Aspects of music

The traditional or classical European aspects of music often listed are those elements given primacy in European-influenced classical music: melody, harmony, rhythm, tone color/timbre, and form. A more comprehensive list is given by stating the aspects of sound: pitch, timbre, loudness, and duration. These aspects combine to create secondary aspects including structure, texture and style. Other commonly included aspects include the spatial location or the movement in space of sounds, gesture, and dance.

Silence has long been considered an aspect of music, ranging from the dramatic pauses in Romantic-era symphonies to the avant-garde use of silence as an artistic statement in 20th century works such as John Cage's 4'33."John Cage considers duration the primary aspect of music because it is the only aspect common to both "sound" and "silence."

As mentioned above, not only do the aspects included as music vary, their importance varies. For instance, melody and harmony are often considered to be given more importance in classical music at the expense of rhythm and timbre. It is often debated whether there are aspects of music that are universal. The debate often hinges on definitions, for instance the fairly common assertion that "tonality" is a universal of all music may necessarily require an expansive definition of tonality.

A pulse is sometimes taken as a universal, yet there exist solo vocal and instrumental genres with free, improvisational rhythms with no regular pulse;2 one example is the alap section of a Hindustani music performance. According to Dane Harwood, "We must ask whether a cross-cultural musical universal is to be found in the music itself (either its structure or function) or the way in which music is made. By 'music-making,' I intend not only actual performance but also how music is heard, understood, even learned."

Common terms

Common terms used to discuss particular pieces include melody, which is a succession of notes heard as some sort of unit; chord, which is a simultaneity of notes heard as some sort of unit; chord progression, which is a succession of chords (simultaneity succession); harmony, which is the relationship between two or more pitches; counterpoint, which is the simultaneity and organization of different melodies; and rhythm, which is the organization of the durational aspects of music.

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Music is composed and performed for many purposes, ranging from aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, or as an entertainment product for the marketplace. Amateur musicians compose and perform music for their own pleasure, and they do not attempt to derive their income from music. Professional musicians are employed by a range of institutions and organizations, including armed forces, churches and synagogues, symphony orchestras, broadcasting or film production companies, and music schools. As well, professional musicians work as freelancers, seeking contracts and engagements in a variety of settings.

Although amateur musicians differ from professional musicians in that amateur musicians have a non-musical source of income, there are often many links between amateur and professional musicians. Beginning amateur musicians take lessons with professional musicians. In community settings, advanced amateur musicians perform with professional musicians in a variety of ensembles and orchestras. In some rare cases, amateur musicians attain a professional level of competence, and they are able to perform in professional performance settings.

A distinction is often made between music performed for the benefit of a live audience and music that is performed for the purpose of being recorded and distributed through the music retail system or the broadcasting system. However, there are also many cases where a live performance in front of an audience is recorded and distributed (or broadcast).

Performance

Chinese Naxi musicians

Someone who performs, composes, or conducts music is a musician. Musicians perform music for a variety of reasons. Some artists express their feelings in music. Performing music is an enjoyable activity for amateur and professional musicians, and it is often done for the benefit of an audience, who is deriving some aesthetic, social, religious, or ceremonial value from the performance. Part of the motivation for professional performers is that they derive their income from making music. As well, music is performed in the context of practicing, as a way of developing musical skills.

Solo and ensemble

Many cultures include strong traditions of solo or soloistic performance, such as in Indian classical music, and in the Western Art music tradition. Other cultures, such as in Bali, include strong traditions of group performance. All cultures include a mixture of both, and performance may range from improvised solo playing for one's enjoyment to highly planned and organized performance rituals such as the modern classical concert or religious processions.

Chamber music, which is music for a small ensemble, is often seen as more intimate than symphonic works. A performer is called a musician or singer, and they may be part of a musical ensemble such as a rock band or symphony orchestra.

Oral tradition and notation

Musical notation

Music is often preserved in memory and performance only, handed down orally, or aurally ("by ear"). When the composer of music is no longer known, this music is often classified as "traditional". Different musical traditions have different attitudes towards how and where to make changes to the original source material, from quite strict, to those which demand improvisation or modification to the music.

When music is written down, it is generally notated so that there are instructions regarding what should be heard by listeners, and what the musician should do to perform the music. This is referred to as musical notation, and the study of how to read notation involves music theory, harmony, the study of performance practice, and in some cases an understanding of historical performance methods.

Written notation varies with style and period of music. In Western Art music, the most common types of written notation are scores, which include all the music parts of an ensemble piece, and parts, which are the music notation for the individual performers or singers. In popular music, jazz, and blues, the standard musical notation is the lead sheet, which notates the melody, chords, lyrics (if it is a vocal piece), and structure of the music. Nonetheless, scores and parts are also used in popular music and jazz, particularly in large ensembles such as jazz "big bands."

In popular music, guitarists and electric bass players often read music notated in tablature, which indicates the location of the notes to be played on the instrument using a diagram of the guitar or bass fingerboard. Generally music which is to be performed is produced as sheet music. Tabulature was also used in the Baroque era to notate music for the lute, a stringed, fretted instrument.

To perform music from notation requires an understanding of both the musical style and the performance practice that is associated with a piece of music or genre. The detail included explicitly in the music notation varies between genres and historical periods. In general, art music notation from the 17th through to the 19th century required performers to have a great deal of contextual knowledge about performing styles. For example, in the 17th and 18th century, music notated for solo performers typically indicated a simple, unornamented melody. However, it was expected that performers would know how to add stylistically appropriate ornaments such as trills and turns.

