Terms Flashcards
Church modes
11th century. 8 modes, paired one authentic and one plagal. The FINAL in D, E, F, G. Each has a tenor/reciting tone, in authentic mode a 5th above the final, the plagal mode a 3rd below the authentic modes tenor tone.
Used to classify the chants and write them down in liturgical books.
Guido of arezzo
ca. 991-1033 Created basis for the staff, with one line for F in red and C in yellow.
Solmization
Guidi de arezzo developed syllables for CDEFGA after the hymn Ut queant laxis, ut re mi fa sol la. Beginning of solfege, was used to teach the whole and half-tones around each final.
Hexachord
6-note scales using moveable-do solfege (ut-la), with three permutations, starting on C (natural), G (hard) and F (soft). The mi-fa always being the half-step
Proper Mass
The texts and melodies that vary day to day
Ordinary mass
The parts of the mass that stay the same every day: Kyrie, Gloria, credo, sanctus, Agnus Dei, ite, missa est
Neume
Figures written above the text to indicate number of notes per syllable and whether the melody ascended descended or repeated a pitch. Might have derived from the signs for inflection and accent, but didn’t show melody. Still had to memorize the melody.
Hymn
song to a gods. tradition included “shape-note singing” after the notation in these collections. an inventince american reconception ofthe syllables introduced by guido of arrezo. many open fifths.
Requiem Mass
mass for the dead. Oldest surviving polyphonic mass.
Dies irae
chant sequence from the mass of the dead. symbol of death, the macabre or the diabolical
sequence
genre popular from late 9th-12th century. set syllabically to a text mostly in couplets and are sung after the Alleluia in the Mass. A BB CC … N
Troubador and trouvéres
Middle Ages 12th century: poet-composers, sponsored by courts. Troubador in southern France whose language was Occitan, spread north to the Trouvéres (Old French). Trobar and Trover mean “to compose a song” later to mean “to invent” or “to find”. Kept their songs in chansonniers
Organum
two or more voices singing different notes in agreeable combinations. several styles of polyphony from 9th-13th centuries. parallel organum: (in 5ths) original chant melody is the principal voice, other is the organal voie, moving in a parallel 5th below. either or both voices may be doubled at the octave. also mixed parallel organum, such as moving over a drone with parallel motion. no tritones allowed. free organum, included improvising - parts may cross and added voice is now above the chant melody (instead of below). more disjunct voice becuase of the limited number of harmonic intervals.
Caccia
popular-style melody is set in strict canon to lively, graphically descriptive words. in fashion between 1345 - 1370, 2 voices in canon at the unison. cace means “hunt” in italian
Formes fixes: ballade, virelai, rondeau
14th century: ballades most serious, for philosphiocal or historical themes or for celebrating an event or person, rondeaux centered on themes of love, virelais related descriptions of nature to feelings of love. all formes fixes derived from genres associated with dancing. Machaut wrote many. ballade 3 stanzas each with same music and each ending with same line of poetry. rondeau has only one stanza and the refrain in two sections: ABaAabAB
Musica ficta
14th-16th centuries, “feigned music” because most altered notes (to avoid the tri-tone) lay outside the standard gamut. involved putting syllables mi and fa on notes where they wouldn’t normally go
cantus firmus
term introduced around 1270 to designate an existing melody, usually a plainchant, on which a new polyphonic work is based
L’homme armé
“L’homme armé” was a French secular song from the time of the Renaissance. Set in Dorian mode, it was the most popular tune used for musical settings of the Ordinary of the Mass: over 40 separate compositions entitled Missa L’homme armé survive from the period
Parody mass
or “imitation mass”. instead of using one voice as a cantus firmus, the composer borrow extsneively from all voices, which is why it’s called an imitation mass. typically teh resemblance to the model is strongest at the begining and end of each mvmt and the composer’s skill is demonstrated by the new combos and variations he can achieve with the borrowed material. used as such becuase the polyphony became much more complicated when using a motet or chanson in the late 15/16th centuries
Humanism
intellectual mvmt of the Renaissance came from the study of the humanities, grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, moral philosophy, centered on Classical Latin and greek writings. believed they developed the invidicual’s mind, spirit and ethics. faith in the dignity and nobility of humans anad our capacity to imporive our condition through our own efforts.
