Jazz and Popular Music: Vocabulary Quiz 1

accent

A musical event that stands out from its neighbors because of a change in one or more musical elements. The most common sources are intensity (the event is louder), duration (longer), density (the event contains more parts), or pitch (higher or lower).

arpeggio

A chord whose pitches are performed one after the other instead of simultaneously. Also called broken chord.

backbeat

A percussive accent occurring regularly on the second beat of beat pairs: 1 2 1 2 or 1 2 3 4.

beat

(1) The rhythmic quality of a piece of music that invites a physical response. (2) The (usually) regular marking of time at walking/dancing/moving speed . (3) The rhythmic foundation of a style or substyle, distinguished by the consistent use of regular rhythms and rhythmic patterns.

chord

A group of pitches considered as a single unit. The notes may be played simultaneously, or they may be played in a series as an arpeggio.

chord progression

A sequence of chords. Many of the chord progressions in popular music follow well-used patterns, such as the cor “Heart and Soul” and “La Bemba.”

chorus (refrain)

(1) A large singing group. (2) In verse/chorus and rock songs, that part of a song in which both melody and lyrics are repeated. (3) In blues and Tin Pan Alley songs, one statement of the melody.

duration

The length in time of a musical event.

dynamics

Levels or changes in intensity. The level of a Ramones song is very loud.

form

The organization of a musical work in time.

four-beat rhythm

A rhythmic foundation in which each beat receives equal emphasis; the common rhythmic basis for jazz.

harmony

Chords and the study of chord progressions.

inflection

Moment-to-moment changes in dynamic level. Aretha Franklin.

instrumentation

Literally, the instruments chosen to perform a particular score; broadly, the instrumental and vocal accompaniment for a recording.

intensity

The degree of loudness of a musical sound.

measure (bar)

A consistent grouping of beats.

melody

The most musically interesting part of a musical texture. Typically distinguished from other parts by the interest and individuality of its contour and rhythm.

performance style

The way musicians sing and play their instruments.

pitch

The relative highness or lowness of a musical sound, determined by the frequency with which it vibrates.

rhythm

The time dimension of music. The cumulative result of musical events as they happen over time.

rhythm section

The part of a musical group that supplies the rhythmic and harmonic foundation of a performance. Usually includes at least one chord instrument (guitar, piano, or keyboard), a bass instrument, and a percussion instrument (typically the drum set).

riff

A short (two to seven pitches), rhythmically interesting melodic idea.

style

The set of those common features found in the music of a time, place, culture, or individual.

style beat

A distinctive beat which is associated with the music of a particular era.

syncopation

Accents that come between the beats of a regular rhythm, rather than with them.

tempo

The speed of the beat.

texture

The relationship of the parts in a musical performance.

timbre

The distinctive tone quality of a voice or an instrument.

twelve-bar blues form

The most widely used form for one chorus of a blues song. It is defined principally by its chord progression, which features I, IV, and V in a consistent pattern over twelve bars: I(1), I(3) / IV(5), I(7) / V(9), I(11).

two-beat rhythm

The division of the measure into two primary beats or accents; the rhythmic basis of the fox trot and other early syncopated instrumental styles.

verse/chorus form

The most popular song form of the late nineteenth century. The verse tells a story in several stages (this section is strophic, i.e., different words are set to the same melody), whereas the chorus, which comes at the end of each verse, repeats both words and melody to reinforce the main message of the song.

blackface

A minstrel show practice in which white and (later) black performers applied burnt cork to darken their complexion.

burlesque

In a minstrel show, humorous parodies of cultivated material.

cakewalk

A dance fad of the 1890s; also the music to accompany the dance.

call-and-response

A rapid exchange, usually of riffs, between two different timbres: solo voice and guitar; solo voice and choir; or saxophones and trumpets.

concert band

A band (woodwinds, brass, and percussion instruments) that performs seated on-stage, in front of an audience rather than while marching.

endman

A comic in a minstrel troupe. Minstrel performers sat in a semicircle on-stage; sat at one end or the other.

interlocutor

The straight man in a minstrel show. Would sit in the middle of the semicircle and ask questions of the endmen, who would give comic replies.

interpolation

The insertion of a song into a musical comedy for which it was not written. Common in the early years of musical comedy, when producers would insert a song into a show simply because it was a hit.

march

Music composed in regularly accented, usually duple meter that is appropriate to accompany marching; a composition in the style of music.

minstrel show

A form of stage entertainment distinguished by cruel parodies of African Americans. Minstrelsy was popular from the early 1840s to the end of the nineteenth century.

