music_103_20150123003340 (1/2) Flashcards
Semiotics
The study of signs/symbols and their use/interpretation.
Multimodality
Use of more than one mode simultaneously.
Example of multimodality
Music videos.
3 modes:
Textural, Aural, Visual.
Words and lyrics are part of which mode?
Textural
Music is part of which mode?
Aural
Pictures are part of which mode?
Visual.
Gestural is a facet of…
Each mode.
Give an example of a combination of textural and visual modes.
Love is textural, while the red lettering and the hearts are visual.
Love and domestic violence are shown together. This is an example of…
The way modes can interact to impact perception and change meaning.
What is the most common combination of modes?
Visual and textural.
In Lana del Rey’s music video “Video Games”, she affirms that life is worth living with the lyrics “Heaven is on earth with you”. This is an example of which mode?
Textural
Music that sounds sad is in a ___ key, while music that sounds happy is in a ___ key.
Minor, Major.
Cadence
End of a musical phrase.
Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy”, which sarcastically mocks the teen life, is an example where modes ___.
Conflict.
Octave
Span of pitches in music. 8 whole tones.
In ragtime music, melodies are ___.
Tonal
There is often one ___ passing tone in ragtime music.
Chromatic.
The vocal range in ragtime music is within an ___.
Octave.
Ragtime music was primarily developed from ___ to ___.
1900 to 1920.
Vanderville and theatrical producers began to consolidate their offices in an area known as…
Tin Pan Alley.
Tin Pan Alley was located in…
NYC.
Tin Pan Alley is both a ___ ___ and name of a ___.
Physical location, style.
Ragtime was primarily developed by which ethnic group?
African Americans.
What other styles were being developed at the same time as ragtime?
Victorian ballad and waltz.
Who was the most preeminent figure in ragtime?
Irving Berlin.
Irving Berlin was born as…
Israel Baline
Irving Berlin was born in…
West Siberia.
Irving Berlin grew up wealthy / impoverished and made a name for himself ___.
Impoverished, singing.
Berlin began to collaborate with notable Tin Pan Alley figures, and managed to write music that reflected…
The unique complex community of Tin Pan Alley.
According to Charles Hamm, Berlin’s work was characteristic as a result of:
Ethnic identities, authorship functions, and growing production of sheet music.
Ethnic identities were important to Berlin’s work, because…
Berlin managed to retain characteristics of ethnic groups in his music, but also managed to gain acceptance from a broader audience.
Authorship functions played an important role in Berlin’s work, because…
Different people would collaborate on one work.
Growing production of sheet music played what role in Berlin’s work?
There was a standardization of songs, which allowed more flexibility in performance.
Lead Sheet
Sheet music for Jazz.
What is on a lead sheet?
Minimal music, just chord symbols.
Jazz Parallel
Jazz was developed at about the same period of time as ragtime.
Why was jazz accepted immediately?
It assimilated and accommodated enough of America’s older and more dominant culture.
Describe the structure of Tin Pan Alley Songs:
- Brief piano intro. 2. 2 or 4 bar vamp, with melodic and rhythmic material drawn from and leading into verse. Often repeated during solo. 3. 2 or more verses, typically 16-32 bars in length. 4. A chorus, usually equal in length to the verse, with first and second endings.
Victorian music was very “___” and ___.
White, straight.
Ragtime was considered “___” music.
Black.
What do the lyrics of “Strange Fruit” describe?
Lynching of African Americans.
Why is Billie Holliday’s rendition of “Strange Fruit” more subdued and restrained?
She could not bring out harsh lyrics, as the performance in itself was already risque for the 1930’s.
Why is India Arie’s version of “Strange Fruit” so much more extravagant and emphasized?
Harsh lyrics have to be emphasized to differentiate and grab attention.
Tori Amos’ version of “Strange Fruit” can be described as…
Sparse, as she uses piano as accompaniment, and uses her voice almost as an instrument.
Who came up with the “Theory of Markedness”?
Robert Hatten.
What theory is explored in the article “Markedness and a Theory of Musical Expressive Meaning”?
Theory of Markedness.
What does the Theory of Markedness explore?
How individual lyrics and musical events can be emphasized or “marked” in a variety of ways.
Obvious ___ ___ that are commonly used to “mark” words are explored in the Theory of Markedness.
Aural Gestures.
What kinds of technology emerged in the 1920’s that was relevant to the music industry?
Records and record players, live radio broadcasts.
The music industry began to classify music in the 1920’s. How did this impact the types of music that became popular?
The music industry can decide what music would be published, played, recorded, etc.
