World music exam 2

Question: What did Confucius say about music?
Answer: Confucius believed that music had a powerful moral influence. He distinguished between proper, harmonious music that cultivated virtue and improper music that led to corruption.

Question: What is the difference between shi yin and chi yue music?
Answer: Shi yin refers to proper, harmonious music that promotes balance and morality, while chi yue is extravagant, overly stimulating music that Confucius viewed as corrupting.

Question: What is Guoyue? How is it connected to Confucius?
Answer: Guoyue (national music) is a modern term for traditional Chinese music, often influenced by Confucian ideals of harmony and morality in music.

Question: How many strings does a guqin have? What type of scale is it tuned to?
Answer: A guqin has seven strings and is tuned to a pentatonic scale.

Question: What is tablature?
Answer: Tablature is a type of musical notation that indicates finger placements on an instrument rather than specific pitches.

Question: What does jiangnan sizhu translate to? In what type of establishment would you find one performing usually?
Answer: Jiangnan sizhu translates to "silk and bamboo music from Jiangnan." It is typically performed in tea houses.

Question: What is the purpose of a jiangnan sizhu ensemble?
Answer: The ensemble is meant for social enjoyment, often played in informal gatherings or tea houses rather than for professional performances.

Question: How many “songs” survive in the ancient Jiangnan Sizhu repertoire?
Answer: Around 24 traditional pieces are still performed today.

Question: What is another name for Jingju?
Answer: Jingju is also known as Peking Opera.

Question: What are three types of vocal music heard in Jingju?
Answer:

  1. Xipi (lively and bright)

  2. Erhuang (melancholic and deep)

  3. Qingyin (lyrical and expressive)

Question: What is the difference between the sound of the wuchang and wenchang ensembles in Jingju?
Answer: Wuchang (martial music) is percussive and dramatic, while wenchang (civil music) is melodic and accompanies singing.

Question: What is the double-reed instrument that plays with singers in Jingju?
Answer: The suona, a loud and piercing double-reed instrument, often accompanies singers in Jingju.

Question: What was the importance of trumpeter Buck Clayton to Chinese pop music?
Answer: Buck Clayton introduced jazz elements to Chinese pop music in the 1930s, influencing the genre known as shidaiqu.

Question: What term is used to describe pop music sung in Mandarin Chinese?
Answer: Mandopop (short for Mandarin pop).

Here are your questions formatted as Knowt-style flashcards:

Question: What is Mikagura?
Answer: Mikagura is a form of Japanese court music used in Shinto rituals and ceremonies.

Question: How is the Japanese wagon different from the Chinese guqin?
Answer: The wagon is a Japanese six-string zither with moveable bridges, while the guqin is a Chinese seven-string zither with no bridges.

Question: What is a Hayashi?
Answer: A Hayashi is an ensemble of traditional Japanese percussion and flute instruments, often used in Noh and Kabuki theater.

Question: If you were seeing Matsuri-bayashi music, what class of instruments predominates?
Answer: Percussion instruments, such as taiko drums and bells, dominate Matsuri-bayashi music.

Question: What is Gagaku?
Answer: Gagaku is the ancient court music of Japan, characterized by slow tempos and elegant melodies.

Question: Name two aerophones and two chordophones from the Gagaku ensemble.
Answer:
Aerophones: Sho (mouth organ), Hichiriki (double-reed flute)
Chordophones: Biwa (short-necked lute), Koto (long zither)

Question: Which percussion instrument is the leader of the Gagaku ensemble?
Answer: The taiko (large drum) leads the Gagaku ensemble.

Question: What is the main difference in approach between Gagaku and Chinese music?
Answer: Gagaku emphasizes slow, flowing melodies with a focus on sustained tones, while Chinese music is often more rhythmic and ornamented.

Question: What is shomyo, and how are ryo and ritsu related to it?
Answer: Shomyo is Buddhist chant. Ryo and Ritsu are two different scale systems used in shomyo singing.

Question: What Chinese music genre is most like Sokyoku? What instruments are generally played in Sokyoku?
Answer: Jiangnan Sizhu is the most similar Chinese genre. Sokyoku typically features the koto, shamisen, and shakuhachi.

Question: What religious practice was foundational to Noh Theater?
Answer: Zen Buddhism was foundational to Noh Theater, influencing its minimalistic and meditative nature.

Question: What is the guiding instrument of the Noh-hayashi?
Answer: The Noh-kan (a high-pitched flute) guides the Noh-hayashi ensemble.

Question: In Kabuki theater, which instrument is there more than one of?
Answer: There are multiple shamisen (three-stringed lutes) in Kabuki theater.

Question: Who invented karaoke and when?
Answer: Daisuke Inoue invented karaoke in 1971.

Question: What was the first Japanese song to reach 1 billion streams on the Billboard charts? Who was the artist?
Answer: "Idol" by YOASOBI was the first Japanese song to surpass 1 billion streams on the Billboard Japan charts. It also became the first Japanese-language song to reach number one on the Billboard Global Excl. US chart in June 2023.

