Final Exam Flashcards
Bebop
Warrior Culture, style of music that had chamber forces with 3-7 players with fast tempi, intricate melodies, and complex chord changes
Musicians’ Strike 1942-44
Strike that was caused by musicians not being able to profit off of their musical performances, while those who owned the recordings of the performances made money
Beatniks
Generation of people who like Thelonious Monk. Saw people as fake, world was not right and unfair
La June France
Translates to “The Young French”. Bridged the gap between artists and regular people, trying to get new music out there
Rhythmic Modes
Isorhythms influenced by Stravinsky and used by Messiaen. Includes the nonretrogradable rhythm which was palindromic, and Hindu jatis
Zero Hour
After World War II, germans hit the reset button on their society and culture. Wanted new music with no history attached to it.
The Marshall Plan
Big contributor in the United States becoming a super power country. The U.S. offered aid to help rebuild their old enemies
Denazification
Trying to get rid of anything that was related to the nazi’s and shunning suspected nazi sympathizers. Henry Cowell interviewed suspected nazi’s
Darmstadt
Music school in a resort town. Was created as a result of denzification. Ideals consistent with zero hour
Total Serialism
The Application of serial procedures similar to Schoenberg’s twelve-technique to other qualities of music, most notably rhythm, dynamics, timbre, pitch register, and articulation.
“Schoenberg Is Dead”
Essay written by Boulez, claiming that Schoenberg should be credited with creating serialism, despite the fact that Schoenberg used it completely wrong in every step. He claimed serialism should abandon all forms related to tonal music
Mode de valeurs et d’intensités
“Mode of Values and of Intensities” Piece by Messiaen, modal thinking and his students loved it. 12 tone rows and rhythms are serialized
René Char
Serialist poet. Invested in Freudian ideas, such as the unconscious and creativity
Closed Systems
Math concept, formulaic and precise. People thought music should exist in closed systems.
“Who Cares If You Listen”
Article written by Babbitt. Originally titled “The Composer as Specialist”. Music that isn’t understood should be celebrated as physics is celebrated
Telharmonium
A pianist plays from a central piano, and it is transmitted through wires to speakers around the world. You listen through subscription.
“The Futurist Manifesto on Music”
Written by Russolo. Said that we should destroy the old instruments and replace them with new instrument families. Out with the old, in with the new, embrace the future
Luigi Russolo
Wrote “The Futurist Manifesto on Music”. One of the first noise music experimental composers
Intono Remore
The name of experimental instruments created by Russolo, such as gurgalatory, screechatory, exploratory. These instruments were destroyed, as they were in areas that were heavily bombed
Musique Concrète
Style of electronic music. Created through natural sounds that are played back as a piece of music.
Pierre Schaeffer
Associated with Musique Concrète, main creator, had to learn to make music with no broadcasting ability
Etude de chemnis de fir
“Study for the railroad”. Sounds from a railroad were recorded, edited, and then published
North West German Radio
Meant for new Germans, not nazis. Helped record pure electronic music, every sound had to be recorded and put together. Very slow, but led to the marshal plan
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Composer, started as a ballet pianist, voice of zero hour and total serialism, composed the first synthesizer piece
Gesang der Jünglinge
Piece that combined electronic and concrete sounds. Showed that the limits of the synthesizer could be complimented
Cartridge Music
By John Cage, rubbed and stroked “the world” on the cartridge.
Merce Cunningham
John Cage’s significant other, dancer and expert choreographer, framed everyday actions as dance
Four Constructions
Written by Cage for use by Merce Cunningham’s dance troupe. There were 2 constructions in metal, and one in wood. First use of prepared piano
Christian Wolff
American composer, cage’s only student. His parents helped publish I Ching. Came up with game theory
I Ching
Ancient Chinese book that Wolff gave to cage. Chaos can lead to creativity
Imaginary Landscape
Piece for radios, 2 performers turned the radio volume up and down
Happenings
Invented by Yoko Ono, EVERYTHING that happens is the art
For 1, 2, or 3 People
Piece by Wolff that uses game theory. Cues given by the audience lead to different options for things to play. The piece is over when the performer(s) have run out of options
Earle Brown
Composer, studied at New York School, Created graphic scores.
