same time
atonal
music that seeks to avoid both the traditional rules of harmony and the use of chords or scales that provide a tonal center
synthesizers
instruments that electronically generate a wide variety of sounds. They can also modify electronic or naturally produced recorded sounds
twelve-tone system (also called serialism)
compositional technique developed by Arnold Schoenberg that derives musical elements such as pitch, duration, dynamics, and instrumentation from a randomly produced series of the twelve tones of the chromatic scale (the 12-one row)
impressionism
music composed based on the composer’s impression of an object, concept, or event. This style included the use of chromaticism, whole-tone scales, and chords, exotic scales, new chord progressions and more complex rhythms.
expressionism
Style of composition where composers intentionally use atonality. Arnold Schoenberg devised a system of composing using twelve tones. His students Alban Berg and Anton Webern composed extensively in this twelve-tone style.
neoclassicism
a musical movement that arose in the twentieth century as a reaction against romanticism and which sought to recapture classical ideas like symmetry, order, and restraint.
primitivism
a musical movement that arose as a reaction against musical impressionism and which focused on the use of strong rhythmic pulse, distinct musical ideas, and a tonality based on one central tone as a unifying factor instead of a central key or chord progression
minimalism
distilling music down to its fundamental elements - simplification
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Charles Ives (1874-1954)
Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)
Alban Berg (1885-1935)
Igor Stravinsky (1882- 1971)
