MUSC 2226 - unit 1

Question 1

genre

Answer 1

stylistic category

Question 2

popular music

Answer 2

music that appeals to a mass audience, is intended to have wide appeal, and has a sound and a style distinct from classical or folk music

Question 3

mainstream

Answer 3

prevailing styles

Question 4

instrumentation

Answer 4

literally, the instruments chosen to perform a particular score; broadly, the instrumental and vocal accompaniment for a recording.

Question 5

rhythm

Answer 5

the time dimension of music. The cumulative result of musical events as they happen over time

Question 6

melody

Answer 6

the most musically interesting part of a musical texture. It is typically distinguished from other parts by the interest and individuality of its contour and rhythm.

Question 7

harmony

Answer 7

chards and the study of chord progressions

Question 8

form

Answer 8

the organization of a musical work in time

Question 9

dynamics

Answer 9

levels or changes in intensity.

Question 10

texture

Answer 10

the relationship of the parts in a musical performance

Question 11

timbre

Answer 11

the distinctive tone quality of a voice or an instrument

Question 12

pitch

Answer 12

the relative highness or lowness of a musical sound, determined by the frequency with which it vibrates

Question 13

intensity

Answer 13

the degree of loudness of a musical sound

Question 14

duration

Answer 14

the length of time of a musical event

Question 15

instrumentation

Answer 15

literally, the instruments chosen to perform a particular score; broadly, the instrumental and vocal accompaniment for a recording

Question 16

performance style

Answer 16

the way musicians sing and play their instruments

Question 17

inflection

Answer 17

moment-to-moment changes in dynamic level

Question 18

rhythm section

Answer 18

the part of a musical group that supplies the rhythmic and harmonic foundation of a performance. Usually includes at least one chard instrument (guitar, piano or keyboard), a bass instrument, and a percussion instrument (typically a drum set)

Question 19

beat

Answer 19

1) the rhythmic quality of a piece of music that invites a physical response (“that song has a good beat”) 2) the (usually) regular marking of time at walking/dancing/moving speed (usually between 72 and 144 beats per second). 3) the rhthymic foundation of a style or substyle, distinguished by the consistent use of regular rhythms and rhythmic patter: a two-beat, a rock beat, a shuffle beat

Question 20

tempo

Answer 20

the speed of the beat

Question 21

measure (bar)

Answer 21

a consistent grouping of beats. A waltz has measures containing three beats; a march has measures containing two beats.

Question 22

two-beat rhythm

Answer 22

the division of the measure into two primary beats or accents; the rhythmic basis of the fox trot and other early syncopated instrumental styles

Question 23

backbeat

Answer 23

a percussive accent occurring regularly on the second beat of beat pairs: 1 2 1 2 or 1 2 3 4

Question 24

four-beat rhythm

Answer 24

a rhythmic foundation in which each beat receives equal emphasis; the common rhythmic basis for jazz

Question 25

style beats

Answer 25

a distinctive beat which is associated with the music of a particular era

Question 26

syncopation

Answer 26

accents that come between the beats of a regular rhythm, rather than with them

Question 27

accent

Answer 27

a musical even that stands out from its neighbors because of a change in one or more musical elements. The most common sources of accent are intensity (the event is louder), duration (longer), density (the event contains more parts), or pitch (higher or lower)

Question 28

harmony

Answer 28

chords and the study of chord progression

Question 29

chords

Answer 29

a group of pitches considered as a single unit. The notes of a chord may be played simultaneously, or they may be played ina series as an arpeggio

Question 30

arpeggio

Answer 30

a chord whose pitches are performed one after the other instead of simultaneously. Also called a broken chord

Question 31

chord progression

Answer 31

a sequence of chords. Many of these in popular music follow well-used patterns, such as those for “Heart and Soul” and “La Bamba”

Question 32

chorus (refrain)

Answer 32

1) a large singing group; 2) in verse/chorus and rock songs, that part of a song in which both melody and lyrics are repeated; 3) in blues and Tin Pan Alley songs, one statement of the melody

Question 33

twelve-bar blues form

Answer 33

the most widle used form for one chorus of a blues song. It is defined principally by its chord progression, which features I, IV, and V in a consistent pattern over twelve bars: I (1), I (3) / IV (5), I (7) / V (9), I (11). The 12-bar blues form is used in both vocal and instrumental songs. In sung songs, the typical lyric is a rhymed couplet, with the first line repeated

Question 34

style

Answer 34

the set of those common features found in music of a time, place, culture, or individual