Terminology
Describes how fast or slow a song is.
Tempo
A type of popular dance music originating in the 1950's, characterized by a heavy beat and simple melodies. It is a mixture of rhythm, blues and country music.
Rock and Roll
"If you want to destroy my sweater / Hold this thread as I walk away"
Undone (Sweater Song) by Weezer
sustained for 4 beats
Whole Note
Describes how high or low a tone is.
This genre is a melancholical musical style expressing harshness of everyday life. Uses a 12-bar melodic structure, and lyrics that talk about issues such as poverty.
Blues
"He wear no shoeshine, he got toe-jam football / He got monkey finger, he shoot coca-cola"
Come Together by The Beatles
sustained for 2 beats
Half Note
Describes how loud or quiet a piece of music is.
Dynamics
This genre includes music produced independently from commercial record labels.
Indie
Paranoid by Black Sabbath
sustained for 1 beat
Describes musical notes played in specific sequence that is easy to remember and that forms its own unit.
Melody
This genre originated in Jamiaca in the late 1960's and is characterized by guitar/piano offbeats, emphasis on third beat, and use of syncopated, melodic bass lines.
Reggae
"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? / Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality"
Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
sustained for 1/2 a beat
Eighth Note
Describes the sound of two or more notes heard simultaneously.
Harmony
A style of pop music intended mainly for dancing to, typically soul-influenced and melodic with a regular bass beat, particularly popular in the late 1970's.
Disco
With the lights out, it's less dangerous / Here we are now, entertain us / I feel stupid and contagious"
Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
Sustained for 1/4 of a beat
Sixteenth Note