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Aaccelerando To gradually get faster. accent Emphasis on a note or notes. accompaniment The musical background for a solo performer or performers (e.g., a piano accompanying a trumpet solo). acculturation The modification of a primitive culture by contact with an advanced culture. ad lib To improvise or create on the spur of the moment. The term can relate to the work of musicians, comedians, actors, and visual artists, though all do not improvise. aharmonic See atonal. antiphonal A form of musical response, as of one singer, choir, or instrument answering another. arco A manner of playing the double bass (or violin, viola, or cello) using a bow. arpeggio Playing the notes of a chord consecutively one note at a time. arrangement A reconstruction/adaptation of a musical composition for a specific ensemble of instruments. In a written arrangement, the arranger has written down the specific notes he wants each instrument to play. Also, a particular setting or interpretation of a precomposed piece of music. arranger The individual who constructs new interpretations of precomposed works. Composers often serve as their own arrangers. articulation A general term to describe the length of notes in performance, i.e., short or long or somewhere in between. attack The manner of beginning a tone. atonal Without a specific key or tonal center. avant-garde A group (writers, musicians, artists, etc.) regarded as preeminent in the invention and application of new techniques. Bbackbeat rhythm A strong emphasis on beats two and four of a measure by the drummer. ballad A slow to very slow song, often with romantic overtones, that uses the same melody for each verse. bass line The lowest musical line; usually played by the tuba, string bass, or electric bass guitar. black and tans Cabarets and saloons that catered to a mixed black and white clientele in the 1920s and 1930s. blue notes The third, fifth, and seventh notes of a chord that are altered by lowering the pitch to create blues inflections. These altentions, which don’t necessarily conform to precise semitones, are often created through improvisatory interpretations rather than dictated by the printed, precomposed page. boogie woogie Rhythmically charged, blues-inspired solo piano style that emerged in the mid-1920s. The style featured a repetitive left hand pattern. bossa nova Brazilian dance style made popular in the United States in the 1960s. brass section A section of an ensemble that includes trumpets, trombones, French horns, and tubas; in jazz ensembles, the brass section includes trumpets and trombones (bones). break A point in an arrangement in which all instruments suddenly stop playing for two to four measures while the soloist/improviser continues to play. bridge The middle section of a popular song also described formally as the “B” section. This second section is typically surrounded by the “A” section and often appears in a different key. Ccadenza A solo by one instrument often played without regard for strict tempo. call and response An African-originated pattern used in jazz and in some religious music in which a call (by a solo vocalist or instrumentalist) is answered by another vocalist or instrumentalist, or by an ensemble of vocalists/instruments. changes The entire sequence of chords used in a composition. Chopin (1810-1849) A composer of Romantic music, particularly for the piano. chart Musician’s slang for arrangement. chékere A percussion instrument of African origin made from a hollow gourd covered with a loose mesh of beads. chords The simultaneous sounding of three or more notes. Also described as harmony. chord progressions A series of successive chords. Also known as the changes. chord voicing See voicing. chorus The main body, refrain, or harmonic outline, as distinct from the verse (which comes first). chromatic Half-step intervals of a scale or melody. clave An Afro-Caribbean rhythm pattern based on the organization of subgroupings 3 + 2 or 2 + 3 and derived from the Spanish habanera or Cuban rhythm. The clave pattern serves as the foundation of many Afro-Caribbean music styles. clavés A pair of round, polished, hard wood dowels that are struck together to create the dave pattern. cluster A group of notes very closely organized to form a dense chord. Clusters can be consonant or dissonant. coda A passage at the end of a composition that may or may not contain material that was presented earlier in the composition. collective improvisation A situation when all performers improvise simultaneously, as was the case in early jazz and in much free, avant-garde jazz. comp(ing) A performance practice used to describe improvised harmonic accompaniment typically governed by those chords set forth in a prescribed chord progression. Any instrument capable of playing chords can “comp.” conga A Latin dance form. Also a Latin or Afro-Cuban drum. conga drums Long round-bodied, single-headed