96/WG20thCent/1
Preliminary Report: Working Group on Terminology in 20th-Century
Music
1/19/96 version
Michael Colby
Some terms contain a field labeled "Action." The following codes appear in
these fields:
- Accepted - This term has been accepted as a new subject heading by LC
- Change - A request will be sent to make a change to an existing LCSH
- Change sent - A request has been sent to make a change to an existing LCSH
- Rejected - The proposal has been sent to LC and rejected
- Sent - The proposal for a new LCSH has been sent to LC, but no decision has been made to
date
- To be sent - A proposal for a new LCSH will be sent to LC
- Undecided - The group has not yet decided whether sending a proposal to LC is warranted
Terms which have no Action field will not have proposals sent to LC.
term: --Ethnic influences.
- Action: Undecided
- Scope: Used as a subdivision for the prominent use in "art" or
"composed" music of musical materials, instruments, sounds, or techniques
usually associated with particular cultural or ethnic group.
- example: Crumb, George. Ancient voices of children.
- example: Harrison, Lou. Three pieces for gamelan.
- example: Hovhaness, Alan. Khaldis concerto.
- example: Luening, Otto. Potawatomi legends.
term: Animal sounds in music
- Action: Rejected
- Scope: Use for actual live or recorded animal sounds in the music. Do not use for sounds
created by instruments mimicing animals. Do not use for music about animals (Use [Animal
name]--Songs and music)
- NT: Birdsongs in music
- NT: Humpback whale sounds in music
- NT: Shell sounds in music
- NT: Whale sounds in music
- example: Cage, John. Inlets.
- example: Ulehla, Ludmilla. Elegy for a whale.
term: ATONALITY
- Scope: music lacking a key center and structurally related harmonies. (recommended for
literature only)
term: Birdsongs in music
- Scope: Use for actual live or recorded bird sounds in the music. Do not use for sounds
created by instruments mimicing birds. Do not use for music about birds (Use [Bird name]--
Songs and music.
- BT: Animal sounds in music
- RT: Humpback whale sounds in music
- RT: Shell sounds in music
- RT: Whale sounds in music
- example: Respighi, Ottorino. Pini di Roma
term: Chance compositions
- Action: Change (add cross-references for Happening (Art) and Stochasticism in Music)
- scope: Music in which deliberate and significant use is made of chance, randomness, or
indeterminacy in its composition or performance.
- UF: Aleatory music
- UF: Indeterminacy (Music)
- UF: Chance music
- NT: Chance compositions (Pitch)
- NT: Chance compositions (Rhythm)
- NT: Happening (Art)
- NT: Open form music
- NT: Stochasticism in music
- RT: Mixed media (Music)
- source: NHDM
- example: Cage, John. Music of changes.
- example: Cage, John. 4'33"
- example: Feldman, Morton. Intersections.
- example: Brown, Earle. Available forms.
term: Chance compositions (Pitch)
- scope: Music in which the pitch is indeterminant.
- UF: Indeterminacy (Pitch)
- BT: Chance compositions
- example: Oliveros, Pauline. Tashi gomang.
- example: Cage, John. Fifty eight.
- example: Rands, Bernard. Agenda.
term: Chance compositions (Rhythm)
- scope: Music in which the rhythm is indeterminant.
- UF: Indeterminacy (Rhythm)
- BT: Chance compositions
- example: Cage, John. Fifty eight. Source: Notes--"the length of which is left up to
the interpreter," 64-71 pitches available.
term: Eclecticism in music
- Action: Accepted
- scope: The deliberate use or juxtaposition of a wide variety of compositional materials,
and techniques, especially the juxtaposition of "popular" and "art"
music elements, within the same composition
- UF: Collage (Music)
- RT: Parody music.
- example: Bernstein, Leonard. Mass.
- example: Bolcolm, William. Second violin sonata.
- example: Ives, Charles. Symphony no.4
term: Electronic music notation
- Action: Sent
- scope: Used either to provide all of the technical data necessary to produce an
electronic piece, or, in works combining electronics and live performance, to allow a
score reader to co-ordinate with the electronics.
