Call and Response
a leader who sings something out and everyone repeats or sings it back
field hollers
where the blues began, dealt with a person’s everyday work- worker out in the fields developed solo improvised songs about their problems
march strain
structure of march. Melody that comes to stopping point after 16 counts.
ragtime
music before jazz but similar to march; showed that European music was no so squarish
scott joplin
The king of ragtime, the first very significant african american composer who wrote all kinds of rag time. Very big in the 1890s. His popularity waned very quickly because ragtime became old-fashioned very quickly
Gospel
Songs of the african american church. same as blues, but proclaiming God and Lord.
Dixieland jazz
first type of jazz that is formed in New Orleans. Consists of trumpets, clarinets, trombone tuba, sometimes string base, drummer, sometimes piano. Component includes a breakup part, showing the influence of march (breakup also creates more tension)
Fake book
collection of jazz tunes musicians should know.
1.bare elements of the tunes and you fake through it. 2. It’s not a legal book, not copyrighted and passed around. The music sheet is read/played several times in one piece- the first time, nothing is improvised, musicians focus on melody. Secondtime around harmony is emphasized. Each player in the group has their own solo part.
Lead sheet notation
shorthand notation where only the melody is written out. The chords for the melody
jazz standard
tunes which have become part of the jazz cannon. after 100 years of jazz,there are certain tunes that jazz musicians need to know how to play. a lot of them are top tunes from the 20s, 30s, 40s. So popular everyone needs to know how to play it.
John and alan Lomax
Went into the south and did many field recordings; made recordings commercially possible. important for folk songs
The Rise
Section of song where the pitch is higher for a small interval (California Yuman)
vocables
nonsense syllables, not real words. Singing in Native american music. Can be nonsense or real words.
49 songs
collection of songs that are east to learn and memorize, people sing it for fun. It usually has English words in it. It is like a folk song, sung for leisure, after dinner, etc.
incomplete repetition
each time a repetition comes around, it is not exactly the same. the beat can be left out or added. Sounds repetitive but not exactly. There is no consistent pattern.
Pow Wow
Gathering of different tribes. Usually where the real Native american culture is celebrated. Have singing competitions with drummers and singers (drums). Plains style usually dominates.
Peyote Ceremony
Practiced by Native american church. Occurs from sundown all throughout the night. Can be controversial because peyote is taken during ceremony which is a hallucinogen. Combines N.a. religion w/Christianity. Prayer. “he-ye-no-we”
Water Drum
clay pot is half-filled with water, then covered with animal skin
Native american Church
combines Christianity with Native american culture. Take part in peyote ceremony
Ghost Dance
Developed in 19th century during the “Indian Wars” against the U.S. Religious ceremony/dance that believes a messiah would come to take it back to the days pre-European.
Nightway Ceremony
healing ceremony, common- not only for an individual, but for the whole village. They are different lengths from a day to 9 days. Ceremony includes a lot of singing and sand painting. Early part of ceremony involves the person who needs to healed, sung over. A lot of the early part of the ceremony is at the home of the one being sung over. Everything ends towards the last day when there is a procession to the one being song over. The procession is lead by one of the deities, Yeirbiecheii, the grandfather of the gods. Always at the end of the procession, there is a figure called the water carrier who essentially is a clown who tries to crack up the people watching and following the procession by spilling water everywhere and doing funny things- only there for comic relief.
Enemyway Ceremony
healing ceremony for someone who has returned from battle. It is a 3 day ceremony. The tribe/participants are divided into two camps. There is a home camp, the one being sung over. There is a stick receiver camp. The first 1.5 to 2 days are about friendly competition between the two camps. On the night of 2nd, the stick receiver camp camps far away so on the third dawn, they can carry out a mock raid on the home camp. There is a lot of singing of circle songs, you form a circle with the people, alternating people with the two camps. They sing these short songs that become something of competition to who can sing these songs better. They will walk clockwise, and one camp will sing a song and dance. Then they switch directions, other camp will sing and dance. There is competition, but the circle represents reconciliation. Ceremony ends when the one being sung over shoots the enemy or anything that represents the enemy.
