Final Exam Flashcards
Polyrhythm
Multiple rhythms played simultaneously, the rhythmic basis of most African music.
Talking Drums
Drums that use rhythm and inflection to mimic speech
Juju
Popular music from Nigeria which blends traditional polyrhythmic percussion and storytelling with modern instrumentation and concert performance.
Pygmies
A semi-nomadic ethic group from Central Africa whose singing style reflects their egalitarian social structure
Mbira
A plucked idiophone from Zimbabwe
Bira
A spirit possession ceremony of the Shona ethnic group from Zimbabwe
Jali
A West African praise-singer and oral historian of the Mandinka ethnic group
Lora
A bridge harp form West Africa played by a Jali during his poetic recitation
Apartheid
The South African set of segregation and economic discrimination laws from the 1900’s
Mbube
A South African vocal style featuring male voices in harmony
Isicathamiya
A modern version of Mbube signing, exemplified by the group Ladysimth Black Mambazo.
Syncretic Religion/Syncretism
African religions in the Caribbean, including Vodou and Santeria, which are mapped onto European belief systems, particularly Catholicism.
Reggae
A popular music from Jamaica with a melodic bass line, emphasis on the off-beat, and socially conscious lyrics.
Calypso
A popular music from Trinidad characterized by improvised lyrics on topical and broadly humorous subject matter.
Carnival
A pre-lent festival celebrated in Roman Catholic cultures
Tamboo Bamboo
An ensemble from Trinidad that plays lengths of bamboo as percussion instruments, was a reaction to the British ban on drumming.
Vodou
An African-dericed religious system in Haiti, incorporating some influences from Roman Catholicism.
Santeria
A belief system combining animism and syncretized Roman catholicism, found primarily in Cuba and US
Pan
A musical instrument from Trinidad made out of a steel oil drum.
Guiro
A scraped gourd idiophone
Clave
One of a pair of hand-held wooden cylinders played in Latin American genres such as Salsa, also the same of the rhythm played on the is instrument.
Merengue
A Latin American dance and music form from the Dominican Republic, which uses accordion and guiro
Amazonian Indian Chant
Traditional vocal music of the Kayapo people of northern Brazil
Totem
A plant, animal, or natural object used as an emblem for a person or group of people
Siku
Panpipes common among indigenous populations from Peru and throughout the Andes
Bandoneon
The button-box accordion used in Tango music
Tango
A music and dance genre from Argentina
Mariacho
Mexican music associated with festivals and celebratory events
Samba
A popular music and dance genre from Brazil
Capoeira
A martial arts dance that was created by escaped slaves in Brazil
Berimbau
A musical bow used in capoeira music
Fiddle
A violin that is played in a folk music context
Jig
Dance music in 6/8 times originating on the British Isles
Ballad
An unaccompanied song that tells a story
Appalachia
A mountainous region in the eastern United States where ballad sinning is an important tradition music form.
Bluegrass
A style of American folk music characterized by virtuosic instrumental performance and the “high lonesome” vocal style
Blue note
A itch not standard to the Euro-American tradition, believed to derive from West African tuning systems
Blues
A secular folk tradition originating within the African-American community in the southern U.S. with lyrics commenting on life
Salsa
A latin American dance music, popularized in New York
Creole
French-speaking peoples of African and French ancestry living in Louisiana
Zydeco
Creole dance music from Louisiana that calends African-American styles with Cajun
Vocables
Words used in songs because of the way they sounds rather than what they mean
Powwow
A pan-tribal Native American event celebrating Native American identity and culture.
