Introduction to Theatre and Protest Music

Flashcards covering introduction to theatre, music elements, musical styles, and protest music history from the mid-20th century.

Dialogue

The words that performers speak in a play, typically occurring from character to character.

Soliloquy

A speech spoken by one character to share inner thoughts, not intended to be heard by anyone else.

Stage directions

Written instructions that tell characters and the crew what to do at different times during a play.

Exposition

The initial part of the play that introduces important background information.

Rising Action

The part of a play following the exposition that introduces conflict and builds emotional tension leading to the climax.

Climax

The highest moment of emotional tension and the turning point of a storyline.

Falling Action

The part of a play following the climax where tension is reduced and the conflict begins to resolve.

Resolution/Denouement

The final part of a story that resolves all conflict and provides a conclusion to the storyline.

Musical theatre

Also known as "Musicals," this form of theatre tells a story through live actions, song performance, choreographed dance, and complex design elements.

Lin Manuel Miranda

An American playwright, songwriter, actor, singer, rapper, and filmmaker who wrote Hamilton, In the Heights, and music for Moana and Encanto.

Hamilton (2004)

The best-selling biography written by Ron Chernow that served as the concept for the musical Hamilton.

Hamilton (2015)

A musical about the life of American founding father Alexander Hamilton, covering his childhood as an orphan in the Caribbean and his involvement in the American Revolution.

Music

The organized arrangement of sounds through time using elements like melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre.

Pitch

The relative highness or lowness of sound based on measurable differences in sound waves at fixed distances known as intervals.

Tone color/timbre

The element of music that allows a listener to distinguish a pitch played on one instrument from another.

Duration

The length of time in which a vibration is maintained without interruption.

Dynamics

The loudness or softness of a musical sound, with terms like forte (loud) and piano (quiet).

Melody

The string of notes that is most important and catches the listener's attention.

Disjunct melody

A melody that rises and falls quickly with large intervals between one note and the next.

Conjunct melody

A melody that rises and falls slowly with small pitch changes between one note and the next.

Harmony

The result of more than one pitch sounding at the same time in music.

Consonance

Musical sounds that are stable, pleasant, and follow traditional harmonies we expect.

Dissonance

A note or chord that does not fit into traditional harmonies, often sounding unstable or unpleasant.

Rhythm

The placement of musical sounds in time.

Beat

Music that possesses a steady pulse.

Meter

The arrangement of rhythms in a repetitive pattern of strong and weak beats.

Syncopation

The technique of accenting a weak beat, offbeat, or a subdivision of the expected strong beat.

Classical music style

A highly structured, formal style of music with no improvisation that usually resolves dissonance.

Jazz

A music style characterized by complex, syncopated rhythms, improvisation, and the frequent use of brass instruments.

Rap/Hip-hop

A music style that utilizes samples, lyrical creativity, rhythmic dexterity, polyrhythm, and syncopation.

Billie Holiday

Also known as "Lady Day," an American jazz and blues singer known for her deeply emotional voice and unique phrasing.

Strange Fruit

A song by Billie Holiday inspired by a poem by Abel Meeropol that marked a turning point between Jim Crow laws and the Civil Rights movement.

Sam Cooke

Often called the "King of Soul," he was a pioneering American singer/songwriter who blended gospel with pop and R&B.

A Change is Gonna Come

A 1964 song by Sam Cooke that served as an anthem for the Civil Rights Movement, capturing the dichotomy of present sadness and future hope.

James Brown

Known as the "Godfather of Soul," he was a legendary performer who revolutionized popular music through soul, funk, and tight band arrangements.

Say it Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)

A 1968 song by James Brown that became an anthem for the Black Power Movement, utilizing a call-and-response format.

Funk

A music genre originated by James Brown (notably in "Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag") that emphasizes groove, rhythm, and the percussive aspects of every instrument.

Polyrhythm

The layering of different rhythmic grooves, a technique used in funk music and derived from traditional West African music.

Vietnam War (1955-1975)

A costly conflict fought between the North Vietnamese (supported by China and the Soviet Union) and the South Vietnamese (supported by the U.S.).

The Draft

The U.S. military system that inducted 2.2 million men from 1964 to 1973, which disproportionately affected poor and working-class men.

Folk Music

A genre popular on college campuses in the 1960s-70s that used acoustic sounds to express anti-war sentiment and reject technocracy.

Jimi Hendrix

A revolutionary electric guitar player and showman who formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience and blended R&B, funk, and blues rock with psychedelia.

Star-Spangled Banner (Hendrix Version)

A distorted, dissonant interpretation of the national anthem performed at the 1969 Woodstock festival to protest the Vietnam War.