Music Vocab Academic Decathlon 25-26

arpeggio

a chord whose individual pitches are

played in succession rather than simultaneously,

in the manner that one would strum a guitar or

harparpeggio

block chord

a chord whose individual pitches are

played simultaneously rather than in succession

block voicing/sectional writing

a jazz arranging technique in which

instruments that belong to the same family

are assigned similar music to play (so that

trumpets are grouped together, or saxophones, or

trombones, etc.); also called sectional writing

blue note

a pitch that is deliberately sung "out of

tune"; it is a device commonly used by jazz and

blues musicians, especially on steps 3 and 7 of

the scale

book

a term for the spoken dialogue as well as the

overall plot in musical theater

cadenza

an unaccompanied passage during a

concerto where the orchestra has ceased to play,

and the solo instrumentalist shows off virtuosity,

often through improvisation

call-and-response

a performance technique

in which a soloist or small group presents a

short motif that is answered (with similar or

contrasting material) by another musician or a

larger group

changes

the harmonic progression that underlies a

particular piece of popular music

chorus

(1) in jazz, this term describes one

complete statement of the main melody or strain

(or of the chords that support that melody); (2)

the sections of a song that have recurring words

(as in "verse-chorus" form); (3) a group of

singers

chromatic mediant

an altered version of the

mediant or submediant triad, achieved either by

reversing the customary mode of that triad (e.g.,

turning a minor iii triad into a major III) or by

building a triad on the chromatic neighbor to the

mediant or submediant rather than the normal

diatonic scale degrees (e.g., building a triad on

E♭ rather than E♮ when in the key of C major)

collective improvisation

a type of heterophonic

texture in which multiple musicians

simultaneously create variants of a shared

melody

combo

a small ensemble of jazz or blues musicians

concerto

a genre that features a solo instrument

supported by a concert orchestra; a cadenza is

the usual highlight of this genre

custom score (original score)

music written to

enhance a specific film

dummy lyric

a temporary poem that fits a melody

with the proper rhythm and rhyme scheme

encore ("again" in French)

the repetition of a

piece because of sustained applause and shouts

for it to be performed "again" (the word is used

both as a noun and as a verb)

fill

a term for a short musical response to a

melodic phrase

foxtrot

a popular social dance of the early

twentieth century that is performed to music in

common time or duple meter

glissando/slide

a rapid, sweeping glide up or down

through adjacent pitches; sometimes called a

slide

hemiola

the sensation of temporarily shifting from an

established duple meter to the feeling of triple

meter or vice versa

integrated

a designation for a show whose songs

are specifically suited for the situation in which

they are sung or for the character who sings them

melismatic text-setting

a type of singing in which

multiple notes correspond to a single syllable of

poetry

mute

a device that quiets or alters an instrument's

sound in some way (see wah-wah mute)

orchestration

the process of allocating the pitches

of a score's melodies and harmonies to particular

instruments

Phrygian mode

an ancient scale pattern with

intervals proceeding through a H-W-W-W-H-

W-W pattern

polychord

a chord containing two distinct diatonic

harmonies simultaneously

property

a source on which a stage show's plot is

based, such as a novel, play, or movie

rhythm section

the backup musicians providing

the rhythmic and harmonic foundation for a jazz

tune, usually consisting of a piano, string bass,

drum set, and guitar

riff

a short motif (melodic, harmonic, or even just

a chord progression) that is repeated numerous

times

ritornello

material that recurs multiple times in a

piece or movement

scat singinc

a jazz vocal technique in which the

performer sings short, often bouncy nonsense

syllables

scenario

the storyline for a ballet

shout chorus

a loud passage in a jazz piece,

usually featuring the full ensemble playing in

the same rhythm simultaneously with the brass

predominating; it usually occurs near the end of

the piece to build excitement.

show-tune form

a thirty-two-bar structure

comprised of four eight-bar phrases, with a

melodic scheme of A B A' C

sock-chorus (out-chorus)

a loud, energetic final

chorus, often in heterophonic texture, used as the

finale of a jazz piece

solo break

a passage in a jazz piece in which the

majority of performers stop playing in order to

feature one soloist

song-plugger

a person who promotes sheet music

for a publishing company

stop-time

a jazz playing technique in which an

ensemble plays a single note together on the first

beat of a bar and then stops playing until the next

measure; it is a special effect sometimes used to

accompany a soloist.

Storyville

a red-light district in New Orleans

at the beginning of the twentieth century that

is viewed as the launchpad for the earliest

development of jazz

swing

(1) a rhythmic device particularly prevalent

in jazz; it creates a compound-meter effect by

lengthening the first eighth note in a pair and

subtracting that time from the second note; (2)

the style of big-band jazz of the 1930s and 40s

tag

a short extension at the end of a chorus

Tin Pan Alley

(1) the music publishing district

in New York, centered on 28th Street at the start

of the twentieth century; (2) the type of popular

music issued by these publishers from the 1880s

to the 1950s

tryout tour

the presentation of a show in other

cities to test it in front of audiences before

premiering it in New York (in front of Broadway

newspaper critics)

vamp

a short motif that is repeated in between

sections of a piece; sometimes, it is used as a

"filler" until a featured performer is ready to

proceed.

vaudeville

a stage presentation consisting of

many short, unconnected performances by a

large array of entertainers demonstrating a wide

variety of skills, many unrelated to music

wah-wah mute

a jazz timbre achieved by waving

the rubber plunger of a plumber's helper over

the bell of a trumpet, cornet, or trombone; it

produces a sound that can resemble a distorted

human voice.

wordless voice

a tone color created by a voice

singing sustained vowel sounds or humming

without text (sometimes called "instrumentalized voice")