Petrucci Odhecaton
Petrucci (1466-1539) in 1501 in Venice brought out the first colleciton of pholyphonic music printed entirely from movable type (One Hundred POlyphonic Songs), though actually contains only 96. Petrucci used a triple-impression process in which each sheet went through the press 3 times - 1 for staff lines, 1 for words and 1 for notes/florid initials.
Chanson
major innovation in the Arts Nova period was the development of polyphonic songs “chansons” in treble-dominated style. upper voice is the principal line and carries the text, called the treble or cantus, supported by a slower-moving tenor without text.
K. (Köchel)
Ludwig van Kochel, in 1862, whose “K” numbers are universally used to identify Mozart’s compositions. From 1-626.
musical texture
monophonic, polyphonic/counterpoint, homophonic (pop song), polyrhythmic. how thick the voicing is, etc.
critical edition of music
Scholarly or critical editions are music editions in which careful scholarship has been employed to ensure that the music contained within is as close to the composer’s original intentions as possible. Such editions are sometimes called urtext editions.
divertimento
entertainment music, mulitmovemnt piees for orchestra or combo of wind/string that include a mix of dances. used as background music but with an unaffected simplicity of both material and treatment. Eine kleine Nachtmusik is a good example.
cantible-cabaletta
Rossini’s newly designed aria structure - a slow, lyrical cantabile and a lively and brilliant cabaletta. cantabile - calm moods such as pensiveness, sadness or hope, and the cabaletta more active feelings such as anger or joy. part of all of the cabaletta is repeated with improvised embellishments. often also a tempo di mezzo (middle movement) which is usually a transition between
“The Mighty Five”
Balakirev, Borodin, Cui, Mussorgky and Rimsky-Korsakov. Admired western music but studied it on their own. often got together and playing through all the works, subjected to criticism and anaylsis in technical and creative aspects. musical foram, program music, vocal music and operatic form. Sought a fresh apporach in their own music
“Les Six”
Honegger, Milhaud, Poulenc, Tailleferre, Auric, Durey. French composers so named after “the mighty five” in Russia. absorbed the neoclassicism but sought to escapt the old plitical dichotomoies. Drew inspiration from Satie and were hailed by writer Cocteau who called for new music that would be fully French and anti-romantic in its clairty, accessibility and emotional restraint. They each wrote highly individual works taht drew on a wide range of influences.
Coloratura
started with Handel, is brilliant displays of florid ornamentation
Madrigal
14th century madrigal is a song for 2 or 3 voices without instrumental accompaniment. All the voices sing the same text, usually an idylic, pastoral, satirical or love poem. 16th century madrigal most important secular genre in Italy during Renaissance. Composers placed emphasis on enriching the meaning and impact of the text through musical setting. explored new effects of declamation, imagery, expressivity, characterization nd dramatization that paved the way for furture dramatic forms such as opera.
Madrigalism
striking musical images (preview to text painting), evoking the text almost literally, were so typical of madrigals that they became known as madrigalisms
Tablature
notational system that tells the player which strings to pluck and where to place the fingers on the strings, rather than indicating which pitches will result. (like the guitar). started with the lute in the 1600s
Pavane and galliard
Pavanne: a 16th century italian processional dance, with 3 repeated strains (such as Flow, my tears). Or, in France/English, slow dance in duple meter
Galliard: fast one in triple meter on the same tune.
always played together
Ricercare
type of prelude, means “to seek out” and “to attempt”, used as an improvisation, evolved into a motetlike succession of imitative sections. earliest ricercari, for lute, were brief and improvisatory, 1540, ricercare consisted of successive themes each developed in imitation and overlapping witht the next at the cadence - in effect, a textless imitative motet, but with embellishments that were typically instrumental. by the early 17th century, the ricerare was an extended fugal piece on a single subject.
Fitzwilliam Virginal Book
The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book is a primary source of keyboard music from the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods in England, i.e., the late Renaissance and very early Baroque. It takes its name from Viscount Fitzwilliam who bequeathed this manuscript collection to Cambridge University in 1816. It is now deposited in the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge. Although the word virginals or virginal (the plural form does not necessarily denote more than one instrument) is used today to refer to a specific instrument similar to a small, portable harpsichord, at the time of the book the word was used to denote virtually any keyboard instrument including the organ.
