Music Terms

Qin

Chinese 7-stringed zither, most respected & patronized by the educated class
no frets or bridges, but thirteen position-markers called hui

Pipa

-4-stringed, fretted, plucked lute w/ bent neck & pear- shaped body
-now held upright on player's lap & played w/ fingers
-originally imported to Han China, from Kucha (ancient Uyghur) Kingdom
-23-25 frets placed along neck & sound board

Jiangnam Sizhu

type of Chinese chamber instrumental ensemble made up of strings & winds, popular in areas around Shanghai

Erhu

-apart of the Jiangnan sizhu
-A two stringed Chinese spike fiddle with hollow wooden cylindrical sound box

Dizi

-instrument in the Jiangnam Sizhu
-Chinese transverse bamboo flute with six finger holes

Ba Da Qu

Eight Great Famous Pieces" that the Jiangnam Sizhu is centered around
-Is what centers the Sizhu String and Wind Ensembles in Shanghai
-Amateur club members (who rarely bring own instruments) sit facing each other around small table
-played from memory

Jingju (capitol theater)

Chinese term for Peking Opera
-the main type of Chinese popular musical theater
-it's a dramatic presentation of plots using music, speech, stylized gestures and dance movements, acrobatics, mock combat scenes, and fanciful makeup and elaborate costumes
-

Erhuang

-Basic aria (long solo voice) -rhythmic patterns used in the Peking opera
-uses heptatonic scale (w/ #4 & b7); moderate tempo (usually in tragic or lyrical scenes); 1st syllable of phrase always starts on 1st beat of
measure

Xipi

- basic melody-rhytmic patterns used for arias in the Peking Opera
- employs both pentatonic & heptatonic scales; last syllable on beat 1

Danpigu

A single headed barrel drum used in Chinese theater

Songs for the Masses

-Chinese Communist political songs
-simple, didactic, march-like songs with words reflecting patriotism, discipline, and good citizenship introduced to Chinese school children in the 1920s
-w/ new political lyrics, songs used as protest songs during war a

Liuxing gequ

Shanghai popular song of 1920s, incorporating jazz & western orchestration

Gagaku

-literally "elegant" or "refined music"
-Japanese court music trad. maintained for >1000 yrs
-smoothness, serenity, precise execution
-absence of virtuosic display (maximum effect from minimum material)

Music of the left

music of Chinese & Indian origin

Music of the right

music of Korean and Manchurian origin

Jo-ha-kyu

aesthetic scheme of exposition in gagaku
Jo (slow beginning) - performed by hichiriki, flute, & kakko
Ha (regular rhythmic section) - main body of composition perf. by full ensemble
Kyu (rushing to the end) - increase in tempo followed by slackening of pa

Hichiriki

-Japanese
-short, double-reed bamboo oboe w/ 9 holes (originated from China)
penetrating & strong tone quality -center of gagaku ensemble

Sho

-Japanese
-mouth organ w/ 17 reed pipes (2 silent) in cup-shaped wind chest w/ single mouthpiece
derived from Chinese sheng - plays chords (tone clusters); primary function harmonic

Biwa

-Japanese pipa
-4-stringed pear-shaped lute (w/ 4 frets) played w/ small plectrum (similar to Chinese pipa)

Noh

Japanese classical drama, developed in Muromachi period (1333-1615)

Kabuki

Japanese musical drama, developed in Tokugawa (Edo) period (1603-1867)

Shamisen

-Japanese
3-stringed, long-necked, fretless lute, plucked w/ large plectrum

Naguata

lyric genre of shamisen music, also sung in unison chorus

Jiuta

hybrid form combining techniques from kumiuta & danmono
usually contains 3 parts: foresong (maeuta), instrumental interlude (tegoto), & aftersong (atouta)

Sankyoku

trio of koto, shamisen, & shakuhachi
koto plays main melody (& often sings at same time)
other instruments play idiomatic elaborations

Koto

-Japanese
13-stringed zither w/ moveable bridges

shakuhachi

-Japanese
end-blown flute w/ 4 finger-holes, 1 thumb-hole, & notch cut in lip originally played exclusively by wandering masterless samurai

Blackfoot

(largest & most central of older tribal ceremonies) lasted 4 preparatory days followed by 4 days of dancing

Peyote ceremony

(major religious ritual in many U.S.tribes) consists of a night of singing. Each of 10-30 participants sings 4 songs at a time, playing rattle while his neighbor accompanies

Concept of composition??