- UF: Notation, electronic (Music)
- BT: Musical notation
- source: Vinton
- example: Stockhausen, Karlheinz. Studie 2.
- example: Stockhausen, Karlheinz. Kontakte.
term: Enclosed music
- scope: Musical works designed specifically for enclosed spaces
- source: Interview with Fees
- source: Scores
- example: Anderson, Laurie. Duet for violin and door jamb
- example: Fees, Jack. Intermission piece
term: Environmental sound music
- Action: Undecided
- scope: Music performed in a non-stationary area (usually out of doors) using traditional
and non-traditional means.
- RT: Site-specific music
- RT: Musical installations
- source: AMC composers files
- source: Scores
- example: Maue, Kenneth. In the woods
- example: Oliveros, Pauline. Bonn Feier
- example: Wishart, Trevor. Bicycle music.
term: Equitone notation (Music)
- scope: Uses two staff lines per octave with five intermediate positions; the chromatic
scale is notated with alternating black and white notes-heads and without accidentals.
- UF: Notation, equitone (Music)
- BT: Musical notation
term: Frame notation (Music)
- scope: A set, controlling framework, such as a box or rectangle, encloses a group of
pitches which are to be played with a free or flexible interpretation.
- UF: Notation, frame (Music)
- BT: Musical notation
- BT: Aleatory music
- source: Vinton
- source: Read, Gardner. Music Notation.
- example: Schaffer, Boguslaw. Imago musicae.
- example: Berio, Luciano. Circles.
term: Graphic notation (Music)
- Action: Sent
- scope: Uses visual material other than conventional musical notation, or combined with
conventional notation, to communicate the composer's intentions.
- source: Vinton
- source: NHDM
- example: Feldman, Morton. Projections.
- example: Haubenstock-Ramati, Roman. Decisions.
- example: Denisov, Edison. Chant des oiseaux.
term: Happening (Art)
- Action: Change (add cross-reference from Happening (Music))
- scope: Self-contained theatrical units, (consisting of actions, images, sounds, etc.,
alone or in combination) are presented in sequence and/or simultaneously.
- UF: Happening (Music)
- UF: Musical happenings
- UF: Theatrical happenings
- BT: Music theater
- BT: Chance compositions
- source: LCSH
- source: Vinton
- example: Cage, John. Happening
- example: Cage, John. Theater piece.
- example:= Davis, Bob and Rich Gold. Break glass in case of fire.
term: Humpback whale sounds in music
- Action: Sent
- scope: Use for actual live or recorded humpback whale sounds in the music, as opposed to
sounds created by instruments mimicing humpback whales. (For music about humpback whales,
use Humpback whale--Songs and music.)
- BT: Animal sounds in music
- BT: Whale sounds in music
- example: Hovhaness, Alan. And God created great whales.
- example: Lewis, Robert Hall. Nuance II. Whale lament.
- example: Winter, Paul. Whales alive.
term: Improvised music
- Action: To be sent
- scope: Used to describe compositions in which improvisation is a significant part of the
work.
term: Indeterminate notation (Music)
- scope: Notation which leaves matters such as pitch, duration and note order to the
discretion of the player.
- UF: Notation, indeterminate (Music)
- BT: Musical notation
- RT: Chance compositions
- RT: Chance compositions (Pitch)
- RT: Chance compositions (Rhythm)
- source: Vinton.
- source: Cole, Hugo. Sounds and signs.
- example: Boulez, Pierre. Pli selon Pli.
- example: Stockhausen, Karlheinz. Klavierstuck XI.
- example: Cage, John. Concert for piano and orchestra.
term: Interactive music
- Action: To be sent
- scope: Musical work that requires some sort of interaction between the music source
(performers, tapes, etc.) and surrounding area (audience, environment, etc.) in order to
be performed.
- BT: Music theater
- RT: Music with audience participation
- source: Interview with Fees, 7/94
- source: AMC composer files, Michael Schell
- example: Fees, Jack. Guitar instrumentallations.
- example: Schell, Michael. An alarming situation (homage to B. Fuller) . Note--
"alarms clocks and tapes set off by audience.
term: Just intonation
- Action: Sent
- scope: Use for works about scales and tuning systems using non-tempered,
"pure" intervals tuned according to the rations of the partials of the harmonic
series. Do not use for actual musical works.
