Unit 5: Dance Music

Question 1

Sacred vocal music was notated largely by _

Answer 1

Church musicians and literate monks

Question 2

Church musicians and literate monks saw themselbes as

Answer 2

custodians of liturgical music

Question 3

instrumental music was often performed by people who were

Answer 3

less educated and even literate; they saw no need to “preserve” the music that the created and performed

Question 4

Mostly, the Church saw instruments as

Answer 4

part of the secular world, having no place in the performance of sacred music

Question 5

The one exception (of instruments) throughout history has been the

Answer 5

organ; it has played a central role in liturgical music

Question 6

there is a substantial legacy of notated _ form the Middle Ages in the form of both sacred and secular manuscripts

Answer 6

vocal music

Question 7

(in the Middle Ages) _ was not notated

Answer 7

instrumental music

Question 8

instrumental music was typically not documented (in the Middle Ages) for a variety of reasons, such as:

Answer 8

• instruments were not standardized
• with the exception of the organ, the use of instruments was not encouraged in the Roman Catholic Church
• instrumental music was passed down through an oral tradition
• musicians were trained to improvise and to play by rote rather than to rely on written music
• notating music was time-consuming, costly, and not considered necessary or important in a largely illiterate society

Question 9

In the Middle Ages, instrumental music fulfilled specific roles and functions in society, which included:

Answer 9

• accompanying singers
• providing dance music
• playing fanfares and processions for public and civic functions
• providing music for military campaigns

Question 10

(During the Middle Ages) Instruments were designated according to practical considerations that included

Answer 10

• volume capacity
• tone quality
• appropriate venue for use

Question 11

(During the Midde Ages) Instruments were classified as either

Answer 11

• “indoor”

- “outdoor”

Question 12

Despite these classifications (in the Middle Ages), it was not uncommon to

Answer 12

combinei ndoor and outdoor instruments together in a single performace

Question 13

Many of these instruments were made in various sizes to

Answer 13

accomodate different registers - larger instruments predocued lower pithes while smaller instruments produced higher pitches

Question 14

In most world cultures, dancing has been a

Answer 14

popular form of entertainment enjoyed by all social classes

Question 15

In aristocratic circles, the tradition of courtly dancing provided the opprtunity for men and women to

Answer 15

interact socially

Question 16

For Medieval musicians, providing music to accompany dancing was closely tied to the art of

Answer 16

improvisation

Question 17

Dance music is the most appropriate starting point for tracing the developent of

Answer 17

instrumental music in the Western tradition

Question 18

Dance Music background and origins

Answer 18

• based on a tradition of improvisation
• functional music: instrumentalists provided music for socal dance; later stylized dances were created (for listening only)
• earliest notated examples come from the 13th century

Question 19

Dance Music characteristic features

Answer 19

• earliest examples were monophonic in texture, ased on mdal melodies
• accompaniments were often improvised rather than notated
• estampie, saltarello, rondo, and basse dance were the earliest types
• formal structure weas oftn sectional to allow for flexibility in the length of the dance

Question 20

Cahnsonnier du Roy

Answer 20

• French for “Songbook of the King”
• anonymous 13th-century French manuscript
• contains troubadour and trouvère songs as well as eight monophonic ances, including “Royal Estampie No.4”

Question 21

bas

Answer 21

• French for “low,” indicating a low level of volume (soft)
• a Medieval designation for indoor instruments
• includes dulcimer, lute, psaltery, rebec, recorder, vielle

Question 22

haut

Answer 22

• French for “high,” indicating a high level of volume (loud)
• Medieval designation for outdoor isntruments
• includes cornetto, crumhorn, sackbut, shawm

Question 23

estampie

Answer 23

• one of the earliest Medieval dances
• stately character
• involves elaborate body movements
• danced by couples

Question 24

heterophony

Answer 24

• simultaneous variation involving 2 or more voices or instruments playing the same melody in more than 1 way at the same time
• one part plays the original melody; the added voices are often improvised

Question 25

sackbut

Answer 25

• brass instrument w/ a slide

- ancestor of trombone

Question 26

shawm

Answer 26

• reed instrument w/ piercing tone

- ancestor or oboe

Question 27

dulcimer

Answer 27

• stringed instrument w/ wooden sound box

- strings are struck w/ small hammers producing delicate sound

Question 28

lute

Answer 28

• plucked instrument of Middle Eastern origins having a rounded body and frets
• delicate sound served as an ideal accompaniment to the voice

Question 29

psaltery

Answer 29

• ancient stringed instrument w/ trapezoidal wooden sound box
• plucked w/ fingers or plectrum

Question 30

vielle

Answer 30

• bowed string instrument w/ figure eight-shaped body

- ancestor of violin