Developing styles of the 1920’s:
-Ragtime. -Jazz. -Vaudeville. -Crooning. -Torch singing.
Jazz and popular music were one and the same between the years…
1920 and 1940.
1920’s was known as the…
Jazz Age.
Was the jazz music of the 1920’s similar or distinct from jazz as we know it today?
Distinct.
Who was the “King of Jazz”?
Paul Whiteman.
What was the name of the “King of Jazz” article we studied?
“On Wax”.
What does the article “On Wax” discuss?
The difficulties faced in recording music. For example, the upright bass was much too quiet to use in a recording studio, and was replaced by a tuba. Every instrument has a pitch that would destroy the record, so instrumentation would have to change to make music recordable.
The period between 1930 and 1940 was known as…
“The Swing Era” or “The Big Band Era”.
What was distinct about “The Swing Era”?
It reached mass audiences for the first time.
What is a “Swung Note”?
A performance practice, mainly in jazz-influenced music, in which some notes with equal written time values are performed with unequal durations, usually as alternating long and short.
In his article, what did Freedman mainly discuss?
The conflicts in American popular music, which is personified in the conflict between “black” and “white” music.
The conflict Freedmen writes about is supposedly manifested in the form of ___.
Swing.
Characteristics of “white” music:
-Cold. -Clean. -Conscious.
Characteristics of “black:” music:
-Rich. -Loose. -Relaxed.
Examples of “white” musicians:
Leon Bismarck, Frank Teschemacher.
Examples of “black” musicians:
Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Coleman Hawkins.
Who can be considered the first international multimedia star?
Bing Crosby.
What are indications of being the first international multimedia star?
Bing Crosby conquered all available media formats.
During World War II, there was a ___ ban in 1943.
Recording.
How did World War II affect the music industry?
There was the expense of operating large bands, decreased demand for dancing, increased demand for sentimentality, and a lack of production of records.
Who was “Race” music developed by, and where?
African Americans in Richmond, Virginia.
The fact that “Race” musicians were coloured was ___.
Hidden.
Who can be considered one of the foremost Race musicians to achieve fame?
Bessie Smith.
What kinds of music did “Race” music include?
Blues, gospel tunes, piano boogie-woogies, small jazz groups, and the “funkier” swing bands of the time.
Who was “Hillbilly” music developed by, and where?
White Americans in the rural parts of the country.
Who was one of the early Hillbilly musicians to achieve considerable success?
Fiddler John Carson.
Hillbilly refers to ___ from all over.
Mountaineers.
___ ___ later became a prominent Hillbilly musician.
Jimmy Rodgers.
Hillbilly fans were renowned for…
Their dedication to the style.
Who was known as the “Father of Gospel Music”?
Thomas Dorsey.
Gospel was developed as an important component of __ ___ throughout the ___ and ___.
“Race Music”, 1930’s and 40’s.
The development of gospel as its own style eventually led to the development of…
Doo-wop, acapella, rhythm & blues, and rock & roll.
Blues gained its professional designation largely from the development of ___ ___.
“Negro Theatre”.
“Negro Theatre” came about after the…
Civil War.
“Negro Theatre” was modelled after early…
White minstrel shows.
What are some “Negro Theatre” show types?
Minstrel, travelling road, medicine, vaudeville, carnival, and small circuses.
What is Blackface?
Painted white people’s faces black and acted out their perceptions of the ethnic group.
The African American population often had a hard time finding work as a result of the…
Theatre’s Own Booking Agency (TOBA).
TOBA was commonly known among African American populations as…
Tough On Black Artists.
Classic Blues can be described as ___ and ___, and the ___ take precedent.
Private, personal, lyrics.
Classic Blues musicians often had little to no training. True or False?
True, everyone was thought to have blues inherently written within them.
Classic Blues evolved quickly from a style treated casually as a form of folk music into a form both…
Professionally and publicly respected.
The lyrical content of the Classical Blues was transparent, allowing the music to be more accessible to…
White Americans.
The following was said of Classic Blues: “The Negro felt he was a part of that superstructure after all”. This refers to what aspect of Classic Blues?
The fact that the Black musicians were not so separate after all.
Classic blues was dominated by men/women?
More than 75% women.
Jali
Songs that concern the history of the people.
Blues.
Songs that contain lyrics addressing personal experiences.
Classic Blues.
Songs performed by black women, typically accompanied by a jazz band.
Country Blues.
Songs performed by men of the rural south, typically accompanied by a guitar.
Delta Blues.
Rhythmically vigorous and considered to be more “extroverted”.
