What is a Soundscape?

The distinctive settings, sounds, and significances of music.

The number of vibrations per second, which determines the pitch of a sound.

Overtones / Harmonics

A series of fractional tones that sound faintly above the fundamental pitch when a note is played or sung.

The lowest pitch in the overtone series, which we perceive as the main note.

Tuvan Throat Singing and Fundamental Tone

Tuvan throat singing (Khoomii) produces a distinct fundamental pitch with high overtones ringing above it.

The sound quality caused by the acoustic properties of an instrument or voice, such as its construction materials, shape, and how the sound is initiated.

The relative highness or lowness of a sound, determined by frequency.

A purposeful, rhythmic vibration and fluctuation of a pitch used to add warmth and expression to a note.

A vocal style where sound is resonated heavily in the nasal cavity. It is widely used in traditional Native American music and country/bluegrass styles.

Nasal Tone Singing Example

The Wreck of Old 97 uses a nasal country vocal tone.

A technique used by male singers to sing notes higher than their normal vocal range by vibrating only the edges of the vocal cords.

A single melodic line performed by one person or a group in perfect unison.

Two distinct lines, typically a sustained drone pitch played underneath a moving melody line.

A dominant melody line supported by harmonic accompaniment, like a singer strumming chords on a guitar.

Two or more independent, simultaneous melody lines woven together.

Two or more voices or instruments playing the same basic melody at the same time but ornamenting or varying it slightly differently.

A continuous, unchanging low pitch that creates a biphonic texture when a melody plays over it.

A melody that moves smoothly by small stepwise intervals.

A melody that leaps drastically between high and low pitches.

The span of pitches from the lowest to highest that an instrument or voice can produce.

Wide vs. Narrow Range

A wide range covers many pitches, while a narrow range covers fewer pitches.

A set of pitches arranged in ascending or descending order.

A system of syllables used to teach pitch and sight-singing: Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti.

A scale consisting of five notes per octave.

Trills, shakes, or decorative flourishes added to a melody.

A rapid alternation between two adjacent notes.

The study of music within its human and cultural contexts.

Fields Contributing to Ethnomusicology

Anthropology, sociology, folklore, history, and musicology contribute heavily to ethnomusicology.

A written, research-driven study or report focusing on a specific music culture or community.

The hands-on process where ethnomusicologists live within a community to observe its music.

The physical, daily journals ethnomusicologists write to document their fieldwork observations.

Tuvan throat singing where a single performer manipulates their throat muscles to sing a low fundamental drone while simultaneously producing high, flute-like overtones.

A two-stringed Tuvan fiddle with a horse-head scroll that traditionally accompanies Khoomii singing.

An Inuit vocal game performed by two women facing close together, making rhythmic, guttural throat sounds.

It is an interactive vocal game, not a formal song.

The scientific study and classification of musical instruments.

Sachs-Hornbostel System

A system created by Curt Sachs and Erik von Hornbostel to classify instruments based on what physically vibrates to make sound.

An instrument in which the body of the instrument itself vibrates.

Cymbals, gongs, and steel drums.

An instrument in which a stretched skin or membrane vibrates.

An instrument in which stretched strings vibrate.

Guitar, sitar, violin, and tanbura.

An instrument in which a column of air vibrates.

An instrument whose sound is produced or amplified through electronic means.

Instruments created in Trinidad by hammering out and tuning the surface of discarded industrial oil containers.

Why Are Steel Drums Important?

Steel drums transform environmental waste into an idiophone.

An Armenian double-reed woodwind instrument with a large reed; it is an aerophone.

Duduks are played in pairs, with one performer playing the melody while a second player holds a continuous drone.

