Popular Music: Beginnings (Units 1 & 2)

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms and concepts introduced in Units 1 and 2 of the Popular Music lecture notes.

Melody

A prominent succession of notes (now any leading musical layer) that listeners perceive as the tune.

Riff

A short, catchy melodic fragment followed by a pause, often repeated in popular music.

Beat

The steady pulse or “heartbeat” that keeps musical time.

Measure (Bar)

A regular grouping of beats, usually in twos or threes, that organizes musical time.

Syncopation

Placement of accents on normally weak or off-beats, creating rhythmic surprise.

Accent

Extra emphasis placed on a particular note or beat.

Backbeat

Emphasis on the weaker beats (typically beats 2 and 4) of a measure in popular music.

Strings

Instrument family that produces sound by vibrating strings (e.g., guitar, violin, bass).

Brass

Wind instruments made of metal and sounded by buzzing lips (e.g., trumpet, trombone).

Woodwinds

Wind instruments sounded by reeds or an air column (e.g., flute, clarinet, saxophone).

Percussion

Instruments that produce sound by being struck, shaken, or scraped (e.g., drums, cymbals).

Electronic Instruments

Sound sources such as synthesizers, drum machines, or sequencers that generate or modify audio electronically.

Timbre

The unique tone color or quality of a sound, shaped by instrument, technique, and performance.

Harmony

The chordal support beneath a melody, often progressing through a series of chords.

Texture

The way musical layers (melody, harmony, rhythm) interact; can be thin or thick, dense or sparse.

Form

The overall structural plan of a piece of music (e.g., verse/chorus, 12-bar blues).

Verse/Chorus Form

Song structure alternating narrative verses with a repeated, hook-laden chorus.

Blues (12-Bar Blues)

A common pop-music form built on a specific 12-measure chord progression derived from African American blues tradition.

Style

The characteristic combination of musical elements and context that gives a piece its distinctive identity.

Call and Response

A conversational pattern where a musical phrase (call) is answered by another (response); rooted in African traditions.

Pentatonic Scale

A five-note scale frequently used in African-derived and folk musics.

Accompaniment

Instrumental parts that support the principal melody or singer.

Parlor Song

Sentimental 19th-century song for voice and piano, intended for performance in the home parlor.

Lowbrow

Music or entertainment regarded as popular, informal, or less cultured.

Highbrow

Music or art viewed as refined, educated, or elite.

Minstrel Show

19th-century American stage entertainment featuring caricatures of Black people, often performed in blackface.

Blackface

The practice of darkening skin with burnt cork or makeup to impersonate African Americans in minstrel shows.

Interlocutor

The central speaker or host in a minstrel show who interacted with the endmen.

Endmen

Comic side characters (often called Mr. Tambo and Mr. Bones) in a minstrel show lineup.

Burlesques

Comic parodies that mock cultured songs or dances within variety entertainment.

Walkaround

Final ensemble song-and-dance number that closed many minstrel shows.

Olio

The variety segment of a minstrel show presenting miscellaneous acts; from Spanish ‘olla’ (stew).

Cakewalk

Stylized dance of Black origin that became a minstrel-show staple.

Unison

Multiple performers sounding the same pitch or melodic line simultaneously.

Tin Pan Alley

New York City district of music publishers (late 19th–early 20th c.) known for mass-produced popular songs.

Song Pluggers

Pianists hired by Tin Pan Alley publishers to perform new songs publicly and boost sheet-music sales.

Waltz Song

Popular tune set in 3/4 time, inspired by European waltzes but tailored for American audiences.

Vaudeville

Traveling variety show of unrelated acts—singers, dancers, comics—without a unified plot.

Operetta

Light opera featuring spoken dialogue and popular melodies; epitomized by Gilbert & Sullivan.

Revue

Stage entertainment with a loose storyline linking songs, dances, and skits.

Interpolation

Turn-of-the-century practice of inserting topical popular songs into stage works for added appeal.

Patriotic Song

Composition with nationalistic themes, marches, and uplifting lyrics (e.g., George M. Cohan’s works).

Concert Band

Large wind and percussion ensemble (no strings) popularized in the U.S. by John Philip Sousa.

March

Duple-meter composition with steady tempo, designed for marching and often used by concert bands.