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The Music of John Wililiams > Exam I > Flashcards

Exam I Flashcards

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1
Q

learned style

A

A musical style that shows off technical complexity, esoteric knowledge, and deference to the past. Meant to impress and delight a group of musical insiders. What counts as a learned style changes as time goes on; for a composer in 1650, it would have meant referencing music from the 1500s, for example.

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2
Q

paranoid style

A

A common theme throughout his filmography is a cinematic paranoia; “the Paranoid style” was coined by writer Richard Hofstadter: the “sense of heated exaggeration, suspiciousness, and conspiratorial fantasy” that makes much of American culture & politics [and film!].

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3
Q

a cappella

A

Without musical accompaniment

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4
Q

absolute music

A

A distinction invented in the 19th century to describe music that stands on its own without reference to the outside world in any way. There is no plot, text, or narrative.

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5
Q

accompanist

A

a person who provides a musical accompaniment to another musician or to a singer.

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6
Q

adagio

A

a slow tempo

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7
Q

affect

A

have an effect on; make a difference to.

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8
Q

arranger

A

someone who arranges a piece of music for a music director, music producer, conductor, a group of performers or a single performer.

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9
Q

audiovisual congruence

A

The relationship between what you’re hearing and what you’re seeing. The music has a large effect on what you’re seeing and vice versa! Most mainstream film music

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10
Q

blue note

A

a minor interval where a major would be expected, used especially in jazz.

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11
Q

bridge

A

In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section that prepares for the return of the original material section.

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12
Q

brightness/darkness

A

a visual analogy used to describe music

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13
Q

canon

A

one melody established and then played against itself. E.g. “row, row, row your boat”. They must be very carefully composed so that they don’t clash against each other.

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14
Q

celesta

A

a keyboard instrument that uses chimes rather than strings. like the one used in the main theme of “Harry Potter”

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15
Q

chorale

A

a thick series of chords with not a lot of counterpoint

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16
Q

chord

A

three or more notes played at once

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17
Q

clarity/density

A

a way to convey the amount of musical information happening at once

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18
Q

cluster

A

multiple notes (usually adjacent) played at the same time

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19
Q

coda

A

a passage that brings a piece (or a movement) to an end

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20
Q

concerto

A

a piece written for solo instrument and orchestra, used to show off the special talents of the soloist (e.g. Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto). Concerti would be considered absolute music, with the exception of Williams’ Bassoon Concerto (also titled “The Five Sacred Trees”). For Williams and for most concerto writers, the concerti are written for a specific person. To write a concerto requires intimate knowledge of the possibilities and challenges of the solo instrument.

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21
Q

consonance/dissonance

A

sounds that seem resolved and stable vs sounds that are less stable (e.g. a major chord vs. a dominant 7th)

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22
Q

Coplandesque

A

refers to American composer Aaron Copland, an incredibly popular composer. Composed “populist” music. Williams likes to use this as a shorthand for Americana styles.

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23
Q

cue

A

music that accompanies a particular scene, usually around 5 minutes at the longest. Williams’ cues are around two minutes, give or take a minute or so. (N.B. not the same as a track on a soundtrack)

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24
Q

diatonic

A

involving only notes proper to the prevailing key without chromatic alteration

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25
Q

chromatic

A

relating to or using notes not belonging to the diatonic scale of the key in which a passage is written (the opposite of diatonic)

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26
Q

diegetic / non-diegetic

A

music is music that could reasonably occur within the world that is being portrayed (also referred to as “source music”). For example, a radio in a movie or a group of musicians. Film scores are generally non-diegetic; the characters in Harry Potter aren’t hearing this 80-piece orchestra and simply not remarking on it!

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27
Q

dynamics

A

volume, loudness, amplitude. It matters for film music, as you don’t want to overwhelm dialogue.

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28
Q

fanfare

A

very bold music written for brass instruments (trumpets, trombones, etc.), typically thought of to announce the arrival of a king.

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29
Q

form

A

how musical ideas are presented over longer periods of time

30
Q

fugue

A

like a canon on steroids. A fugue is a musical genre based on strict contrapuntal procedures, including an opening exposition where a musical theme (subject) is introduced and set against itself in increasingly dense canonic imitation. An example from classical music is Bach’s wonderful “Little Fugue in G Minor”. The word fugue comes from the Latin word “fugare”, meaning “to chase”. Fugues in film music are usually used in action scenes

31
Q

hagiography

A

any telling of a story of a person in saint-like terms. Hagiography is the extreme version of saying nice things about him. Spielberg likes to do this, particularly with presidents of the United States

32
Q

harmony

A

combination of simultaneous notes

33
Q

historiography

A

the study of historical writing

34
Q

hymn

A

a singable, typically religious, song

35
Q

idiolect

A

refers to the specific voice of an individual person that allows their voice to be distinguished from another. This also refers to a composer’s particular fingerprints and quirks that allows their music to be distinguished.

36
Q

idiom

A

“style”. Refers to musical genre. There is no one “film musical style”. It is, by its very nature, eclectic. Film musical doesn’t adhere to a single idiom.

37
Q

interval

A

the distance between two notes

38
Q

major/minor

A

major music feels “happy”, whereas minor music is “sad”. This is a gross oversimplification.

39
Q

melody

A

Williams is probably most famous for his memorable melodies: recognizable statements of music that could be sung by a single person. This is incredibly useful for branding, as a melody is a good way to get it stuck in the viewer’s head. That central theme is present in all the Harry Potter movies.

