intro to music quiz 1

Ethnomusicology

The study of music in its cultural and social contexts. People making music

Culture (Tylor definition)

A complex whole including knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, laws, and customs acquired by humans as members of society.

Vocables

Meaningless syllables used in singing (common in Indigenous and folk music).

Society

A group of people with shared traditions and institutions.

Nationalist Music

Music that expresses national pride and identity, often using folk traditions.

Postcolonialism

A study of how colonial history affects cultures, including music.

Diaspora

A community dispersed from its homeland, maintaining cultural traditions.

Musical Syncretism

The merging of formerly distinct styles and idioms into new forms of musical expression.

Rituals

Formal events where music and performance express core cultural beliefs.

Composition

The process of creating a piece of music before performing it.

Interpretation

A performer's or listener’s personal take on a musical piece.

Improvisation

The process of composing in the moment of performance;

Arranging

taking existing musical work and transforming it into something new while still retaining its core musical identity.

Rhythm

The pattern of sounds and silences in music.

Beat

Underlying pulse; fundamental unit of rhythmic organization. 

Meter

The organization of individual beats into groups (duple, triple, etc.).

Syncopation

An accent or other note that falls in-between main beats.

Tempo

The speed of the beat.

Free Rhythm

musical rhythm with no discernible beat or meter

Pitch

The perceived highness or lowness of a sound.

Determinate Pitch

Can be sung or played at an exact frequency (e.g., piano notes).

Indeterminate Pitch

Cannot be precisely matched to a note (e.g., snare drum sound).

Melody

A series of pitches played in sequence that defines the identity of a song or other piece of music as it unfolds

Melodic Range

The distance between the highest and lowest notes in a melody.

Melodic Direction

Whether a melody moves up, down, or stays the same.

Melodic Contour

The overall shape of a melody (smooth, jagged, etc.).

Octave

The same note at a higher or lower frequency (e.g., C to C).

Interval

The distance between two notes.

Scale

A set of pitches arranged in order.

Mode

A type of scale that gives music its character.

Microtones

Small pitch differences found in some non-Western music.

Chord

Three or more notes played together.

Harmony

How chords are used together in music.

Chord Progression

The sequence of movement from one chord to another

Dynamics

The volume of music (loud or soft).

Dynamic Range

The range between the quietest and loudest parts.

Ensemble

A group of musicians playing together.

Chordophones

String instruments (violin, guitar).

Aerophones

Wind instruments (flute, trumpet).

Membranophones

Drums with stretched membranes.

Idiophones

Instruments that vibrate themselves (xylophone, bells).

Electrophones

Instruments that require electricity (synthesizer).

Digital Sampling

Using a recorded sound in a new musical context.

Multitrack Recording

Layering multiple recordings together to create a final track.

Monophonic

A single melody with no accompaniment.

Unison

When multiple voices or instruments play the same melody together.

Polyphonic

Music with two or more distinct parts.

Polyrhythm

Two or more different rhythms played at the same time.

Call and Response

A leader sings/plays a phrase, and a group answers.

Ostinato

A repeating musical pattern.

12-Bar Blues

A common chord progression in blues music.

Verse/Chorus

A song structure where verses change but the chorus repeats.

First proposition in music

Basic property of all music is sound

Tone

sound whose principal identity is a musical identity as defined by people( though not necessarily all people) who make or experience that sound.

Second proposition in music

The sounds and silence that comprise a musical work are organized in some way

Third proposition in music

Sounds are organized into music by people, thus music is a form of humanly organized sound

Fourth Proposition in music

Music is a product of human intention and perception 

Fifth Proposition in music

Music is inescapably tied to Western Culture and its assumptions

Duration

The length of a tone

Frequency

The highness or lowness of a note; basis of pitch in music

Amplitude

The loudness of a tone

Timbre

Sound quality, or “tone color’; what particular notes, instruments, or voices “sound like.”

texture

Musical element defined by the relationships and interactions between the different parts

harmonics/overtones

The overtones, or partials, of a tone (as distinct from the fundamental of that tone).

backbeat

A rhythmic emphasis placed on the second and fourth beats of a measure, commonly used in popular music styles.