In the 19th century, art music for solo performers may give a general instruction such as to perform the music expressively, without describing in detail how the performer should do this. It was expected that the performer would know how to use tempo changes, accentuation, and pauses (among other devices) to obtain this "expressive" performance style.

In the 20th century, art music notation often became more explicit, and used a range of markings and annotations to indicate to performers how they should play or sing the piece. In popular music and jazz, music notation almost always indicates only the basic framework of the melody, harmony, or performance approach; musicians and singers are expected to know the performance conventions and styles associated with specific genres and pieces. For example, the "lead sheet" for a jazz song may only indicate the basic outlines of the melody and the chord changes. The performers in the jazz ensemble are expected to know how to "flesh out" this basic structure.

Improvisation, interpretation, composition

Most cultures use at least part of the concept of preconceiving musical material, or composition, as held in western classical music. Even when music is notated precisely, there are still many decisions that a performer has to make. The process of a performer deciding how to perform music that has been previously composed and notated is termed interpretation.

In some musical genres, such as jazz and blues, even more freedom is given to the performer to engage in improvisation on a basic melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic framework. The greatest latitude is given to the performer in a style of performing called free improvisation, which is material that is spontaneously "thought of" (imagined) while being performed, not preconceived. Improvised music usually follows stylistic or genre conventions and even "fully composed" includes some freely chosen material. Composition does not always mean the use of notation, or the known sole authorship of one individual.

Music can also be determined by describing a "process" which may create musical sounds, examples of this range from wind chimes, through computer programs which select sounds. Music which contains elements selected by chance is called Aleatoric music, and is often associated with John Cage and Witold Lutosławski.

Compositions

Musical composition is a term that describes the makeup of a piece of music. Methods of composition vary widely, however in analyzing music all forms -- spontaneous, trained, or untrained -- are built from elements comprising a musical piece. Music can be composed for repeated performance or it can be improvised; composed on the spot. The music can be performed entirely from memory, from a written system of musical notation, or some combination of both. Study of composition has traditionally been dominated by examination of methods and practice of Western classical music, but the definition of composition is broad enough to include spontaneously improvised works like those of free jazz performers and African drummers.

What is important in understanding the composition of a piece is singling out its elements. An understanding of music's formal elements can be helpful in deciphering exactly how a piece is constructed. A universal element of music is how sounds occur in time, which is referred to as the rhythm of a piece of music.

When a piece appears to have a changing time-feel, it is considered to be in rubato time, an Italian expression that indicates that the tempo of the piece changes to suit the expressive intent of the performer. Even random placement of random sounds, which occurs in musical montage, occurs within some kind of time, and thus employs time as a musical element.

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Reception and audition

The field of music cognition involves the study of many aspects of music including how it is processed by listeners.

Music is experienced by individuals in a range of social settings ranging from being alone to attending a large concert. Musical performances take different forms in different cultures and socioeconomic milieus. In Europe and North America, there is often a divide between what types of music are viewed as "high culture" and "low culture." "High culture" types of music typically include Western art music such as Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and modern-era symphonies, concertos, and solo works, and are typically heard in formal concerts in concert halls and churches, with the audience sitting quietly in seats.

On the other hand, other types of music such as jazz, blues, soul, and country are often performed in bars, nightclubs, and theatres, where the audience may be able to drink, dance, and express themselves by cheering. Until the later 20th century, the division between "high" and "low" musical forms was widely accepted as a valid distinction that separated out better quality, more advanced "art music" from the popular styles of music heard in bars and dance halls.

However, in the 1980s and 1990s, musicologists studying this perceived divide between "high" and "low" musical genres argued that this this distinction is not based on the musical value or quality of the different types of music. Rather, they argued that this distinction was based largely on the socioeconomic standing or social class of the performers or audience of the different types of music.

For example, whereas the audience for Classical symphony concerts typically have above-average incomes, the audience for a hip-hop concert in an inner-city area may have below-average incomes. Even though the performers, audience, or venue where non-"art" music is performed may have a lower socioeconomic status, the music that is performed, such as blues, hip-hop, punk, or funk may be very complex and sophisticated.

Deaf people can experience music by feeling the vibrations in their body, a process which can be enhanced if the individual holds a resonant, hollow object. A well-known deaf musician is the composer Ludwig van Beethoven, who composed many famous works even after he had completely lost his hearing. Recent examples of deaf musicians include Evelyn Glennie, a highly acclaimed percussionist who has been deaf since the age of twelve, and Chris Buck, a virtuoso violinist who has lost his hearing.

Media

The music that composers make can be heard through several media; the most traditional way is to hear it live, in the presence, or as one of, the musicians. Live music can also be broadcast over the radio, television or the internet. Some musical styles focus on producing a sound for a performance, while others focus on producing a recording which mixes together sounds which were never played "live". Recording, even of styles which are essentially live often uses the ability to edit and splice to produce recordings which are considered "better" than the actual performance.

In many cultures there is less distinction between performing and listening to music, as virtually everyone is involved in some sort of musical activity, often communal. In industrialized countries, listening to music through a recorded form, such as sound recording or watching a music video, became more common than experiencing live performance, roughly in the middle of the 20th century.