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Midterm 1

MUSC 1250

Term	Definition
What is a Soundscape?	The distinctive settings, sounds, and significances of music.
Frequency	The number of vibrations per second, which determines the pitch of a sound.
Overtones / Harmonics	A series of fractional tones that sound faintly above the fundamental pitch when a note is played or sung.
Fundamental Tone	The lowest pitch in the overtone series, which we perceive as the main note.
Tuvan Throat Singing and Fundamental Tone	Tuvan throat singing (Khoomii) produces a distinct fundamental pitch with high overtones ringing above it.
Timbre / Tone Color	The sound quality caused by the acoustic properties of an instrument or voice, such as its construction materials, shape, and how the sound is initiated.
Pitch	The relative highness or lowness of a sound, determined by frequency.
Vibrato	A purposeful, rhythmic vibration and fluctuation of a pitch used to add warmth and expression to a note.
Nasal Tone Singing	A vocal style where sound is resonated heavily in the nasal cavity. It is widely used in traditional Native American music and country/bluegrass styles.
Nasal Tone Singing Example	The Wreck of Old 97 uses a nasal country vocal tone.
Falsetto	A technique used by male singers to sing notes higher than their normal vocal range by vibrating only the edges of the vocal cords.
Monophony	A single melodic line performed by one person or a group in perfect unison.
Biphony	Two distinct lines, typically a sustained drone pitch played underneath a moving melody line.
Homophony	A dominant melody line supported by harmonic accompaniment, like a singer strumming chords on a guitar.
Polyphony	Two or more independent, simultaneous melody lines woven together.
Heterophony	Two or more voices or instruments playing the same basic melody at the same time but ornamenting or varying it slightly differently.
Drone	A continuous, unchanging low pitch that creates a biphonic texture when a melody plays over it.
Conjunct Melody	A melody that moves smoothly by small stepwise intervals.
Disjunct Melody	A melody that leaps drastically between high and low pitches.
Range	The span of pitches from the lowest to highest that an instrument or voice can produce.
Wide vs. Narrow Range	A wide range covers many pitches, while a narrow range covers fewer pitches.
Scale	A set of pitches arranged in ascending or descending order.
Solfège	A system of syllables used to teach pitch and sight-singing: Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti.
Pentatonic Scale	A scale consisting of five notes per octave.
Ornamentation	Trills, shakes, or decorative flourishes added to a melody.
Trill	A rapid alternation between two adjacent notes.
Ethnomusicology	The study of music within its human and cultural contexts.
Fields Contributing to Ethnomusicology	Anthropology, sociology, folklore, history, and musicology contribute heavily to ethnomusicology.
Musical Ethnography	A written, research-driven study or report focusing on a specific music culture or community.
Fieldwork	The hands-on process where ethnomusicologists live within a community to observe its music.
Fieldnotes	The physical, daily journals ethnomusicologists write to document their fieldwork observations.
Khoomii Singing	Tuvan throat singing where a single performer manipulates their throat muscles to sing a low fundamental drone while simultaneously producing high, flute-like overtones.
Igil	A two-stringed Tuvan fiddle with a horse-head scroll that traditionally accompanies Khoomii singing.
Katajjaq Singing	An Inuit vocal game performed by two women facing close together, making rhythmic, guttural throat sounds.
Katajjaq Purpose	It is an interactive vocal game, not a formal song.
Organology	The scientific study and classification of musical instruments.
Sachs-Hornbostel System	A system created by Curt Sachs and Erik von Hornbostel to classify instruments based on what physically vibrates to make sound.
Idiophone	An instrument in which the body of the instrument itself vibrates.
Idiophone Examples	Cymbals, gongs, and steel drums.
Membranophone	An instrument in which a stretched skin or membrane vibrates.
Membranophone Examples	Snare drum and Atumpan.
Chordophone	An instrument in which stretched strings vibrate.
Chordophone Examples	Guitar, sitar, violin, and tanbura.
Aerophone	An instrument in which a column of air vibrates.
Aerophone Examples	Flute, bagpipes, and duduk.
Electrophone	An instrument whose sound is produced or amplified through electronic means.
