Exam 1 Just key terms defined in study guide

Gamelan

A set of instruments unified by their tuning and often by decorative carving/painting; also refers to the ensemble in which these instruments play.

Jiangnan Sizhu

Silk and bamboo music of the Jiangnan region (East China and lower Yangtze River region).

Música Norteña

A genre of regional Mexican music; most often based on duple and triple meter and lyrics often deal with socially relevant topics.

Corrido

A popular narrative metrical tale and poetry that forms a ballad; themes include historical encounters, biographical tales, romance, migration, and drug trafficking.

Mariachi

A genre of regional Mexican music that evolved in performance context and instrumentation over time.

Bolero

A Mexican urban romantic song characterized by sensual lyrics and camp performance aesthetics.

Acoustemology

How sound and sound experiences shape different ways of being and knowing the world; knowing and experiencing through sound.

“Javaneseness”

A worldview that embraces many layers of spiritual belief characteristic of syncretism and pluralism in Javanese culture.

Kraton

A royal palace that is the house of a monarch; most were patrons to the arts.

Yogyakarta

The location of one of the two primary ancient courts where gamelan performances took place.

Surakarta

The location of one of the two primary ancient courts where gamelan performances took place.

Longevity

Bronze tuning changes over the years as the metal “settles,” most dramatically in the first few years.

Right Angles

Reflects Javanese concern with the cardinal directions.

Gendhing

A “gamelan piece” or composition.

Gongan

The basic time and melodic unit in a gendhing.

Balungan

One “complete cycle” within a gendhing.

“Irama” Level

Subdivision of the possibilities within a balungan level; there are five possibilities.

Pelog

A 7-note scale; pitches are evenly distributed throughout the scale, and not all pitches need to be played.

Slendro

A 5-note scale; pitches are evenly distributed throughout the scale.

Colotomy

The rhythmic and metric patterns used in gamelan music; specific instruments mark off nested time intervals, or divide rhythmic time into nested cycles.

Loud vs. Soft Style

“Loud” is only instruments, mostly outdoor performances; “Soft” is with vocals, indoor performances.

Balinese Gamelan

Gamelans that develop on the island of Bali.

Gangsa

A metallophone in the gamelan ensemble.

Ceng-Ceng

A set of paired cymbals made of either bronze or iron, placed on a turtle-shaped frame.

Kotekan

The name for a gamelan hocketing technique; players alternate notes in the melody using fast, interlocking parts.

Gong Gede

“Gamelan with large gongs”; a form of ceremonial gamelan often associated with special occasions such as temple festivals.

Gambuh

An ancient form of Balinese dance drama accompanied by a gamelan gambuh ensemble.

Suling

A flute; the study guide specifically defines suling gambuh as a very low-pitched bamboo flute that primarily plays melodies.

Beleganjur

“Gamelan of walking warriors”; a popular style of Balinese gamelan played in a processional context and historically used to scare away demons.

Kebyar

“Flash/dazzle”; “to flare or burst open”; refers to explosive changes in tempo and dynamics characteristic of this style.

Gentrification

A poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in, improving and raising housing costs, and attracting new business; typically displaces current residents.

Historical Ethnomusicology

The study of music history and the application of historical methodologies within ethnomusicology.

Mexican Revolution

An extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 1910–1920.

Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán

A Mexican folk ensemble founded in 1898 by Gaspar Vargas; serves as a model for mariachi’s historical development, instrumentation, people of note, etc.

Música Ranchera

A traditional, pre-Revolution genre of music of Mexico; played in all regional styles and draws on rural traditional folk music.

Sesquialtera

Superimposition of a meter of 2 and 3; a specific way of defining a “hemiola,” though it usually alternates meters.

Mexicanidad

The quality of being Mexican, or “Mexicanity”; implies regional and national pride, particularly regarding national heritage or Indigenous culture.

Machismo

“Braggadocio”; behaviors and ideologies emphasizing male pride and male dominance to the point of exaggerated “male” identities.

Melodia/Armonia Matrix

A way of grouping instruments based on their role providing either musical melody or harmony.

Manicos

The different strumming patterns on a vihuela or guitar; often varied throughout the performance and serve a percussive accompanying role.

Bolero

Mexican urban romantic song characterized by sensual lyrics and camp performance aesthetics.

Crooning

Singing in a soft, low voice in a particularly expressive manner.

Cursilería/Cursi

Evokes the idea of bad taste, while also suggesting pretensions of refinement and elegance; associated with cheesiness, corniness, and kitsch.

New Mexicanidad(s)

“My Mexicanness is not tied to physical presence in Mexico; it is tied to my pride in my ethnic, familial, and cultural Mexican heritage.”

Vaquero

A cowboy/cattle-driver; used in reference to areas where Spanish is spoken.

Conjunto Norteño

A genre of Mexican music related to polka and corridos.

Rurality

The characteristic of all people/places that are not in an urban area.

Corrido Norteño

A specific genre of corrido dealing with themes related to northern Mexico and/or the borderlands; includes historical events, territorial struggles, smuggling, immigration, politics, and injustice.

Chalino Sanchez

A Mexican singer-songwriter who sang regional Mexican music and was prominently known for narcocorridos; posthumously referenced as the king of the Corrido.

Canción-Corrido

The study guide describes canción as “song,” a popular genre of Latin American music incorporating European song elements and here incorporating the narrative and flexible lyric structures of a corrido.

Sonic Masculinity

Musical features and aesthetics that reference a prominent sense of machismo or are sonically defined as masculine.

Acoustemology

How sound and sound experiences shape different ways of being and knowing the world; knowing and experiencing through sound.

Pinkillu

A reed instrument played throughout the Andean mountain range; can be one-melody or an aulos/double flute with a drone pitch and melody pitch.

Living World (animu)

A philosophical and often-spiritual belief that all matter, including nature, animals, and people, have souls and are alive.

Sonic Regionalism

The way music sounds and is made is dependent on the region in which it is being made; affects instruments, materials, frequency, and purpose.

Environmental Determinism

The concept of how the physical environment predisposes societies toward particular practices and trajectories; environment directly influences human behavior.

Dualism

The division of something conceptually into two opposed or contrasted aspects.

Participatory

Characterized by participation.

Metrical

Composed to, or falling within, an established meter; involves regular measurement of time.

Polyrhythm

Two or more different rhythms sounding simultaneously.

Harmonic Progression

A succession of harmonies that creates the structural foundation and movement of a musical event.

Ethnographic Fieldwork

The primary methods of conducting ethnography, including interviewing, participant observation, and learning a musical instrument or style.

Ethnography

Conducting research with people, namely musicians, to understand their role within the larger culture, how they make music, and what meanings they assign to music.