Sometimes, live performances incorporate prerecorded sounds. For example, a DJ uses disc records for scratching, and some 20th-century works have a solo for an instrument or voice that is performed along with music that is prerecorded onto a tape. Audiences can also become performers by using Karaoke, invented by the Japanese, which uses music video and tracks without voice, so the performer can add their voice to the piece.

Education

Professional musicians in some cultures and musical genres compose, perform, and improvise music with no formal training. Musical genres where professional musicians are typically self-taught or where they learn through informal mentoring and creative exchanges include blues, punk, and popular music genres such as rock, pop and hip-hop.

Undergraduate university degrees in music, including the Bachelor of Music, the Bachelor of Music Education, and the Bachelor of Arts with a major in music typically take three or four years to complete. These degrees provide students with a grounding in music theory and music history, and many students also study an instrument or learn singing technique as part of their program.

Graduates of undergraduate music programs can go on to further study in music graduate programs. Graduate degrees include the Master of Music, the Master of Arts, the PhD, and more recently, the Doctor of Musical Arts, or DMA. The Master of Music degree, which takes one to two years to complete, is typically awarded to students studying the performance of an instrument or voice or composition. The Master of Arts degree, which takes one to two years to complete and often requires a thesis, is typically awarded to students studying musicology, music history, or music theory.

The PhD, which is required for students who want to work as university professors in musicology, music history, or music theory, takes three to five years of study after the Master's degree, during which time the student will complete advanced courses and undertake research for a dissertation. The Doctor of Musical Arts, or DMA is a relatively new degree that was created to provide a credential for professional performers or composers that want to work as university professors in musical performance or composition. The DMA takes three to five years after a Master's degree, and includes advanced courses, projects, and performances.

Music as Part of General Education

The incorporation of music training from preschool to postsecondary education is common in North America and Europe, because involvement in music is thought to teach basic skills such as concentration, counting, listening, and cooperating. In elementary schools, children often learn to play instruments such as the recorder, sing in small choirs, and learn about the history of Western art music. In secondary schools students may have the opportunity to perform some type of musical ensembles, such as choirs, marching bands, jazz bands, or orchestras, and in some school systems, music classes may be available.

At the university level, students in most arts and humanities programs can receive credit for taking music courses, which typically take the form of an overview course on the history of music, or a music appreciation course that focuses on listening to music and learning about different musical styles. As well, most North American and European universities have some type of musical ensembles that non-music students are able to participate in, such as choirs, marching bands, or orchestras.

The study of Western art music is increasingly common outside of North America and Europe, such as STSI in Bali, or the Classical music programs that are available in Asian countries such as South Korea, Japan, and China. At the same time, Western universities and colleges are widening their curriculum to include music of non-Western cultures, such as the music of Africa or Bali (e.g. Gamelan music).

Both amateur and professional musicians take music lessons, short private sessions with an individual teacher. Amateur musicians typically take lessons to learn musical rudiments and beginner- to intermediate-level musical techniques.

Study

Many people also study about music in the field of musicology. The earliest definitions of musicology defined three sub-disciplines: systematic musicology, historical musicology, and comparative musicology. In contemporary scholarship, one is more likely to encounter a division of the discipline into music theory, music history, and ethnomusicology. Research in musicology has often been enriched by cross-disciplinary work, for example in the field of psychoacoustics. The study of music of non-western cultures, and the cultural study of music, is called ethnomusicology.

In Medieval times, the study of music was one of the Quadrivium of the seven Liberal Arts and considered vital to higher learning. Within the quantitative Quadrivium, music, or more accurately harmonics, was the study of rational proportions.

Zoomusicology is the study of the music of non-human animals, or the musical aspects of sounds produced by non-human animals. As George Herzog (1941) asked, "do animals have music?" François-Bernard Mâche's Musique, mythe, nature, ou les Dauphins d'Arion (1983), a study of "ornitho-musicology" using a technique of Ruwet's Language, musique, poésie (1972) paradigmatic segmentation analysis, shows that birdsongs are organized according to a repetition-transformation principle. In the opinion of Jean-Jacques Nattiez (1990), "in the last analysis, it is a human being who decides what is and is not musical, even when the sound is not of human origin. If we acknowledge that sound is not organized and conceptualized (that is, made to form music) merely by its producer, but by the mind that perceives it, then music is uniquely human."

Music theory is the study of music, generally in a highly technical manner outside of other disciplines. More broadly it refers to any study of music, usually related in some form with compositional concerns, and may include mathematics, physics, and anthropology. What is most commonly taught in beginning music theory classes are guidelines to write in the style of the common practice period, or tonal music. Theory, even that which studies music of the common practice period, may take many other forms. Musical set theory is the application of mathematical set theory to music, first applied to atonal music. Speculative music theory, contrasted with analytic music theory, is devoted to the analysis and synthesis of music materials, for example tuning systems, generally as preparation for composition.

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The history of music in relation to human beings predates the written word and is tied to the development and unique expression of various human cultures. Music has influenced man, and vice versa, since the dawn of civilization. Popular styles of music varied widely from culture to culture, and from period to period. Different cultures emphasized different instruments, or techniques. Music history itself is the (distinct) subfield of musicology and history, which studies the history of music theory.

As there are many definitions for music there are many divisions and groupings of music, many of which are caught up in the argument over the definition of music. Among the larger genres are classical music, popular music or commercial music (including rock and roll), country music and folk music.