Afro-Caribbean drums of varying sizes and pitches. The name is derived from an African line dance called the conga. consonance and dissonance The very foundation of tonal music; consonance is created by the relationship of pitches that produce an agreeable effect, whereas dissonance is the result of disturbing musical relationships that create tension and often displeasure. contrafact New melodies composed over chord progressions borrowed from other songs. This was a popular approach during the bebop period. countermelody A secondary melody accompanying a primary voice or musical idea. counterpoint Simultaneously occurring melodies. countrapuntal Describes music that features counterpoint or simultaneously occurring melodies. creole The result of intermarriage created by merging any combination of French, Spanish, and African-American descent. This race is associated with the New Orleans Delta area. Ddiatonic Notes within a given scale key and without alternation. dissonance See consonance. double-time Doubling a tempo, or implying such, so that the music becomes twice as fast in comparison to the initial tempo. drone A sustained or repeated note, usually in the bass or lowest part, sounded while upper musical structures change. dynamics The degree of volume of sound. The most common dynamic markings and definitions of relative volume are as follows:
Eextension tones Notes added to a four-note seventh chord and designed to enrich the harmony—usually the ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth. Ffill Term used to describe a drummer or horn player’s brief improvised passage. fiat To lower a pitch. form Describes the architecture and overall organization of a piece of music and is defined by key melodic/harmonic components. front line Refers to principle wind instruments associated with early New Orleans jazz and street bands which include cornet or trumpet, clarinet and trombone. The percussion occupied the “second line,” marching behind the wind instruments. functional harmony Used to describe the tendency in much Western music harmony of one chord naturally leading to another chord — often moving away from and back to the tonic chord that defines the key or tonal center of a composition. Ggig A musical engagement. glissando To slide from note to note in a very smooth, legato fashion. ground rhythm (ground pattern) A fundamental recurring pattern that serves as the foundation for other changing rhythms, melodies, and/or chords to be layered on top of. guiro Afro-Caribbean percussion instrument fashioned from a long, cylindrical and serrated hollow gourd and played with a stick in a scraping motion. Hhabanera Spanish rhythm also associated with Cuba and serving as the heart of many Afro-Caribbean and Latin American folk styles and dance rhythms. harmonic rhythm Describes the pace at which chords move from one to another. harmonics Overtones (notes occurring above a fundamental tone or frequency) that result from the division of a vibrating string or air column. harmony A collection of two or more notes played simultaneously. See chords and chord progression. head The main theme (composed melody) as stated in jazz performance. The head is usually played first before improvised solos. head charts (arrangements) Impromptu arrangements that were improvised by members of a band and often performed from memory rather than from notated scores. high hat (hi hat) A synonym for the sock cymbal, which is an integral part of the drum set. This pair of inverted cymbals is caused to clap together by a foot pedal. homophonic Describes music that consists of only one predominant melodic line accompanied by chords defining harmony. Iinterval The distance separating two different pitches. intonation The degree of accuracy, based on a particular agreement concerning the matching of two pitches, in a performance of music. Kkey Defines the tonality and tonal center of a piece of music, and serves to further describe the key signature. key center Central pitch that defines the tonal center of a composition. key signature Refers to sharps and flats that regulate the tonality and tonal center of a piece of music. The key signature instructs the performer to alter certain notes by raising or lowering them one half step, i.e., one flat in the key signature implies either F major or D minor and requires the performer to flat (lower by one half-step) the note B. kit An abbreviation for a drum set or a drum kit. Llay back A style of performing where musicians play slightly behind a consistent beat or tempo creating a slight tension. lay out An abbreviation designating the performer to rest or not play; also tacet or tacit. lead player The principal or first player in a group. In a big band this often refers to the first trumpet player who sets the standard for interpretation for all the other wind players to follow. legato Very smooth and connected playing without noticeable tonguing and often without emphasis on