Prima practica, segunda practica
Monteverdi distinguished between a prima practice, the 16th century style of vocal polyphony by Zarlino and a segunda practica, mused by modern italians. They explained that in the first practice, music had to follow the rules and dominated the verbal text, whereas the second practice the text domintes the music, voice-leading rules can be broken and dissonances can be used more freely
Basso continuo
“continuous bass” the composer wrote out the moeldy and the bass line but leaft it to the performers to fill in teh appropriate chors or inner parts. typically played on harpsichord, organ lute or theorbo. later 17th century the viola de gamba reinforced the bass line.
Basso ostinato
a pattern in the bass that repeats while the melody above it changes.
Chaconne
vivacious dance-song imported from Latin America into Spian and then Italy. during Monteverd’s time
Passacaglia
ritornello improvsed over a simple cadential progression and played before and between strophes of a song. Earliest is Frescobaldi’s Partite sopra ciaccona
Concertato texture/style
Concertato is a term in early Baroque music referring to either a genre or a style of music in which groups of instruments or voices share a melody, usually in alternation, and almost always over a basso continuo. The term derives from Italian concerto which means “playing together” —hence concertato means “in the style of a concerto.” In contemporary usage, the term is almost always used as an adjective, for example “three pieces from the set are in concertato style.”
Cantata
meaning “a piece to be sung” applied before 1620 to a published collection of arias in strophic variation form. by midcentury, it meant meant a secular composition with continuo, usually for solo voice on a lyrical or quask-dramatic text, consisting of several sections that include both recits and arias
oratorio
17th century rome, new genre of religious dramatic music emerged, combining narrative, dialogue and commentary.
canzona
leaving genre of contrapuntal music in the late 16th century, derived from the French chansons. Lively, fast-moving and strongly rhythmic, the composers such as Cavazzoni reworked the chansons into canzonas such as in an imitation mass movement. They begin with one note followed by 2 of half the valute, and also feature a series of themes, leading to contrasting sections.
toccata
chief form of keyboard improv syle during second half of 16th century. from italian “tocare” to touch, refers to touching the keys rather than disembodied sound. Marulo wrote famous toccatas for organ.
Sonata da chiesa
church sonata, contained mostly abstract movements often including one or more that used dance rhythms or binary form but were not usually titled as dances. Church sonatas could be used in church services, substituting for certain items of the mass proper or for antiphons for the Magnificat at Vespers 1660+
sonata da camera
chamber sonata, featured a series of stylized dances often beginning with a prelude, played for entertainment in private concerts. 1660+
Trio Sonata
most common instrumentation after 1670 for church and chamber sonatas was the trio sonata - two treble instruments and a bass continuo. gained popularity after 1700
Libretto
“little book”, the words to an opera or oratorio, often written by someone different than the composer of the piece, usually a play in rhymed or unrhymed verse
Recitativo secco
early 18th century, accompanied only by basso continuo, as speechlike as possible - first called recitativo semplice.
recitativo accompagnato
stirring and impressive orchestral outbursts to dramatize tense situations (first was recitative obbligato)
da capo aria
represented a single mood or affection or somes two contrasting but related affections in the A and B sections. had to be allocated according to the importance of each member of the cast and had to display the scope of each singer’s vocal and dramatic powers. (where prima donna comes from)
Tragédie lyrique
1670s developed by Jean Baptiste Lully, and reconciled the demands of drama music and ballet to create a new form of french opera. along with his librettist Quinault, they were propaganistic. Used an overture to literally sing the praises of the kind. also a divertissement and dances.
singspiel
singing play in german. opera with spoken dialogue, musical numbers and usually a comic plot, earliest 1710. an important precursor of the german-language musical theater of composers such as mozart and weber. included in song collections, practically became folks songs
lutheran chorale
middle 18th century, sacred music no longer the center of musical culture. Due to the Englightenment’s focus on reason cominbed with emphais on individual worship and the new taste for elegant simplicity, drastic changes occurred in the church. changed so that the congregation itself became the choir and music for the service were congregational hymns in the new galant style
Chorale prelude
any chorale-based organ work, a prelude to the congregation or choir’s singing of the chorale. a single variation on a chorale
chorale cantata
cantata whose words and music were based on chorales. characterized by Bach, based the opening chorus on the chorale melody, ended the work with a simple 4-part harmonization of the chorale for its closing stanza, and set the middle mvmts as recitatives and arias in operatic style for the soloists.