40
Q

Mickey-Mousing vs. Overall Scoring

A

Mickey-Mousing is writing music that punctuates every event on screen. This was considered a derogatory term about Hollywood music (Max Steiner, etc.) Overall scoring is music that doesn’t feel obligated to catch every gesture or event on screen.

41
Q

mode

A

a certain organization of notes/pitches

42
Q

monologue

A

a long speech by one actor in a play or movie, or as part of a theatrical or broadcast program

43
Q

music contractor

A

Music contractors connect clients in the film, television, theater, and live music industries with the musical talent they need for their recordings and performances.

44
Q

musical authenticity

A

whether or not music is “authentic” to a certain group of people

45
Q

musical desecration

A

the “desecration”/ruining of a musical idea/theme

46
Q

musical nostalgia

A

nostalgia but music

47
Q

musical point of view

A

the idea that any musical underscore can attempt to sway you, as a viewer and take the side of one of the characters in the story.

48
Q

musical populism

A

music designed to appeal to the ordinary person

49
Q

musical universalism

A

“An octave on a Stradivarius is one thing. An octave on a little wooden flute in the New Guinea jungle is the same thing. It is universal.” (John Williams, 2019 interview with CBS Sunday Morning)

50
Q

mythopoetics

A

the deliberate creation of myths

51
Q

neo-baroque

A

Styles which emulate or recapture the aesthetic of the period of European music from 1600-1750, marked by rise of instrumental forms, consolidation of functional tonality, emphasis on complex, ornamentation, and contrapuntal sophistication, especially in the 20th century

52
Q

occasional music

A

music written for a non-musical occasion, the opening of a concert hall for example (e.g. Bernstein’s MASS)

53
Q

orchestration

A

How to write for specific instruments, both digital and acoustic. Most of the time in film scores, there is an orchestrator who takes the sketch of a composer and fleshes it out. Williams is unique in that he writes incredibly detailed sketches, possibly because he was an orchestrator many decades ago.

54
Q

ostinato

A

a short musical pattern that recurs in proximity to itself; obstinate, repetitious, etc.

55
Q

pedal

A

a low sustained note over which other material happens of its own accord

56
Q

program music

A

music that has a program: some sort of narrative or story or reference to any non-musical idea

57
Q

rhythm

A

the temporal aspect of music; how sound is organized in time. Williams has identified this as the most important aspect of a cue is, and he thinks about rhythm before he thinks about melody, instrumentation, or anything else.

58
Q

scherzo

A

a fast-moving stand-alone piece of instrumental music, characterized by elements of surprise in dynamics and form, originally with a comedic or light tone. In modern usages, showcases brilliant instrumental and orchestrational technique. Often in a triple (3/4) or compound-duple (6/8) meter. The word “scherzo” comes from the Italian for “joke”. Scherzos (scherzi?) are usually associated with chase music, and have a fantasy element. Examples from classical music include Mendelsohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and Shostakovich’s “Symphony no. 10”. Examples from Williams’ music include his “Scherzo for Today” and the “Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra” from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).

59
Q

spiritual

A

a song, usually performed a cappella, that is often connected with faith and associated with black America

60
Q

spotting

A

what happens when the composer and director sit down after the film has been mostly shot, and identify places where music is needed, and what kind of music

61
Q

stinger

A

an industry term that refers to a sudden burst of music that is loud, sudden, and punctuates an action

62
Q

stretto

A

rapid fire successive imitation of a melody in multiple instruments or voices. This is used to intensify a moment, and often accompanies action moments (the two examples we were shown came from Indiana Jones).

63
Q

synchronization

A

The aligning of the visuals and the music

64
Q

texture

A

the way music is presented. E.g. block chords being repeated vs an arpeggio

65
Q

temp-track

A

an existing piece of music or audio which is used during the editing phase of television and film production, serving as a guideline for the tempo, mood or atmosphere the director is looking for in a scene

66
Q

theme vs. motif

A

a theme is something longer (a melody), something that takes some time and has a beginning, middle and end. A motif, however, is much shorter. The motif could be three notes, or a component of a theme

67
Q

third-stream

A

genre of music named and promulgated by composer Gunther Schuller (1957) that aims to synthesize jazz and classical styles, particularly the rhythmic and improvisatory qualities of the former and the formal and orchestrational qualities of the latter. Characteristic of 1950s-60s. Has had a complex and ambivalent historical influence, historiographical reception. An example from Williams’ music is “The Knight Bus” scene from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

68
Q

timbral associativity

A

what we associate certain timbres/instruments with (e.g. the “music box” in Jurassic Park or the use of the trumpet to symbolize heroism, etc.)

69
Q

timbral palette

A

instruments/combinations of instruments that are used in a score/work

70
Q

timbre

A

(pronounced tam-ber), what makes the sound of a piano different from a violin; the distinct sonic quality of an instrument.

71
Q

tonal/atonal

A

tonal music has a musical “home” that you can return to. Atonal music can be really useful for scenes with thrilling aspects

72
Q

underscore

A

the playing of music quietly under spoken dialogue or a visual scene. It is usually done to establish a mood or theme, frequently used to recall and/or foreshadow a musical theme important to the character(s) and/or plot point, onstage or onscreen.

The Music of John Wililiams (1 decks)

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