Posts tagged as:

music

HIGHFALUTIN [hahy-fuh-LOOT-n]: grandiose, pompous, pretentious

January 3, 2013

Highfalutin is one of those words that I didn’t think was a real word.  I thought it was just a nonsense term, but it turns out that it’s legitimate.   Bryan Garner lists the word as an Americanism which dates from the mid-19th century.  That’s about as much about the origin of the word that I [...]

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HARMONIC: compatible elements

January 30, 2012

Boy, this was a tough one.  If you were to take the time to look up the word harmonic in the dictionary (it doesn’t matter which one) you’d probably be overwhelmed by the scientific explanation of this phenomenon.   It has to do with the falling into place of elements of physics which are compatible.   But [...]

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ALLEGORY: a symbolic representation of a concept

January 21, 2012

An allegory is a visualization of an idea.   Does that sound complicated?  It’s not. Blind Justice, the statue shown in today’s illustration, is a perfect example of an allegorical symbol.  It is an artistic representation of a concept, that true justice is blind to such things as race, creed, place of origin, gender, economic status, [...]

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QUIETUDE: the state of being peaceful, tranquil, calm

October 19, 2011

I suppose different people have differing concepts of what constitutes the state of quietude. The classic understanding might be that which is depicted in this illustration: a hammock on beach at sunset, warm temperatures, no agenda, no cell phone.  But for someone else, quietude could well be a park bench in the middle of Central [...]

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WATERFIRE: a magnificent environmental art form in Providence

May 29, 2011

One of the more incredible advantages of living in Providence, Rhode Island , is the ability to participate in Waterfire throughout the warmer season of the year.  The best way to describe it is to quote from its webpage: This award-winning sculpture by Barnaby Evans installed on the three rivers of downtown Providence, has been [...]

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GIG: a one-time performance by a musician or other artist

April 7, 2011

I’ve heard musicians and others use the word gig over and over again.  Probably for decades. Now it is being used by anyone who has a one-time performance.  Our daughter, a caterer, uses the term regularly to describe being hired for a dinner or event. I’ve never known what the word gig meant.  Is it [...]

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EARBALLS: The number of people listening to a radio station or concert, or visiting an online music site (WordSpy.com)

December 13, 2009

It’s been kind of heavy for the past couple of days, so let’s take a look at something a little lighter. Like earballs, a word being introduced into our lexicon which is the aural equivalent of eyeballs. Eyeballs are the number of people who are watching something at any one time. Earballs,therefore, are the number [...]

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BASSO OSTINATO: a bass line continually repeated. (Dictionary.com)

October 30, 2009

You don’t have to be a musicologist to have appreciation for the basso ostinato, a Latin term for a short, but strong, theme which plays continually throughout either a portion of a piece of music or the entire piece. It is found frequently in fugues. The repetition of this bass line gives substance to the [...]

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HARMONY: a consistent, orderly, or pleasing arrangement of parts; congruity. (Dictionary.com)

October 29, 2009

I’ve been to concerts of Barber Shop Quartets before, many years ago. There is a combination of music and entertainment which makes the concerts work, and I always begin with an appreciation for the tight harmony practiced by the participants. But I have to say that I can only listen to barber shop quartets for [...]

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