FA2520 Music Appreciation Exam 3 Study Guide

Terms
Since 1900 1900-present
Increased pace of musical life
Change in musical style and technology
Music moved in many different directions, some traditional, some modern
Ragtime, jazz, and blues developed tonal harmonies and traditional
meters
Music for mass-audience markets
African-American and Latin composers and musicians gained prominence
MODERNISM
Composers wrote in new ways
Modernism disregarded tradition, sought novelty
Aspects of modernism in all the arts eventually became widely accepted
Neoclassicism reacted to modernism
Postmodernism sought to bring together old and new in different ways
AUDIO TECHNOLOGY
Listeners could listen to music anywhere
Radical change in music history
Audio recordings, radio, film, television, and the Internet expanded
listeners musical
choices
Changed production of music
SOCIAL DIVERSITY
Twentieth century began with racially divided society
Music played important role in social progress
Ragtime, the blues, jazz, rock, and hip-hop all became part of mainstream
American
culture
Pop music integral to social change and protest
GLOBALIZATION
Increase in cross-cultural musical encounters
Innovations in technology and transportation made musical world smaller
Music became a global phenomenon

modernism composers in the 20th century found new ways to write music
neoclassicismin the modern era, marked a return older forms and structures
postmodernismcombined both old and new ways of writing music

IMPRESSIONISM
Artistic movement headed by Monet, Renoir, and Degas in late 1860s
Interested not in representation but sensation of an object
Musical impressionism uses blurred harmonies, rhythms, and forms
Emphasis on color and timbre

whole-tone scale a symmetric musical scale made up of all whole steps.

tonal music composed music that has discernable key centers
atonal music music that has no discernable key center(s)
expressionism -exaggerated imagery used to express inner moods and
thoughts
12-tone composition compositional technique developed by Schoenberg to
guarantee
atonality
sprechstimmesinging between speech and song. Literally speech-sing
polytonality music that is in two or more keys simultaneously.
scenario storyline
through-composed music that is composed that has no repetition of material

blues a 12-measure, lyric form originated by African-American singers to

express lament.
blue notepitches performed lower than in standard major scale. Expressive
vocal nuance.
double entendre lyrics that both a literal meaning and a hidden meaning;
often sexual
jazz an original American art-form, synthesized from African and European
traditions, heavy
use of improvisation and unique rhythmic drive.
call and response imitation between two musical ideas much like musical
conversation
swing rhythmic feel of jazz, especially from the 1930s.
head the fixed main melody of a jazz song
ride the improvised solo in a jazz song.
bebop a virtuosic form of jazz developed by Charlie Parker in the early 1940s.
Angular
melodies, extended harmonies.
rock n roll teen pop music form of the 1950s, blues, hillbilly, and Western
swing influences
rhythm & blues term used to describe African-American pop music of the
late 40s.

TELEVISION AND ROCK N ROLL

By 1954, 55 percent of homes owned a television
Variety shows popular among audiences
An appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show solidified Elvis Presleys status as
cultural icon
American Bandstand introduced new records, new artists, and new dance
styles

American Bandstand popular TV show hosted by Dick Clark that introduced

new records,
new artists, and new dance styles
rap Music African-American style of vocal music that featured spoken rhymes
over recorded
music tracks
hip Hop culture the culture of urban African Americans beginning in the late
80s that
featured rap music, graffiti art and break dancing.
sampling a digital technology in which previously recorded music or sounds
can be exactly
duplicated electronically.
break dancing a very athletic and expressive style of dance associated with
the hip hop
culture
scratching a rhythmic technique used in rap music that employs a turntable
to create a
percussive sound

People
Claude Debussy
Bio: Considered first great composer of twentieth century
Associated with impressionism, but music was wide ranging
Born near Paris, trained at Conservatory of Paris
Pursued unusual career as a composer
Pushed boundaries of composition and orchestration
Eventually won renown

Voiles - Composed: 1910

Title (Fr., sails or veils
Representative of impressionism (art focused on sensations,
perceptions, and light) and symbolism
Music unconstrained by logic or syntax
no sense of fixed metrical pattern; music seems to drift, float
Whole-tone scale (all whole steps) prominent

Charles Ives
Bio: Absorbed and rebelled against musical traditions
Became wealthy through insurance, composing in spare time
Compositions rarely publicly performed during lifetime
At death, recognized as modernist pioneer
Variations on America - composed
uses the familiar tune to America and introduces clever variations
meter is varied, keys are varied, sometimes in 2 keys at once
written for wind band

Arnold Schoenberg
Bio: Born in Austria
Emigrated to United States when Nazis came to power
Settled in Los Angeles
Sought out a new system for organizing music: 12-tone composition
Perceived as a musical radical
Viewed himself as extending heritage of Bach, Beethoven, and
Brahms
Taught at UCLA, exerted powerful influence
Columbine from Pierrot Lunaire Composed: 1912
anguished music for anguished text
 represents expressionism (exaggerated imagery and colors to
express inner
moods and thoughts)
recognized as early modernist influence
employs the vocal technique of spreechstimme