Folio
Piece with lines and rectangles that represents parts of the piano. The performer decides what the lines mean.
Mark Rothko
Painter, abstract expressionist, painted squares, survived the holocaust
Abstract Expressionism
Art movement that left emotion to the painter. Influence by spontaneity
Fluxus
Art movement, artists from all backgrounds. Emphasized the artistic process
George Maciunas
Coined the term fluxus
“First Fluxus Manifesto”
Create art that ended societies current relationship with art. Didn’t like peoples relationship with high art
SOURCE
American Magazine, spiral bound collections of scores and records and other musical things. Talked about radical Avant-garde art. Discontinued because of costs.
Mark Reiner
American composer, member of source magazine, talked about how to make device with polyethylene strips by setting them on fire with a tray of water under it. The sounds of the ashes hitting the water was the music.
Nelson Howe
New York Composer, member of source, created Fur Music
Annson Kenney
Editor and Composer for Source. Composer of “I have a gun” that involved muttering those words. Wild man who is hard to understand
Chris Burden
Avant-Garde composer known for self destructive music. Shot himself in the hand and screamed was an aria.
San Francisco Tape Music Center
Directed by oliveros, didn’t like synthesizer music, worked to make a piece of choral music that achieves the same effects of electronic music
Sound Patterns
Written by Oliveros for capella chorus. Showed that the human voice could make the same sounds as synthesizers. Child-like sounds with your mouth
Deep Listening
Organization fostered by Oliveros. Listening workshops used to help us listen to each other better and enhance music making.
Texture Music
Texture and timbre are the principle elements. Includes tone clusters, aleatoric performance strategies, and extended techniques. Started in Eastern Europe.
Volumina
Piece for solo organ by Ligeti. All the stops and keys were pressed to create a massive sound. Meant to emphasize texture over pitch
Aventures
Piece for string instruments, highly emotional while the content isn’t clear. Precision is required
Additive Process
Keep doing the same thing, but frequently add on. For example, play a C on quarter notes, don’t stop doing that, but then add an E on the and beat. Keep doing that, and add more.
Phase Process
Things start together and eventually split
La Monte Young
Born and raised in Idaho, bebop saxophonist. Liked drones and long works
Second Dream of China
Piece by La Monte Young. Dictated, infrequent breaths.
Come Out
Piece by Steve Reich. Followed the shooting of an unarmed black man, meant to lose sense of what the man is saying. Used the audio recordings of (i think) testimony.
Tape loops
Put the ends of tape together to create a loop, record something that will create a loop
“Music as a Gradual Process”
Essay written by Reich. New kind of modernism. Music should unfold gradually as it comes to the audience
Robert Wilson
Child autism doctor turned stage director. Serialism connected to people who had never spoken/connected to anyone
Sequenzas
Pieces by berio, experiments with wild extended techniques, only accompanied by oboe who plays A440
Cathy Berberian
Wife of Berio, wrote the soprano piece for sequenzas, advocated for extended technique
Peter Maxwell Davies
English composer, layered 100 versions of Latin text to create “8 songs for a mad kind”
George Rochberg
Wrote multi-gestural, provided set of variations on pachelbels canon
Multi-gestural Music
Used a variety of styles from the past. Pioneered by Rochberg. Each variation offered a more recent style from the baroque to early modernism
Post-Modernism
Started with architecture, said play over purpose, or form over function
Bauhaus
School of design in Germany where modernism was originally centered. Very functional designs, like the skyscraper
Charles Moore
First person to be called a post-modernist. Believed in form over function, play over purpose
Alice Goodman
Post modernist playwright and poet who wrote the libretto for Nixon in china. Understood the nature of opera
John Zorn
Had no music education except for what he picked up off records.
Cobra
Post-modernist game piece by Zorn with no score. Named after the villain from G.I. Joe. Musicians come to stage, declare themselves as the leader, and point at a musician to improvise.
Forbidden Fruit
Composition by Zorn, string quartet.