Yeibeichii
the grandfather of the gods in Native american culture. a diety. Leads Nightway Ceremony
Carlos Nakai
Big Native american flute performer. Does not play traditional music
Moccasin Game
Played by Navajo children. Somebody in one team puts a stone in one moccasin and someone from the other team has to pick which moccasin the stone is in. animals decide night and day.
Plains
common singing style. High, loud and intense singing. The melody starts high and descends quickly several times.
California-Yuman
low, relaxed singing. Melody has 3-4 notes. small build of notes. simple music with pattern.
Northwest Coast
Prominent flute music. Distinctive music because it comes from different cultures and lifestyles than other native american cultures.Polyphony is observed.
Great Basin
Relaxed style of singing with exact repetition and very short phrases repeated
athabascan
nasally sound. Navajo singing. 1-2 notes/beat. square music.
Eastern
call and response common in the singing style
The Dreaming
they believe that at the beginning of time there was no earth or sky, everything was a primordial mist/flux. These different spirits decided to take different forms of rocks, trees, clouds, moon, sky, etc. There are certain songs that the aborigines have that they believe that they can communicate back to those spirits. Supernatural belief held with some of the songs. (Aborigines music is very similar to Native American music)
Didjeridoo
instrument played by the aborigines, it has a droning sound that can be altered by the way of breathing, throat and lips. The instrument is very long and is traditionally (authentic) made with logs of eucalyptus trees hollowed out by termites. When you play it, you have to put a lot of air into the instrument because the hole is very big. Usually need to use circular breathing to do this.Circul instrument played by the aborigines, it has a droning sound that can be altered by the way of breathing, throat and lips. The instrument is very long and is traditionally (authentic) made with logs of eucalyptus trees hollowed out by termites. When you play it, you have to put a lot of air into the instrument because the hole is very big. Usually need to use circular breathing to do this. Circular breathing.
Pentatonic Scale
5 note scale which lacks notes that are adjacent to each other because there is always a white note in between. Gives a much more tranquil, tension free feeling. If two more notes are added, it would be a major scale. Pattern for pentatonic (skip 1, skip 2, skip 1, skip 1, skip 2)
Heterophony
two or more different instruments are playing the same basic melody, but they are embellishing the melody differently. (same not but different way of playing it)
Program music
Music should reflect something. Can be a story or impression of something real (two birds fighting in the air, etc.) It does not have to deal with nature only
Jiangnan Sizhu
“teahouse music.” It is very informal music, found in the big cities. Pipa and qin music. It is folk and traditional music. People usually play music in heterophony and play the music/instruments in big groups. People usually know how to play most of the songs (have it memorized) and the know how to play most of the musical instruments.
Wu Man
someone who plays a lot of traditional pipa music, but also branches out. She tours constantly, and is someone who has started to cross boundaries and play with other cultural musicians (ie: African musicians, etc).
Wen
Small, calm music pipa pieces. Usually short and about nature.
Wu
Long, crazy pieces. Usually about battle or violent things. percussive
Internationale
Not songs of the masses. Worldwide popularity. Written in Europe, end of the 19th century. Labor union. About workers breaking oppression. 1956 best known song worldwide. Communist popularity
Songs for the Masses
very catchy songs that teach you how to be a good communist (during Maos reign). It was not necessarily traditional songs, but more westernized. (ie; “we were good workers” which included the pentatonic scale, but had western orchestra and opera like singing.) An effective way of spreading the communist message.