- UF: Just tuning
- UF: Pythagorean tuning
- UF: World tuning
- NT: Microtonal notation
- RT: Musical temperament
- BT: Microtones
- BT: Musical intervals and scales
- source: New Grove
- source: Vinton
- example: Partch, Harry. Genesis of a music.
term: Just intonation music
- scope: Use for musical works employing in a pervasive manner scales and tuning systems
of non-tempered, "pure" intervals tuned according to the rations of the partials
of the harmonic series.
- source: NHDM
- example: Johnston, Ben. String quartet no. 4.
- example: Young, LaMonte. Well-tuned piano.
term: Klavarscribo notation
- scope: Lines and spaces run vertically on a staff and are grouped according to the black
and white keys of the keyboard.
- UF: Notation, Klavarscribo
- BT: Musical notation
- source: Vinton
- example: Jacobs-Bond, Carrie. Perfect day.
term: Microtonal music
- Action: Change (from existing heading Microtonic music)
- scope: Use for musical works employing in a pervasive manner tempered scales and tuning
systems with other than twelve notes to the octave.
- UF: Microtonic music
- UF: Microintervallic music
- UF: Quarter-tone music
- UF: Sixth-tone music
- RT: Just intonation music
- source: NHDM
- source: Vinton.
- example: Eaton, John. Danton and Robespierre
- example: Ives, Charles. Three quarter-tone pieces.
- example: Nono, Luigi. A Carlo Scarpa architetto ai suoi infinite possibili: per
orchestra a microintervalli.
term: Microtonal notation
- scope: Any of several systems which express intervals smaller than a semitone (e.g.
quarter tones); the most common uses conventional accidentals with alterations.
- UF: Notation, microtonal
- BT: Musical notation
- source: Vinton.
- example: Haba, Alois. Suite for violoncello solo 1955.
- example: Kagel, Mauricio. Sexteto de cuerdas.
- example: Penderecki, Krzysztof. Emanationen.
term: Microtones
- scope: Here are entered works on music employing all pitches that lie between the
semitones of the twelve-tone, equal tempered tuning system, regardless of method or factor
of division. Do not use for actual musical works.
- UF: Microtonic music
- UF: Microtonality
- UF: Microintervals
- UF: Quarter-tones
- UF: Sixth-tones
- NT: Just intonation
- NT: Microtonal notation
- BT: Musical intervals and scales.
- source: Vinton
- source: New Grove
- example: Blackwood, Easley. The structure of recognizable diatonic tunings.
term: Minimal music
- scope: Music in which there is significant repetition of material, generally pitch
material, and especially the additive treatment of small motivic cells, usually
accompanied by relative harmonic stasis and rhythmic ostinato or phasing of rhythm.
- UF: Minimalism (Music)
- UF: Repetitive processes (Music)
- source: LCSH
- source: Amerigrove
term: Moving sound concert
- scope: A work that incorporates dance and music but is not considered to be solely a
dance piece, opera or ballet.
- BT: Music theater
- BT: Multi-media music
- source: Program notes by composer & choreographer-AMC file
- example: Thompson, Waddy. Eyeless tears in a universe of et
term: Multicultural music theater
- scope: The use of non-western and/or non-traditional methods to convey a theatrical
piece that does not fall into the context of musical or opera.
- source: Interview with composer 8/94
- example: Kitzke, Jerome. Mad Coyote madly sings
term: Multimedia storytelling
- scope: Storytelling (usually non-Western) dependent on music and other media for
presentation.
