World Music and Music Culture

Question 1

Australian Aboriginal musical instruments

Answer 1

didgeridoo, bull-roarer, and the gum leaf

Question 2

didgeridoo

Answer 2

most well known Australian Aboriginal instrument, consists of a simple wooden tube that is slightly flared at the end. Players buzz their lips similarly to a trumpet but without a mouthpiece. Produces a low-pitched drone

Question 3

bull-roarer

Answer 3

Australian Aboriginal instrument, simple wooden slat connected to the end of a length of chord. Sound is produced when the cord is wound and the bull-roarer is whirled in a circular motion. Creates a pulsating, low-pitched roar

Question 4

gum leaf

Answer 4

a primitive Australian Aboriginal instrument, musicians use the leaf of the Eucalyptus tree, held taut against the lip, as a simple wind valve for the mouth. Skilled players can easily play tunes using the same technique as in whistling

Question 5

maqam system

Answer 5

the system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music, which is mainly melodic, similar to the Western scale except it is confined to the lower tetrachord. Scalar intervals may include quartertones, semitones, and even microtones

Question 6

characteristics of African music

Answer 6

call and response form, use of polyrhythms, syncopation, and off beat phrasing, a cyclic form that can be continued as long as performers want, and instruments that jingle/buzz/rattle

Question 7

Chinese musical instruments

Answer 7

pipa (lute with four strings), erhu (lute with two strings and a bow that sits between the strings), yangqin (trapezoidal, hammered dulcimer), dizi (transverse flute)

Question 8

kabuki

Answer 8

Japanese theater form stemming from the Edo period of the 1600s. Originally performed by females, who use dramatically colored masks. A kabuki play has four parts: 1) deja (introduces mood and characters) 2) chuha (build the plot) 3) odoriji (dance component) and 4) iriha (musical finale and end of plot)

Question 9

dialogue in African music

Answer 9

also known as call and response

Question 10

significance of music in West Africa

Answer 10

used in birth, adulthood initiations, marriages, and death with singing, drumming and dancing. During ceremonies, professional musicians perform special music to induce trance, possession, or direct communication with spirits

Question 11

influence of Arab culture on North African music

Answer 11

Quranic chant, poetry/harp/lute playing, and instruments such as the timbre, drums, and metal castanets

Question 12

influencers of early jazz music

Answer 12

music of black and creole musicians, black church (improvisation, storytelling, call and response, vocal inflections, blues progression), American marching band music and ragtime (strong stride rhythms and multi-thematic material), pianistic harmonies of composers such as Debussy and Ravel, claves/syncopations of Latin music

Question 13

compare and contrast the waltz and the mazurka

Answer 13

both European dances of the Romantic era. Waltz is from Southern Germany and Austria, mazurka is from the province of Mazovia in Poland. The waltz places emphasis on the downbeat while the mazurka places emphasis on either the second or third beats. Both consisted of two or four repeated eight measure sections, but the waltz evolved to become longer and more complex. Waltz had a faster tempo with an elegant style. Many stylistic variations of the mazurka, but the conventional mazurka had an intense, militant aesthetic

Question 14

Appalachian music

Answer 14

folk traditions of the Eastern US, specifically the Appalachian mountain range. Influenced heavily by Irish, Scottish and English emigrants as well as African-American musical traditions from the slaves at the time

Question 15

mambo

Answer 15

song and dance genre that stems from the Afro-Cuban movement of the 1940s. Rhythms are moderate to fast, features distinctive riffs for the rhythm section and brass instruments. Cowbells play a strong, syncopated ostinato. The ensemble is made up of double bass, bongo, tumbadora, trumpets, guitar, and voices

Question 16

Pre-Colombian indigenous musical culture

Answer 16

the Incas of Peru and the Aztecs of Mexico had musician specific educational institutions. Rulers employed musicians responsible for new compositions and performances - a mistake in ceremonial performance/dance could mean death

Question 17

calypso music

Answer 17

developed in Trinidad, typically played with steel drum band; witty, lovely, and humorous

Question 18

rumba

Answer 18

African song and dance form now popular in Cuba that uses conga drums and sticks. Has a three-part form with fast polyrhythms, includes improvised verses and repetitive call and response sections

Question 19

merengue

Answer 19

prominent in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti, popular song and dance style in a swift duple meter

Question 20

bossa nova

Answer 20

originated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the late 1950s and combined elements of the popular Brazilian samba with elements of American jazz. Characterized by its laid-back singing style, complex harmonies, and the bossa nova clave rhythm. Acoustic guitar is a principal instrument. Rhythm is syncopated, giving a swaying feeling rather than a strong, measured pulse.

Question 21

Latin jazz

Answer 21

originated in the late 1940s, merged the rhythms and instruments of Afro-Latin music with American jazz music. Had two sub-genres: Afro-Cuban jazz, which incorporated Cuban rhythms like the mambo and habanera with elements of bebop (also featured a 2-3 or 3-2 clave) and Afro-Brazilian jazz, which incorporated samba rhythms with music of Europe and America

Question 22

reggae

Answer 22

a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the 1960s, it’s recognizable from the counterpoint between the bass and drum downbeat and the offbeat rhythm section

Question 23

raga

Answer 23

a melodic framework for improvisation akin to a melodic mode in Indian classical music.

Question 24

mariachi

Answer 24

a genre of Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century. The usual group today consists of as many as eight violins, two trumpets and at least one guitar, including a high-pitched vihuela and an acoustic bass guitar called a guitarrón, and all players taking turns singing lead and doing backup vocals.

Question 25

gagaku

Answer 25

the oldest form of Japanese classical music, has been performed at the Imperial Court in Kyoto since the 7th century

Question 26

djembe

Answer 26

rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa, lead djembe usually accentuates dancers’ movements and improvises over the rest of the drumming ensemble

Question 27

sitar

Answer 27

stringed instrument of the lute family that is popular in northern India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, has a deep pear-shaped gourd body; a long, wide, hollow wooden neck; both front and side tuning pegs; and 20 arched movable frets

Question 28

pan pipes

Answer 28

folk instrument consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length, named after Pan, the Greek god of nature and shepherds often depicted with such an instrument

Question 29

alphorn

Answer 29

most famous Swiss aerophone

Question 30

yodeling

Answer 30

a form of singing or calling marked by rapid alternation between the normal voice and falsetto, present in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

Question 31

honor beats

Answer 31

accented drum beats in Native American music

Question 32

nose flute

Answer 32

important wind instrument throughout the Pacific (except for Australia and New Zealand), often made out of bamboo, it is played through a single nostril while the other mother is held shut. Produces a soft and gentle sound. It was used during courtship and lovemaking, as a respectful way to gently awaken the chief of a tribe, or to evoke magical and spiritual qualities

Question 33

Bunraku

Answer 33

Japanese puppet theater, music uses the shamisen instrument (3 stringed plucked instrument without frets)

Question 34

corrido

Answer 34

Mexican popular music genre that was a narrative ballad preserving oral history, set to a waltz or polka rhythm

Question 35

norteña

Answer 35

genre of Regional Mexican music from Northern Mexico. The music is most often based on a polka or waltz tempo and its lyrics often deal with socially relevant topics. The accordion and the bajo sexto are the genre’s most characteristic instruments. Developed as a mixture between German folk music and Northern Mexican music

Question 36

cumbia

Answer 36

a broad genre of popular music that originated among Afro-Colombian populations in the Caribbean of Colombia, and developed into a range of different styles in the 1960s and later, particularly in Mexico, the Andean region and Argentina