olio

The second section of a minstrel show—the variety portion that featured a wide range of unrelated acts, much like the later vaudeville shows.

operetta

A light, often humorous, form of opera.

parlor song

A song to be sung at home in the parlor, like Stephen Foster’s “Beautiful Dreamer,” popular through most of the nineteenth century. Also called home songs and piano bench music.

patriotic song

A song with a patriotic theme.

revue

A type of stage entertainment popular in the first third of the century. They often lampooned prominent public figures. They had a flimsy plot, designed to link—however loosely—a series of songs, dance numbers, and comedy routines.

song plugger

A publishing-house pianist who could play a new song for a professional singer or a prospective customer.

songster

A book containing the lyrics of popular songs.

Tambo and Bones

Nicknames for the endmen in a minstrel show, so called because one usually played a tambourine and the other a pair of bones.

Tin Pan Alley

A nickname for a section of East 28th Street in New York City, where many music publishers had their offices. Also, the styles of the songs created in the first half of the century for these publishers: refers to songs by Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and their contemporaries.

trio

One of the two main sections of a march, in a different key.

unison

Two performers playing the same pitch.

vaudeville

A form of stage entertainment popular from the 1880s to about 1930. It consisted of a series of acts: singers, dancers, novelty performers, and comics. It differed from the revue and musical comedy in that there was no attempt to link acts into a dramatically coherent whole.

walkaround

The conclusion of a minstrel show, featuring the entire troupe in a grand finale of song and dance.

waltz song

A type of song popular around 1900 in which a flowing melody is supported by a simple, waltz-time accompaniment.

animal dance

A popular dance which emerged in the early 1900s which was adapted or borrowed from a Black folk dance.

classic blues

The popular blues style of the 1920s, which typically featured a woman singing the blues (e.g., Bessie Smith) accompanied by one or more jazz musicians.

collective improvisation

An improvisational context in which more than one performer is improvising a melody-like line. standard practice in New Orleans jazz, free jazz, and much rock-era jazz fusion.

commercial blues

Blues which is performed by professional musicians, is published, and recorded.

foxtrot

A popular social dance of the 1920s and 30s that introduced a clearly Black beat into mainstream culture.

front line

The horns (or other melody-line instruments, such as the vibraphone) in a jazz combo.

improvisation

The act of creating music spontaneously rather than performing a previously learned song the same way every time. One of the key elements in jazz. It gives musicians the opportunity to express inspirations and react to situations; requires virtuosity, melodic inventiveness, personality, and the ability to swing.

jazz

A group of popular related styles primarily for listening. Usually distinguished from the other popular music of an era by greater rhythmic freedom (more syncopation and/or less-insistent beat keeping), extensive improvisation, and more-adventurous harmony. There are two families styles: those based on a four-beat rhythm and those based on a rock or 16-beat rhythm.

New Orleans jazz

Style of jazz performance based on the early bands that performed in and around New Orleans; revived in the late 1940s, it is based on collective improvisation and quick tempos. The front-line instruments usually include cornet or trumpet, clarinet, and trombone, with a rhythm section usually including banjo, tuba, and sometimes piano. Also called Dixieland jazz.

piano rag

A marchlike, syncopated composition for the piano.

race record

A term that came into use in the early 1920s to describe recordings by African American artists intended for sale primarily in the African American community.

ragtime

A popular style at the turn of the twentieth century that mixed European forms, harmony, and textures with African-inspired syncopation. Began as a piano music, but soon the term was applied to any music—song and dance as well as piano music—that had some syncopation.

swing

Rhythmic play over a four-beat rhythm.

acoustic recording

An early recording process in which sound vibrations were transferred directly to the recording medium (cylinder or disc) by means of a large horn or cone. In 1925 it was replaced by electric recording.

amplifier

A piece of equipment that can increase the strength of an electric signal.

Charleston

The most popular of the vigorous new dances of the early 1920s.

crooning

A relaxed, intimate style of singing.

electric recording

A recording procedure developed in the 1920s that converts sound into an electric signal before recording and then converts the electric signal back into sound for playback. With its far superior sound quality, it immediately made acoustic recording obsolete.

microphone

A device that converts sound waves into an electric signal. Has been in use in popular music since the 1920s.

song interpretation

A rendition of a song which emphasizes a performer’s unique understanding and emotions.

speakeasy

Prohibition-era club that required a softly spoken password for admission.

stride piano

An offshoot of ragtime that typically featured a more complex bass/chord accompaniment and elaborate figuration in the melody.

torch song

A song about unrequited or lost love.

vibrato

Subtle alteration of the pitch of a note.