Terms Flashcards

1
Q

A Love Supreme

A

an album released by John Coltrane’s quartet with the style of a combination between hard bop and free jazz

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2
Q

alto saxophone

A

a very common type of saxophone that is bigger than the soprano but smaller than the tenor

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3
Q

arco

A

the technique of playing a stringed instrument with a bow

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4
Q

avant-garde

A

improvisation not tied to any progression of chords that was agreed upon before the performance; also called free jazz

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5
Q

bar

A

a segment of time given by a designated number of beats

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6
Q

bebop

A

the style associated with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Dexter Gordon and Sonny Stitt

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7
Q

big band era

A

a period of time generally associated with swing with an excess of big bands (jazz bands with ten or more people)

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8
Q

Birdland

A

a fusion hit by Joe Zawinul from Weather Report

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9
Q

Birth of the Cool

A

Miles Davis’ famous album that some consider to mark the beginning of the cool jazz era

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10
Q

Bitches Brew

A

Miles Davis fusion album, which was his first that went gold

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11
Q

blue notes

A

a pitch somewhere between a major third and minor third or between a major seventh and minor seventh step of the scale

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12
Q

blues

A

a simple, funky style of black music separate but coexistent with jazz

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13
Q

bongos

A

a set of two drums of different sizes

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14
Q

brass bands

A

a form of band characterized by its African and New Orleans influence that has a high concentration of brass instruments

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15
Q

bridge

A

a contrasting section of music that prepares for the return of the original section of music: the B in A-A-B-A form

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16
Q

call-and-response

A

one member or section of a band offers a musical phrase that another member or section answers by playing a corresponding musical phrase

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17
Q

Chameleon

A

a funky composition performed by Herbie Hancock

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18
Q

chord progression

A

when one chord changes or “progresses” to another

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19
Q

chorus

A

a single playing of the structure being used to organize the music in an improvisation

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20
Q

Coltrane’s Classic Quartet

A

Coltrane’s most famous group consisting of himself, Mccoy Tyner (piano), Elvin Jone (drums), and Jimmy Garrison (bass)

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21
Q

comping

A

syncopated chording which provides improvised accompaniment for simulraneously improvised solos, flexibly complementing the rhythms and implied harmonies of the solo line

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22
Q

conga drum

A

a tall, narrow, and single-headed drum

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23
Q

contemporary jazz

A

music associated with the modern, smooth form of jazz

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24
Q

cool jazz

A

a modern, post-WWII style of jazz that is often characterized by its relaxed melodies and Miles Davis

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25
Q

cornet

A

a trumpet-like instrument that has a mellower sound and is more compact than a trumpet; originally popularized by Bix Beiderbecke

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26
Q

Creoles of Color

A

blacks with little to no white ancestry

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27
Q

cup mute

A

a mute for horns that attach to the end of the horn

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28
Q

double time

A

the feeling that a piece of music of a player is going twice as fast as the original tempo, although the chord progression continues at a normal rate

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29
Q

form

A

the overall structure or plan of a piece of music (AABA, AABB, etc.)

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30
Q

free jazz- term

A

an approach associated with Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor, in which the music contains improvised solos which are free of preset chord progressions, and sometimes also free of preset meter

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31
Q

Free Jazz- album

A

an avant-garde style album released by Ornette Coleman

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32
Q

French Quarter

A

a very old neighborhood in New Orleans often associated with its high-caliber jazz clubs

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33
Q

funk

A

a rhythmic, danceable variation of jazz that was derived from jazz in the mid-to-late 1960s

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34
Q

fusion

A

a synonym for jazz-rock style

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35
Q

Giant Steps

A

a hard bop style album released by John Coltrane (tenor saxophone), Paul Chambers (double bass), Tommy Flanagan (piano), and Art Taylor (drums)

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36
Q

half step

A

one of the intervals in the major or minor scale

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37
Q

hard bop

A

the jazz style associated with Horace Silver, Art Blakey, and Cannonball Adderley

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38
Q

harmony

A

motion

39
Q

head arrangements

A

a band arrangement that was created extemporaneously () by the musicians and is not written down

40
Q

Heebie Jeebies

A

an album released by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five in the mid 1920s that popularized scat singing

41
Q

Hot Five

A

Louis Armstrong’s band, with pianist Earl Hines and trombonist Kid Ory

42
Q

Hot Seven

A

Louis Armstrong’s band following the Hot Five, including Johnny Dodds, Pete Briggs and Baby Dodds

43
Q

imaginary concerts

A

concerts played to an invisible audience; meant for practicing performances in front of a live crowd