Where did the name “Delta Blues” come from?
The Mississippi Delta.
What two techniques were first developed in the Delta Blues?
Bottleneck and Slide techniques.
What does R&B stand for?
Rhythm and Blues.
R&B
A blues based music that uses jazz elements, but was designed to meet the dancing and partying needs of an urban, African American audience.
Is R&B secular or sacred?
Secular.
Who was a major figure in the transition from race music to R&B?
Louis Jordan.
Louis Jordan established…
Shuffle rhythm.
What are the two sections of R&B combo?
Rhythm and horn sections.
What instruments are in a R&B rhythm section?
Piano, bass, drum, and guitar.
What instruments are in a R&B horn section?
Two saxophones and one or two trumpets.
Louis Jordan is known for his desire to…
Please audiences.
What does it mean to “Straddle the Fence”?
Cater to both black & white audiences.
“Straddle the Fence” was a movement in the…
Early 1940’s.
What was one technique used during the “Straddle the Fence” era?
Book one white and one black artist for each show.
Who was Johnny Otis?
A biologically white artist who racially identified himself as black.
What were the 4 major recording labels prior to the 1950’s?
RCA Victor, Columbia, Decca, Capitol.
What does ASCAP stand for?
American Society of Composers and Publishers.
What does BMI stand for?
Broadcast Music Incorporated.
When was BMI formed, and what was the role of BMI in them music industry?
The 1930’s. It allowed hillbilly and race music to expand.
What other factor forced recording labels and radio broadcasters to look for alternate source of recordings?
The recording bans during World War II.
Indie labels eventually developed successful ___ markets on their own.
Niche.
Indie labels forced crossovers…
Between genres.
List two employees of recording labels, and what their significance was.
Henry Glove worked for King Records and was largely responsible for the crossover between country and R&B. Sam Phillips worked for Sun Label and also contributed to the crossover. Sun Label also worked with artists such as Elvis and Johnny Cash.
What were the main influences to country?
Fiddle tunes, string band music, traditional folk ballads, hymns, and blues.
What are two hybrid styles developed along the way as hillbilly gave way to country music?
Western swing and honky-tonk.
Who are the two country artists studied in class?
Eddy Arnold and Hank Williams.
The early 1950’s saw country music achieve ___ ___.
Mainstream success.
What radio station played a major role in the development of country?
WSM.
What broadcast on WSM promoted country music?
Grand Ole Opry.
Where is the hub of country music?
Nashville.
Who can be considered the biggest figure in country music?
Hank Williams.
Country music is the music of the ___ people.
Common.
Who are three famous R&B figures in the 1950’s?
- B.B. king. 2. Ruth Brown. 3. Ray Charles.
R&B split off into _ strands.
3.
What are the three ways in which R&B shifted?
- Transformation of country blues into urban blues. 2. More carefully arranged R&B. 3. Increased use of vocal techniques borrowed from solo gospel singing.
B.B. King popularized T. Bone Walkers’ innovations, such as…
-Jazzy single note improvisations on guitar. -Large band arrangements including horn sections. -Use of gospel inspired vocal style.
Who was Ruth Brown?
The biggest feminine R&B star of the 1950’s along with Dinah Washington.
Where was Ruth Brown’s background?
Gospel.
Ruth Brown’s blended elements include:
Blues, jazz, and pop.
Ruth Brown’s blended elements combined to produce an “___” style of R&B.
Uptown.
Who was Ruth Brown’s label, and what did the label become known as after?
Atlantic, which became known as “The House that Ruth Brown Built”.
___ forms became very prominent in the 1950’s, and have continued to develop exponentially.
Hybrid.
Why are labels important?
They allow us to see where music originated from, and how it came to be.
Music can show direct ___, ___, and ___ affiliation.
Social, economic, political.
Ray Charles started out imitating…
Nat “King” Cole.
Ray Charles’ sound can be described as a combination of ___ and ___.
R&B and Gospel.
What was the name of Ray Charles’ first concept album?
Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music.
Jerry Wexler ran ___ records from mid ___-___.
Atlantic, 1950’s-1960’s.
Jerry Wexler worked alongside ___ ___.
Ahmet Ertegun.
Disc Jockeys were also known as ___ ___.
White Negroes.
DJ’s promoted the playing of ___ artists to ___ audiences.
Black, white.
What is the contrast between R&B and Rock n’ Roll?
R&B was considered to be adult and serious, while rock n’ roll was considered to be teenage and fun.
Chuck Berry was known for his unique ___ content.
Lyrical. It was broadly general, about cars, school, or romance.
