Monash University World Music Ats1346

Front 1

What are the social settings associated with the performance of Agbekor drumming? (List those contexts).

Back 1

Agbekor is associated with war; hunting; funeral; today it is used in cultural presentations.

Front 2

Which people of Africa practice Agbekor performance and where do they live?

Back 2

Ewe people, who live in West Africa.

Front 3

Name three major characteristics of the African musical performance

Back 3

expression via multi-media (singing, drumming, dance, masks); centrality of rhythm and polyrhythm; participatory nature (almost everyone in the community participates and there is no division into performers and listeners).

Front 4

Name the three types of instruments used in the Agbekor performance

Back 4

rattles, bells, drums.

Front 5

What were the motivations of the Ghanaian postal workers for singing a stamp cancelling song?

Back 5

Pragmatic motivation: To lift their spirits while doing a repetitive job; Social motivation: to create cooperative, collective spirit; Aesthetic motivation: to create rhythmically and melodically organized sound.

Front 6

Can you name the major parts in the construction of Mbira?

Back 6

Wooden board; attached metal keys; in performance often placed within a large gourd resonator to increase the sound.

Front 7

What is the literary meaning of mbira dzavadzimu

Back 7

it means “mbira of the ancestors”

Front 8

Describe the traditional social structure, economy, and environment of the BaAka and BaMbuti people

Back 8

lived in small, close-knit groups of families and friends; were hunter-gatherers; live in dense forests of tropical central Africa.

Front 9

What is the performance context of the song “Makala”?

Back 9

It is associated with net hunting.

Front 10

List major musical-stylistic components of the “Makala” performance

Back 10

1) variation/improvisation on short tunes; 2) polyphonic texture; 3) yodelling technique; 4) triple rhythmic division (a kind of swing).

Front 11

Could you list 3 language families spoken in Europe?

Back 11

Indo-European – Celtic, Roman/Italic, Slavic, Finno-Ugric, non-Indo-European (Basque in north of Spain); Independent (Greek and Albanian).

Front 12

Name one (or more) European country which was part of Ottoman Empire (Ottoman Turkey)

Back 12

Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, Greece.

Front 13

What is the meaning of “Folk Song” in European thought?

Back 13

“Folk song” is a modern construct, first introduced by a German philosopher in the 18th century. “Folk song” was perceived as pure national, peasant culture and was opposed to more “corrupt” hybrid urban musical styles, such as Gypsy styles.

Front 14

What are the most prominent musical-cultural components you can hear in Spanish music

Back 14

The Moorish/Muslim Arabic component from North Africa (700-1400 CE); the indigenous European; the gitano (Gypsy) from about 1000 CE.

Front 15

List the general musical characteristics of Flamenco

Back 15

Flamenco blends highly melismatic, chromatic, high-range vocal style (of Arabic and Indian origin) with the indigenous European features such as harmony/chord progressions played on the guitar.

Front 16

What are the major guitar playing techniques you have heard in Flamenco

Back 16

Arpeggios, Tremolo, Strummed flourishes, solo melodic phrases, slapping the guitar for percussive accents.

Front 17

What is the name of a vocalist/singer in Flamenco

Back 17

cantaora

Front 18

Identify the most common meter and key/mode in Flamenco

Back 18

triple meters and minor keys.

Front 19

What is the major harmonic aesthetic of Bulgarian polyphony?

Back 19

Narrow pitch range, e.g. singing in close intervals such a major or minor seconds, which they describe affectionately as “ringing like a bell.”

Front 20

In which region/part of Bulgaria is polyphonic singing found?

Back 20

South-west part of Bulgaria, including the Shop region around the capital Sofia.

Front 21

What does “Celtic” refer to?

Back 21

Term “Celtic” refers to Bronze Age civilizations that expanded their territorial hold throughout Europe until the early years of Christianity.

Front 22

Where do Celtic languages survive today in Europe?

Back 22

Celtic languages survive in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany (France).

Front 23

What is “Airs” and “Lilt”

Back 23

Airs is the conventional label for vocal melodies in Ireland, Lilt is singing of instrumental dance tunes to non-lexical syllables.

Front 24

How does jig differ from slide?

Back 24

Jig is a dance in 6/8, slide is similar to Jig, but it is played in 12/8 instead of 6/8 and is much faster than Jigs.

Front 25

When was fiddle introduced to Ireland and what is its cultural significance in Irish culture

Back 25

Fiddle came at the time when England colonized Ireland and confiscated Irish people’s lands. Despite the fiddle’s colonial origin, it was appropriated and became an expressive musical storage of memory, history, and Irish identity in its struggle against British colonization.

Front 26

When did Roma people come to Europe, what is their origin land, and what language do they speak?

Back 26

Roma (Gypsy) came from north-west India in the 11th century, their language Romani descended from Sanskrit and is related closely to Hindi.

Front 27

List the characteristic instruments of wedding Roma music in Bulgaria

Back 27

clarinet, saxophone, synthesizer, drum set, violin, and viola.

Front 28

What is the name of one of the most outstanding Rom clarinet players in Bulgaria?

Back 28

Ivo Papazov.

Front 29

List the 4 reasons why socialist state in Bulgaria discriminated against the Rom musicians and music

Back 29

1) the hybrid/syncretic nature of Rom music was seen as opposed to the “purity” of folk music; 2) Was seen as inferior to European classical music; 3) Rom musicians’ income was out of the control of the state; 4) Rom wedding bands emphasized individual musicianship as opposed to the state-controlled mass choirs and instrumental ensembles.

Front 30

Describe briefly rag/raga in general and specific terms

Back 30

generally raga refers to colour and emotion produced by a combination of pitches; more specifically raga is a musical construct which lies between an abstract scale and the tune of a specific musical composition.

Front 31

What is the scale of the rag bairagi?

Back 31

Rag bairagi is based on a pentatonic scale Sa Re Ma Pa Ni which in Western notation can translate into A - B flat – D – E – G.

Front 32

What is the difference between sitar and tambura?

Back 32

Both are plucked string instruments, but while sitar has frets, tambura does not have frets; Sitar is a melodic solo instrument, while tambura provides drone to other instruments.

Front 33

Describe the formal composition of rag

Back 33

Rag composition consists of 3 parts: Alap, jor, and gat. Alap is a slow meter-free section, in which musician explores subtleties of the rag; jor has a rhythmic pulse but no recurring meter. Gat refers to the section in which meter, and tala is present.

Front 34

What is tala

Back 34

a metric cycle in Indian classical music.

Front 35

What is the major percussive instrument in North Indian Classical Music

Back 35

tabla, a paired drum set, which consists of two, left and right hand drums.