44
Q

improvisation

A

performers create their parts as they play them

45
Q

In a Silent Way

A

a fusion album by Miles Davis

46
Q

interval

A

the difference between two pitches

47
Q

jazz-rock

A

a variety of styles beginning in the late 1960s that use electric instruments, funk rhythm accompaniments and jazz improvisation; also known as fusion music

48
Q

Kansas City Style

A

a bebop style with hard-swinging and big bands; often the style Charlie Parker performed in (Kansas City is Charlie Parker’s home town)

49
Q

Kind of Blue

A

a modal jazz album released by Miles Davis’ sextet, including Bill Evans and John Coltrane

50
Q

Lush Life

A

a song written by Billy Strayhorn and performed by Duke Ellington’s orchestra

51
Q

Milestones

A

an early album by Miles Davis featuring him on the saxophone and Paul Chambers on double bass

52
Q

measure

A

a segment of time defined by a given number of beats

53
Q

modal

A

music in which the melody and/or harmony is based on an arrangement of modes (i.e. the extensive repetition of one or two chords)

54
Q

pedal point

A

low-pitched, repeated and/or sustained tone; common with John Coltrane

55
Q

pentatonic scale

A

la musical scale or mode with five notes per octave in contrast to a heptatonic (seven note) scale such as the major scale and minor scale

56
Q

pizzicato

A

the method of playing a stringed instrument by plucking instead of bowing

57
Q

pocket trumpet

A

a very compact-size horn that has the same playing range as a trumpet

58
Q

polyrhythms

A

several different rhythms sounding at the same time

59
Q

ragtime

A

a popular 1890s-1920s style of written piano music involving pronounced syncopation

60
Q

Porgy & Bess

A

a jazzy musical written by George Gershwin

61
Q

rhythm changes

A

a sudden change of rhythm between or in the middle of pieces

62
Q

rhythm section

A

the group of players whose band function is accompanying (piano, bass, drums)

63
Q

ride rhythm

A

the timekeeping rhythms played on cymbals

64
Q

riffs

A

a phrase, melodic fragment, or theme

65
Q

Round Midnight

A

a composition by Thelonious Monk, often referred to as his most famous song

66
Q

sax section

A

the section of big bands that are dedicated to saxophonists

67
Q

rubato

A

free of strict adherence or constant tempo

68
Q

Sheets of Sound

A

a description about the new, unique improvisational style of John Coltrane

69
Q

scat singing

A

jazz improvisation using the human voice as an instrument, with nonsense syllables instead of words

70
Q

solo breaks

A

when the rhythm section stops playing for a period of time while the soloist continues playing

71
Q

Sketches of Spain

A

a fusion album originally recorded by Miles Davis

72
Q

smooth jazz

A

a designation for the styles of music played on radio stations subscribing to ““The Wave” format of the 1980s and 1990s

73
Q

snare drum

A

a widely-used, pitchless drum

74
Q

soprano saxophone

A

a type of saxophone that is smaller than an alto, therefore giving it a higher scale

75
Q

Spinning Wheel

A

a contemporary rock album by Blood, Sweat, and Tears

76
Q

stop time

A

a period of time where the beat stops to allow another instrument to prevail

77
Q

swing

A

a music style with a rhythmic groove and inconsistent lengths of notes

78
Q

stride piano

A

an East Coast style of piano playing where the right hand plays the melody and the left hand plays bass notes

79
Q

swing era

A

a time from the early 1930s to the late 1940s where swing music was most prevalent

80
Q

syncopation

A

stress on a portion of the measure least expected to receive stress

81
Q

tag

A

the changing up of chords and/or repetition of a short section at the end of a song (at least I think. He went over it in class but I didn’t really get it)

82
Q

tempo

A

the speed or rate at which the beat passes

83
Q

tenor saxophone

A

a saxophone that is bigger than the alto and soprano yet smaller than the baritone, releasing a somewhat deep tone

84
Q

texas tenor

A

a very robust, raw-sounding style of saxophone playing

85
Q

The Empress of the Blues

A

a very common nickname for Bessie Smith

86
Q

ttimbre

A

the characteristic of a sound which enables the listener to differentiate one instrument from another, and, in many cases, one player from another

87
Q

tonality

A

a particular kind of sound and structure given by the relationship of the notes on the major scale

88
Q

trading fours

A

a style of playing jazz where one musician plays four measures, another plays the next four, and so on

89
Q

vamp

A

a short chord progression which is repeated many times in a sequence

90
Q

verse

A

a portion of a song that makes up the main body of the song and generally does not repeat

91
Q

vibrato

A

the slight fluctuation of a tone’s pitch, alternating above and below its basic pitch

92
Q

West Coast jazz

A

the jazz style associated with Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker during the 1950s

93
Q

West End Blues

A

a tune originally recorded by Joe Oliver and popularized by Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines

94
Q

whole step

A

a musical interval encompassing two semi-tones