Test 2 Flashcards
How did the Lebanese singer Fairuz’s concert in Las Vegas help to reconnect Arab Americans with their Middle Eastern homelands
Fairuz has long represented Lebanon and the Middle East and is seen as a symbol for home for many Arab Americans. Fairuz’s ensemble included Middle Eastern instruments, and so her music’s sound evoked memories of home for many Arab Americans. Fairuz sang nostalgic songs with deep emotion, arousing feelings of longing for home among her audiences.
What is another name for the Sacred Harp tradition
Shape-note singing
What does the term melismatic text setting refer to?
singing several pitches (including ornaments) per syllable of text
Which of the following describes the Sacred Harp tradition
Four-part harmony
Rooted in early American music
Cultivated in country churches across the South
What was the primary way that early Arab immigrants to the United States transmitted their native musical styles, keeping them alive in their new homeland?
Immigrants imported recordings of the latest Middle Eastern musical styles and published their own recordings in the United States.
What is a glissando?
a continuous slide (upward or downward) between two pitches
Because many Chinese immigrants to the United States in the early twentieth century considered themselves temporary sojourners, they were motivated to maintain their Chinese cultural traditions.
True
What is an ‘ud?
the principle plucked chordophone in the Arab world, with a short neck and a large body with a rounded back
Which group underwent voluntary migration?
the people of France who relocated to Vietnam during French colonization of that territory
Which of the following is true of the shape-note style
Each note has a different shape
It was a method from the 18th and 19th centuries that was created to make it easier for non-musicians to learn to read printed music
It is inherently democratic
Shape-note singing is a phenomenon exclusive to the American South
False
What was the major cause of the first large wave of Chinese immigration to the United States in the mid-nineteenth century?
the prospect of striking it rich during the California Gold Rush
Sacred harp is a performance
False
Chinese immigration to the United States around 1850 was a forced migration caused by a protracted Chinese civil war.
False
Where is one of the epicenters of the Sacred Harp tradition today
Henager, AL
The principal plucked chordophone in the Arab world is the:
‘ud
Which of the following statements about the mawwal Standing on the Shore is true?
It uses the image of waves to symbolize communication with the ancestral homeland
What does the term “sacred harp” originally refer to
the human voice, for which “sacred harp” was originally a term
What does the term mawwal refer to?
a traditional Arab song form that alternates sections in free and regular rhythms, in which the soloist repeats words and ornaments the melody
In the Sacred Harp tradition, the eldest man present always leads the singing
False
Which group of Arab immigrants to the United States experienced forced immigration?
the people who were dislocated by the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1948
When was The Sacred Harp shape-note tunebook first published
1844
People living outside their historic homeland who maintain memories of, and attachments to, their place of origin.
diaspora
Music transmitted without writing.
oral transmission
The use of a system of music writing
written transmission
A genre of traditional Chinese vocal music whose texts deal with the concerns of everyday life, performed by men or women in public or private
muyu
A melodic or harmonic figure, typically at the end of a phrase or piece, that creates a sense of repose or resolution.
cadence
A musical gesture that entails sliding from one pitch to another
glissando
A musical form in which aspects of its content are predetermined.
fixed form
Vocal music in which each syllable of text is sung to one pitch.
syllabic text setting
Vocal music in which each syllable of the text is sung to many pitches.
melismatic text setting
Traditional Arab song that alternates sections in free and regular rhythm.
mawwal
The system governing pitch and melody in Arab music.
maqam
Plucked five-stringed Middle Eastern lute with a short neck and a large body with a rounded back
‘ud
A Middle Eastern trapezoidal zither with twenty-six sets of three strings, played polyphonically with plectra attached to the index fingers of both hands
qanun
A small piece of hard material, such as horn, shell, or plastic, used to pluck a stringed instrument.
plectrum
A pitch that occurs after a metrically strong beat.
offbeat
A grouping, or measure, of two beats.
duple meter
A genre of songs, usually with verses and a refrain, that emerged from the musical expression of African American slaves converted to New World Christianity.
spiritual
A performance practice in which a leader makes a musical statement and another performer (or group of performers) responds with a musical answer
call-and-response
Rhythmic organization based on groupings, or measures, of four beats.
quadruple meter
A Vietnamese zither with a pitch-bending bar
dan bau
A Vietnamese sixteen-stringed zither.
dan tranh
A Vietnamese two-stringed lute
dan nhi
Vietnamese time period of one beat marked by striking a bamboo block.
phach
A group of songs that are composed as a set, sometimes because they have texts by the same poet or are connected thematically in some other way.
song cycle
A Vietnamese popular song tradition of the French colonial period that used Western instruments and Vietnamese lyrics, and occasionally drew on Vietnamese folk melodies.
tan nhac
A Vietnamese work song.
ho
The process by which music moves from one key or scale type to another.
modulation
A melody that contrasts with a main melody, or tune, played at the same time.
countermelody
What event lies at the root of the present-day Vietnamese diaspora community?
the entry of French missionaries into Vietnam in the mid-seventeenth century
Ca Hue, a type of Vietnamese chamber music, originated in and is associated with which region of Vietnam?
central Vietnam
African American spirituals were transformed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries under the influence of the Western classical music style of the dominant American society.
