Musc 1236 Midterm 1 Final Notecards - Terms and History Flashcards
Timbre
Timbre refers to quality of sound, or tone color. (same pitch, sounds different)
Mutes
Physical devices inserted into the bell of the instrument to distort the sounds coming out.
Timber Variation
The use of unusual sounds for expressive purposes
Where did timber variation come from?
Came to jazz through African American folk culture
Vibrato
Most wind playeres generate a slight wobble in pitch, known as vibrato
Half valving
depressing one or more of the valves only halfway
Shake
A quick trill between two notes that mimics a wide vibrato
Cup Mutes
Adds an extension that more or less covers the bell, further attenuating the sound while rounding it out
Straight Mutes
Inserted directly into the bell of the instrument, quiets the sound without too much distortion
Harmon Mute
A hollow mute with a hole in the center; originally the hole was filled with an adjustable sliding tube, sutable for comic effects, but most jazz musicians simply discarded the tube, creating a highly concentrated sound
Plunger Mute
It’s the rubber end of a sink plunger (can resemble human speech)
Glissando
Glide seamlessly from one note to another (also known as smear)
Cornet
a version of the trumpet with a mellower timbre and deep mouthpiece.
Single-Reed Instruments
Clarinet, saxophone
Purpose of Rhythm section
Provide harmony, bass, and percussion
bass (or string bass)
The bass is the rock on which the jazz ensemble is built. Two critical functions: plays notes that support the harmony, and provides a basic underlying rhythmic foundation
pizzicato vs bowing
Pizzicato is the plucking of the strings with fingers. Arco is just playing with bow
Rhythm
a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound
Meter
The grouping of pulses (beats) into patterns of two, three or more per bar
Tempo
given speed
Pulse Rhythm
Moving to a given tempo
Free Rhythm
Speed up or slow down or even stop time altogether
Polyrhythm
The simultaneous use of contrasting rhythms; The thythmic contrast resulting from the simultaneous use of contrasting rhythms
rhythmic contrast
same as polyrhythm
call and response
a succession of two distinct phrases usually written in different parts of the music, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or in response to the first
syncopation
Every time a strong accent contradicts the basic meter. Occasional rhythmic distruption, a tempory “special effect” injected for variety.
backbeat
The mid beats emphasized 1 2 3 4 (2 and 4)
downbeat
The first beat of every measure
groove
The overall framework within which rhythmic things happen
swing
Steady, four-beat rhythm in the bass and cymbal with a backbeat
melody
main
scale
The basic unit of melody, the pithces that fall within the octave.
chromatic scale
The twelve notes in an octave make up a scale by themselves
half-step
Interval separating each note
major mode
C to C whole whole half whole whole whole half
scale degree
Each note in a major scale
tonic
The note the tune insists on ending on. The first note, the do.
tonal music
Music that insists on returning to the tonic
whole step
C to D (black in between) two absolute keys up on the piano
mode
The whole half pattern that makes up and defines the scale
major mode
WWHWWWH
minor mode
Most important difference from whole is the third degree of the scale. In minor, the interval between do and mi (known as a third) is a half step lower;.
whole-tone scale
a scale consisting entirely of intervals of a tone, with no semitones
pentatonic scale
A scale in which the tones are arranged like a major scale with its fourth and seventh notes omitted, a musical scale of five tones in which the octave is reached at the sixth tone
blue notes
Certain notes are played with a great deal of flexibility, sliding through infinitesimal fractions (microtones) of a half step for expressive purposes (variable intonation). Notes inbetween cracks on piano
motives
a short melodic or rhythmic idea
riffs
short, catchy and reapeated melodic phrase
chords
Play two or more notes at the same time (basis of the harmony)
harmonic progression
(changes), a series of chords played in a strict rhythmic sequence
consonant harmony
(stable) chords
dissonant harmony
(unstable or jarring) chords are pulled as if by gravity
cadence
The end of a phrase, where a chord progression comes to rest (temporarily or finally)