There is often disagreement over what constitutes "real" music: late-period Beethoven string quartets, Stravinsky ballet scores, serialism, bebop-era Jazz, rap, punk rock, and electronica have all been considered non-music by some critics when they were first introduced.

The term world music has been applied to a wide range of music made outside of Europe and European influence, although its initial application, in the context of the World Music Program at Wesleyan University, was as a term including all possible music genres, including European traditions. (In academic circles, the original term for the study of world music, "comparative musicology", was replaced in the middle of the twentieth century by "ethnomusicology", which is still an unsatisfactory coinage.)

Genres of music are as often determined by tradition and presentation as by the actual music. While most classical music is acoustic and meant to be performed by individuals or groups, many works described as "classical" include samples or tape, or are mechanical. Some works, like Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, are claimed by both jazz and classical music.

As world cultures have been in greater contact, their indigenous musical styles have often merged into new styles. For example, the US-American bluegrass style contains elements from Anglo-Irish, Scottish, Irish, German and some African-American instrumental and vocal traditions, which were able to fuse in the US' multi-ethnic "melting pot" society.

Many current music festivals celebrate a particular musical genre.

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A nursery rhyme is a traditional song or poem taught to young children, originally in the nursery. Learning such verse assists in the development of vocabulary, and several examples deal with rudimentary counting skills. ("Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" is an example of a counting-out game.) In addition, specific actions, motions, or dances are often associated with particular songs.

Many cultures (though not all; see below) feature children's songs and verses that are passed down by oral tradition from one generation to the next (either from parent to child, or from older children to younger children). In the English language, the term "nursery rhyme" generally refers to those of European origin, and the best known examples are English and originated in or since the 17th century. Their origins were possibly a form of oral political cartoon, from an era when free speach could get the speaker imprisoned.

Some nursery rhymes, however, are substantially older. "Sing a Song of Sixpence" exists in written records as far back as the Middle Ages. Arguably the most famous collection of nursery rhymes is that of Mother Goose. Some well known nursery rhymes originated in the United States, such as "Mary had a little lamb".

"Ring-Around-the-Rosie" (alternatively "Ring a Ring O'Roses") is popularly believed to be a metaphorical reference to the Great Plague of London, although this has been widely discredited, particularly as none of the "symptoms" described by the poem even remotely correlate to those of the Bubonic plague, and the first record of the rhyme's existence was not until 1881.

A credible interpretation of "Pop Goes the Weasel" is that it is about silk weavers taking their shuttle or bobbin (known as a "weasel"), to a pawnbrokers to obtain money for drinking. It is possible that the "eagle" mentioned in the song's third verse refers to The Eagle freehold pub along Shepherdess Walk in London, which was established as a music hall in 1825 and was rebuilt as a public house in 1901. This public house bears a plaque with this interpretation of the nursery rhyme and the pub's history. Alternatively, the term "weasel" might be Cockney rhyming slang for a coat ("weasel and stoat" = "coat"), and the coat itself was pawned.

An amusing and ironic accidental hoax involving the rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence" was perpetrated on the Urban Legends Reference Pages.

Scholars occasionally think they have "all" nursery rhymes written down, or know the last time that a rhyme was in use (some fall out of favor). However, as nursery rhymes are mainly an oral tradition, nursery rhymes will surface anew (see Bill Bryson's book Made in America : An Informal History of the English Language in the United States for an excellent example).

There are some indigenous peoples which consider music sacred, so that only elder men may sing songs, and the songs are taught during sacred rituals in adulthood. It is forbidden for women or children to sing. Hence, these cultures do not have these kinds of songs.

Popular culture

Stand up comic Andrew Dice Clay has performed "vulgar" versions of old standards in his act. The humor was often based on shock value and abrupt resolutions which identified a more practical or realistic result. As an example, in Clay's version of "Jack and Jill", Jill is implied to be a prostitute:

Jack and Jill went up the hill,

Both with a buck and a quarter.

Jill came down with two-fifty.

Other rhymes Clay has modified are "Three Blind Mice", "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "The Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe", "Little Boy Blue", "Hickory Dickory Dock", and "Little Jack Horner".

Metal band, Korn's song "Shoots and Ladders" from their self-titled first album, Korn, consists almost entirely of nursery rhymes in its lyrics.

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Video: Nursery Rhymes - Alphabet Song

An album is a collection of related audio tracks, released together commercially in an audio format to the public.

The term "record album" originated from the fact that 78 RPM gramophone or phonograph disc records were kept together in a book resembling a photo album. The first collection of records to be called an "album" was Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite", release in April 1909 as a four-disc set by Odeon records[1][2]. It retailed for 16 shillings — about £15 in today's money.

In 1948, Columbia produced the first 12", 33 1/3 RPM microgroove record made of vinylite[3]. With a running time of 23 minutes per side, these new records contained as much music as the old-style album of records and, thus, took on the name "album". For many years, the standard industry format for popular music was an album of 12 songs, originally the number related to payment of composer royalties.

Today, with the decreasing popularity of the vinyl record, the term "album" is applied to any sound recording collection, including CD, MiniDisc, and cassette. Even a set of tracks released at the same time for distribution on an online music download site is sometimes referred to as an album.

Due to the large capacity of new media, the matter of how long an album should be is open to debate. According to the rules of the British Charts, a recording counts as an album if either it has at least four tracks or lasts more than 20 minutes. Sometimes shorter albums are referred to as EPs, an abbreviation of extended play, "extended" meaning longer than a single. The term "mini-album" may also be used.

