Humanities vocab week 5

Baroque

Term applied to the artistic style of the mid-seventeenth to mid-eighteenth centuries; marked by elaborate ornamentation and complexity; original meaning: irregular pearl

Chamber music

Composition for small ensembles, such as two violins, a viola, and a cello

chromatic scale

Consists of 12 tones; if played on a piano, a consecutive run using both black and white keys

counterpoint

two or more melodic lines played against each other; characteristic of Bach's work

diatonic scale

Consists of seven tones arranged in a W(hole)-W-H(alf)-W-W-W-H interval pattern; the fundamental but not the only scale in Western music

dissonance

In music, two or more uncongenial notes sounded or sung at the same time, producing an unfamiliar and, for some, unpleasant effect

fugue

Lengthy musical composition or section within a larger composition in which two or more melodic lines are played against each other

half-tone

The interval between each note of the chromatic scale; the smallest interval in most Western music

harmony

Two or more tones, congenial or otherwise, sounded or sung at the same time

hip hop

Contemporary style of music that includes rap; a lifestyle marked by Djing, sampling, baggy clothes, idiomatic speech, and graffiti

improvisation

Spontaneous set of variations on a stated musical theme; once performed, it may be written down and repeated by other performers

key

A particular scale that dominates a musical composition, identified by the first note of that scale and whether the scale is major or minor: e.g. C major, B-flat minor

melody

Any arrangement of tones in a definite sequence that constitutes a unity

octave

The space between two notes that sound the same

pentatonic scale

Five-tone musical scale the preceded the familiar seven-tone scale dominant in the West; remains the basic scale of much non-Western music

ragtime

Musical genre, forerunner of jazz, invented in the late 1890's by African-American composers, notably Scott Joplin; strongly influenced by slow and stately European dances

rap

Major subgenre of hip-hop in which rhyming lyrics are half-sung, half-spoken rapidly

rhythm

Alternation of stress and unstress in music, usually created by a percussion instrument

rock

Generic name covering a variety of styles that have a loud and insistent beat

rock 'n' roll

Style of music introduced in the 1950s and popularized by Elvis Presley; grew out of a fusion of rhythm and blues, gospel, and country and western styles

scale

An arranged pattern of tones within an octave

spiritual

A religious song associated with black Christians of the southern United States, and thought to derive from a combination of European hymns and African musical elements by black slaves

symphony

A major orchestral form from the late eighteenth century to the present, usually consisting of four separate sections, or movements, with contrasting tempos, sometimes constituting a unity, often not

timbre

The quality of a musical sound, as opposed to its pitch or intensity

tone

A single sound produced by a musical voice or instrument, also called a note