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Jazz Terms - Chapter 8

Terms in this set (18)

Backbeat
a simple polyrhythm emphasizing beats 2 and 4 of a 4/4 measure (rather than 1 and 3).
Block chords
a homophonic texture in which the chordal accompaniment moves in the same rhythm as the main melody.
Blue notes
notes in which the pitch is bent expressively, using variable intonation; also known as blue notes.
Break
a short two- or four-bar episode in which the band abruptly stops playing to let a single musician solo with a monophonic passage.
Cadence
stopping places that divide a harmonic progression into comprehensible phrases. See half cadence, full cadence.
Chromatic scale
the scale containing twelve half steps within the octave, corresponding to all the keys (black and white) within an octave on the piano (e.g., from C to C).
Countermelody
in homophonic texture, an accompanying melodic part with distinct, though subordinate, melodic interest; also known (especially in classical music) as obbligato.
Dominant
a chord built on the fifth degree of the scale that demands resolution to the tonic chord.
Downbeat
the first beat of a measure, or bar.
False fingerings
on a reed instrument (especially the saxophone), playing the same note with different fingers, often producing unusual timbres or slight pitch differences.
Major mode
the most common scale in Western music, sung to the syllables do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti do. The pattern of whole and half steps is W W H W W W H.
Minor mode
a diatonic scale similar to the major scale ,but with a different pattern of half steps and whole steps (W H W W H W W); normally used in Western music to convey melancholy or sadness.
Modulation
to move from one key (B-flat, G, D minor, etc.) to another.
Ostinato
(Italian for 'obstinate') a repeated melodic or rhythmic pattern.
Pedal point
a passage in which the bass note refuses to move, remaining stationary on a single note.
Riff
a short, catchy, and repeated melodic phrase.
Tonic
the first degree of the scale, or the chord built on the first scale degree.
Tremolo
the speedy alternation of two notes some distance apart; on a piano, this action imitates a brass vibrato.
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