Influences to Chuck Berry ranges broadly from ___ ___ to the ___.
Bing Crosby, Beatles.
Which artist did not perceive his music as solely falling under the rock n’ roll style?
Chuck Berry.
Timbre
Also known as tone colour or tone quality, is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production (such as voices or musical instruments).
Musical meter
The regularly recurring measures or bars of stressed and unstressed beats, indicated in western musical notation by a time signature and bar lines.
Beat
The beat is the basic unit of time- the pulse.
Little Richard was one of the biggest stars in the ___ era.
Rock n’ Roll.
What was Little Richard’s first big hit?
Tutti Frutti.
Tutti Frutti was successful on both the ___ and ___ charts.
R&B, pop.
Little Richard’s piano style was derived from ___ ___.
Boogie woogie.
Little Richard’s piano style can be characterized by…
Strong emphasis on upbeat and frequent use of glissando.
Little Richard’s music was heavily influenced by early exposure with the ___ ___.
Pentecostal church.
Little Richard:A) Wrote words and made the music fit. B) Wrote music and made the words fit.
B) Wrote music and made the words fit.
Glissando
A glide from one pitch to another.
Upbeat
A typically unaccented beat preceding an expected down beat or accented beat.
Little Richard raised the spectre of several taboo subjects, including…
Cross dressing and ambiguous sexuality.
Little Richard left his career abruptly to join ___.
Ministry.
Little Richard changed his appearance to overcome ___ profiling.
Racial.
Little Richard had a dichotomous personality. How?
In the public eye, he was the rebellious, sexually ambiguous and taboo rock n’ roll artist. However, in his private life, he was deeply religious.
Elvis Presley’s early music confused his audience, as they could not tell if he was ___ or ___, and whether they can like his music or not.
White or black.
Elvis Presley’s music can be described as a unique blend of ___, ___, and ___.
Blues, R&B, country.
Elvis Presley was known for his ___ ___ and ability to ___ his voice.
Vocal range, transform.
Artists influenced by Elvis Presley’s style started a ___ style that resembled Presley’s.
Rockabilly.
Name an artist that was influenced by Elvis Presley.
Johnny Cash.
Which artist grew up in poverty in the south?
Jerry Lee Lewis.
“Great Ball of Fire” by Jerry Lee Lewis was known as the ___ music.
Devil’s.
Jerry Lee Lewis made a controversial decision to…
Marry his 13 year old second cousin.
By 1956, popular magazines and newspapers had begun publishing numerous articles on the social and musical phenomenon that had become rock n’ roll. These articles were written in a ___ tone that commented on…
Condescending, deviant behaviour, such as sex, drugs, and juvenile delinquency.
There was a notion that the ___ and ___ of rock n’ roll caused deviant behaviour.
Beat, rhythm.
The 1950’s concluded on a sad note for rock n’ roll, and was soon replaced by ___ ___.
Teen pop.
Bob Dylan arrived in ___ in 1961 and signed with ___ records, releasing his first album in 1962.
NY, Columbia.
Who are some of Bob Dylan’s influences?
-Hank Williams. -Jerry Lee Lewis. -Charlie Chaplain. -Woody Guthrie. -James Dean.
Bob Dylan was more interested in symbolic poetry for his lyrics. They were ___, and had ___ meaning.
Layered, deeper.
Bob Dylan’s singing style can be described as…
Monotonous or speech like.
Which song at the March on Washington in 1963 established Dylan as one of the foremost public voices of his generation?
“Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright”.
Which Bob Dylan song includes rock n’ roll elements? Hint: it is likely his most popular.
“Rolling Stone”.
To Bob Dylan, what was wrong with rock n’ roll lyrics?
They were not meaningful enough.
For a time, there was a split in ___ music between Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger’s styles.
Folk.
Soul
A term used to describe the joining of R&B and gospel styles. A genre strongly associated with the civil rights movement and one that was deeply associated with the music of black Americans.
What are some characteristics of soul music?
-Bent notes. -Melismas. -Slow tempo. -Triplet subdivisions.
Give two examples of soul singers.
Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke.
Who defined the genre of funk?
James Brown.
Which artist can be described as being one of the most influential and successful musicians in the history of R&B and hip-hop, but was classified as a “funk”?
James Brown.
Who/what were some of James Brown’s influences?
The church, Louis Jordan, and minstrel shows.
During what time period was funk established?
The 1960’s.
What is special about funk lyrics?
The lyrics emphasize racial pride and celebrated black vernacular speech.
In funk music, what were verse-chorus structures replaced by?
Sections with irregular lengths.
