Glossary

The definitions in this glossary were compiled from the following sources:

Barry Kernfeld, ed. 1988. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. London: Macmillan Press Limited.

Don Michael Randel, ed. 1986. The New Harvard Dictionary of Music. Cambridge, Mass. and London, England: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Stanley Sadie, ed. 1980. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. London: Macmillan Publishers Limited.

big band: a term used to describe the swing band of the 1930's and 1940's, which consisted of usually ten to fifteen instruments, although it could be a larger ensemble.

coda: in jazz, a phrase (usually a few bars) added to the end of a theme, chorus, or entire piece; it may or may not be related thematically to the rest of the piece.

cornet: a brass instrument pitched in B-flat (in France occasionally in C) like the trumpet. Similar in appearance to the trumpet, the cornet has three valves and a bell that points forward, and its tubing is a cross between the cylindrical shape of the trumpet and the conical shape of the orchestral horn. It is somewhat squatter than the trumpet, though a more trumpet-like form has been developed--the modern American "long" model. The tubing is "folded" through three reversals so that it lies parallel in a horizontal plane. The cornet first appeared in France during the 1830's.

counterpoint: the combination of two or more melodic lines, in which the horizontal motion of one part may be perceived and differentiated from the simultaneous horizontal motion of another, at the same time. Counterpoint has been a characteristic of Western music that has differentiated it from other cultures for about nine centuries. Counterpoint has often been distinguished from "harmony," which refers to the vertical aspect of music whereby combinations of pitches are sounded simultaneously.

harmony: the relationship of tones considered as they sound simultaneously, and the way such relationships are organized in time; also any particular collection of pitches sounded simultaneously, termed a chord.

hemiola: in early music theory, it refers to the ratio 3:2. In terms of musical pitch, it refers to the ratio of the lengths of two strings that together sound the interval of a perfect 5th. In the modern metrical system, it denotes the sounding of two bars in triple meter as if they were notated as three bars in duple meter. This is a common feature of Baroque music, in which it was often used to give rhythmic variety to dances, and in some musics of Africa, the Near East, and the Middle East.

melody: a coherent succession of pitches. In other words, several stretches of sound that seem to belong together, as in a tune.

ragtime: a style of American popular music that prospered from the late 19th century to World War I, in which an internally syncopated melodic line was set against a rhythmically straightforward bass in pieces called rags. Ragtime was mostly performed while reading written music; however, it was influential in the evolution of improvisation in early jazz. Ragtime was initially played on solo piano, then encompassed popular songs and later band and orchestral work.

scat singing: a technique of jazz singing in which onomatopoeic or nonsense syllables are sung to improvised melodies. Several scholars believe scat singing originated in West African music, in which some percussion patterns had been translated into vocal lines by assigning syllables to characteristic rhythms. However, since jazz scat singing involves the free invention of rhythm, melody, and syllables, it is likely that the technique began in the USA as singers imitated the sounds of jazz instrumentalists. Ella Fitzgerald was particularly adept at imitating various jazz instruments and even particular soloists. Scat singing was often used in New Orleans jazz; and in some form on early blues recordings.

stop time: a technique used to focus attention on a singer or an instrumental soloist. While the soloist performs, an ensemble or pianist repeats in rhythmic unison a simple pattern consisting of sharp accents and rests.  While the meter and tempo remains intact,  the texture of the accompaniment changes. The technique is common in jazz, but a more recent type of stop-time occurs in urban blues and related popular genres in which the beginning bars of the 12-bar blues progression is heavily accented on the downbeat of each bar until the singer enters.

syncopation:  in measured music, an effect of rhythmic displacement in which the weaker beats are articulated and the stronger beats are not articulated.

time signature: a sign placed at the beginning of a composition after the clef and any key signature, or within the composition. It indicates the meter of the piece or a change in meter within the piece. In modern usage, there are two figures (one above the other): the lower indicates the unit of measurement and the upper indicates the number of units in each bar. (A signature of 3/4 indicates that there are three quarter notes in each bar.)

vibrato: a slight, rapid fluctuation of pitch that is used for expressive purposes; sometimes used to describe a fluctuation of intensity. On string instruments, vibrato is produced by rocking movements of the finger on the string, while on wind instruments, it is produced by a controlled irregularity in the wind supply or a fluctuation of movement of the fingers over the soundholes.