Returning to the older meaning of the term, there are now albums of compact discs: collections of CDs in a single package. If such a collection is packaged in a box, it is known as a box set.

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A 12-inch (30-cm) 331⁄3 rpm record (left), a 7-inch 45 rpm record (right), and a CD (above)

Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical or mechanical re-creation and/or amplification of sound, often as music. This involves the use of audio equipment such as microphones, recording devices and loudspeakers. From early beginnings with the invention of the phonograph using purely mechanical techniques, the field has advanced with the invention of electrical recording, the mass production of the 78 record, the magnetic wire recorder followed by the tape recorder, the vinyl LP record. The invention of the compact cassette in the 1960's, followed by the walkman, gave a major boost to the mass distribution of music recordings, and the invention of digital recording and the compact disc in 1983 brought massive improvements in ruggedness and quality. The most recent developments have been in digital audio players like the Apple iPod.

The field covers many areas, from Hi-Fi to Professional audio, Internet radio and Podcasting.

Developments in recording and editing have transformed the record, movie and television industries in recent decades. Editing became practicable with the invention of magnetic tape recording but computers and digital processing made it much easier, quicker and more powerful. We now divide the process of making a recording into tracking, mixing and mastering. Multitrack recording makes it possible to capture sound from several microphones, or from different 'takes' to tape or disc with maximum headroom and quality, allowing maximum flexibility in the mixing and mastering stages for editing, level balancing, compressing and limiting, and the addition of effects such as reverberation, equalisation, flanging and many more.

The Beatles, under producer George Martin, were among the first to experiment with multitrack techniques and effects on the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

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A song is a relatively short musical composition for the human voice (possibly accompanied by other musical instruments), which features words (lyrics). It is typically for a solo singer, though may also be a duet, trio, or for more voices (works with more than one voice to a part, however, are considered choral). The words of songs are typically of a poetic, rhyming nature, although they may be religious verses or free prose. Songs can be broadly divided into many different forms, depending on the criteria used. One division is between "art songs", "popular songs", and "folk songs". Other common methods of classification are by purpose (sacred vs secular), by style (dance, ballad, Lieder, etc.) or by time of origin (Renaissance, Contemporary, etc).

Colloquially, song is commonly used to refer to any music composition, even those without vocals (though in music styles that are predominately vocal-based, a composition without vocals is often called an instrumental).

Cultural types

Art songs

Art songs are songs created for performance in their own right, or for the purposes of a European upper class, usually with piano accompaniment, although they can also have other types of accompaniment such as an orchestra or string quartet, and are always notated. Generally they have an identified author(s) and require voice training for acceptable performances. The German word for song, "Lied" (plural: "Lieder"), is used in French and English-speaking communities to refer to the serious art song, whereas in German-speaking communities the word "Kunstlied" (plural: "Kunstlieder") is used to distinguish art song from folk song ("Volkslied"). The lyrics are often written by a lyricist and the music separately by a composer. Art songs may be more formally complicated than popular or folk songs, though many early Lieder by the likes of Franz Schubert are in simple strophic form. They are often important to national identity.

Art songs feature in many European cultures, including but not limited to: Russian (romansy), Dutch (lied), Italian (canzoni), French (mélodies), Scandinavian (sånger), Spanish (canciones). Cultures outside of Europe may have what they consider to be a classical music tradition, such as India, and thus feature art songs.

Of the romantic music era, the art song is considered one of the most distinctive music forms developed. The accompaniment of pieces of this period is considered as an important part of the composition. The art song of this period is often a duet in which the vocalist and accompanist share in interpretive importance. The pieces were most often written to be performed in a home setting although today the works enjoy popularity as concert pieces. The emergence of poetry during this era was much of what inspired the creation of these pieces by Brahms, Schumann, Schubert and other period composers. These composers set poems in their native language. Many works were inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Heinrich Heine. An art song with a German text is often referred to as a Lied. The romantic art song was often reflective of the popular poetic notions of despair created by places, legends, nature or lost love. Some composers would interpret the poem literally and create music which imitated the music and imagery of the music. The vocal melody was created to reflect the form and emphasis of the poem. The mood of the piece would often be summarized in the closing piano section called a postlude. To reflect the stanzas of a poem, the composer could use strophic form to reuse music for each stanza. Another method would be to write new music for each stanza to create a unique form, this was through-composed form known in German as durchkomponiert. A combination of both of these techniques in a single setting was called a modified strophic form. Often romantic art songs sharing similar elements were grouped as a song cycle. (Kamien, 217–18)

Popular songs

Popular songs are songs which may be considered in between art songs and folk songs. They are usually accompanied in performance and recording by a band. They are not anonymous in origin and have known authors. They are often but not always notated by their author(s) or transcribed after recording and tend to be composed in collaboration more often than art songs, for instance by an entire band, though the lyrics are usually written by one person, usually the lead singer. Popular songs are often a part of individual and cultural, but seldom national, identity. Performers usually often have not undergone formal voice training but highly stylized vocal techniques are used. Many people consider songs in popular music to have in general simpler structures than art songs, however, musicologists who are "both contemptuous and condescending [of popular music] are looking for types of production, musical form, and listening which they associate with a different kind of music...'classical music'...and they generally find popular music lacking" (Middleton 1990, p.103).