any particular note. lick A melodic phrase that has become an accepted part of the jazz language, often, but not always, associated with a specific musician who first created it. locked hand Refers to a piano style in which chords are voiced closely in both left and right hands, and all voices move in parallel motion. A style of solo piano playing using chords rather than single-note lines accompanied by chords. Mmeasure/bar The space between vertical lines (bar lines) in written music; a means of division of music that groups beats together in specific, consistent numbers (see time signature). melody A succession of single tones varying in pitch and rhythm, and having a recognizable shape. meringue A fast, Latin or Afro-Cuban two-beat dance rhythm originating from the Dominican Republic. meter A division of beats or pulses into unaccented and accented groupings of two beats, three beats, etc. modality The use of harmonic and melodic formations based on the church modes, as opposed to those based on the minor scales. Also refers to a particular tonality. mode Used synonymously with the term scale, since the seven Greek labeled “church modes” are contrived by rearranging the occurrence of notes found within the fundamental or parent major scale. modulate To change key or tone center. Moldy Figs Term used to describe fans who supported traditional jazz (New Orleans Dixieland and Chicago jazz) during the more modern swing and bebop movements. monophonic Describes a single melodic line without accompaniment. monorhythm One rhythm. montuno Refers to a recurring, vamp-like piano accompaniment that often serves at the heart of much Afro-Cuban music. motif A short melodic fragment of a few notes that recurs through a composition or a section as a unifying element. It is distinguished from a theme or subject by being shorter. It is often derived from themes (analogues to riffs). motive Smallest recognizeable musical idea; see motif. multiphonic Two or more notes sounded simultaneously by a wind instrument. mute A device for softening, muffling, and altering the sound of a musical instrument, particularly brass instruments. Nneoclassicism A movement of twentieth-century music characterized by the inclusion of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century musical features into contemporary style music. Oobligato An accompanying but important melody that is less prominent and plays a secondary role to the main melody of a composition. These melodies are often improvised. oral tradition All spoken or sung testimonies about the past and the process by which traditions are passed on through generations. orchestration The ways in which instruments are assigned to play certain roles in a musical arrangement. To orchestrate is the act of orchestration, or assigning instruments to certain notes and musical lines in a score. ostinato A persistently repeated rhythmic and/or melodic phrase, and sometimes an accompaniment phrase, that is repeated over and over again in a composition. outside playing Refers to a performance practice in which musicians elect to purposely draw attention to dissonant relationships by playing musical ideas that run contrary to traditional notions of consonance in music. A term often associated with free and postmodern jazz styles. overtones See harmonics. Ppedal point See drone. pentatonic Implies five notes, as in “pentatonic scale.” percussive To play in a strongly emphasized manner; to strike. phrase A small unit or subdivision of a melody. It can also refer to a particular manner in which a musician interprets a melody as compared to how an individual enunciates a sentence. pizzicato A manner of playing the double bass (or other string instrument) using only the fingers to pluck the strings. polymeters Simultaneous use or implication of several meters. polyphony Music that combines several simultaneous melodies. polyrhythms Simultaneous use of several rhythms. Prohibition Act A United Sates law, also known as the Volstead Act, passed on January 16, 1920, declaring the importation, exportation, transportation, sale, and manufacturing of alcoholic beverages as illegal activities punishable by law. Qquartet Ensemble of four musicians. quintet Ensemble of five musicians. Rrace records Records marketed in the 1920s for black listeners featuring largely black, female blues singers who were often accompanied by jazz instrumentalists. ragtime Originally a solo piano style popular in the United States from 1895 to 1915, this European-derived form followed a rondo scheme also featured in marches along with 2/4 meter, simple right-hand syncopations with very regular, oom-pah-like left-hand chord accompanishment. Ragtime was initially a composed, not improvised style. It is considered the first style of American music to enjoy widespread popularity, and demonstrates that a music highly influenced by black performers and composers could be the basis of commercial success. range The