True
What is one significant reason that Vietnamese people in refugee camps in Hong Kong and the Philippines mainly sang sad songs and love songs?
Because the Vietnamese Communist regime had prohibited singing love songs and sad songs before 1975, doing so in the refugee camps was a political act.
What aspects of tan nhac, a Westernized Vietnamese popular-song tradition, are Vietnamese in origin?
The lyrics are sung in Vietnamese and the melodies are sometimes based on Vietnamese folk songs.
What are spirituals?
the musical expression of slaves in the Americas who converted to New World Christianity
Which term refers to the large popular musical events that are hosted by Vietnamese diaspora communities in large urban centers?
da vu
How were spirituals transformed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?
They began to be transmitted more widely, becoming influenced by Western classical music.
What is the major reason that the National Road song cycle is significant to members of the Vietnamese diaspora community?
It arouses memories and nostalgia by recreating sounds and texts of traditional Vietnamese music.
Oral transmission occurs when music is transmitted from person to person through hearing music performed.
True
Which term refers to a vocal style in which a soloist and chorus interact by singing alternating lines of melody?
call and response
Why do people who have experienced forced migration often maintain their native music traditions?
They are nostalgic for the past and maintain their music as part of their shared identity.
The migration of many people to North and South America in search of new religious and economic opportunities is best described as:
voluntary migration
The dan tranh is a Vietnamese:
sixteen-stringed zither.
Which of the following was a highly influential musical repertory that formed as African American slaves were converted to New World Christianity?
Spirituals
What group of people was historically not permitted to play the drums in Shoshone musical practice?
women
For what purpose was the modern intertribal powwow begun?
to be a symbol of “Indianness” in twentieth-century America
To what other song genre is the narco-corrido sometimes compared?
gangsta rap
What is the name of the singer who has played a prominent role in Indian political and social affairs, and is said “to have invented the role of the Native American international activist pop star”?
Buffy Saint-Marie
What is the role of the emcee at powwows?
to mediate between Native participants drawn from different tribes, and the tourists and other nonnative observers who attend the powwow, to announce the various events that occur at the powwows, to offer commentary on everything from the performances of visiting drum groups to current political issues
At the Shoshone Indian Days celebrations, dance competitions are usually:
restricted to dancers in tribal regalia
Which of the following “white man’s songs” has been borrowed as a melody for a Shoshone war song?
Amazing Grace
What ensemble accompanies dancers at modern intertribal powwows?
several drum groups made up of both Native and non-Native Americans
During which era in the history of music recording did the ethnic recordings market begin to thrive ?
the phonograph era
Which of the following is the Native American term that has the same meaning as the Western musical term “to double,” meaning to fortify a melody by adding an additional voice?
to second
What political messages are conveyed through the Shoshone Flag Songs?
honoring people and events and offering respect for flag, country, and veterans
Why have traditional dances lost some of their popularity at more recent powwows?
Young people are attracted to the more athletic fancy dances.
What musical aspect of a corrido helps the singer recall its long, detailed texts?
Melody
What are hero corridos?
Mexican ballads that portray larger-than-life Mexican figures
Which of the following corridos exemplifies the transformation of the corrido genre in response to changing political, social, and cultural conditions?
The victim corrido, The revolutionary corrido, The narco-corrido, The Ballad of Osama bin Laden
What was the intercultural conflict that shaped the genre of the corrido?
the conflict between Mexicans and Anglo-Americans
The corrido emerged in the first half of the twentieth century as a song genre shaped by conflict between Mexicans and Anglo-Americans in the Mexico/US border region.
false
The melody of the pizmon Mifalot Elohim is not an Arab song (it is the melody of the Christmas carol O Tannenbaum), but it is classified by Syrian Jews as maqam ajam. Why?
It is in the Western major mode, which is very similar to maqam ajam.
What is the literal meaning of the term pizmon?
“adoration”
The drum commonly used in the Arab Middle East is called the:
darabukkah
Which is NOT a defining characteristic of a given maqam?
the relationship between the tonic pitch and the highest pitch in the scale
In Arab vocal music, a layali is typically:
improvised.
What is one way in which the Syrian Jewish community reinforces the connections between the auditory experience of music and other sensory experiences?
They sing during festive meals, and they relate the sounds of maqamat and the performance of pizmonim to the flavors of the foods that they eat.
Which is referred to as the second line in a jazz funeral?
the crowd of people that follows behind the jazz band and the mourners as they process through the streets after leaving the cemetery
How does musical performance at haflah celebrations enhance musical memories in the Syrian Jewish community?
The Arab songs from which pizmon melodies were taken are sung in their original form, reinforcing the process of musical transmission.
Most pizmonim borrow their tunes from Jewish songs.