Powerful guardian spirits appear in visions, singing songs
-Many songs have no words - act of singing embodies spiritual power
-Specialists in making up songs usually also experts in religious matters - technical competence or aesthetic creativity not iss

Plains

basis of intertribal powwow style, Singing style emphasizes high pitch, rhythmic pulsations on long tones, & tense vocal style, song form feat "incomplete repetition," typically follows descending melodic contour
Ex: Blackfoot "War or Grass Dance Song

descending/cascading contour
??

...

Eastern

employs more relaxed vocal style, w/ some call-and-response patterns (& occasional polyphony)
Typical forms consist of several short phrases.
Example: "Creek Stomp Dance Song

California-Yuman

very relaxed vocal style & song form w/slightly higher contrasting section called "rise."
Example: Walapai "Funeral Song

Athabascan

incl Navajo and Apache peoples
wide vocal range, nasal vocal style, & even rhythms
Example: Navajo "Pole Dance Song

Northwest Coast

Also includes some Inuit peoples
complex rhythms, large number of wind instruments, & polyphonic choral tradition.
Example: Lummi (Wash. State) "Stick Game Song

Intertribal

songs or dance bases on the Plains styles with which traditions of various other tribes are combined, developed for performances at modern powwows

Ghost dance songs

assoc w/messianic cult that began in Great Basin & spread through Plains
song style derived from Great Basin style (UT/NV) - small range & typical paired-phrase form (AA BB CC, etc.)

Peyote songs

used in many tribes to accompany Peyote cult ceremonies.
ordinarily sung solo w/ relaxed vocal style (Navajo)
rhythmic structure uses 2 note values (Apache)
typical form: "incomplete repetition," w/ descending contours (Plains)
special set of vocables com

Heyowitsinayo??

...

Powwow

based on Plains style, modern successor of midsummer religious ceremonies
symbolizes broad pan-Indian identity to both Indian & White audiences.

Drum

singing groups beating together on single large 2-headed drum w/sticks
1-2 leaders establish beat & melodic structure of song

Native American flute music

flute has played minimal role in Native American culture
but music of Navajo flutist R. Carlos Nakai extremely popular on mass (esp. New Age) market

Mestizo

-the blending of European w/ local Native American (& in some cases, African) cultural heritages (practices, beliefs , & worldviews)
-once used as racial category for Latin American people of mixed European & Native ancestry
-now relative term referring t

Kena

end-notched flute in Paucartambo fiesta

Charango

Andean 10-string guitar variant; smaller than guitar in Paucartambo fiesta

Wayno (huayno)

- most widespread Andean mestizo song-dance genre in Peru
- also performed by some indigenous musicians
-strophic song texts & short sectional forms (e.g. AABB)
-duple meter w/ characteristic (galloping) rhythmic feel [figure varies btw 8th + 2-16th-notes

Hemiola

-Columbian & Ecuadorian Mestizo Music
-combination/juxtaposition of duple & triple rhythms, both simultaneously in different instrumental parts, or sequentially in the same part
-used in Peruvian marinera & yarav�, Venezuelan joropo, Mexican son, Chilean

Marimba

-Columbian & Ecuadorian Mestizo Music
-wooden keyed xylophone, originally from Africa
-widely popular in Latin America
-still played on Pacific coast of Columbia & Ecuador

Son

- Mexican Mestizo Music
- song-dance genre combining 3/4 & 6/8 meters (both simultaneously & sequentially), played in relatively fast tempo
-texts often strophic, using coplas (4-line stanzas), instr. intros, interludes, & conclusions

Playing as one

important in Indigenous Andean music
- not standing out from dense texture, important in culture where individuals do not want to be singled out in social situations

Siku

Indigenous Andean instrument
- panpipes

Pinkillu & tarka

- Indigenous Andean instrument
- cane vertical duct flutes with recorder like mouthpiece

Bombo

Indigenous Andean instrument
- large double-headed drum

Syncretism

process of mixing, fusing, and reconciling cultural elements (belief systems, religion, & music)
-blending & reinforcement of corresponding elements of cultures in contact

Creolization

mixing of peoples, cultures, & languages, via colonialism

Garinagu

people of mixed West African and Amerindian descent who settled along Caribbean coast of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua during the 19th century

Punta

genre of Garinagu
-song genre that symbolically reenacts cock and hen mating dance- usually composed by women

Rumba

-Afro-Cuban music and dance, derived from African sacred and social dance traditions

Rake-n-scrape

-traditional Bahamian music played on accordion, saw, & goat- skin drum

Saw

literally a carpenter's saw, used in Rape n Scrape

Goat skin drum

-used in Rake-n-scrape

Calypso

traditional French-Creole humorous song commenting on Caribbean life