Pop Music Flashcards
Riff
A short repeated pattern
Hammer on
Finger brought sharply down onto the string
Pitch bend
Altering (bending) the pitch slightly
Power chords
A guitar chord using the root and the 5th note
Distortion
An effect which distorts the sound (creates a ‘grungy’ sound)
Slap bass
A percussive sound on the bass guitar made by bouncing the strings on the fret board
Fill
A short, improvised drum solo
Rim shot
Rim and head of drum hit at the same time
Belt
A bright, powerful vocal sound, high in the chest voice
Falsetto
Male voice in a higher than usual range
Syllabic
One note sung per syllable
Melismatic
Each syllable sung to a number of different notes
A Capella
Voices singing without instrumental accompaniment
Amplified
Made louder (with an amplifier)
Synthesised
Sounds created electronically
Panning
Moving the sound between left and right speakers
Phasing
A delay effect
Sample
A short section of music that is reused (eg looped, layered)
Reverb
An electronic echo effect
Typical rock ballad pattern
Intro
Verse 1
Chorus
Verse 2
Chorus
MiddleEight
Chorus
Outro
Fusion
When two different styles of music are mixed together. Jazz fusion (jazz and pop) is a popular genre
5 types of popular music
Pop
Rock
Rap
Hip pop
Reggae
Electric guitar
Lead guitar: plays the melody/solos/riffs
Rhythm guitar: plays the chords/accompaniment
Bass guitar
Plays the bass line
Drum kit
Provides the beat
Lead singer
The main vocalist
Backing vocals
Singers who provide the harmony
