Chapter 4 – Oceania: Key Vocabulary

30 vocabulary flashcards covering key musical terms, instruments, songs, cultural concepts, and performance practices from the Oceania lecture notes.

Bushfire

Australian spiritual song rooted in animism; features a nasally tenor voice singing vocables over a didjeridu drone.

Animism

Belief that natural phenomena (animals, plants, landscape) possess a spiritual essence.

Dreamtime

Australian Aboriginal cosmology describing the time of creation and ancestral journeys that shaped the world.

Didjeridu

Australian Aboriginal aerophone producing a low-pitched buzzing drone; typically made from hollowed eucalyptus.

Drone

Sustained, continuous tone that underlies a melody.

Vocables

Non-lexical syllables (e.g., “hey,” “yo”) sung for musical effect rather than semantic meaning.

Monophonic Texture

Musical texture consisting of a single melodic line without harmony or accompaniment.

Mele

Hawaiian chant or song that can hold cultural or spiritual significance; often performed by a kahuna.

Kahuna

Hawaiian priest or expert who may perform sacred mele.

Hula

Hawaiian dance that interprets song text through movement and gesture.

Pahu

Large, low-pitched Hawaiian sacred drum; membranophone carved from a single log and topped with sharkskin.

Mele Hula

Song (mele) specifically intended to accompany hula dance.

Hula Pahu

Form of hula accompanied by the pahu drum, highlighting its ritual power.

Kilu

Small, high-pitched Hawaiian drum that complements the pahu in hula performances.

Portamento

Sliding smoothly between two pitches in singing or instrumental playing.

Vibrato

Rapid, slight variation in pitch that enriches tone quality.

“Kau ka haliʻa i ka Manawa”

Hawaiian mele hula pahu (“A fond remembrance appears to me”) sung by warm alto voice with pahu–kilu rhythm.

Bino

Traditional Kiribati sitting dance; combines song, clapping, and minimal movement.

Te Bino

General Kiribati term for the various styles (≈ ten types) of bino sitting dances.

Battle of Betio

WWII conflict on Tarawa Atoll referenced in the Kiribati song “Kai e titirou e matie.”

Call and Response

Musical interaction where a leader’s phrase (call) is answered by a group (response).

Body Percussion

Using the body (e.g., clapping, slapping) to produce rhythmic sounds.

Tarawa Atoll

Central Pacific atoll in Kiribati; site of the Battle of Betio.

Lehua

Native Hawaiian flowering tree often symbolizing beauty or love in song poetry.

Laka

Hawaiian goddess of hula, forest growth, and fertility.

Aerophone

Instrument producing sound via vibrating air column (e.g., didjeridu).

Chordophone

Instrument producing sound from vibrating strings (e.g., guitar, ukulele).

Idiophone

Instrument producing sound from the material of the instrument itself vibrating (e.g., clapping sticks).

Membranophone

Instrument producing sound via vibrating stretched membrane (e.g., pahu drum).

Nasal Timbre

Tone quality where sound resonates in nasal cavities, creating a slightly pinched vocal color.