Terms 1-28-14

Measure or "Bar" - when we break up the beats into patterns of two or three, a measure is one complete time through the patterns. Ex. 1 - 2, 1 - 2, 1 - 2 is three measures.
Nonmetric - when the beat is not evident.

Dynamics - The relative loudness or quietness of musical sound (Volume)
Crescendo - gradual increase in volume
Decrescendo - gradual "decrease" in volume
Subito - a sudden change in the dynamic level. It may move from loud to soft or from soft to loud, but it is abrupt.

Timbre - The "color" of musical sound. Or more specifically, what actual sounds you are hearing (guitar, keyboard, female voice, etc.)

"Follow the ball" - the "ball" is the most prevalent part at the time. Often times it is the melody, but could be a drum solo, guitar intro, or the voice, as in the Santana song. The "ball" can change many times during a piece of music.
Motive - a short musical idea or "building block" that is easy to recognize. The 3 notes in Santana. You recognize it when you hear it, and a composer can use it later.
Motive - a "trigger" that identifies a piece of music. Short fragment, not enough to be the whole tune or even a phrase. McDonalds ba ba ba ba baa is a motive. Beethoven ba ba ba bum.
We spent class time actively listening to Santana's "Love of My Life" for each of the different instrument sounds and roles.
There were a total of 11 sounds identified: keyboard, electric guitar, bass guitar, bass drum, snare drum, closed hi hat, open hi hat, crash cymbal, low conga, high conga, and voice.

Herz (Hz) a measurement of cycles per second.
Human hearing can extend from 20 Hz to 20 kHz (20,000 Hz)
The pitch A is at 440 cycles per second (440 Hz).
An Equalizer is a device that electronically boosts or cuts specific frequency ranges to tailor the TIMBRE of a musical selection.