- source: Press releases of composer
- example: Adams, John Luther. Coyote builds North America
- example: Gaburo, Kenneth. Show tellies.
term: Music theater
- Action: Accepted
- scope: Musical works that are performed in a theatrical context, but do not fall into
the categories of opera or musicals
term: Musical instrument installations
- scope: A musical work inherent on the placement of an instrument in a specific place
- UF: Instrumentallations
- BT: Site-specific music
- RT: Theatrical musical instrument settings
- source: Interview with composer 8/94
- example: Fees, Jack. I (for oboe)
term: Musical sporting events
- scope: Musical piece played as a competitive game/sport
- BT: Music theater
- BT: Musical games
- source: Interview with composer 8/94
- example: Fees, Jack. (P)layer(s).
term: Neo-classicism in music
- scope: use for secondary literature only
- source: LCSH
term: Neo-impressionism (Music)
- Action: Sent
- scope: use for secondary literature only
- UF: Neo-impressionism in music
- BT: Impressionism (Music)
- BT: Music--20th century
- source: Tawa, Nicholas. A most wonderous babble.
- example: Ewazen, Eric. Sonata for horn and piano, 1992. "Neo-impressionistic in
style, the sonata is a large scale four movement work." --Program notes.
term: Neo-romanticism (Music)
- Action: Sent
- scope: use for secondary literature only
- UF: Neo-romanticism in music
- UF: New romanticism (Music)
- BT: Romanticism (Music)
- BT: Music--20th century
- source: Druckman, Jacob. Horizons =9183: since 1968, a new romanticism?
- source: Music index (Neo-romanticism)
- example: Rochberg, George. Concord quartets
term: Numerical notation (Music)
- scope: Notation which utilizes numbers to represent the notes of the scale.
- UF: Notation, numerical (Music)
- BT: Musical notation
- RT: Twelve-tone system
- source: Wourinen, Charles. Simple composition.
- source: Babbitt, Milton. Milton Babbitt: words about music.
term: Open form music
- Action: Accepted
- scope: Here are entered works in which composed sections may be arranged in time as
chance or choice disposes.
- UF: Mobile form
- BT: Chance compositions
- NT: Open form (Variable pitch)
- NT: Open form (Variable phrase sequence)
- source: Vinton.
- source: Griffith.
- example: Boulez, Pierre. Sonatas, piano, no.3.
- example: Brown, Earle. Twenty-five pages.
- example: Feldman, Morton. Intermission, no.6.
- example: Stockhausen, Karlheinz. Stucke, piano, no.11.
term: Open form music (Variable phrase sequence)
- scope: Notated music in which the phrase sequence is variable.
- BT: Open form
- BT: Variable phrase sequence open form
- source: Vinton
- example: Foss, Lukas. Elyrres.
- example: Foss, Lukas. Fragments of Archilochos.
term: Open form music (Variable pitch sequence)
- scope: Notated music in which the pitch sequence is variable.
- BT: Open form
- BT: Variable phrase sequence open form
- source: Vinton
- example: Kagel, Marucio. Transicion no.2
term: Organic percussion
- scope: The use of the body as a percussion instrument.
- BT: Music theater
- BT: Percussion music
- RT: Visual percussion
- source: Composer's file at American Music Center
- example: Costinesco, George. The musical seminar.
term: Outdoor music
term: Paraphrase music
- Action: Undecided
- scope: A composition that seriously reworks the musical material of another composition,
style, or era
- UF: Historicism (Music)
- UF: Paraphrase music
- RT: Eclecticism (Music)
- example: Cage, John and Lejaren Hiller. HPSCHD.
- example: Foss, Lukas. Baroque variations.
- example: Rochberg, George. Third string quartet.
term: Physical poetry
- scope: Performance pieces utilizing music and text in certain physical= boundaries.
- BT: Music theater
- BT: Performance art
- source: Composer's catalog
- example: Jarvinen, Arthur. Strait of Magellan
term: Prepared double-bass music
- Action: To be sent
- scope: Here are entered works for double-bass with accessories not supplied by
manufacturers. Do not use this for double-bass music also using manufacture supplied
accessories, such as mute.
- BT: Prepared instrument music
- example: Klein, Joseph. Melodrame.
term: Prepared trombone music
- Action: To be sent
- scope: Here are entered works for trombone with accessories not supplied by
manufacturers. Do not use this for trombone music also using manufacture supplied
accessories, such as mute.