Electrophone Example	Synthesizer.
Steel Drums	Instruments created in Trinidad by hammering out and tuning the surface of discarded industrial oil containers.
Why Are Steel Drums Important?	Steel drums transform environmental waste into an idiophone.
Duduk	An Armenian double-reed woodwind instrument with a large reed; it is an aerophone.
Duduk Performance	Duduks are played in pairs, with one performer playing the melody while a second player holds a continuous drone.
Duduk Texture	The melody and continuous drone create a biphonic texture.
Duduk Listening Example	The duduk is featured in the track Sweet Spring (Anush Garun).
Harmony	The vertical combination of pitches heard simultaneously, usually forming chords to accompany a melody.
Beat	The steady, underlying pulse of the music.
Irregular Meter	Rhythmic patterns that do not divide evenly into units of 2, 3, or 4.
Blue Rondo À La Turk Meter	Blue Rondo À La Turk uses a fast 9-beat meter grouped as 2+2+2+3.
Syncopation	A rhythmic technique where accents are deliberately shifted to off-beats or normally weak beats.
Strophic Form	A structure where the music remains the same for every verse, but the lyrics change.
Strophic Form Examples	Wreck of Old 97 and Barbara Allen.
Refrain	A recurring chorus section where both the music and lyrics stay the same each time it returns.
Composition	Planning and writing down music ahead of time.
Improvisation	Creating music spontaneously in the moment of performance.
Composition vs. Improvisation	Composition happens before performance, while improvisation is created spontaneously during performance.
Diaspora	A scattered population whose origin lies in a separate geographic locale.
Causes of Diaspora	People may join or form a diaspora due to forced migration, exile, or seeking economic opportunities.
Folk Music	Traditional music transmitted orally through generations within a community.
Art Music	Formal, classical music that typically requires written notation and advanced conservatory training.
Folk Music vs. Art Music	Folk music is traditionally transmitted orally within a community, while art music is generally formal, written, and associated with advanced training.
Highlife	A popular musical style from Ghana that blends traditional Akan rhythms with Western jazz, brass instruments, and guitars.
Great Durbar	A grand celebration and royal procession in Ghana where chiefs are carried in palanquins accompanied by massive drumming and dancing networks.
Homowo Festival	A festival celebrated by the Ga peoples of Ghana to mock hunger and commemorate the harvest.
Homowo Music	The Homowo Festival features polyrhythmic drumming.
Polyrhythm	The simultaneous use of two or more conflicting rhythmic patterns.
Polyrhythm Cultural Association	Polyrhythm is common across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Funeral Associations	Social networks in Ghana that help families pay for lavish funerals.
Funeral Associations and Music	Funeral associations hire specific drum and dance groups to perform, such as Agbadza.
Atumpan	Large talking drums used by the Akan/Ewe peoples to mimic human speech patterns and communicate across distances.
Sargam	The solfège scale syllables used in traditional Indian music: Sa-Re-Ga-Ma-Pa-Dha-Ni.
Raga	The melodic modes, frameworks, and expressive systems used in Indian music.
Tala	The underlying cyclical rhythmic patterns and meters in Indian music.
Guru	A spiritual and musical mentor who passes down complex musical knowledge directly to a disciple through strict oral tradition.
Playback Singer	A vocalist in Bollywood cinema whose voice is pre-recorded for use in movies while actors lip-sync to the recording on screen.
Ganesh Chaturthi Festival	A massive Hindu festival celebrating the elephant-headed god Ganesh, the remover of obstacles.
Jay Ganesh	A devotional song (Aarati) performed at a Puja at the end of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival to rectify mistakes made during the ritual.
Jay Ganesh Beginning	Jay Ganesh begins with the sounding of a conch shell (shankh) and ringing cymbals or bells.
Jay Ganesh Rhythm	Jay Ganesh uses a 6-beat rhythmic tala pattern.
Sitar	A plucked lute used in Hindustani music of North India.
Tabla	A pair of drums used in Hindustani music of North India.
Tanbura	A drone lute used in both Hindustani and Karnatak music.
Shankh	A conch shell used in Indian music and ritual.
Violin in Indian Music	The violin is used in Karnatak music of South India.
