Question | Answer |
Nhac Tai Tu | type of chamber music ensemble from S. Vietnam; amateur instrumentalists who play more for their own enjoyment than others |
Piphat | classical ensemble from Thailand characterized by the use of melodic and rhythmic percussion and a double-reed aerophone |
Khru | Thai teacher; linguistically associated with word “guru” found in Hinduism |
Ramayana | Indian mythological epic about Hindu god Rama found throughout South and SE Asia |
Khaen | bamboo free-reed mouth organ from NE Thailand and Laos |
Polyphonic Stratification | layering of simultaneous variants of the same melody |
Colotomic structure | music organized into cycles defined by periodic punctuation played by a specific instrument (basis for Javanese Court Gamelan) |
Pi | double reed aerophone found in the piphat classical ensemble of Thailand |
Palm Wine Guitar | popular music style from Sub-Sarharan Africa known for its association with folk musicians who frequently played for drinks, including palm wine |
Metallophone | idiophone consisting of several metal bars graduated in length to produce different pitches |
Maqam | Arabic/Turkish mode or system of rules and expectations for composition and improv |
Dastgah | Persian (Iranian) mode or system of rules and expectations for composition and improv |
Santur | hammered zither from Persian classical tradition |
Ud | fretless, plucked pear-shaped lute found in Arabic music traditions and is the origin of certain lutes of Africa, Asia, and Europe |
Kanun | plucked zither used in Turkish and Arabic music traditions, prominent in takht ensembles |
Takht | Arabic music ensemble including zithers, bowed and plucked lutes, drums, aerophones, and sometimes non-traditional instruments |
Khöömei | throat or overtone singing from Mongolia |
Sankyoku | Japanese chamber ensemble, consisting of voice, koto (zither), shakuhachi (flute), and shamisen (lute) |
Kabuki | popular music theater form developed for Japan’s middle class in the 18th C |
Tarab | Arabic word for a state of emotional transformation or ecstasy achieved through music |
Dhikr | Suf ritual in which believers chant the name of God with the goal of entering an ecstatic state |
Adhan | Islamic call to prayer |
Muezzin | person who calls Islamic believers to worship 5x a day |
Raqs Sharqi | belly-dancing |
Raqs balladi | more traditional form of dancing |
Palm Wine Guitar | popular music style from Sub-Sarharan Africa known for its association with folk musicians who frequently played for drinks, including palm wine |
Jali | poet/praise singer and oral historian from the Mandinka of Western Africa |
Kora | harp-lute or bridge harp played by a jail during his poetic recitation |
Mbube | genre of choral performance common among migrant workers of S. Africa |
Atumpan | pair of large, goblet-shaped hollow logs with heads of tightly stretched animal skin |
Mbira | lamellophones found in Africa |
Akadinda | large, heavy log xylophone from Uganda that uses interlocking patterns that can approach nearly 600 bpm |
Iscathamiya | derivative of mbube style, means “to walk like a cat,” softer, smoother, subdued dance style |
Balalaika | triangle-shaped, fretted plucked lute from Russia |
Flamenco | Spanish musical tradition featuring vocals with guitar accompaniment, characterized by passionate singing and vibrant rhythm |
Duende | Spanish word meaning “passion,” which refers to an emotional quality considered essential in performances by Spanish Flamenco singers |
Pibroch | form of Scottish bagpipe music with an extended theme-and-variations structure |
Uilleann Bagpipes | bellows-driven pipes of Ireland, means “elbow” |
Hurdy Gurdy | chordophone common in France and Hungary that uses a wheel turned by a crank to vibrate the strings |
Ululation | performing of a single pitch repeatedly with glottal stops |
Bagpipes | reed aerophone consisting of an air bag (bellows), chanter (melody pipe), and drone pipes |
Rom | ethnic group originating in India characterized by a semi-nomadic lifestyle; Gypsies |
Cimbalom | hammered zither from E. Europe, commonly associated with Rom (gypsy) music; national instrument of Hungary |
Reggae | popular music from Jamaica characterized by a rhythmic emphasis on the offbeat and by politically and socially conscious lyrics |
Calypso | popular music from Trinidad characterized by improvised lyrics on topical and broadly humorous subject matter |
Pan | steel oil drum, instrument in Trinidad |
Santeria | African-derived animistic belief system found primarily in Cuba and USA |
Clave | rhythmic pattern in Salsa music, also an instrument |
Guaracha | Latin American ballroom dance as well as a song type emphasizing call-and-response vocal organization |
Ska | predecessor of reggae, Jamaican response to American rhythm and blues/rock and roll |
Vaksin | group of bamboo “trumpets,” each capable of playing a single note |
Rastafarianism | wore dreadlocks, smoking of ganga (marijuana) |
Siku | panpipes common among indigenous populations from Peru and throughout the andes |
Bombos | large drum used in sikuri performances from Peru as well as Samba music from Brazil |
Totem | plant, animal, or natural object used as an emblem for a person or group of people |
Tango | dance and associated music from Argentina |
Bandoneon | button-box accordion |