scordatura
unusual tunings of the violin strings to facilitate the playing of particular notes or chords. used by composer Heinrich Biber (late 17th century)
Temperament
keyboard intonation issues: pitches adjusted to make most of all intervals usable without adding keys. most keyboard players in 16th century used “mean-tone” temperament in which the 5ths were tuned small so that the major thirds could sound well. nowadays, equal temperament is used in which each semitone is exactly the same
Suite/partita
suite: 4 parts: allemande, courante, sarabande and gigue. each suite opens with a prelude
partita, small sections, small suite, used dance movements also
synonyms
concerto grosso
1700s, concerto for small ensemble, sometimes trio sonata (concertino) with usually a string orchestra (concerto grosso) as backup
ripieno
“full” the name of the full orchestra for both solo concerto and concerto grosso
ritornello
1600s - an instrumental refrain that separates the strophes. first used in L’Euridice by Peri. Later, ritornello form: Vivaldi - similar to a da capo aria - ritornello at beginning, middle and end, allowing for two long episodes for the soloist. opening composed of several small units, later statements are usually
french overture
characterized by Lully as part of the tragedie lyrique - consisted of two parts each played twice. first is homophonic and majestic, marked by dotted rhythms and figures rushing toward the downbeat. second section is faster and begins with a semblance of fugal imitation. Lully’s overture to Armide exemplifies the genre
galant style
18th century french term for the courtly manner in literature that had become a catchword for everything modern, chic, smooth, easy and sophisticated. short-breathed, often repeated gestures organized in phrases of 2, 3 or 4 measures. combined into larger units accompanied with simple harmony. galant style originated in italian operas and concertos and became the foundation for the musical idiom of the mid-late 18th century
Empfindsamer Stil
german for “sentimental style”, a close relative of the galant. characterized by surprising turns of harmony, chromaticism, nervous rhythms and rhapsodically free, speech-like melody, most closely associated with slow movements of CPE Bach. originated also in Italy and is evident in some late concertos of Vivaldi
rhythmic modes
first rhythmic annotation, combo of notegroups, or “ligatures” to indicate different pattens of longs (long notes) and breves (short notes). 6 basic patterns. Lb, LBB, LL, BL, BBL, BBB. basci time unit (tempus) always grouped in 3s
Magnus Liber organi
Leonin’s “great book of polyphony”, contanted two-voice settings of the solo portions of teh responsorial chants (graduals, alleluias and offfice reponsories) for the major feasts of teh church year. fluid repertory from which material could be chosen for each year’s services
motet
became leading polyphonic genre for both sacred and secular music. added newly written latin words to teh upper voices of discant clauselae, like texts added to chant melismas. later having a 3rd or 4th voice. additiona parts text of their own (double motet) or a triple motet (with three texts above the tenor)
Ars nova
“inventor of a new art” in Latin. denotes new musical style inaugurated by Vitry in the 1310s-1370s. Proceeded form 2 innovations in thythmic notaion. allowed duple “imperfect” division of note values along wiht the traditions triple “perfect”. the second innovation provided for division of the semi breve, formerly the smallest possible note vaue, into mims. resulting system offered new meters and more thrthmic felixibility, icnluding syncopation for the first time.
isorhythm
“equal rhythm” in which the tenor is laid out in segments of idential thythm. isothythmic motet of 14 century, rhythmic patterns are longer and more complex and the tneor moves so slowly in caomparison to the upper voices that it is heard less as a melody than as a foudnation for the entire polyphonic structure.
opera buffa
18th century italian term for comic opera. a full-length work with 6+ singing characters and was sung throughout unlike comic operas in other countries. Entertained and served a moral purpose. Compared to the stock characters of commedia dell’arte. Arias usually in the galant style
opera seria
serious opera, without comic scenes or characters. 3 acts of alternating recitatives and arias. develop the action through dialogue and monolgue. each aria is a dramatic soliloquy. orchestra serves mainly to accompany the singers. use of da capo aria. 18th century
Ballad opera
popular form of opera in England. consisted of spoken dialogue interspersed with songs that set new words to borrowed tunes, including folks ongs and dances, popular songs and wel-known airs and arias from other works for the state. peaked in 1730s.
Sturm und Drang
“storm and drive”. agitation, counterpoint, chromaticism, and dramatic surprises. proto-Romantic movement in German literature and music taking place from the late 1760s to the early 1780s, in which individual subjectivity and, in particular, extremes of emotion were given free expression in reaction to the perceived constraints of rationalism imposed by the Enlightenment and associated aesthetic movements. The period is named for Friedrich Maximilian Klinger’s play Sturm und Drang, which was first performed by Abel Seyler’s famed theatrical company in 1777.