distance between the lowest and highest notes capable of being played on an instrument or sung. Can also refer to the highest and lowest pitches in a song. reed A thin, elongated piece of cane wood or other material that is fixed at one end but free to vibrate at the other end. In clarinets and saxophones, a column of air passes rapidly between the reed and mouthpiece causing the reed to vibrate, creating a sound. reed (or woodwind) section A group of saxophones, clarinets, flutes, and, occasionally, oboes that performs together in a jazz ensemble. rhythm The whole feeling of forward movement in music as defined by the speed at which the melody moves and the different durations of those notes comprising a melody. rhythm and blues (R&B) A popular music style that uses African-American musical elements such as the 12-bar blues progression, blue notes, repetitious chords over heavily emphasized rhythms, heavy, gutsy vocals, and lyrics that often communicate a sense of melancholy, disappointment, or other such emotion. rhythm section Refers to standard instrumentation including piano, bass, drums, and sometimes guitar. ride A synonym often used in early jazz styles to indicate improvise, i.e., “take a ride.” Ride means to improvise a solo. ride cymbal Generally the larger cymbal in a drum kit on which a steady, somewhat repetitive pattern is played usually by the right hand, helping to establish the tempo. riff A short repeated musical phrase played by a soloist or a group. ritardondo (ritard ) To gradually slow down the tempo or pace of music. rondo A classical form in origin, where one section of a musical composition (A) recurs with contrasting sections (B,C,D) that are juxtaposed (such as ABACADA, etc.) rubato Flexible, free, inconsistent tempo permitting interpretation by the performer. Ssamba Brazilian folk music style closely associated with dance and the Carnival celebration. salsa A broad term that evolved in the 1960s to describe music of Afro-Cuban descent Now the term can imply elements of son, rock and roll, jazz, and other Afro-Caribbean influences. scale A precise progression of notes upward or downward in stepwise motion. scat An improvised jazz solo by a singer using meaningless syllables. sequence An architecturally or geometrically equal musical restatement of a series of pitches but without repeating the same notes; a reoccurring shape or gesture but with different notes at a different pitch level — either higher or lower. seventh chord A chord consisting of four different pitches and arranged with a major or minor third between each. Seventh chords serve as the foundation of jazz and popular music harmony. sharp To raise a pitch. sheets of sound Term used to describe John Coltrane’s practice of playing rapidly ascending, harp-like gestures of notes that together represent the sound of an entire harmony shout chorus A chorus or section of an arrangement (usually big band) that involves the entire ensemble, features new material, and serves to bring the piece to a dimax. The shout chorus usually appears near the end of the composition. shuffle A medium tempo style using the boogie-woogie rhythm as the basis. sideman A musician who is not the leader of a band. soli When a group of instruments (often from the same family) perform in a featured, soloistic fashion. solo break A point in a piece of music lasting usually two to four measures when everyone in the ensemble stops playing except the soloist. son A popular dance style of Spanish and African origins that served as the foundation for later styles including salsa. song form Term used to define the architecture of the classic American popular song following a symmetrical ABA or AABA structure. staccato Played short and crisply. stock or stock arrangement A standard rendition or arrangement usually referring to a popular dance band arrangement from the Swing Era. stomp A style of music in which the band plays certain heavily accented rhythmic patterns over and over again in riff fashion, providing momentum and excitement through syncopation and repetition. stop time A series of short notes played by the band in tempo and on certain major beats (often 1, 2, and 3) that usually serves as accompaniment to solo improvisations. stride A type of piano playing derived from ragtime. It often has no prescribed form, is frequently improvised, can be blues influenced, and is faster and more intense than rags. style The characteristic manner in which something is performed. swing Rhythmic phenomenon associated with jazz performance practice and referring to the rhythmic buoyancy created by the uneven, skipping rhythms that anticipate primary beats and are sometimes a consequence of syncopated rhythms. syncopation A music rhythm that emphasizes a weak or normally unaccented beat or portion of a beat. Ttacet (tacit) Be silent—an indication in printed music designating the performer to not play a particular passage. tag A short addition to the end of