GLOSSARY A3
Cajun music. Music of Cajuns (descendants of French
Canadians living in Louisiana), emphasizing dance
rhythms and often using button accordion, fi ddle,
guitar, triangle, and spoons.
cakewalk. An African American dance, popular in
the late 1800s and early 1900s, resembling a fancy
march step.
call and response. A musical practice in which a lead-
er’s musical phrase is answered by the group.
camp meeting. A gathering at which worshipers camp
out for several days of prayer and singing.
canon. A composition or section of a composition
in which a melody is stated in multiple voices or
instruments entering one after the other, as in a
round.
cantabile. In a singing manner.
Carter style. Guitar performance style associated with
Maybelle Carter, featuring “thumb-and-brush”
picking and the use of hammer-ons.
CD. See compact disc.
chance music. Music in which random processes are
used to determine, wholly or in part, the composi-
tion, performance, or both.
changes. Jazz term for chord progression.
Chicago blues. An electrifi ed version of Mississippi
Delta blues.
Child ballad. Any of the 305 traditional English
and Scottish ballads collected by Francis James
Child.
chord. A group of pitches sounded simultaneously.
chord progression. A series of chords.
chorus. 1. In a song, a section that repeats with unvar-
ied, or only slightly varied, words; cf. verse. 2. See
blues chorus.
chromatic scale. The collection of all twelve pitches
within the octave.
classic American popular song. A popular song writ-
ten between ca. 1920 and 1955, especially one that
has become a standard.
classic blues. See vaudeville blues.
classical sphere. The realm of musical activity built
around composers’ music: music embodied in
written scores, which performing musicians strive
to play and sing as the notation directs so that the
artistic substance fashioned by the composer is
translated into sound; cf. popular sphere, traditional
sphere.
clave. An organizing rhythmic pattern in Latin music.
club mix. See dance mix.
coda. A musical composition’s closing section. See
also tag.collective improvisation. Simultaneous improvisa-
tion, especially by the front-line players in a New
Orleans jazz ensemble.
collegium musicum. A group of people gathered to
make music.
comic opera. 1. In the 1700s, a spoken play with a
rather large amount of specially composed music.- In the 1800s and 1900s, a synonym for operetta.
comp. In jazz, to play chords as accompaniment to a
soloist.
compact disc. A digital recording format on optical
disc, in use since the 1980s.
compass. The distance between the highest and lowest
pitches in a melody. Also called range.
compound A A BA form. A post-1960 popular song
structure in which a series of verse-chorus pairs
(the A sections) is broken up by a contrasting pas-
sage (the B section, or bridge).
compound meter. A meter in which each beat is
divided into three equal parts.
concept album. An LP (or later format) in which the
songs are composed or selected, arranged, and
ordered to create a larger artistic whole.
conga. A tall A fro-Cuban drum played w ith the hands.
conjunct. Moving mostly by step (said of a melody).
conjunto. (Lit. “group.”) 1. A norteño ensemble consist-
ing of button accordion, bajo sexto (a type of twelve-
string guitar), electric bass, and drums. 2. The
German-infl uenced music played by a conjunto.
consonance. A chord or interval that sounds pleasing
and harmonious.
contra dance. A style of New England folk dance in
which couples dance in two facing lines.
contrafact. A jazz composition created by fi tting a new
melody to an existing song’s chord progression.
cool jazz. A modern jazz style emphasizing soft dynam-
ics and introspective moods.
coon song. A type of popular song in the late 1800s
and early 1900s that depicts African Americans in
racially stereotyped caricatures.
cornet. A brass instrument, similar to the trumpet but
with a mellower, softer tone.
counterpoint. 1. See polyphony. 2. Specifi cally, the
technique of composing polyphonic music.
country blues. A style of blues associated with rural
southern musicians.
country dance. A forerunner of square dancing and
later New England contra dancing.
country music. Popular music rooted in traditional
music styles of the rural white South, including the
blues.
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