Here are your Knowt-style flashcards:

Question: What is the importance of the cities of Yogyakarta (Yogya) and Surakarta (Solo)?
Answer: Yogyakarta and Surakarta are cultural centers of Javanese gamelan music, dance, and traditional arts. They have preserved and developed classical Javanese gamelan traditions.

Question: What types of instruments (in general) make up the gamelan ensemble?
Answer: Gamelan ensembles primarily consist of metallophones, gongs, drums, and sometimes stringed or wind instruments.

Question: What is the main melody instrument in the gamelan in Java?
Answer: The saron carries the main melody in Javanese gamelan.

Question: What are the three functions of instruments in the gamelan? Offer an example instrument for each function.
Answer:

  1. Melodic instruments – Saron (plays the main melody).

  2. Punctuating instruments – Gong ageng (marks structural points).

  3. Elaborating instruments – Bonang (adds ornamentation to the melody).

Question: What are the types of gamelan instruments by construction?
Answer: Gamelan instruments are made of bronze, brass, or iron. Some ensembles also include wooden and stringed instruments.

Question: What is the usual situation in which a Javanese gamelan would perform? How does this differ in Bali?
Answer: Javanese gamelan is typically performed in court settings, religious ceremonies, and shadow puppet theater (wayang kulit). In Bali, gamelan is more energetic and is often used for temple festivals and dramatic dance performances.

Question: What is the difference between the pelog and slendro scales? Which scale does Balinese gamelan use exclusively?
Answer:

  • Pelog is a seven-note scale with uneven intervals.

  • Slendro is a five-note scale with nearly equal intervals.

  • Balinese gamelan uses pelog exclusively.

Question: What is a pathet?
Answer: A pathet is a Javanese gamelan mode that determines the mood and pitch organization of a piece.

Question: What is colotomic rhythm in gamelan music?
Answer: Colotomic rhythm refers to the use of specific instruments (such as gongs) to mark cyclical time structures in gamelan music.

Question: How are the directing instruments different in Javanese and Balinese gamelan?
Answer:

  • In Javanese gamelan, the kendang (drum) leads the ensemble.

  • In Balinese gamelan, leadership is shared between the kendang and the ceng-ceng (cymbals), creating a dynamic and interlocking rhythm.

Question: What does the term ombak mean in Balinese music?
Answer: Ombak means "wave" and refers to the shimmering effect created by slightly detuned paired instruments in Balinese gamelan.

Question: How did Bengawan Solo become a pan-Asian song?
Answer: Originally a Javanese kroncong song, Bengawan Solo gained popularity across Asia, especially in Japan and China, due to its catchy melody and nostalgic themes.

Question: What instruments are usually found in Kroncong music?
Answer: Kroncong music typically includes the cuk and cak (small ukulele-like instruments), flute, violin, guitar, and string bass.

Question: What is Dangdut music?
Answer: Dangdut is a popular Indonesian music genre that blends traditional Indonesian music with Indian, Arabic, and Western influences, characterized by strong drum rhythms and melodramatic singing.

Question: What are the six general characteristics of Sub-Saharan African music?
Answer:

  1. Polyrhythm – multiple rhythms played simultaneously.

  2. Call-and-response – a leader sings or plays a phrase, and a group responds.

  3. Improvisation – spontaneous musical creation within a structure.

  4. Repetition – cyclic patterns and repeated phrases.

  5. Oral tradition – music is passed down by ear rather than written notation.

  6. Community participation – music is often participatory and social.

Question: What African tribe created Agbekor drumming?
Answer: The Ewe people of Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

Question: Who generally plays Agbekor drum music?
Answer: Agbekor drumming is traditionally performed by trained musicians for ceremonies, war dances, and cultural events.

Question: In Agbekor and related drumming types, what instrument is the “heartbeat” of the ensemble?
Answer: The gankogui (a double bell that provides a steady timeline).

Question: What is polyrhythm?
Answer: Polyrhythm is when two or more contrasting rhythms are played at the same time.

Question: What happens in the Adzokpi section of an Agbekor performance?
Answer: Individual dancers come forward to perform solo movements, showcasing their skills.

Question: In what countries do the Mandé people live today?
Answer: The Mandé people live in Mali, Guinea, Senegal, Ivory Coast, and neighboring West African countries.

Question: What is the term that designates a specialist storytelling musician of the Mandé?
Answer: Jali (or Griot).

Question: What is the principal chordophone of the Mandé?
Answer: The kora (a 21-stringed harp-lute).

Question: In what modern country do the Shona people now live?
Answer: Zimbabwe.

Question: What is the specific Sachs-Hornbostel category of the mbira?
Answer: The lamellaphone (a type of idiophone).

Question: What Western mode is similar to Nyamaropa?
Answer: The Mixolydian mode (major scale with a lowered 7th).

Question: What are the kushaura and kutshinhira of mbira music?
Answer:

  • Kushaura – the lead melodic part.

  • Kutshinhira – the following (interlocking) part.

Question: Match the pop styles of Chimurenga and Jùjú to their modern African countries.
Answer:

  • Chimurenga – Zimbabwe.

  • Jùjú – Nigeria.

Question: What is Soukous?
Answer: Soukous is a fast-paced dance music genre from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, derived from Congolese rumba.