Mariachi | entertainment music from Mexico |
Samba | music/dance from Brazil |
Capoeira | dance developed from a style of martial arts created by runaway slaves in Brazil |
Agogo | double-bell found in W Africa and used in African-derived music |
Rêco-Rêco | notched scraper idiophone found in Latin American music traditions |
Ginga | back-and-forth motion used as a basis for capoeira dancing |
Pandeiros | handheld frame drum with attached cymbals used in capoeira music |
Peurt a Beul | unaccompanied dance song with nonsense syllables used to substitute for fiddling |
Céilidh | house party |
Wacipi (powwow) | pan-tribal American Indian event celebrating Native American identity and culture, generally also open to non-Native Americans |
Conjunto | popular dance music found along Texas-Mexico border in North America |
Lining-out | minister would read the psalm before it was sung |
Semiotics | the study of signs and systems of signs, including music |
Poietic | creator of music encodes meanings and emotions into the “neutral” composition or performance |
Esthesic | person listening to music interprets meaning and emotions |
Ethocentrism | unconscious assumption that one’s own cultural background is “normal” while that of others is “strange” or “exotic” |
Ethnomusicology | scholarly study of any music within its contemporary cultural |
Bi-musicality | researchers combine learning to play the music under study with field observation (Ki Mantle Hood) |
Postmodernism | de-emphasizes description and the search for absolute truth in favor of interpretation and the acceptance of the reality of truth |
Canon | foundational list of core composers and works every music student is expected to know |
Organology | study of musical instruments |
Sachs-Hornbostel System | standard classification system for musical instruments created by Curt Sachs and Erik M. von Hornbostel |
Aerophone | produces sound through air vibration |
Chordophones | stringed instruments (lutes, zithers, harps, lyres) |
Fret | bar or ridge found on chordophones that enables performers to produce different melodic pitches with consistent frequency levels |
Idiophones | instruments that produce sound through the instrument itself vibrating |
Membranophones | have a vibrating membrane |
Melodic contour | general direction and shape of a melody |
Drone | continuous or repeating sound |
Text-setting | rhythmic relationship of words to melody; can by syllabic (one pitch per syllable) or melismatic (more than one pitch per syllable) |
Phonic Structure | relationship between different sounds in a given piece; can be either monophony or some form of polyphony |
Monophony | music with a single melodic line |
Polyphony | juxtaposition or overlapping of multiple lines of music; 3 types are homophony, independent polyphony, and heterophony |
Homophony | multiple lines of music expressing the same musical idea in the same meter |
Independent polyphony | multiple lines of music expressing independent musical ideas as a cohesive whole |
Heterophony | multiple performers playing simultaneous variations of the same line of music |
Etic | perspective of a cultural outsider |
Emic | perspective of a cultural insider |
Santur | hammered zither from the Persian classical tradition. Often cited as the origin of hammered zithers found throughout Asia, N Africa, Europe, and the W Hemisphere |
Zurna | double-reed aerophone from Turkey, North Africa, and Greece |
Baglama | round-bodied lute from turkey |
Polynesia | collection of islands in the Pacific Ocean. Term derived from Greek- “many islands” |
Didjeridu | long trumpet made from a hollowed tree brance and played by Aborigines from Australia; low, rumbling drone sound |
Aborigines | generic term for an indigenous population, often used to describe native people of Australia |
Animism | belief systems in which natural phenomena as well as both animate and inanimate objects are considered to possess a spirit |
Dreamtime | term describing Australian aboriginal spiritual belief system and concept of creation |
Melanesia | islands in Pacific Ocean, means “black islands” because of darker skin pigmentation of majority of population |
Portamento | smooth, uninterrupted glide from one pitch to another |
Pahu | single-headed cylindrical membranophone from Hawaii that stands vertically on a carved footed base |
Kilu | small drum from Hawaii, usually made from a coconut shell with a fish skin face |
Hulu pahu | Hawaiian dance songs using drum accompaniment |
Micronesia | “tiny islands” |
Sarod | fretless, plucked lute from India |
Caste System | hierarchical system of social organization based on hereditary status at birth, found in Indai and associated with Hinduism |
Raga | mode or system of rules and procedures for composition and improv in Indian classical music |
Bollywood | India’s film industry, Bombay and Hollywood |
Bhajan | Hindu devotional songs from India |
Bauls | group of itinerant musicians from India, especially noted for their poetry |
Bols | mnemonic syllables corresponding to drum strokes in Indian drumming traditions |
Gat | skeletal melody used as a basis for improve in a raga performance of classical Indian instrumental music |
Alap | opening section of a raga performance in which the performer “explores” the raga |