Song structure or how a pop song is constructed

Popular songs almost always have a well defined structure. The song is constructed using three to five individually distinct musical sections, which are then strung together to form the complete song. A structural analysis of a typical pop song is as follows:

Introduction
Verse
Chorus
Verse
Chorus
Instrumental Bridge
Repeat chorus to fade

The above pop song structure is an extremely common way of building a modern pop song, including heavy metal, hip hop, rock songs and all other genres of pop songs. Some extremely musically simple song structures have songs which have only a single section which is repeated with slight modifications in order to sustain a listener's interest in the song.

Pop songs also have rhyming schemes which are commonly used by lyricists. These are classified using capital letters of the English alphabet. For example, a song's verse section may have this rhyming scheme: ABAC ABAD. This means that the verse comprises of eight lines. Lines 1, 3, 5 and 7 rhyme with each other. Also, lines 2 and 6 rhyme. Whereas lines 4 and 8 do not rhyme with any lines.

Folk songs

Folk songs are songs of often anonymous origin (or are public domain) that are transmitted orally. They are frequently a major aspect of national or cultural identity. Art songs often approach the status of folk songs when people forget who the author was. Folk songs are also frequently transmitted non-orally (that is, as sheet music), especially in the modern era. Folk songs exist in almost every, if not every, culture.

For a list of influential songs, see:

• The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll
• The Grammy Hall of Fame Award (also includes many albums)
• The annual Eurovision Song Contest includes a list of winners

Song forms

Anthem
Aria and recitative (Opera)
Ballad
Cantata
Carol
Catch
Chanson
Chant
Company song
Folk song
Frottola
Gregorian chant and plainsong
Hymn
Jingle
Lament
Laude
Lied (plural: Lieder)
Lullaby
Madrigal
Mass
Oratorio
Pibroch
Pop songs
Spiritual
Work song
Thirty-two-bar form
Twelve bar blues

References

1. Middleton, Richard (1990/2002). Studying Popular Music. Philadelphia: Open University Press. ISBN 0335152759.
2. Kamien, Roger. Music : An Appreciation. Mcgraw-Hill College; 3rd edition (August 1, 1997) ISBN 0070365210

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Africa is a continent with a wide range of ethnic, cultural and lingustic diversity. A general description of African Music is not possible as there is no distinctly pan-African music, only shared forms of musical expression. Nevertheless, there are regional similarities between dissimilar groups, as well as popular trends known across the continent.

Sub-Saharan music has as its distinguishing feature a rhythmic and complexity that has spread to other regions, especially to the Americas. Many Caribbean and Latin American music genres like rumba and salsa, as well as African American music were founded to varying degrees on musical traditions from Africa, taken there by African slaves

The remarkable aspect of African polyrhythm is the discernible coherence of the resultant rhythmic pattern. Pitch polyphony exists in the form of parallel intervals (generally thirds, fourths, and fifths), overlapping choral antiphony and solo-choral response, and occasional simultaneous independent melodies. In addition to voice, many wind and string instruments perform melodic functions. Common are bamboo flutes, ivory trumpets, and the one-string ground bow, which uses a hole in the ground as a resonator.

During colonial times, European instruments such as saxophones, trumpets, and guitars were adopted by many African musicians; their sounds were integrated into the traditional patterns. Scale systems vary between regions but are generally diatonic.

Music is highly functional in African ethnic life, accompanying birth, marriage, hunting, and even political activities. Much music exists solely for entertainment, ranging from narrative songs to highly stylized musical theater. Similarities with other cultures, particularly Indian and Middle Eastern, can be ascribed primarily to the Islamic invasion.

Folk music

African folk music is mostly functional in nature. There are many different kinds of work songs, and ceremonial or religious music, but none of these are performed outside of their intended social context. Traditional African music is rhythmically complex, and are polyrhythmic. African musical instruments include a wide array of drums and other percussion instruments, including talking drums, slit gongs, rattles and water drums, as well as melodic instruments like fiddles, harps and the balafon, and lamellophones such as the mbira.

Popular music

Genres of popular African Music include:

• Afrobeat
• Apala
  Benga
  Bikutsi
  Highlife
  Isicathamiya
  Jùjú
  Kwaito
  Kwela
  Makossa
  Mbalax
• Mbaqanga
• Mbube
  Morna
  Palm-wine
  Raï
• Rumba
• Soukous/Congo/Lingala
  Taarab

References

• Tracey, Hugh. (1961). The evolution of African music and its function in the present day. Johannesburg: Institute for the Study of Man in Africa.
• Koetting, James T (1992). “Africa/Ghana”, Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples, Second edition, 67-104, New York: Schirmer Books. ISBN 0028726022.

Links

• AfricanMusic.org
• African Music
• A glossary of African music styles
• International Library of African Music atRhodes University Department Of Music And Musicology
• [http://www.afrofunkforum.com/ The Afrofunk Music Forum Blog

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

This is a list of folk music traditions, with styles, dances, instruments and other related topics. The term folk music can not be easily defined in a precise manner; it is used with widely-varying definitions depending on the author, intended audience and context within a work. Similarly, the term traditions in this context does not connote any strictly-defined criteria. Music scholars, journalists, audiences, record industry individuals, politicians, nationalists and demagogues may often have occasion to address which fields of folk music are distinct traditions based along racial, geographic, linguistic, religious, tribal or ethnic lines, and all such peoples will likely use different criteria to decide what constitutes a "folk music tradition". This list uses the same general categories used by mainstream, primarily English-language, scholarly sources, as determined by relevant statements of fact and the internal structure of works.

