Art of Listening Exam 3

Art Song

a vocal genre performed by a solo voice and piano

song cycle

A set of songs that work together to tell a story or explore an emotional state; intended to be performed live.

concept album

An album (collection of songs) that is unified by a coherent narrative or mode of presentation; heard via recording.

ballad

a song that tells a story

epic

a story concerning a quest or heroic adventure

strophic

repeating the melody with different text

sequence

The repetition of melodic material at a different pitch level.

through-composed

A vocal composition in which each stanza of the poem is sung to unique music, in contrast to a strophic setting.

binary

A two-part musical form, usually mapped as A B.

modified strophic

combines elements of both strophic and through-composed structures

oral tradition

Recreating a ballad/song based on how you originally heard someone sing it. 

murder ballad

Traditional narrative song that tells a story of a crime, killing, or grisly death. 

field recording

The production of audio recordings outside recording studios using portable recording equipment. 

folk revival

began in the 1930s, when young people in northern cities began to take an interest in the songs and tunes of rural Southern musicians.

zither

A stringed musical instrument that has a flat wooden body with numerous strings, that is played by plucking or strumming the fingers on the strings. 

countermelodies

Secondary distinct melodic line played at the same time as the more prominent lead melody.

vibrato

A wobble added to a pitch

text painting

where the melody or rhythm mirrors the literal meaning, action, or emotion of the lyrics.

dubbed

Voice is layered on top of instruments

blues

an African American musical style dating from the early 20th century. Distinctive characteristics of this style include lowered notes, slides, and a 12- bar structure.

prosody

meter of the poetry

Beyonce

American singer, actor and businesswoman. First achieved fame in the girl group Destiny’s Child.

Franz Schubert

Austrian composer who bridged the last classical and early romantic eras

Dock Broggs

American old-time singer, songwriter, and banjo player

Jean Ritchie

American folk singer, songwriter, and Appalachian dulcimer player

Bobbie Gentry

pioneering American retired singer-songwriter and one of the first female artists in the United States to write, produce, and control her own music and business affairs

Warsan Shire

Somali-British writer, poet, editor, and teacher

Johann Gottfried

German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic

Jason Robert Brown

American composer, lyricist, conductor, orchestrator, and pianist. best known for his work in musical theater.