Cui Jian
An international Rock and Roll artist, “bob dylan of China.”(rock and roll music was introduced into China because of open markets) His music is very critical of the government and Chinese people (Why don’t people stand up? Why are they happy as pawns? Etc) He is passionate, but bitter about the politics. Done a lot of recording and is well known outside of China. Very critical of the government and the Chinese people for being pawns in this bizarre game and not standing up to the government. If this had been 20 years earlier, his voice would have been silenced, but because he has become an international figure, no one is going to do anything about him.
throat singing
Singers sing a pitch deep down and alter the tone by closing off their mouth and nasal cavity, etc. This results in hearing high sounds. Sing a low note, but have a high pitched melody. This is due to overtones. All notes have overtones. So there are fundamental pitches (the one being sung, and overtones, which are pitches higher than the one being sung). Then they can sing a tone and all of those partials and what you hear is a high whistle sound. Probably easier for men because they fundamentally have lower voices so there are more notes for them to choose from.
Erhu
String instrument with 2 strings that sounds like a violin/viola. It creates a high but thin sound. Need a bow. When you push on one string (push in/out on the string).
Qin
zither, category of instrument with stings that are strung out on top of a sounding board. 7 strings on a qin, you hold strings with your left hand and pluck with your right hand (there are different ways to pluck). Been part of the scholarly, educated class. Ties with Buddhism and meditation. Very slow, and delicate music. Because of its association with the learned class, there are a lot of subtleties when playing the qin. You do not hear fast music on the qin. Simple and elegant music that is usually passed down from a teacher!
Pipa
Lute like. Has 4 strings and usually sounds like there are 3-4 pipa playing. Pluck the strings with the right hand (with a pick) and stop it with your left- the neck is curved out for drop in notes/frets. polar opposite of qin- used for entertainment of the common man. There is usually a set tune for it. Rapid playing- very fast music. Sounds like a crazy banjo.
Xiao
End blown flute. Long and deep sounding
Dizi
Smaller flute, transverse(hole on side like flute) High pitched sound, buzz sound with thin paper insert
Yo-pentatonic
Same as Chinese pentatonic scale, but japanese black keys have no half-step. found in folk/ music
In-pentatonic
Heard in more traditional instrumental music. Half-steps on the piano. Kind of symmetrical
Gagaku
Tradtional music. World’s oldest orchestral music. Combings wind and percussion instruments 500-750 ad. Oldest
Kangen
Gagaku, instrumental music that usues sho. slow pace
Bugaku
Gagaku, music that would have been danced to in the courts, sense of rhythm, uses hichiricki
Shinto
religion from Japan. no set dogma. Developed by drawing on local customs and rituals. Held together by ancestral worship. Shinto shrine festival
Mikagura
music played during a shinto ritual or service. music tends to be simpler as the way it unfolds and is constructed
Matsuri-bayashi
music that goes with Shinto shrine festival. invovles flutes, percussin, outdoorsy music.
Minyo
traditional japanese folk music. Collection of songs before WWII. Songs passed down. Nostalgic thing for those who have seen rapid changes of Japan. Inpentatonic
Jo-ha-kyu
a way that Japanese musicians talk about Japanese music. “jo=introduction, ha=main body, kyu= rushing/hurrying to a conclusion” Jo-ha-kyu is talked about all aspects of levels from a single note to a long piece.
Taiko
drumming that is the opposite of traditional music. Very fast, a lot of interlocking/overlocking rhythms, very complex, drummers coordinate movement to make it exciting to watch/a good show.
Bunraku
puppet theater. Each puppet is run by three different people, the person with least experience works the feet, the person with the next amount of experience works the right arm, the head puppeteer works the head and left arm. The puppeteers usually wear black to blend in. There are musicians who accompany the performance, and there is an instrument shamisen, then there is a narrator.
Noh
Oldest of the three traditions, very sparse theater. The stage will look the same for every Noh performance, very bare, a runway, and a pillar, no curtains. Music accompanies Noh theater with slow music and traditional Japanese singing that sounds a lot like moaning. Known as mask theater, see very little skin, almost everything is covered up. By covering up the entire body, the actor is disguised completely and the essence of the character is allowed to come through. The characters do different motions to convey emotions. The tempo of Noh theater moves very slowly. Everything goes at snail’s pace for a long time, then it accelerates really quickly, and then it goes back to being slow. Plots are all about morality. There is some kind of moral point to the whole plot (e.g. good vs. evil).