Flute in Indian Music	The flute is used in Karnatak music of South India.
Mrdangam	A double-headed drum used in Karnatak music of South India.
Hindustani Instruments	Sitar, tabla, tanbura, and shankh.
Karnatak Instruments	Violin, flute, mrdangam, and tanbura.
Fado	A traditional, soulful Portuguese music style.
Meaning of Fado	Fado translates directly to Fate or Destiny in Portuguese.
Amália Rodrigues	The most legendary and world-famous singer of Portuguese Fado music.
Kings Noyse	A prominent historical performance ensemble known for playing historical classical or art music on early stringed instruments.
Raga Nilambari	A specific Indian raga framework spiritually linked to sleep and routinely used to compose lullabies.
Quinceañera	A traditional Latin American celebration for a girl turning 15, marking her transition to womanhood.
Vihuela	A string instrument used in mariachi music.
Guitarron	A large, deep-bodied acoustic bass guitar with a curved back used in mariachi.
Mariachi Band Instruments	Vihuela, guitarron, violins, trumpets, and standard guitars.
Charro	The traditional Mexican cowboy costume style associated with mariachi.
Sombrero	A wide-brimmed hat associated with mariachi attire.
Botonaduras	Shiny, ornamental silver buttons lining the pants and jacket sleeves of mariachi attire.
Piob Mhór	The traditional Scottish Great Highland bagpipes.
Chanter	The bagpipe pipe with finger holes where the melody is played.
Drone Pipes	The long bagpipe pipes resting on the shoulder that play fixed continuous pitches.
Blowpipe	The pipe the bagpipe player blows air into.
Gracings	Fast, decorative accent notes inserted between melody notes in Scottish bagpipe music.
Birl	A type of Scottish bagpipe grace note.
Grips	A type of Scottish bagpipe grace note.
Doubling	A type of Scottish bagpipe grace note.
Uilleann Pipes	Traditional Irish bagpipes that use a bellows pumped under the arm to inflate the bag rather than a mouth blowpipe.
Canntaireachd	A Scottish vocal technique where singers use nonsense syllables to imitate and memorize complex patterns of bagpipe music.
Pibroch	A genre of complex, classical Scottish bagpipe music consisting of an extended theme and variations.
Legacy of the MacCrimmons	A legendary Scottish clan of hereditary bagpipers credited with perfecting the art and teaching structures of Pibroch music.
Ceilidh	A traditional festive social gathering involving folk music, dancing, and storytelling held in Scotland and Ireland.
Artii-Sayir	Tuvan throat singing (Khoomii) featuring a deep fundamental drone with glassy, whistling overtones.
Katajjaq on Hamma	Guttural, rapid breathing sounds traded back and forth like a game by two Inuit women.
Wreck of Old 97	A traditional American folk ballad using strophic form and a clear, nasal country vocal tone.
Sweet Spring (Anush Garun)	Two Armenian duduks playing an unmetered, free-rhythm melody over a sustained drone, creating a biphonic texture.
Blue Rondo À La Turk	A jazz track by Dave Brubeck featuring an irregular, fast 9-beat meter grouped as 2+2+2+3.
Agbadza Listening Track	Polyrhythmic drumming, rattling, and responsorial chanting associated with Ewe funeral societies.
Jay Ganesh Listening Track	A Hindu Aarati song that begins with a conch shell (shankh) and bells and uses a 6-beat rhythmic tala pattern.
Mum-bhai	A fast-paced Indian rap song reflecting urban street life in Mumbai.
Ballad of Buddy McClean	An Irish-American folk ballad about a dock worker that uses strophic form.
Fado Lisboeta	A mournful Portuguese Fado piece sung expressively about longing, or saudade.
Riberonzinha	A Cape Verdean strophic dance song featuring a lively homophonic texture.
M.T.A. Song	A rousing American political folk song about a man stuck on the Boston subway system.
Barbara Allen (Kings Noyse version)	Classical historical strings backing a tragic, multi-verse traditional ballad.
Araro Ariraro	A South Indian vocal lullaby that makes use of Raga Nilambari.
Amba Nilambari	A formal South Indian devotional art song also utilizing Raga Nilambari.
Tema para Quinceañera	A mariachi song with trumpets and string instruments tailored specifically for a girl's 15th birthday celebration.
How did the use of bagpipes after the attacks on New York City and Washington DC on September 11, 2001 reframe the historical use of the bagpipes in the American public consciousness, associating the instrument with that time of national tragedy?	The bagpipe squad of the Fire Department of New York City played at the funeral of every firefighter who died in the line of duty.