- example: Klein, Joseph. Goblin market.
term: Process music
- scope: Music in which performers or technological processes transform an initial and
limited set of materials
- source: Schaeffer, New Sounds
- example: Lucifer. I am sitting in a room
- example: Stockhausen. Gesang der Junglinge
- example: Riley, Terry. Music for the gift
term: Proportional notation (Music)
- scope: Instead of expressing duration with symbols, durational proportions are
transmuted into the graphic equivalent of notes spaced out horizontally along the staff
according to their durations.
- UF: Notation, proportional (Music)
- UF: Proportionate notation
- UF: Spatial notation
- UF: Time-space notation
- BT: Musical notation
- source: Vinton.
- example: Reimann, Aribert. Rondes.
term: Serialism (Music)
- Action: Change sent (Change from a used-for reference under Twelve-tone system to LCSH)
- scope: Music constructed according to permutations of a group of elements placed in a
certain order or series. Values include pitches, rhythms and durations, and dynamics.
- UF: Total serialism
- NT: Serialized duration
- NT: Serialized dynamics
- NT: Serialized pitch
- NT: Serialized range
- RT: Twelve-tone system
- source: Vinton
- example: Boulez, Pierre. Structures, book 1.
- example: Stockhausen, Karlheinz. Zyklus.
term: Serialized duration
- scope: Music constructed according to permutations of a group of rhyth= ms and durations
placed in a certain order or series.
- source: Vinton
- example: Babbitt, Milton. Composition for twelve instruments.
- example: Krenek, Ernst. Sestina.
- example: Boulez, Pierre. Structure 1a.
- example: Webern, Anton. Variations, op.27
term: Serialized dynamics
- scope: Music constructed according to permutations of dynamics placed in a certain order
or series.
- example: Babbitt, Milton. Sextets.
term: Serialized pitch
- scope: Music constructed according to permutations of a group of pitches placed in a
certain order or series.
- BT: Serialism
- BT: Serialized pitch (5 note)
- BT: Serialized pitch (9 note)
- BT: Serialized pitch (12 note)
- BT: Serialized pitch (Variable number sets)
term: Serialized pitch (12 note)
- scope: Music constructed according to permutations of a group of 12 pitches placed in a
certain order or series
- UF: Twelve tone system
- BT: Serialized pitch
- example: Schoenberg, Arnold. Wind quintet, op.26.
term: Serialized pitch (5 note)
- scope: Music constructed according to permutations of a group of 5 pitches placed in a
certain order or series
- source: Vinton
- example: Stravinsky, Igor. In memoriam Dylan Thomas.
- example: Stravinsky, Igor. Threni.
term: Serialized pitch (9 note)
- scope: Music constructed according to permutations of a group of 9 pitches placed in a
certain order or series
- example: Schoenberg, Arnold. Klavierstucke, op.23. No. 9.
term: Site-specific music
- Action: To be sent
- scope: Musical works that were intended to be performed in a specific, usually non-
traditional, setting. The specificity of the location can be dependent on the actual items
used (e.g. an elevator shaft, a lake) or the exact location (a specific building, Central
Park)
- source: AMC collection
- example: Fein, Ron. Infinite oceans of force
- example: Chambers, Wendy. 10 grand
- example: Schwartz, Elliot. Elevator music
term: Sonic geography (Music)
- scope: The use of natural ambient sounds in site specific pieces.
- BT: Music theater
- RT: Environmental music
- source: Composer's files at AMC
- example: Adams, John Luther. Earth and the great water.
term: Sonic meditation (Music)
- scope: Musical works performed alone or in groups that are determined by surrounding
events.
- source: Composer's catalog
- source: Scores
- example: Blackburn, Philip. Unearthing
- example: Oliveros, Pauline. Sonic meditation I-XII.
term: Sound installations
- Action: To be sent
- scope: A musical work with a specifically created environment
- BT: Site-specific music
- RT: Environmental music
- source: Composer's catalog
- example: Blackburn, Philip. simuLACrum
term: Sound sculpture (Music)
- Action: To be sent
- scope: The use of objects (or persons) as both visual art and a musical work.
