Intro to Jazz Study Guide
What shaped American Music? * People: conglomeration of cultures.
The Elements of Popular Music * Harmonic Progression * Chords that are changing in harmony * Call and Respond * A musical phrase in which the first and often solo part is answered by a second and often ensemble part * Rhythm
Four Basic Qualities of Musical Sound * Duration: how long or short * Intensity: how loud or soft * Pitch: how fast or slow the sound vibrates; how high or low * Timbre: distinctive “color” of the sound; ex. Sax vs. Violin
The combination of these four musical elements are what help to organize the music.
Duration -> Rhythm (mixture or long and short notes)
Intensity -> Dynamics (pp p mp mf f ff)
Pitch -> Melody and Harmony * Melody is one note at a time * Harmony is chords where you have notes stacked up together; notes sounding simultaneously
Timbre becomes Instrumentation * Tessitura: how an instrument sounds in different ranges
Previous Exam Question
Rhythm Section – developed in America and set the foundation of today’s music 1. Chord Instrument 2. Bass Instrument 3. Percussion Instrument
Texture – How the music is “interwoven” * Classical and Jazz: counterpoint * Rock Styles: homophonic
Counterpoint vs. Homophonic * Counterpoint: a contrapuntal texture, 2-3 or more melodies work together to create the rhythmic energy in piece. * Homophonic: where the bass line coincides with chords (provides roots)
Terms to Know
Tempo: speed of the beat (think of a metronome)
Surface Rhythms: faster rhythms that are emphasized over the basic tempo
Measure: a group of beats delineated barlines which separate measures.
Meter/Time Signature: how many beats within a bar (3/4, 4/4)
The Basic Rhythms * Quarter-notes * Eighth-notes * Triplets * Sixteenth-notes
Evolution of rhythm in Twentieth-Century Pop Music 1920’s – Foxtrot, two-beat (half-notes) 1930-40’s –
The Elements of Popular Music * Harmonic Progression * Chords that are changing in harmony * Call and Respond * A musical phrase in which the first and often solo part is answered by a second and often ensemble part * Rhythm
Four Basic Qualities of Musical Sound * Duration: how long or short * Intensity: how loud or soft * Pitch: how fast or slow the sound vibrates; how high or low * Timbre: distinctive “color” of the sound; ex. Sax vs. Violin
The combination of these four musical elements are what help to organize the music.
Duration -> Rhythm (mixture or long and short notes)
Intensity -> Dynamics (pp p mp mf f ff)
Pitch -> Melody and Harmony * Melody is one note at a time * Harmony is chords where you have notes stacked up together; notes sounding simultaneously
Timbre becomes Instrumentation * Tessitura: how an instrument sounds in different ranges
Previous Exam Question
Rhythm Section – developed in America and set the foundation of today’s music 1. Chord Instrument 2. Bass Instrument 3. Percussion Instrument
Texture – How the music is “interwoven” * Classical and Jazz: counterpoint * Rock Styles: homophonic
Counterpoint vs. Homophonic * Counterpoint: a contrapuntal texture, 2-3 or more melodies work together to create the rhythmic energy in piece. * Homophonic: where the bass line coincides with chords (provides roots)
Terms to Know
Tempo: speed of the beat (think of a metronome)
Surface Rhythms: faster rhythms that are emphasized over the basic tempo
Measure: a group of beats delineated barlines which separate measures.
Meter/Time Signature: how many beats within a bar (3/4, 4/4)
The Basic Rhythms * Quarter-notes * Eighth-notes * Triplets * Sixteenth-notes
Evolution of rhythm in Twentieth-Century Pop Music 1920’s – Foxtrot, two-beat (half-notes) 1930-40’s –