Kabuki
more modern theater in japan. More for people’s entertainment. Developed in the nineteenth century. Over the top. Kabuki actors have painted faces, different colors identify is the character is good or bad. The fun thing about kabuki is that they try to use every theatrical trick in the book during a performance. Acrobatics, trap doors, hidden things on stage. They have trick costumes that they wear, they can go from wearing one thing to another thing very quickly.
Butoh
draws heavily on noh theater. Extremely stark, disturbing, visceral theater. Takes the slow speed of noh theater. Minimalized tradition with sparse and slow things. The original impulse of butoh is to be a reaction to the horror of Hiroshima. Characters are usually holding scary, screaming poses for a long time. So stark that it has nude performers. Came out as a response to WWII.
Koto
a long instrument that has moveable bridges (made of ivory) that divide the string into some kind of proportion to give different pitches. You can play on either side of the bridge giving it different pitches. All of the strings are tuned to the same note so it just depends on how you line it up. It is supposed to look like a dragon to some extent, the bridges being the spine of the dragon. It can be a very delicate instrument and plucked quietly, but it can also make very aggressive loud sounds. (similar to qin of China)
Shamisen
“a Japanese banjo,” three strings and does have a sound similar to the banjo. Plucked with a very large pick (held in someone’s hand) that looks like a giant dorito. There are no frets so it will be easier to bend notes/pitches
Biwa
related to the pipa from China; it has a lute shape that is different from the pipa. There are different types of biwas, some have 4 strings while others have 5 strings. Played very aggressively.
Shakuhachi
in blown (by the end of the instrument) flute made of bamboo. It is named after the instruments length. It is associated with Buddhism and meditation and different approaches of breathing. There are 3 types/different ways of playing because of its relation to Buddhism. Very slow and meditative. Hard to play (unlike the recorder). Includes vibrato, which is the wavering or spinning in the music notes (very conservative). It has a “woody” sound, very hollow.
Hichiricki
found in all gagaku. Double reed instrument, sounds like the obo. a Very loud instrument that’s played in a very slow manner. (annoying and overpowering)
Sho
(high and shrill) cousin to the sheng in china; looks just like the sheng; It is like a mouth organ with pipes coming out of it. Apparently in the past you actually played melodies on the sho, now its just played holding great big long notes, or combinations of notes; now it looks like a portable electronic organ. That sound will come in, be held for a while and then disappear suddenly.
King Sunny ade
famous, popular Juju performer.
Fela Kuti
played some highlife at some point. Great musician,Grew up in Nigeria, educated in Britain, spent some time in US played in highlife bands in 1970s. Fela Kuti became very aware of politics as it related to the black panther movement. Ended up going back to Nigeria, where he became a political activist and continued recording music. Nigeria at that time was flooded with corruption, and he went against that with his music. At one point, he ran for the presidency of Nigeria. Died in 1980s to 1990s from AIDS. Had like 50 wives. His music takes Afro-pop styles to another level. There is some funk, James Brown, Miles Davis influence in his music. He played both sax and keyboards
Lady Blacksmith Mambazo
has been very popular for about 20 years in the US. Come from south Africa, they are big proponents of mixing African style of singing and that of Protestant, Christian, missionary church. They are an a capella group. Came to fame in 1980s when Paul Simmon (half simmon and garfunkle, a duo that sang folk songs with a pop edge, later in the 1970s had his own solo career, in 1980s became interested in Afropop and went to South Africa and recorded an album called Graceland with musicians from there. Graceland was a very very big hit and exposed US to Afropop and Afrop pop musicians) when they toured with Paul Simmon and then toured the world.
agkebor
music and drumming of Ewe clan
ostinato
a very short repeating pattern, usually a base line or some kind of repeating rhythm. Very common to African and many other musics. (ie: my girl)
hocket
interlocking rhythm done with melodies. A melody bounces around from one instrument or one singer to another. It isn’t unique to Africa, its also a big thing in Renaissance music from Europe.
interlocking rhythm
several simple rhythms that when put together make a more complicated composite rhythm. (ie: class activity)
Jali (Jalolou)
designated musician for the mande. He is a figure who is kind of part of the professional class but in other ways is outside of the social structure altogether. “bob Dylan of Mande.” Singers, dancers, social historians because through song record the history of the tribe. They also do social commentary. A lot of the songs of the Jali are praising one person over another, there is an element of their role that is social commentary. Unlike many common African musicians, it is quite common that you have a woman Jali.
