Comprehensive mhhe Flashcards
(146 cards)
Timbre is synonymous with…
Tone color
Degrees of loudness and softness in music are called…
Dynamics
The relative highness or lowness of a sound is…
Pitch
The distance between the lowest and the highest tones that a voice or instrument can produce is called…
Pitch range
The pitch of a sound is decided by the __________ of its vibrations.
Frequency
The frequency of vibrations is measured in…
Cycles per second
Music can be defined as…
An art based on the organization of sounds in time.
In general, the smaller the vibrating element, the _________ its pitch.
Higher
In jazz, each statement of the basic harmonic pattern or melody is called a…
Chorus
Creating music at the same time it is being performed is know as…
Improvisation
Two of the most distinctive features of jazz are…
Syncopation and rhythmic swing
Ragtime flourished in the US from the…
1890’s-1915
Characteristics of blues…
Usually follow a 12-bar pattern as a basis for improvisation.
May be vocal or instrumental.
Has a 12-bar harmonic frame.
The most famous blues singer of the 1920’s, known as the “empress of the blues,” was…
Bessie Smith
Blues music was usually written in _____ time.
4/4
Scat singing, which Louis Armstrong introduced to jazz, is…
Vocalization of a melodic line with nonsense syllables.
Short, repeated melodic phrases frequently used during the swing era are called…
Riffs
Free Jazz…
Began in the early 1960’s.
Can be compared to chance music.
Disregarded regular forms and established chord patterns.
Cool Jazz…
Was related to bop, but was calmer and more relaxed in character.
The lowest instrument in the orchestra is the…
Contrabassoon
Systems of electronic components that generate, modify, and control sound are called…
Synthesizers
A part of an instrument’s total range is called a…
Register
Plucking the string with the finger instead of using a bow is called…
Pizzicato
Symphonic bands differ from symphonic orchestras in that they…
Do not contain a string section.