These traditions may coincide entirely, partially or not at all with geographic, political, linguistic or cultural boundaries. Very few, if any, music scholars would claim that there are any folk music traditions that can be considered specific to a distinct group of people and with characteristics undiluted by contact with the music of other peoples; thus, the folk music traditions described herein overlap in varying degrees with each other.

East Asia

South Asia

Southeast Asia

References

• Broughton, Simon and Mark Ellingham (eds.) (2000). Rough Guide to World Music, First edition, London: Rough Guides. ISBN 1858286360.
• Karolyi, Otto (1998). Traditional African & Oriental Music. Penguin Books. ISBN 014023107.
• Kinney, Troy and Margaret West (1935). The Dance: Its Place in Art and Life. Tudor Publishing.
• Manuel, Peter (1988). Popular Musics of the Non-Western World. New York: Oxford University Press. 0195053427.
• Philip V. Bohlman; Bruno Nettl, Charles Capwell, Thomas Turino and Isabel K. F. Wong (1997). Excursions in World Music, Second edition, Prentice Hall. ISBN 0132306328.
• Fujie, Linda, James T. Koetting, David P. McAllester, David B. Reck, John M. Schechter, Mark Slobin and R. Anderson Sutton (1992). Jeff Todd Titan (Ed.) Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples, Second Edition, New York: Schirmer Books. ISBN 0028726022.
• International Dance Glossary. World Music Central. URL accessed on April 3, 2006.

Notes

1. ^ Ying-fen, Wang, "From Innocence to Funny Rap", in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 235 - 240
2. ^ Jones, Stephen, "The East Is Red... And White", in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 33 - 43; Rees, Helen, with Zhang Xingrong and Li Wei, "Sounds of the Frontiers", in the Rough Guide to World Musics, pg. 44 - 48; Karolyi, pg. 179
3. ^ Ying-fen, Wang, "From Innocence to Funny Rap", in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 235 - 240
4. ^ Rees, Helen, with Zhang Xingrong and Li Wei, "Sounds of the Frontiers", in the Rough Guide to World Musics, pg. 44 - 48
5. ^ Clewley, John, "The Culture Blender", pgs. 143 - 159; Karolyi, pg. 199; Fujie, Linda, "East Asia/Japan" in Worlds of Music, pgs. 318 - 375; World Music Central
6. ^ Hwang, Okon and Andy Kershaw, "Our Life Is Precisely a Song", in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 160 - 169
7. ^ Rees, Helen, with Zhang Xingrong and Li Wei, "Sounds of the Frontiers", in the Rough Guide to World Musics, pg. 44 - 48
8. ^ Rees, Helen, with Zhang Xingrong and Li Wei, "Sounds of the Frontiers", in the Rough Guide to World Musics, pg. 44 - 48
9. ^ Rees, Helen, with Zhang Xingrong and Li Wei, "Sounds of the Frontiers", in the Rough Guide to World Musics, pg. 44 - 48
10. ^ Clewley, John, "The Culture Blender", pgs. 143 - 159
11. ^ Rees, Helen, with Zhang Xingrong and Li Wei, "Sounds of the Frontiers", in the Rough Guide to World Musics, pg. 44 - 48
12. ^ Broughton, Simon, "Kings and Queens of the Road" in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 146 - 158
13. ^ Hunt, Ken and Simon Broughton, "Everything Is Left Behind" in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 94 - 101
14. ^ Hunt, Ken and Simon Broughton, "Everything Is Left Behind" in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 94 - 101
15. ^ Hunt, Ken and Simon Broughton, "Everything Is Left Behind" in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 94 - 101
16. ^ The Rough Guide refers to dandiya as on "folk-based"
17. ^ Hunt, Ken and Simon Broughton, "Everything Is Left Behind" in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 94 - 101
18. ^ Hunt, Ken and Simon Broughton, "Everything Is Left Behind" in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 94 - 101
19. ^ World Music Central
20. ^ Hunt, Ken and Simon Broughton, "Everything Is Left Behind" in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 94 - 101
21. ^ Hunt, Ken and Simon Broughton, "Everything Is Left Behind" in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 94 - 101
22. ^ Tingey, Carol, "The Hills Are Alive", in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 196 - 202
23. ^ Tingey, Carol, "The Hills Are Alive", in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 196 - 202
24. ^ World Music Central; Hunt, Ken and Simon Broughton, "Everything Is Left Behind" in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 94 - 101
25. ^ Hunt, Ken and Simon Broughton, "Everything Is Left Behind" in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 94 - 101
26. ^ Hunt, Ken and Simon Broughton, "Everything Is Left Behind" in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 94 - 101
27. ^ Ganhewa, Lalith, "Sounds of Serendipity", in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 230 - 234
28. ^ Hunt, Ken and Simon Broughton, "Everything Is Left Behind" in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 94 - 101
29. ^ Sutton, R. Anderson, "Asia/Indonesia" in Worlds of Music, pgs. 266 - 317
30. ^ Clewley, John, "Heavenly Dancers", in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 20 - 23
31. ^ Clewley, John, "Beyond Our Khaen", in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 170 - 174
32. ^ Munan, Heidi, "Music at the Crossroads", in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 175 - 182
33. ^ Manuel, Popular Musics, pgs. 207, 213; Bass, Colin, "No Risk - No Fun!", in the Rough Guides to World Music, pg. 131 - 142
34. ^ Clewley, John, "Songs for Living", in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 241 - 253
35. ^ Clewley, John, "Songs for Living", in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 241 - 253
36. ^ Clewley, John, "Beyond Our Khaen", in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 170 - 174; Clewley, John, "Songs for Living", in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 241 - 253
37. ^ Munan, Heidi, "Music at the Crossroads", in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 175 - 182
38. ^ Munan, Heidi, "Music at the Crossroads", in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 175 - 182
39. ^ Munan, Heidi, "Music at the Crossroads", in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 175 - 182
40. ^ Clewley, John, "Songs for Living", in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 241 - 253
41. ^ Manuel, Popular Musics, pg. 200; Blackburn, Philip, "Ancient Rock Music", in the Rough Guide to World Music, pgs. 262 - 269
42. ^ Blackburn notes that nhac dan toc cai bien is a form of "modernised folk music (that) has only been traditional since 1956, when the Hanoi Conservatory of Music was founded and the teaching of folk music was deliberately "improved" (quotes in original).