BaAka
also known as the Pigmes, located in central Africa but they are a nomadic tribe. Celebrated in the 60s and 70s as being the ideal society because egalitarian people, everyone in the tribe is considered equal, no hierarchy. They have very few possessions since they are nomadic. You will not find call and response in their music. They have a lot of hockets. They have some yoddle in extreme registers. They will find these patterns that someone will start singing and somebody else will find a pattern that fits that pattern of yoddling. Everyone in this tribe is basically a musician because they have been doing this since they were kids so they find ways to just make it work. Everyone should blend in with each other, no one should stick out because everyone is equal.
Mande
a tribe located around the northwest subsarahan along the coast in mali and Cambia. Two tiered social structure that goes back to a time when there were slaves and slaveowners. Mande themselves were slaveowners, two-tiered structure where slaveowners are professional and slaves are working class, no middle class. They have a designated musician, Jali.
Ewe
love interlocking and call and response. Reside mainly in Ghana. A looser social structure, no overarching hierarchy, but a series of clans that have their own hierarchy like a chief and some social structure, but no hierarchy for the entire tribe- only a hierarchy for music. The music reflects this through a head drummer who is also the leader. Small ensembles that do have a hierarchy within them.
lead drummer- need someone to keep the beat
leader- call and response should be organized, etc
There is harmony in their music because of missionaries that brought hymn music from euripe ( based on protestant church hymns.
Kora
a bridged harp with a resonator and a pole with 2 sets of strings with 21 strings; one set of strings is for the left hand, while the other set is for the right hand; the longer strings are lower pitched but found closer to the top and the shorter strings are higher pitched but found lower on the instrument. Refer to high notes as low strings because they are located higher on the instrument.
Mbira
sometimes referred to as a thumb piano. It’s a small trapezoidal box made out of wood with a metal bar with screws and a bunch of prongs coming out of the metal bars. Easy to tune. Mbiras are usually played in pairs, so two playing at once. Low notes on inside and high notes on outside. There is usually some kind of intricate ostinato pattern going and another pattern from another mbira joining in. The two patterns then mesh together. Instrument is usually played in pairs.
Marimba
originate from Africa, there are many different types. Kind of pitched instrument with wooden keys that is played with some kind of a mallet (stick with ball on it, etc- usually a soft head).
Palm Wine
named because of the beverage that was drunk at a lot of places this music was played. Features hockets, interlocking patterns, rapid singing, and acoustic guitar.
Juju
like electric palm wine, essentially taking the same qualities of palm wine but played on electric instruments. A lot of the patterns are not as intricate, electric guitars, some kind of organ or synthesizer, base, different African drums for interlocking patterns. There are less distinct rhythms.
Highlife
developed in 1970s and still maintains the same qualities of 70s music. Kind of different because it is usually dance music, more laid back quality, the beats are not quite as intricate as juju or palm wine. Tend to hear latin American, Caribbean influence. A lot of the same fashions that were alive in the 70s are seen in highlife performances, like bellbottoms, big glasses, etc.
Aymara
Indigenous tribe in Peru. Quite shy, egalitarian. Music has no leader. Blended sound, no prominent sound. Siku (pen pipe), experts play with novices.
Mickey Hart
endangered music project. To protect music in remote areas where this is no westernized influences
Nueva Cancion
a big part of South America, means “new song,” dealt with topics that were nationalistic; things that made Argentinans proud to be Argentinans, etc. A response to Europeans coming. (Very nationalistic.)
