native american

Q: What is the texture of Native American music?
A: Monophonic (no harmony)

Q: What is the primary focus of Native American music?
A: Vocal music, sometimes with text, sometimes with vocables (non-translatable syllables)

Q: What instruments are commonly used in Native American music?
A: Drum, rattle, and occasionally flute or ankle bells

Q: What is a common feature of Native American music in terms of structure?
A: Short phrases with lots of repetition

Q: What vocal technique is common in Native American singing?
A: Use of vocal falsetto (high-pitched singing)

Q: How is Native American music passed down?
A: Oral tradition

Navajo Music (Southwestern U.S.)

Traditional Music from the "Way" Ceremonies

Q: What are Yeibichai songs, and what is their purpose?
A: Yeibichai songs invoke ancestral gods for healing and restoring hozoo (balance) and are used in the Nightway Ceremony. They are complex and include shouts, ornaments, and falsetto.

Q: What is the meaning of "Yeibichai"?
A: "Yeibichai" means "gods-their-grandfathers," referring to the ancestral spirits invoked in the songs.

Q: What are Ndáá songs, and how do they differ from Yeibichai songs?
A: Ndáá songs are simpler and easier to sing than Yeibichai songs, and they were popular "hits" among the Navajo before the 1940s. They may include vocables or text.

Q: What are sacred chants in Navajo music?
A: Sacred chants are "holy" and used during serious, ritual moments in the "Way" ceremonies. They are simple, monophonic, and nearly monotone.

Other Music of the Navajo Indians

Q: What is the music of the Native American Church (Peyote Church)?
A: Peyote songs used in religious ceremonies are monophonic, have simple rhythm and melody, no ornamentation, and often use vocables with drum/rattle accompaniment.

Q: What outside music influences have impacted Navajo culture?
A:

Country/Western music (since the 1940s)
Gospel music and Christian hymns (both religious and popular)

Q: How have contemporary Navajo composers contributed to modern music?
A:

Some composers write new songs in the traditional style of Ndáá songs, often with social commentary.
Others create songs blending traditional Native and non-Native musical characteristics, with lyrics in either Navajo or English (e.g., Arliene Nofchissey, Sharon Burch).

Q: What is the Native American Flute Revival?
A: A movement to revive the tradition of the Native American flute, popularized by R. Carlos Nakai, who uses the flute in both traditional and contemporary performances (e.g., jazz and orchestra).