- source: Sound sculpture (LCSH)
- source: AMC composer's files
- source: Interview with composers 6/94 (Smith), 8/94 and 9/94 (Tabor)
- example: Smith, Kile. Concerto for Cristal
- example: Tabor, Jerry. Exhibit
- example: Van Appledorn, Mary Jeanne. Freedom of youth
term: Sprechgesange notation
- scope: Notation for a technique of vocal performance which lies between speech and song.
- UF: Notation, Sprechgesange
- BT: Musical notation
- source: Vinton.
- example: Schoenberg, Arnold. Pierrot lunaire.
term: Stochasticism in music
- Action: To be sent
- scope: Music in which overall contours of sound are specified but inner details are left
to random or chance selection.
- UF: Controlled aleatorism
- UF: Controlled chance
- UF: Controlled indeterminacy
- BT: Chance compositions
- RT: Complete determinacy
- RT: Computer music
- example: Belet, Brian E. At last! Note--"generated by means of stochastic computer
program."
- example: Hiller, Lejaren. Computer cantata.
- example: Hiller, Lejaren. Illiac suite. Note--"The five main strophes are
stochastic settings of five successive approximations of spoken English."
- example: Xenakis, Iannis. ST/10.1.080262 (title is abbreviation of stochastic music)
- example: Xenakis, Iannis. Atrees.
- example: Xenakis, Iannis. Achorripsis.
term: Text-sound compositions
- Action: Sent
- scope: An electro-acoustic genre in which spoken words, as opposed to sung words or
wordless vocal sounds, are the primary musical material.
- source: NHDM
- example: Amirkhanian, Charles. Mental radio.
- example: Cage, John. 62 mesostics re Merce Cunningham.
term: Theatrical action music
- scope: A musical work that incorporates theatrical movement, but cannot be classified as
musical theater.
- BT: Music theater
- BT: Performance art
- source: AMC composer files
- example: Wolman, Amnon. Intermission-(from Conventions Album)
term: Theatrical dance music
- Action: To be sent
- scope: Musical works that incorporate dance and/or movement as an integral part of the
composition, but cannot be classified as a dance piece with music.
- BT: Music theater
- BT: Dance music
- source: Composer's catalog
- source: Scores
- example: Hovhaness, Alan. Wind drum
- example: Dean, Laura. Jumping dance
term: Theatrical music events
term: Theatrical musical instrument settings
- scope: An installation of musical instruments that incorporates theatrical action, by
the audience and/or the performers
- BT: Music theater
- BT: Musical instrument installations
- RT: Sound installations
- source: AMC composer files
- source: Interview with Fees 7/94
- example: Fees, Jack. Carnival booth installations
- example: Schell, Michael. An alarming situation (homage to B. Fuller)
term: Theatrical ritual music
- scope: Musical works that incorporate communal activities (sacred, secular, or
"everyday events') in a theatrical text.
- BT: Music theater
- RT: Sacred music
- source: AMC composer's files
- source: Scores
- example: Oliveros, Pauline. Rose moon
term: Theatrical storytelling music
- Action: Undecided
- scope: A musical work that incorporates storytelling in a non-traditional theatrical
setting.
- source: Interview with composer 7/94
- example: Kitzke, Jerome. The Paha Sapa give back
term: Video wall music
- scope: Works that use walls of video monitors as a musical concept, as opposed to a
purely visual one.
- source: Interview with composer 7/94
- example: Childs, Mary Ellen. A chording to . . .
term: Visual percussion
- scope: Use of percussionists as a visual medium (sculpture, dance) as an important
aspect to the piece.
- BT: Music theater
- BT: Percussion music
- source: Interview with composers 5/94 (Lerman and Tabor) , 7/94 (Childs)
- example: Childs, Mary Ellen. Swing shift
- example: Lerman, Richard. Changing states 2
- example: Tabor, Jerry. Exhibit
term: Whale sounds in music
- Action: To be sent
- scope: Use for actual live or recorded whale sounds in the music. Do not use for sounds
created by instruments mimicing whales. Do not use for music about whales. (Use
Whales--Songs and music.)
- BT: Animal sounds in music
- NT: Humpback whale sounds in music
- example: Crumb, George. Vox balaenae.
- example: Ulehla, Ludmilla. Elegy for a whale.
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