Music Flashcards
Broadway support organization that undertook projects to support troops during both world wars, sponsors the Tony Awards
American Theatre Wing
modern jazz style with complex melodies, rhythms, harmonies, and irregular phrasing
Bebop
magazine devoted to tracking trends in entertainment, especially music broadcasts and record sales
The Billboard
soundproof housing that encases a movie camera, so camera motor is not picked up by the microphone
Camera blimp
jazz arranging technique in which instructions of the same family are assigned similar music to play
Block voicing
music style that originated with African Americans as a way to lament problems and unhappiness
Blues
20th century theatrical term for overall storyline and dialogue of a Broadway show
Book
jazz (and blues) piano style, left hand plays a heavy, bouncy, repetitive pattern, right hand performs syncopated melodies
Boogie-woogie
radio station operating just outside of US borders, usually broadcasting with a very strong signal, AKA an X station
Border blaster
guitar technique, finger of left hand is inserted into the sawed-off neck of a glass bottle so the finger can glide up and down the strings smoothly
Bottleneck
collective nickname for NY theater district
Broadway
debut 1936, first of the popularity charts issued by The Billboard
Chart line
in jazz and musical theater, describes one complete statement of the main melody
Chorus
uses twelve-bar-blues structure, customarily features female singer in concert situations, pre-planned material with accompanist or small ensemble
Classic blues
small jazz or blues ensemble
Combo
uses twelve-bar-blues structure, customarily features male singer in informal situations, playing guitar, improvising text, using great rhythmic flexibility
Country blues
popular singing style, capitalized on sensitive microphones, singer vocalizes with warm, resonant tone and very clear diction (Bing Crosby)
Crooning
style of visual art, literature, and music of 20th century, expresses artist’s inner feelings about the subject through distortion and exaggeration
Expressionism
set of treaties and protocols that govern humane behavior during war
Geneva Conventions
award from John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation for exceptional scholarship or creative ability in the arts and sciences
Guggenheim Fellowship
in film scoring, the use of quiet, high-pitched strings to accentuate a moment in a scene
Halo of strings
unwritten plan for a jazz performance, discussed by the musicians and then played “from their heads”
Head arrangement
designation for a show whose songs are specifically suited for the situation in which they are sung or for the character who sings them
Integrated
film/tv music that parallels every gesture of the action, usually for comic effect
Mickey-mousing
long pole that suspends a microphone over a set
Microphone boom
20th century artistic trend that prized innovation above anything else
Modernism
most successful early sound-on-film technology, developed by Fox Studios
Movietone
comic genre usually presented in modern costume with popular tunes and dances
Musical comedy
portion of a show in which the characters alternate between singing and speaking
Musical scene
genre label for dramatic works with songs that are integrated into the storyline
Musical (theater)
music that is newly composed for a particular film
Original score
agency established during WWII to oversee US government information and propaganda efforts
Office of War Information (OWI)
decision by the American Federation of Musicians to ban instrumentalists from recording new pieces starting 8/1/42 until record companies agreed to pay royalties for their performances
Petrillo Ban
one of the earliest technologies to develop sound-on-film playback, invented by Lee de Forest
Phonofilm
piano that has had its tone color modified by various objects inserted into the strings
Prepared piano
1) printed guide to a concert performance
2) storyline/concept that is illustrated without words in instrumental music
Program
pre-existing source (novel, movie, play, etc.) that inspires a Broadway show; shows not based on earlier materials are called “original”
Property
annual prizes that reward achievement in journalism, literature, and musical composition
Pulitzer Prizes
harmonic progression introduced in the chorus of Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm” (1930), subsequently borrowed for 100’s of new tunes
Rhythm changes
accompanying musicians (usually piano, string bass, drum set, and guitar) who support the harmony and rhythm of a jazz tune
Rhythm section
heavier suspended cymbal that allows the rhythm to remain audible even as the cymbal is ringing
Ride cymbal
jazz motif (melodic, rhythmic, or chord progression) that is repeated in an ostinato fashion
Riff
abbr. for “revolutions per minute,” which measures the rotation speed of audio recordings
rpm
jazz vocal technique in which the performer sings nonsense syllables, voice is treated as if an instrument
Scat singing
a short-long rhythmic pattern, with the short note occurring on a strong pulse
Scotch snap
an up-and-down pitch oscillation or “wobble,” added to particular notes by many jazz musicians
Shake
film lasting only a few minutes
Short
loud passage in a jazz piece, usually featuring the full ensemble playing in the same rhythm simultaneously
Shout chorus
recording featuring just one song or piece of music
Single
Soviet doctrine insisting that artists must produce readily accessible works, avoiding anything that would be difficult to understand
Socialist Realism
passage in a jazz piece in which the majority of performers stop playing to feature one soloist
Solo break
music in a film that the characters in that scene would be likely to hear
Source music
vocal genre developed by African Americans, usually has a simple, flexible melody and a religious meaning
Spiritual
song that has remained popular for a long time and has been recorded many times
Standard
experimental approach in which the performer touches the actual piano strings (plucking, strumming, stroking, etc.) rather than playing the keys
String piano
1) rhythmic device particularly prevalent in jazz, creates a compound-meter effect
2) style of jazz usually featuring big-band instrumentation, carefully planned music arrangements, and very danceable beats
Swing