Instrumental Music
music that lacks vocals
Melody
is the sequential arrangement of the notes of the scale into a coherent patter
The Texture
" "of music arises out of the sum total of all the different sounds you hear - the number and kind of instruments playing and the manner in which they are being played
A Chord
A " " is a group of three or more notes played simultaneously and acts as the basic unit of harmony
Beat
" " is a steady pulse, such as a heartbeat, and an instance of rhythm, the experience of music through time
Tempo
" " is the speed of the musics beat, ordinarily ranging from forty to two hundred beats per minute
Meter
" " is the organization of music into regular groups of beats representing strong and weak pulses. in duple meter, the music alternates between two pulses - one strong and one weak or, in a common form of duple meter, the music features four pulses - the first pulse receiving the strongest accent and the third pulse an accent stronger than two and four. In triple meter, two weak pulses separate a single strong pulse. Most music has a meter.
A bar / A measure
represents each instance of the meter
Form
" " Describes how we organize music in time by dividing a work into individual units called sections. Each section contains a set of measures and divides further into sets of measures called phrases. We label a section with a capital letter of the alphabet and label a phrase with a lowercase letter -- a system that allows us to describe a works musical form in abbreviated fashion.
A Cadence
A " " occurs at the end of a section or phrase and creates a feeling of closure. It can also refer to a common closing chord progression
An Introduction
An " " occurs at the beginning of a piece and sets up the entrance of the melody and first section
The 32-Bar AABA Song Form
the " " presents the melody in four sections labeled A, A, B and A, each section eight bars long, for a total of 32 bars
Term "head"
The term " " describes the A section or principle melody of a song, 'Bridge' describes the B section
Prime
A " " added to a selection letter indicates that a section repeats but in modified form
Piano Trio
" " is a performance group made up of piano, bass and drums. Another form of the piano trio features piano, bass and guitar.
Harmony
" " defines a chord, generally a group of three or four notes played simultaneously
Primes
" " added to the section letter: AA ;BA" shows that the initial A section returns twice but is modified, first in one way and then in another
Improvisation
The essence of Jazz, " " refers to a performance technique in which the improviser or soloist spontaneously creates a melody that fits the form and harmony of the piece
Rhythm changes
is a term derived from the form and harmony of the song "I got Rhythm"
Blues form
The " " is a single, 12-bar section that repeats throughout the song and typically divides into three 4-bar phrases. The classic blues featured an aab lyric pattern that fit regular chord changes
12- Bar aab blues form
Is one in which the singer typically repeats the first line (a) of the lyrics in the second line (aa) and in the third line - the b line - supplies a lyric that answers or explains the a line and often rhymes with it (aab)
Chorus
A " " is a single presentation of a song
Strophic
is a term used to describe a musical work that has repeated choruses
blues harmony
features a standard set of chord changes
Ragtime form
Classic " ", borrowed from the european march form, contains three or four sections, called strains, of 16 bars each
time signature
is a symbol that appears on a music staff. it consists of two numbers ,one on top of the other, that together indicate the musics meter
syncopation
very common in jazz, is the disruption of regular meter and occurs when the weaker notes of the designated meter receive unexpectedly stronger accents, as in the second and fourth beats in 4/4 meter receiving stronger accents
Interval
an " " is the distance between any two notes
Octave
An " " is an interval of eight notes in which the notes sound exactly the same but are higher or lower than each other, as in the first two notes of "take me out to the ball game"
Pitch
" " refers to a notes sound relative to its place higher or lower on the music scale
Scale
The " ", derived from the Italian word for ladder, arranges notes into a series of octaves, the individual notes of which are labeled, A,B,C,D,E,F,G and repeat in ascending or descending order
Sharp
The " " symbol raises the pitch of a given note by one half-step
Flat
The " " symbol lowers the pitch of a given note by one half-step
Triad
A " " is a three-note chord, the most basic chord
Arpeggio
Refers to the notes of a chord played in sequence rather than simultaneously
The Key
The " " refers to the tonality of a piece of music as determined by the scales and chords that the piece uses. if, for example, a work uses the C scaled, the work is said to be in the key of C. A key may take a major or minor form, as indicated by its scale.
Tonality
" " is a western musical system in which pieces are organized according to harmony within some key or with respect to some central pitch. Western tonality rests on a system of twenty-four major and minor keys
The Tonic
The " " is the first note of a given scaled and forms the "center of gravity" to which all the other notes in the scale relate.
Slash notation
is a method of showing the harmonies in jazz and popular music. Each slash in a measure denotes a beat. The arranger places chords over the slashes to show the beats on which the harmonies change.
Chord Progression // progression
describes the sequence of chords, usually within a composition
harmonic substitution
" " allows the alteration of the original chord progression by the use of new chords that function similarly to the original chords.
timbre
is the specific quality of sound in a given instrument or voice
dynamics
" " in music address the volume of sound from very soft to very loud
Articulation
refers to the manner in which notes are played as in Legato, a smooth movement through a series of notes or Staccato, short detached strikes on notes in a series
Wind Instruments
" " produce sound from players breaths and divide into two families: Brasses and Reeds. For brass instruments, a players buzzes the lips into a cup shaped mouthpiece to create sound. For reed instruments, the player blows through or across a reed that is attached to the mouthpiece to create the sound
Glissando
A " " is the sound created by moving the slide of the trombone while holding a note, known in jazz as the tailgate effect. The notes are slurred directly from one to another, producing a continuous rise or fall in pitch. A glissando can be played on other instruments, too, but it is often associated with the trombone.
String Instruments
" " produce sound from a player plucking, strumming, striking or bowing strings drawn over a voice box
Percussion instruments
" " are those struck with either the hand or a stick or mallet
Rhythm Section
The " " is a part of a jazz band that provides the rhythmic pulse, harmonies, and bass line. It may include any of the following : Piano, guitar, bass, or drums. Early jazz bands sometimes included banjo and tuba in place of the guitar and bass
The Lead or Front-Line Instruments
" " in a jazz ensemble are usually melodic and are often featured at the front of the stage
blues scale
A " " is a form of scale that incorporates the principle notes used in the blues : Listen to the second scaled played on track 1 of the audio primer |||| ?????? vvhat? |||||||
comping
" " refers to a technique in which a pianist or guitarist plays a chord progression in a rhythmically irregular fashion
Solo Breaks or Breaks
are moments during a jazz performance in which the rhythm instruments stop playing while the soloist continues
Trading solos
common since the swing era, " " specifically called trading twos, trading fours, and trading eighths, - are improvisational jazz formats that create climatic moments in performances. In trading twos, for example, each soloist improvises for two bars before the next soloist takes over for two bars
call and response
in a classic " ", a single voice or instrument states a melodic phrase, the call, while a group of voices or instruments follows with a responding or completing phrase, the response.
stop time
" " describes a performance technique in which the rhythm section punctuates distinct beats, often to accommodate a soloist's improvisation between the bands chords
A Riff
A " " is a short melodic idea, usually one to two bars long, that repeats as the core idea of a musical passage
Ethnomusicology
" " is the study of music in a cultural context
The Tonic