Pop music definitions Flashcards
ballad
used to describe a slower track with a more subdued mood and emotional lyric content
belting
a singing technique that creates a timbre similar to shouting
breakdown
a section that provides a textual contrast through the use of reduced instrumentation
bridge
a contrasting section that usually comes after the second or third chorus
brushes
an alternative to drum sticks used to hit the drum kit for a quieter sound
capo
a device played across the frets of a guitar to shorten the strings and raise the pitch of the instrument
chord substitution
replacing a chord used in a harmonisation with another chord that also fits with the melody its supporting
compression
an effect that boosts the volume of quieter sounds and reduces the volume of louder sounds to even out the dynamics. noticeable when used with vocals giving them a less organic sound
counter melody
a supplementary melodic line that interacts with the main tune
cross sticking
a technique that involves hitting the metal rim of a drum rather than the skin with the stick
delay
an effect that records the signal from an instrument or microphone then plays it back one or more times after a specific time interval
diatonic
a term describing music using only pitches taken from the current key or mode
distortion
a effect that creates a grittier more sustained timbre by adding higher frequencies to the signal
doubling
when two instruments or voices play or sing the same material
dubstep
an electronic music style featuring relatively minimal syncopated drum beats and prominent low sub-bass sounds
falsetto
a singing technique used to reach pitches above a male performers normal range which creates a breathier timbre than normal singing
feedback
a high-pitched electronic noise created when the sound waves output by an amplifier or speaker interact with the same input device that was used to create the signal in the first place
glissando
the technique of joining together pitches in a melody by rapidly playing the pitches in between often referred to as a slide
heterophonic
a musical texture involving multiple simultaneous performances of different versions of the same melody with slight variations between the different voices or instruments
layering
the use of different combinations of loop patterns to build up a texture
loop
a short repeating pattern that can be combined with other similar patterns to build up a musical texture. commonly used in electronic music production
low-pass filter
a filter that cancels out any frequencies above a certain cut off frequency, creating a more muffled, bass-heavy timbre. the cut-off frequencies of high-pass and low-pass filters can be varied over time to create gradual changes in timbre
lydian mode
a major mode featuring the following intervals in relation to the tonic, major 2nd, major 3rd, augmented 4th, perfect 5th, major 6th, major 7th,. its raised 4th degree gives it a distinctively bright sound
melody and accompaniment
a type of musical texture in which there is one clear melodic line, with the other parts playing an accompanying role
melisma
a single syllable in a vocal line set to multiple different pitches
metronome marking
a number given at the start of a score to show how fast the song should be performed in bpm
mixolydian mode
a major mode featuring the following intervals in relation to the tonic major 2nd, major 3rd, perfect 4th, perfect 5th, major 6th, minor 7th. flattened 7th degree gives it a slightly more hard-edged, blues-orientated sound than the major scale
monophonic
a type of musical texture with a single unaccompanied melody line
ostinato
a repeated melodic figure
overdubbing
the process of laying different instruments by combining multiple recordings of different performances
palm muting
a technique used by guitarists to dampen the sound of the instrument using the palm of their picking hand
panning
the positioning of a recorded track within the stereo field whether to the left right or centre
parallel motion
a term describing two melodic voices that move in the same direction and stay separated by the same harmonic interval
pentatonic scale
a scale with only 5 notes most common are
- major with maj 2nd, maj 3rd, perf 5th, maj 6th
- minor with min 3rd, perf 4th, perf 5th, min 7th
phaser
an effect in which the signal is doubled, with one of the two wave forms being offset slightly against the other. this causes certain frequencies to be boosted and others to be removed.by gradually changing the phase difference between the two signals, the frequencies that are boosted and cancelled out can be varied, creating a characteristic ‘whooshing’ sound
phrygian dominant mode
a mode featuring the following intervals min 2nd, maj 3rd, perf 4th, perf 5th, min 6th, min 7th,. used for the ‘exotic’ flavour created by the augmented 2nd interval between its 2nd and 3rd dregrees
pitch blend
a term describing techniques that involve varying the pitch of a note by a continuous value
pitch shifting
the electronic manipulation of the pitch of an instrument or voice
polyphonic
a type of musical texture that involves the interaction of multiple independent melodic lines
refrain
a recurring musical idea usually set to the same lyrics within a section of music
reverb
an effect that attempts to replicate the slight echoing effects produced by the natural resonance of the room in which a performance takes place
riff
a repeated musical figure with a distinctive rhythmic or melodic profile
sampler
an instrument that uses pre-existing audio recordings as the basis of its sound production
stepwise motion
movement between notes in a melody by one degree of the scale at a time
strophic form
a simple song form that features a number of verses with different lyrics set to the same music
synthesiser
a musical instrument usually played with a keyboard that generates sound through the creation and manipulation of electronic signals
techno
A style of electronic dance music characterised by strong drum beats and bass lines at slightly faster tempos than house music, and an emphasis on futuristic themes
trance
A style of electronic dance music that aims to achieve a hypnotic state through repetition of rhythms and textures and by use of several climaxes and drops per track. The tempo is generally faster than that of house music
tritone
The interval of an augmented 4th or diminished 5th considered as a strong dissonance in many styles of music
vamp
a repeated harmonic figure involving the rhythmic playing of a limited number of chords
vocoder
A device used to alter the timbre of a synthesiser to imitate the frequency content of a human voice, creating strangely robotic timbres that sound almost like speech
wah-wah
A type of electronic effect that creates a vocal quality by changing the frequency content of the signal over time