False
What is the purpose of the layali introduction in Arab vocal music?
to establish the maqam that will be used in the following song
Before the burial at the cemetery, the band in a jazz funeral plays upbeat songs to set the initial tone of celebration.
False
An evening party, such as an anniversary celebration, in the Syrian Jewish community
haflah
A hymn with a Hebrew text set to a melody borrowed from a non-Jewish source
pizmon
An Arab song form composed in three parts (A B A)
muwashshah
An improvised vocal introduction that establishes a maqam
layali
A song created by writing a new text to a preexisting melody
contrafactum
The Sebet songfest, held on Sabbath afternoons to celebrate special occasions, has played a major role in Syrian Jewish ceremonial life. Which of the following is NOT true of the Sebet?
A large group of instruments accompany the singing
In jazz funerals, which song is a standard number for the celebratory return from the cemetery?
“When the Saints Go Marching In”
The jazz funeral emerged from the nineteenth-century New Orleans custom of funeral societies sponsoring funerals, which included music by a brass band.
True
In Jewish religious tradition, setting a sacred Hebrew text to a non-Jewish melody is believed to bring out the melody’s “holy spark.”
True
What is the reason that Louis Massry, the composer of the pizmon Ramach Evarai, chose to borrow the melody of a song called The Wheat Song, which had been composed for an Egyptian film thirty-six years earlier?
The melody was “catchy,” and it carried memories of Middle Eastern life for Massry’s Syrian Jewish community.
Period of sound recording and playback initiated by Thomas Edison’s 1877 invention of the cylinder phonograph.
phonographic era
78-rpm discs issued from approximately 1900 to 1950, targeted for a particular subgroup united by a shared national, linguistic, racial, or religious background. (page 205)
ethnic recordings
A neurological condition in which sensations cross between the senses, as when someone hearing music perceives certain pitches as colors.
synesthesia
A flexible term that can refer, depending on the context, to a musical system or a particular series of pitches. Examples of modes are Ge‘ez, major mode, and minor mode. (page 217)
mode
Mexican and Mexican American ballad that portrays a larger-than-life figure. (page 207)
hero corrido
Drug ballads popular along the Mexican/US border. See corrido. (page 207)
narco-corrido
New Orleans jazz funeral. A ritual marking the death of a musician that includes a procession with a jazz band. (page 211)
jazz funeral
Ensemble that includes various horns and a rhythm section and performs jazz. (page 212)
jazz band
Sacred vocal genre sung during worship ceremonies. (page 212)
hymn
An instrumental lament played at a slow tempo. (page 212)
dirge
Ensemble of brass instruments such as trumpet, cornet, trombone, and tuba. (page 212)
brass band
People who follow the band in the jazz funeral, dancing as they go. (page 212)
second line
An unpitched membranphone used in bands and orchestras that has rattles (called snares) stretched across one or both heads of the drum. (page 215)
snare drum
Percussion music to accompany people marching. (page 215)
marching cadence
Hymns sung by Syrian Jews, featuring sacred Hebrew texts set to popular Arab melodies. (page 216)
pizmon
A song in which new text is set to a borrowed or preexisting melody. (page 217)
contrafactum
The system governing pitch and melody in Arab music. (page 217)
maqam
A maqam that resembles the Western major mode. (page 218)
maqam ajam
A maqam that resembles the Western minor mode. (page 218)
maqam nahawand
A series of four pitches in the Middle Eastern music tradition that are a building block of a particular maqam. (page 218)
tetrachord
In Arab vocal music, an improvisation that introduces a song and establishes the maqam used in the rest of the piece. (page 219)
layali
A classical Arab vocal form marked by a regular rhythm and rhyme scheme and a three-part form. (page 219)
muwashshah
A party held among Syrian Jews and other peoples of Middle Eastern descent to celebrate a special occasion such as an anniversary, usually featuring a professional vocalist who sings popular Arabic songs with accompaniment. (page 223)
haflah
A rhythmic organization based on groupings, or measures, of three beats. (page 208)
triple meter
A Middle Eastern membranophone with a goblet shape. (page 230)
darabukkah
A Great Basin people who migrated to the Plains, some settling on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming
shoshone
Native American social gatherings that feature ceremonies, celebrations, and dance competitions; formerly pawwaw in the Algonquian language
powwow
Annual Native American intertribal gatherings that feature social and competitive events during the days and powwow ceremonies in the evenings
Indian Days
Activity in which dancers perform and are judged comparatively on aspects of dance technique, and style
dance competitions
Native American powwow ensemble of four to six drummers around a large bass drum
drum group
Native celebration of good fortune during which gifts are given
giveaways
powwow dance open to all attendees
intertribal dance
series of drum beats in Native American practice
honor beats
A native American song performed during a powwow flag ceremony to honor the American flag
flag song
Procession around dance area by all powwow participants wearing regalia followed by presentation of the flag
Grand Entry
A vocal sound of joy or celebration commonly produced by women in Africa and the Middle East
uluation
name of first sacred harp book
The Easy Instructor