How is the meaning of a piece of music determined?	An individual listener interprets the meaning for him- or herself on the basis of prior experiences and personal idiosyncrasies.
In Scottish society, with which group of people were bagpipes traditionally associated?	men; they were played by men in male institutions such as the military and are said to resemble male sexual organs
In a given Indian raga, what does a svara refer to?	a scale degree's position within a melody and the way it is combined with a type of ornament
What is a major difference between the typical Irish bagpipes and the Scottish Highland pipes?	The Highland pipes are larger and have a blowpipe with which the player supplies air to the bag, whereas the Irish pipes' bag is filled with air by a bellows.
What does the term canntaireachd refer to?	a vocal style that uses vocables and imitates the sound of the bagpipes
What does the term chanter refer to in the domain of Scottish and Irish bagpipe music?	the pipe on a set of bagpipes that plays the melody
What does the title of the lullaby Araro Ariraro refer to?	the title is made up of vocables that symbolize the motion of rocking a crying child
What is a mariachi?	the name for a Mexican and Mexican-American instrumental ensemble combining guitars, violins, a harp, and trumpets
What is one American setting that significantly absorbed the civic bagpiping tradition of Scotland and Ireland when those populations migrated to the United States?	police and fire departments
What is the general term for South Indian classical music, a tradition in which raga nilambari can often be heard?	Karnatak music
What is the main function of a bagpipe's bag?	It allows the player to keep the sound going continuously.
What is the major difference between the Scottish bagpipe tune Scotland the Brave and the Irish tune The Irishman's Toast?	It is the same tune played in two bagpipe traditions and called by different names.
What is the term for Scottish festive gatherings that include music, socializing, and dancing?	ceilidh
What is the term for a type of dance music commonly played on the bagpipe?	both jig and reel
What is the term for the bagpipe technique of inserting a grace note to divide a sustained sound into two or more distinct parts?	cutting
Which most accurately describes musical meaning as it is created and perceived in the soundscapes of Scottish and Irish bagpiping?	Bagpipes' meanings are flexible; they are sometimes connected to the musical sounds and sometimes inspired by the music's presence in a variety of settings.
Who were the MacCrimmon family?	the family who developed the classical music of the bagpipe
Why is raga nilambari known as the "lullaby raga"?	It is closely associated with sleep and lullabies in general, and any melody in raga nilambari can be sung as a lullaby.
How did the function of the Japanese bamboo flute, the shakuhachi, change over the last millennium?	It was first played in the Japanese court, but it later became a form of Japanese Buddhist musical expression.
How were steel drums first developed in Trinidad?	They were made by modifying large discarded oil containers.
Lute, harp, lyre, and zither are the four subcategories in which larger category of musical instruments?	chordophones
Tuvan khoomi is an example of which musical texture?	biphony
What are some examples of membranophones?	timpani, Senegalese sabar drums, bass drums, and Japanese taiko drum
What factors contribute to the timbre of a sound produced by an instrument?	The details of its construction (materials and craftsmanship) AND the intensity with which the instrument is plucked, strummed, blown, struck, bowed, etc.
What is meant by the term timbre when it refers to sound?	the quality of the sound, which results from its overtones
What is organology?	the study of musical instruments
What is the defining characteristic of an idiophone?	It is self-sounding; the material of which it is made is set into vibration.
What is the name for the (presently) five-part classification system for musical instruments based on the means by which instruments produce sound?	the Sachs-Hornbostel system
What is the name of an instrument that has two distinctive arms extending up from the body with a crossbar running between to which strings are attached?	lyre
What kind of section in some musical forms is called a refrain?	a section of music that repeats both the same music and the same text, falling between verses of a strophic song