Son Jaracho
style that is mostly stringed instruments, mostly guitars or things that look like guitars that all come from Europe; creates a European sound. Smaller guitars like requinto and viehela and diatonic harp. Has a group of 6 pattern.
Son Huesteco
violin and guitar, characteristic is 2 two singers that are alternating lines in the song. Sometimes they will do almost a yoddle thing. Can sometimes flip up with a falsetto voice
Mariachi
pairs of trumpets or violins, percussion, guitarron. In a pattern where every third beat is emphasized, sung in a way where everything’s dramatic
Corridos
folk songs that tell stories; stories that celebrate “bad guys” such as bandits, bank robbers, etc.
Narcocorridos
Takes the same idea as corridos, except they’re songs about drug dealers. Instruments are accordion, bass, simple singing.
Tango
Music from Argentina, derived from music from Spain. Music based around dance. Guitar, piano, accordion.
Astor Piazzolla
an Argentinian who played jazz in the U.S., became interested in tango and went back to outh America and wrote lots of tango.
Candomble
a type of religion that used Christian names to worship gods of their own religion.
Capoeira
originated from slaves in Brazil. To stay in shape to defend themselves, they invented a “martial arts” dance (looked like a dance, but really practicing martial arts). Has kicks and such; a dance where you don’t actually touch the other person.
Gilberto Gil
performer in the 1960’s and 1970’s; a lot of Tropicalia music. Very different from Bob Marley but they both had similar things happen to them at about the same time
Os Mutantes
(The Mutants) Performance artists in Tropicalia movement. Wild group. Based on psychedelic stuff in American pop music. Edgy, Lady Gaga-ish. Creative.
Samba
jazz harmony, African rhythm
Tropicalia
samba combined with American rock and roll
Voodoo
A religion that originated in Africa/Nigeria, but with Catholic elements/mixture to it. Concentrated in Haiti. It is also common in LA (New Orleans) and the Gulf area; has some influence in our country. There is a Laos, which are spirits that are worshipped (a catholic aspect; ie: St. Peter is the gatekeeper spirit). Music is not that similar (African drumming vs Catholic music) but there is a call and response element; Priest is like the leader.
Bob Marley
Wrote and sang songs that have Rastafarian ideas. Becomes a well known artist that becomes a big representative for the black culture. His father was white but he never got to know him. His father (plantation owner) rejected him, causing Bob to look at Haile Selassies as a father figure. During his life, there were 2 political factions (one backed by America, the other by EKG). Each group tried to sway Bob to their side to get the popular votes of the Jamaicans, but he didn’t pick either side; he did his own thing. There was an attempted assassination on him, so he went to London, where he recorded and became popular internationally. When he went back, he tried to bring the two sides together by one love concerts. Bob Marley eventually died from cancer (a type of melanoma- a white mans disease). He collapsed while jogging in central park, and died months after. He was a a black icon that died from a white mans disease.
Reggae
different type of music. Slow draggy music that emphasizes the counts 2 and 4. Strong baseline influenced from funk. It is different from the US pop music- 4 count but the emphasis is on 2-3 beat.
Rastafari
religion based on Christian readings, but it is a different interpretation. The believers see African Americans as exiles from Africa. They believed that Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is the true disciple, not Jesus.
Diatonic harp
smaller harp, 4’ tall, its tuned to a major scale, you only have the 7 notes of the major scale available to you when you play this instrument, none of those notes in between. You are somewhat limited in your music. Plucked sound. Cannot play and tune the instrument at the same time. Seen in San Jaracho.
Siku
hand pipes, found in the tribe Aymara. They are little rolls of pipes of bamboo and blown into to create music (blow over the pipes). Siku come in pairs, so one person plays half the notes of a melody, and another plays the other half. Usually you have many people playing many pairs of siku to make different melodies. Creates a breathy sound.
Kena
an inblown/endblown flute (an indigenous instrument), have a very breathy sound, not a lot of pitch.
Bandoneon
Button accordion, tango. Smaller sound. Folk sound.