Mannheim
where the symphony spread north from Italy. Mannheim orchestra under leadership of Johann Stamitz. Became famous for its impeccable discipline and technique. Stamitz first composer to use standard 4-mvmt symphony plan.
Lorenzo da Ponte
Lorenzo Da Ponte (10 March 1749 – 17 August 1838) was a Venetian opera librettist and poet. He wrote the librettos for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Mozart’s greatest operas, Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro and Così fan tutte.
Program music
recounts a narrative or sequence of events, often spelled out in an accompanying text called a program
Program Symphony
A multi-movement composition with extra-musical content that directs the attention of the listener to a literary or pictoral association. Hector Berlioz provides a story line (program) for the Symphonie Fantastique to describe the life of the young artist as depicted in the composition. Program music was especially popular in the 19th century.
idée fix
a melody that Berlios used in each movement to represent the obsessive image of the her’s beloved, transforming it to suit the mood and situation at each point in the story.
Symphonic poem
one-mvmt programmatic work with sections of contrasting character and tempo, presenting a few themes that are developed, repeated, varied or transformed. symphonic in sound, weight and developmental procedures. often has traditional patterns such as sonata form or the normal 4-mvmt symphony
concert overture
Beethoven and Mendelssohn began to use the term to refer to independent, self-existing instrumental, programmatic works that presaged genres such as the symphonic poem. These were “at first undoubtedly intended to be played at the head of a programme”.
Absolute music
19th century, refers to nothing but itself. a powerful idea that lay behind numerous developments in both 19/20 century music. Absolute music (sometimes abstract music) is music that is not explicitly “about” anything; in contrast to program music, it is non-representational.[1] The idea of absolute music developed at the end of the 18th century in the writings of authors of early German Romanticism, such as Wilhelm Heinrich Wackenroder, Ludwig Tieck and E. T. A. Hoffmann but the term was not coined until 1846 where it was first used by Richard Wagner in a programme to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
mazurka
polish folk dance that became an urban popular ballroom dance. 3/4 meter with frequent accents on the 2nd or 3rd beat and often a dotted-figure on the first beat. melody instrumental rather than vocal in style. Chopin (mid 1800s)
song cycle
a group of songs performed in succession that tell or suggest a story (earlier songs had little to no continuity from one to the next). Beethoven inaugurated the style with An die ferne Geliebte (1816)
Verismo
from Italian “vero” (true). operatic parallel to realism in literature. instead of treating historical figures or faraway places, verismo presents everyday people, espcially the lower classes in familiar situations, often depicting events that are brutal or sordid. Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci, for example. 1890s.
Cavatina-Cabaletta
cavatina, Cavatina (Italian diminutive of cavata, the producing of tone from an instrument, plural cavatine) is a musical term, originally meaning a short song of simple character, without a second strain or any repetition of the air. It is now frequently applied to any simple, melodious air, as distinguished from brilliant arias or recitatives, many of which are part of a larger movement or scena in oratorio or opera.[1]
cabaletta: Giuseppe Verdi continued to adapt the cantabile-cabaletta formula to great emotional and dramatic effect, before largely abandoning it; a famous Verdian cabaletta follows Violetta’s pensive “È strano! è strano…Ah fors’è lui” (La traviata, I, v) which leads by degrees to her resolve, “Sempre libera”, with its rapid and defiant pyrotechnics.
bel canto
“beautiful singing”. Rossini helped establish the italian opera style of bel canto. refers to the elegant style characterized by lyrical lines, seeminly effortless technique and florid delivery. In bel canto, the most important element ist he voice, even more imporant than the sotry, orchestra dn the visuals. (Barber of Seville). early-mid 1800s.
melodrama
genre of musical theater that combined spoken dialogue with background music. had been popular in france and german since 1770s, (Weber Der Freischutz)
leitmotif
“leading motive.” themes and motives that are each associated with a particular person, thing, emotion or idea. Characterized by Wagner. Usually sounded first in the orchestra with first mention of character or thing. a musical label mid-late 1800s. complete correspondence between symphonic web of leitmotifs and the dramatic web of the action.
Gasamtkunstwerk
total or collective artwork. Wagner believed in the absolute oneness of drama and music. poetry, scenic design, staging, action, and music all together. Thought Beethoven had done everything possible in his 9th symphony, and saw himself as his successor. Ring Cycle, etc.
