World Music: Traditions and Transformations 2nd. Ed. Ch. 7-9 Vocabulary and Key Terms (Bakan)

gamelan

a musical orchestra (large) or ensemble (small) common among the islands comprising the Indonesian Archipelago

gamelan beleganjur

"gamelan of walking warriors" a multi-purpose gamelan akin to a Western military band

Central Javanese court gamelan

gamelan kratong; gamelans present in Java's major cities of Surakarta and Yogyakarta, as well as Jakarta the capital

Bahasa Indonesia

the national language of Bali, a derivative of Malay

Unity in Diversity

National slogan (Bhinneka Tunggal Ika - translation), instituted to provide a framework for the preservation, development, and nationalization of the country's diverse cultures and cultural traditions

Agama Tirta

(Religion of Holy Water) a syncretic faith blending elements of Hinduism and Buddhism wither earlier layers of indigenous Balinese spiritual belie and practice

Bali Aga

original Balinese; villages that stay true to indigenous faith

gamelan gong kebyar

several musicultural features; related to the Central Javanese court gamelan (top page 91 for exact relations) Kebyar to flare up, explosive in sound

gangsa

keyed metallophone and is played with a hammer-like mallet

paired tuning

The tuning of the pitches of the "male" and "female" instruments of a Balinese gamelan to slightly different frequencies striking the "same" pitch simultaneously on a male-female pair creates ombak; female instruments of each pair are tuned lower than their male counterparts.

ombak

wave; essence of the gamelan's brilliant, shimmering sound

gong cycle

the recurring sequence of strokes on different gongs that serves as the music's foundation

gilak

gong cycle of 8 beats

gong ageng

two very large gongs or "great gongs"

reyong

a set of four-smaller, higher-pitched, hand-held gongs

kilitan telu

Set of three interlocking rhythmic patterns that are an integral component of much Balinese music; basis of the interlocking cymbal patterns in gamelan beleganjur music and of the interlocking vocal patterns in Kecak

Kecak

a Balinese dance-drama with music provided by a gamelan comprised not instruments per se, but exclusively of voices, sometimes upwards of 200 of them

atma

human soul

banjar

usually translated as "village ward" or "hamlet" though "neighborhood organization" may be more apt; usually consists of between 50 and 500 families and is responsible for planning and producing most of the core communal, religious, and social activities of its membership

kreasi beleganjur

"new creation beleganjur"; a dramatic, neo-traditional beleganjur musical style with its own, unique performance aesthetic

gerak

literally "movement"

sitar

a plucked chordophone instrument; played while sitting; rested on lap

Hindustani raga

tradition of Indian classical music

barhat

animates how traditional ragas are actually played by musicians like Ravi Shankar

gharana

the "musical families" that have preserved, cultivated, and developed the different "schools" of traditional raga performance in India and beyond, often over the course of many generations, also are defined in large measure by the ways in which they grow, multiply, and advance the raga tradition

Hindu religion

the majority faith of India

Vedas

ancient, seminal Hindu scriptures in the Sanskrit language are believed by Hindus to be of divine rather than human origin

bhajan

A particular class of Hindu devotional songs and hymns with close ties to the historical development of Indian classical music

bhangra

Originally a folk music tradition of the Punjab region; now more widely known in its contemporary popular style; often featured in Indian "Bollywood" films

Karnatak

musitradition of southern India

raga

a highly complex and elaborate music system that employs systems of rhythm and meter known as tala, and are deeply steeped in the spiritual and cultural traditions of Hinduism

tala

time

Nada Brahma

the "Sound of God," the divine source of all sound and music

vina

a plucked chordophone, melodic; Karnatak

tambura

a plucked chordophone, drone; Karnatak

mrdangam

a double-headed drum, rhythmic accompaniment; Karnatak

tabla

Hindustani rhythmic accompaniment

guru

mentor

alap

the nonmetric, improvisatory exploration of a raga that constitutes the opening portion of a typical Hindustani raga performance; an exploratory journey through the raga's melodic essence and range of possibility

tintal

A 16-beat metric cycle (ie tala) used in Hindustani raga and other types of North Indian music

theka

the basic pattern of drum strokes (eg on the Indian tabla) that outlines a tala in its most skeletal form

sam

The first beat of a tala cycle (and, simultaneously, the last beat of the preceding cycle)

vadi

tonic or fundamental pitch of raga

gat

The main part of a Hindustani raga performance following the alap; a tala (metic cycle) serves as its metric/rhythmic foundation; the entry of a rhythmic accompaniment part (usually played on tabla) marks the commencement of the gat.

jor

intermediary section that serves as a musical bridge between the introductory alap that precedes it and the main section that follow it in a standard raga performance

jhala

follows the gat directly, driving the performance to an exciting and climactic finish, commencement of the jhala is usually signaled by a sudden upward jump in tempo and intensity

keeping tal

patterned method of keeping time

tihai

the same rhythmic pattern is played three times in succession, with the final statement of the pattern landing precisely on sam to end the piece, functions as a cadence

cadence

an ending pattern that provides a satisfying sense of closure at the end of a musical performance or section of a musical performance

music director

responsible for all of a film's musical components, including background music, songs, and dance compositions

playback singer

n Indian cinema (eg Bollywood), a vocalist who sings the songs that are included in films, but who does not appear on screen. Playback singers are voice surrogates for on-screen actors and actresses, who typically lip-synch their parts

Irish traditional music

the core of Irish music itself, and of myriad musical styles that claim Irish music as their root

pan-Irish

all inclusive of Irish cultural traditions

Irish gaelic

native language to Ireland

Irish potato famine

began in the 1840s; famine and subsequent evictions led to the death of 1.5 million Irish people and massive (often fatal) attempts at emigration, resulting in the rapid reduction of the population from 8 million to 3.5 million

Irish diaspora

millions of Irish people left Ireland for other lands during the Irish potato famine

Radio Eirann

a national radio station, founded in 1926

Irish music revival

mass urbanization, reliance on manufacturing in the economy, led to increased prosperity and fears of culture loss, both factors contributed to this in the 1960s, a phenomenon that would have profound implications on the future course of Irish music

session

an informal gathering where musicians join together to play Irish tunes amidst socializing

sean nos

"old way" songs sung in Gaelic

tinwhistle

aerophone; an end-blown, metal-body flute, with a wood or plastic mouthpiece, that produces a high-pitched sound similar to that of a piccolo or sopranino recorder

Irish wooden flute

aerophone; a side-blown flute costing considerably more than the tinwhistle, adjustable for tuning, about 26' long

ceili

an informal social gathering that is normally held at a neighborhood pub or dance hall and involves dancing

jig

commonly used dance rhythm in Irish music

hornpipe

commonly used dance rhyme in Irish music

reel

the most commonly used dance rhythm in Irish music

ornaments

a general term relating to the decoration of melodies in music traditions worldwide; specifically such as the roll, cran, treble, cut, and triplet

medley

a musical form in which two or more pieces are performed one after the other without pause

uilleann pipes

Irish version of the bagpipe, regarded as the most distinctively Irish music instrument

Celtic

a complex of historically related cultures that today mainly survive in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, and certain regions of eastern Canada. This cultural complex is principally defined by the Celtic family of languages, though other shared aspects of culture, including musical ones, are significant as well

bodhran

Irish hand-held frame drum with a goat skin head (hint we did an exercise with this in class)