Igor Stravinsky
Bio: Constantly reinvented himself
Early works reflect Russian ancestry
Adopted Neoclassicism around 1917
Emigrated to United States during World War II, settling in Los
Angeles
Later embraced 12-tone composition
Stravinsky and Schoenberg regarded as greatest composers of the
twentieth century
Successfully connected with audiences
The Rite of Spring, part 1 Composed: 1913
a ballet about the pagan rites of fertility in dance and ritual
ballet emerged as independent genre in late nineteenth century
commissioned by Sergei Diaghilevs Ballet Russes
Highly novel music caused a famous riot at its premiere
Call for an enormous orchestra
Quintuple woodwinds
8 horns, 5 trumpets, 3 trombones, 2 tubas
Large percussion and string sections
Dancers present the storyline or scenario
Scenario shapes form of music
Two parts, each scene through-composed
Robert Johnson
Bio: Skill at blues guitar legendarily resulted from deal with the devil
Legend still persists, though sources sketchy (at the Crossroads)
Born in Mississippi
Traveled throughout Deep South to learn from blues musicians
Terraplane Blues was his only public hit

Terraplane Blues: - Composed: 1936

Blues derive from African American musical traditions
Earliest blues recordings made in 1920s, focused on urban singers
(show blues)
Record companies recorded in the Deep South (delta blues)
Wide range of vocal and guitar timbres reflects range of emotions
Ostensibly about a car, metaphorically about sexual troubles.
Use of double entendre.

Duke Ellington
Bio: Revered as greatest jazz composer
Major bandleader of swing era (1930s) and big band era (1940s)
Wrote jazz standards and film music, concertos, and concert pieces
Born in Washington, D.C., worked mostly in New York City
Aspired to match creative level of classical music
 Cotton Tail: Composed: 1940
Jazzmakes heavy use of syncopation, swing rhythms, and
improvisation
Improvisation changes role of composer
Harmonic progression (rhythm changes) borrowed from George
Gershwins I
Got Rhythm
call-and-response between sections imitates conversation
use of rolling swing rhythms

Charlie Parker
Bio: raised in Kansas City, Missouri
nickname was Bird
sat in with local ensembles and practiced obsessively
moved to New York City in 1939
developed unparalleled virtuosic solo style
struggled with drug addiction and personal problems
solos and compositions revered among jazz fans
Ornithology - Composed: 1946
Bebop difficult to dance and listen to
Emerged just after end of World War II
Small groups called jazz combos
Emphasis on improvisation as means of self-expression
Simple approach to musical form

Aaron Copland
Bio: Came of age in 1920s and 1930s
Desired to write American music
Trained in European tradition of modernism
Political and emotionally a populist
Used folk tunes and wrote for Hollywood films
Superb lecturer and writer on music
Hoe Down from Rodeo Composed: 1942
ballet written for dancer Agnes de Mille
story takes place in American West
uses actual American folk tunes
musical counterpart to the West
High use of syncopation and dance rhythms
Contribute to forward momentum
Most prominent composer brought before McCarthy hearings of
early 1950s
Suspected Communist sympathizer
Later awarded Congressional Gold Medal

Chuck Berry
Bio: Grew up in St. Louis, absorbed influence of blues, hillbilly, and
Western swing
Established himself as a multitalented guitar player and songwriter
Charismatic performer, known for duck walk
 Heyday of rock n roll lasted from 1954 to 1959
Berry later recorded more hits and toured successfully
Poet Laureate for teens. Clever lyrics dealt with teenage issues
and concerns
arguably the most influential early rock n roll artist.

School Day: - Composed: 1957

Rock n roll created in mid-1950s
Blended blues and honky-tonk with edgy attitude
Capitalized on youth culture and contradictions between general
prosperity and
social unrest.
Memphis shuffle rhythm
emphasis on the electric guitar
` blues guitar fills and solo

Public Enemy
Bio: Brought political commentary to East Coast hip-hop
Garnered a contract with Def Jam Records in 1986
Ensemble of musicians and producers unusual for record studios
Formed self-contained production and entertainment unit
Unique hip-hop beats reinforced serious, aggressive political
message

Fight The Power: Composed: 1990

Written for Spike Lees Do The Right Thing
Recording conveyed racial tension in Brooklyn neighborhood
Rap music combines rhymed speech patterns with hip-hop beats
(sampled from
1960s and 1970s albums)
Begins with sample from speech by King
Groove established by densely layering samples
Fuzz and distortion evoke cassette tapes, give vocals more clarity
Hip-hop sound identified with scratching (developed in 1980s)
Rhythmic character with three elements
1. Steady, throbbing pulse
2. Complicated rhythmic patterns establish a groove
3. Syncopated lyrics
Connects to audience through references to late-1980s hip-hop
culture
Comments on quality of contemporary black music and older white
entertainers
Encourages listeners to join crusade for black nationalism