Impressionism
movement in late 19th century France among painters. sought not to depict things realistically but to capture the impressions they gave to the artist. adpopted a stance of detached observation rather than direct emotional engagement.
Expressionism
The term expressionism “was probably first applied to music in 1918, especially to Schoenberg”, because like the painter Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944) he avoided “traditional forms of beauty” to convey powerful feelings in his music (Sadie 1991, 244). Theodor Adorno sees the expressionist movement in music, as seeking to “eliminate all of traditional music’s conventional elements, everything formulaically rigid”. This he sees as analogous “to the literary ideal of the ‘scream’ “. As well Adorno sees expressionist music, as seeking “the truthfulness of subjective feeling without illusions, disguises or euphemisms”. Adorno also describes it as concerned with the unconscious, and states that “the depiction of fear lies at the centre” of expressionist music, with dissonance predominating, so that the “harmonious, affirmative element of art is banished” (Adorno 2009, 275–76).
Sprechtstimme
“speaking voice”. started by Schoenberg. approximating the written pitches in the gliding tones of spech while following exactly the notated rhythm. inexact pitches evoke an eerie atmosphere for symbolist text of Pierrot Lunaire (1912)
Neoclassicism
broad mvmt from 1910-1950 in which composers revived, imitated or evoked the styles, genres and forms of pre-Romantic music, especially that of the 18th century. Neoclassicism grew in part from a rejection of Romanticism, whose associations with high emotions, irrationality, yearning, individualism and nationalism were all suspect in the wake of WWI. Stravinsky leader of neoclassical period.
Polytonality
melody in one key, accompaniment in another, or 4 imitative voices each in their own key. (characterized by Ives.) (experimental music…)
Gebrauchsmusik
“music for use” goal was to create for young or amateur performers music that was high in quality, modern in style and challenging yet rewarding to perform. late 1920s Hindemith
Whole-tone scale
late 19th century: scale consisting only of whole steps, first used by Rimsky-Korsakov/Lizst. (only 2). Create feeling of floating or otherworldliness since it has no strong gravitation towards a tonic.
Octatonic scale
late 19th century: scale alternating whole and half steps (only 3) Create feeling of floating or otherworldliness since it has no strong gravitation towards a tonic. RK/Lizst
Atonality
a term for music that avoids an established pitch center. Schoenberg - started early 20th century. e
Pitch sets
within 12-tone, using a motive of 3+ pitches to generate melodies and harmonies, such as one would do using a triad or other tonal chord. use of limited sets gave each piece a consistent sound.
Dodecaphonic music
form of atonality based on systematic orderings of the twelve notes of the chromatic scale.
Serialism
a form of composition that not only used 12-tone methods of Schoenberg, but also extended the principles to series such as rhythm. (In memoriam Dylan Thomas 1954 - Stravinsky).
Musique concréte
the style of working with recorded sounds, taking entire world of sound as potential material for music, manipulating the chosen sounds through mechanical and electronic means and assembling them into collages. mid + 20th century. Stockhausen, Pierre Schaeffer
Indeterminacy
method of composition leaving certain aspects of the music unspecified. (morton feldman/john cage). 4’33”. directions in the score, with varied results each performance, as many things depend on how the performer interprets the indication.
open form
using both chance and indeterminacy to create a piece “for any number of players” late 1950s. Musicircus (1967) is an open-ended “happening” consisting of any number of musicians and ensembles, each performing different music, all playing at once in a large space while the audience wanders freely. attention to the present without prejudice. Cage.
Metric modulation
transition is made from one tempo and meter to another through an intermediary stage that share aspects of both, resulting in a precise proportional change in the value of a durational unit. Ex: Carter Cello Sonata (1948). quarter = 8th tied to dotted 8th = 112
minimalism
materials are reduced to a minimum and procedures simplified so that what is going on in the music is immediately apparent. began as an avant-garde aesthetic focused on the musical processes themselves but over time became a widely used and popular technique, capable of a wide range of expressive content. absorbed influences from rock, african music, asian music, tonality and finally romanticism, to create what has been called the leading musical style of the late 20th century. Terry Riley “In C” and Steve Reich
Post-modernism
turning away from the belief that history progresses irreversibly in one direction. meant abandoning the notion that musical idioms develop continuously, as if according to a plan or some inner necessity. to the postmodernist, history gives the artist more freedom to use any/all style cultures as musical material. Schnittle - mid-late 20th century.