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Music competitions

A typical accompaniment pattern of a Mozart concert or aria.

In music, accompaniment is the art of playing along with a soloist or ensemble, often known as the lead, in a supporting manner as well as the music thus played. An accompaniment figure is a gesture used repeatedly in an accompaniment, such as:

• Alberti bass and other arpeggios
• ostinati or riffs

Harmonic accompaniment is music played to accompany a melody line; it is usually chordal and played by such instruments as (acoustic or electric) guitar, piano, organ and bass guitar, but it can also be played by instruments that ordinarily play the melody, such as the violin. In most tonal music the melody and accompaniment are written from and share the same group of pitches, while in much atonal music the melody and accompaniment are chosen from entirely separate groups of pitches, often from different hexachords.

An accompanist is one who plays an accompaniment. A number of classical pianists have become famous as accompanists rather than soloists; the best known example is probably Gerald Moore, well known as a Lieder accompanist.

Notated accompaniment may be indicated obbligato (obliged) or ad libitum (at one's pleasure).

Dialogue accompaniment is a form of call and response in which the lead and accompaniment alternate, the accompaniment playing during the rests of the lead and providing a drone or silence during the main melody or vocal. (van der Merwe 1989, p.320)

Basso continuo is a form of notation used especially in Baroque music accompaniment parts.

Source

• van der Merwe, Peter (1989). Origins of the Popular Style: The Antecedents of Twentieth-Century Popular Music. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0193161214.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

• a, à (Fr.) – "at", "to", "by", "for", "in", "in the style of".
• aber (Gr.) – "but".
• a cappella – in the manner of chapel music, without instrumental accompaniment.
• accelerando – gradually increasing the tempo; "accelerating".
• accentato – "with emphasis"
• acciaccatura – "crushing" – A very fast grace note that is "crushed" against the note that follows and takes up no value in the measure.
• accompagnato – "accompanied" – The accompaniment must follow the singer who can speed up or slow down at will.
• adagietto – "rather slow."
• adagio – "slow."
• adagissimo – "very slow."
• ad libitum (commonly ad lib) – the speed and manner are left to the performer.
• affettuoso – "tenderly".
• affrettando – "hurrying," pressing onwards.
• agile – "swiftly"
• agitato – "agitated."
• al, alla – "to the", "in the manner of".
• alla breve – two minim (half-note) beats to a bar, rather than four crotchet (quarter-note) beats.
• alla marcia – "in the style of a march".
• allargando – "broadening," "getting a little slower."
• allegretto – "a little lively," or "moderately fast."
• allegro – "lively," or "fast."
• als (Gr.) – "than".
• altissimo – "very high"
• amabile – "amiable", "pleasant".
• amoroso – "loving".
• andante – "moderate tempo," just this side of slow.
• andantino – slightly faster than andante.
• animato – "animated", "lively".
• apaisé (Fr.) – "calmed".
• a piacere – "at pleasure". Used to indicate that the performer does not have to follow the rhythm strictly.
• appassionato – "passionately."
• appoggiatura – "leaning" – A grace note that "leans" on the following note, taking up some of its value in the measure.
• a prima vista – Playing something at first sight of the sheet music
• arietta – a short aria
• arioso – "airy"
• arpeggio – literally, like a harp. Used to indicate that the notes of a certain chord are to be played quickly one after another (usually from lowest to highest) instead of at the same moment. In piano music this is sometimes a solution in playing a wide-ranged chord whose notes cannot be played otherwise. Music generated by the limited hardware of video game computers uses a similar technique to create a chord from one tone generator. Arpeggios (or arpeggi) are also accompaniment patterns.
• arco – "played with the bow," as opposed to pizzicato "plucked," in music for bowed instruments.
• assai – "very."
• assez (Fr.) – "enough", "sufficiently". Sometimes used in the same sense as assai.
• a tempo – "in time", used on its own to indicate that the performer should return to the main tempo of the piece (after an accelerando or ritardando), also may be found in combination with other terms such as a tempo giusto (in strict time) or a tempo di menuetto (at the speed of a minuet).
• attacca – (at the end of a movement): a direction to begin (attack) the next movement immediately, without a gap or pause.
• Ausdruck (Gr.) – "expression".
• ausdrucksvoll (Gr.) – "expressively".
• avec (Fr.) – "with".

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