What term refers to the general pitch organization of a music tradition, or to a particular scale of pitches?	mode
What term refers to the overall compass of pitches, from the highest to the lowest, that an instrument or voice can produce?	range
What type of melodic motion occurs in close and regular intervals and in a stepwise pattern?	conjunct
Which term refers to the musical form in which all verses of the text are set to the same melody?	strophic form
Which term refers to the musical texture in which multiple parts (instruments or voices) perform different pitches but move in the same rhythm?	homophony
Which term refers to the regular pulse of much Western classical music and its divisions into regular groupings of two, three, four, or six beats?	meter
Which term refers to the rhythmic effect that provides an unexpected accent, often created by temporarily unsettling the meter through a change in the established pattern of stressed and unstressed beats?	syncopation
Which term refers to the spontaneous creation of music during performance?	improvisation
Barbara Allen was first sung in England and Scotland in the seventeenth century. What aspects of the King's Noyse ensemble's "new music" version of the song are impossible to confirm as authentic seventeenth-century performance practice?	a full choir singing the vocal line
How does local music influence the Christian services at the Evangelical Presbyterian Bethel Church in Accra?	The choir performs songs in Western harmony accompanied by traditional drumming.
How was Boston's folk song, The M.T.A. Song, originally heard by Boston residents?	It was broadcast as a campaign song by sound trucks as they passed through Boston neighborhoods.
Musical life in Accra, including radio, the music recording market, and live performances, can be characterized best as:	a blend of local and international traditions, with a distinctive cosmopolitan flavor.
Musical performances in Boston mainly take place:	almost anywhere, from restaurants and parks, to public squares, to concert halls and churches, to City Hall and Boston Common.
The agbadza dance music is played using which instruments, and has which musical texture?	idiophones and membranophones playing in a polyphonic and polyrhythmic texture
The Portuguese popular-song form fado is sometimes compared with which American popular song form? Why?	the blues, because of its heartfelt expression of loss and despair
What do Boston's college music, folk music, and early music soundscapes have in common?	They are both local and international and were originally derived from European music styles and institutions.
What do the recordings of the Hindi hymn Praise Ganesh and the Bollywood song Mum-bhai have in common?	Both contain local sounds as well as sounds of international musical trends.
What does the term early music refer to?	repertories of music played by musicians on reconstructed instruments in an effort to revive the sounds and styles of the past
What is the "light classical ghazal"?	a version of a North Indian art-song genre adapted for Bollywood films
What is the meaning of the term blue note?	a flatted-third scale step commonly used in the blues for expressive purposes
What is the name of the popular musical style that contains several streams influence from Ghana's musical past?	highlife
What musical features of the Irish ballad The Ballad of Buddy McClean make it easy to remember?	The melodies are simple and repetitive, with very few chords in the accompaniment.
What musical style is reflected in the Bollywood song Mum-bhai to underscore the local meaning expressed in the tune?	gangsta rap
What styles of music are typically taught and performed on Boston's college, university, and conservatory campuses today?	a range of historical Western, avant-garde, popular, and international music
Where does the largest concentration of people of Cape Verdean descent outside of Cape Verde live?	on the New England coast
Which term refers to the songs that are prerecorded by professional singers and then lip-synched by actors in Indian films?	playback songs
The Ganesh Chaturthi Festival is a celebration of ...?	the Hindu God Ganesh but also has developed into a community wide celebration.
Why has Boston been an important center for the folk music world from the earliest days of the American folk music revival in the 1950s?	Boston has many ethnic communities with music traditions to draw on, as well as a liberal tradition and many young people at local colleges.

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