a musical composition often based on the repetition of ingredients of the main melody. tailgate Refers to a New Orleans—style of trombone playing in which the musician smears notes together using the instrument’s slide to perform glissandos. This technique was forced by limited space on flatbed, horse-drawn wagons that forced trombonists to sit on the “tailgate” as the band paraded through the streets. tangana Argentinean folk dance form that sewed as the predecessor of the tango. tango Argentinean dance form. tempo The rate of speed of a musical composition; the speed at which the melody is performed. territory bands Bands that had limited tours to specific geographic regions and were well known in these areas. Some territory bands eventually made a national impact through recordings and touring. texture The character of the musical fabric of a composition determined by the arrangement of musical elements. The density, selection, organization, and range of instruments all contribute to the “texture.” theme A melody forming the basis for variations or improvisation in composition. 32-bar structure A musical form that takes 32 bars to complete. It can be used as a popular song form. through composed A compositional approach that resembles stream of consciousness writing in that typically there are no recurring themes that provide a more traditional, discernable form or shape. Musical ideas seem to evolve organically, each moving freely from one to the next. timbales Afro-Caribbean percussion drums made of a resonant metal shell and a single, tightly stretched head (plastic or calf-skin membrane) hit with sticks. timbre The quality of a sound that distinguishes it from other sounds and dictated by the number of overtones (harmonics) present in the sound. By comparison, a pure sine wave has no overtones. Each instrument has its own unique set of overtones and timbre. time signature The numbers at the beginning of a composition indicating the groupings of beats for each measure (for example, in 3/4 time, the “3” indicates the number of beats to each measure, while the “4” indicates the note value that receives one beat). tonality Tonal character as determined by the relationship of the tones to the keynote or key center. Tonality is defined by a series of chords dictated by functional harmony or modality. tonic The fundamental pitch or keynote (first note of a scale) that defines the key center of a piece of music. trading fours Two solo instrumentalists or instrument groups alternately playing four measures each. A typical jazz solo practice where instrumentalists exchange solos with a drummer. trap set A synonym for a drum set usually consisting of a bass drum, snare drum, sock cymbal, ride cymbal, and one or more tom toms. tremolo A rapid alteration between two notes. triad A three-note chord or sonority described as either major, minor, diminished, or augmented in quality. trill a rapid alternation of two immediately adjacent tones (whole or half step apart). trio Three performers playing as a group. 12-tone technique Relating to, consisting of, or based on an atonal arrangement of the 12 chromatic tones. tumbao A recurring bass pattern associated with Afro-Cuban music that creates a sense of syncopation and tension since it rarely emphasizes the first beat of the measure. Vvamp A repeated chord or rhythmic progression of indefinite length used as filler until the soloist is ready to start, or as accompaniment to a solo, or as a filler to delay the next section of a piece. This repetition can also occur at the beginning or end of a composition. variation A melody that has been altered. vibraharp/vibraphone/vibes A musical instrument that has metal bars and rotating disks in the resonators to produce a vibrato. vibrato The regulated fluctuation of a tone. Used to add warmth and expression to a tone created by a singer or instrumentalist except piano. voicing The manner of organizing, doubling, omitting, or adding to the notes of a chord, and the assignment of notes to each particular instrument in the case of an arrangement for an ensemble. Wwalking bass A bass line that moves like a scale, four notes per bar in 4/4 meter. whole step A musical interval comprising two half steps — for example, from C to D is a whole step, from C to C# is a half step.
woodshed or shed Jazz slang term to mean diligent, self-disciplined practice on an instrument in an effort to improve one’s performance abilities woodwind doubler A musician who is a proficient performer on more than one woodwind instrument i.e., saxophone, clarinet, and flute. work song Spontaneous, often improvised music associated with menial labor. Often sung by prison work forces, chain gangs, and slaves performing field labor. WPA President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration as a federal relief program and an aspect of his “New Deal” that was designed to create employment and improve unemployment following the Depression. |