Final Exam

Question 1

Polyrhythm

Answer 1

Multiple rhythms played simultaneously, the rhythmic basis of most African music.

Question 2

Talking Drums

Answer 2

Drums that use rhythm and inflection to mimic speech

Question 3

Juju

Answer 3

Popular music from Nigeria which blends traditional polyrhythmic percussion and storytelling with modern instrumentation and concert performance.

Question 4

Pygmies

Answer 4

A semi-nomadic ethic group from Central Africa whose singing style reflects their egalitarian social structure

Question 5

Mbira

Answer 5

A plucked idiophone from Zimbabwe

Question 6

Bira

Answer 6

A spirit possession ceremony of the Shona ethnic group from Zimbabwe

Question 7

Jali

Answer 7

A West African praise-singer and oral historian of the Mandinka ethnic group

Question 8

Lora

Answer 8

A bridge harp form West Africa played by a Jali during his poetic recitation

Question 9

Apartheid

Answer 9

The South African set of segregation and economic discrimination laws from the 1900’s

Question 10

Mbube

Answer 10

A South African vocal style featuring male voices in harmony

Question 11

Isicathamiya

Answer 11

A modern version of Mbube signing, exemplified by the group Ladysimth Black Mambazo.

Question 12

Syncretic Religion/Syncretism

Answer 12

African religions in the Caribbean, including Vodou and Santeria, which are mapped onto European belief systems, particularly Catholicism.

Question 13

Reggae

Answer 13

A popular music from Jamaica with a melodic bass line, emphasis on the off-beat, and socially conscious lyrics.

Question 14

Calypso

Answer 14

A popular music from Trinidad characterized by improvised lyrics on topical and broadly humorous subject matter.

Question 15

Carnival

Answer 15

A pre-lent festival celebrated in Roman Catholic cultures

Question 16

Tamboo Bamboo

Answer 16

An ensemble from Trinidad that plays lengths of bamboo as percussion instruments, was a reaction to the British ban on drumming.

Question 17

Vodou

Answer 17

An African-dericed religious system in Haiti, incorporating some influences from Roman Catholicism.

Question 18

Santeria

Answer 18

A belief system combining animism and syncretized Roman catholicism, found primarily in Cuba and US

Question 19

Pan

Answer 19

A musical instrument from Trinidad made out of a steel oil drum.

Question 20

Guiro

Answer 20

A scraped gourd idiophone

Question 21

Clave

Answer 21

One of a pair of hand-held wooden cylinders played in Latin American genres such as Salsa, also the same of the rhythm played on the is instrument.

Question 22

Merengue

Answer 22

A Latin American dance and music form from the Dominican Republic, which uses accordion and guiro

Question 23

Amazonian Indian Chant

Answer 23

Traditional vocal music of the Kayapo people of northern Brazil

Question 24

Totem

Answer 24

A plant, animal, or natural object used as an emblem for a person or group of people

Question 25

Siku

Answer 25

Panpipes common among indigenous populations from Peru and throughout the Andes

Question 26

Bandoneon

Answer 26

The button-box accordion used in Tango music

Question 27

Tango

Answer 27

A music and dance genre from Argentina

Question 28

Mariacho

Answer 28

Mexican music associated with festivals and celebratory events

Question 29

Samba

Answer 29

A popular music and dance genre from Brazil

Question 30

Capoeira

Answer 30

A martial arts dance that was created by escaped slaves in Brazil

Question 31

Berimbau

Answer 31

A musical bow used in capoeira music

Question 32

Fiddle

Answer 32

A violin that is played in a folk music context

Question 33

Jig

Answer 33

Dance music in 6/8 times originating on the British Isles

Question 34

Ballad

Answer 34

An unaccompanied song that tells a story

Question 35

Appalachia

Answer 35

A mountainous region in the eastern United States where ballad sinning is an important tradition music form.

Question 36

Bluegrass

Answer 36

A style of American folk music characterized by virtuosic instrumental performance and the "high lonesome" vocal style

Question 37

Blue note

Answer 37

A itch not standard to the Euro-American tradition, believed to derive from West African tuning systems

Question 38

Blues

Answer 38

A secular folk tradition originating within the African-American community in the southern U.S. with lyrics commenting on life

Question 39

Salsa

Answer 39

A latin American dance music, popularized in New York

Question 40

Creole

Answer 40

French-speaking peoples of African and French ancestry living in Louisiana

Question 41

Zydeco

Answer 41

Creole dance music from Louisiana that calends African-American styles with Cajun

Question 42

Vocables

Answer 42

Words used in songs because of the way they sounds rather than what they mean

Question 43

Powwow

Answer 43

A pan-tribal Native American event celebrating Native American identity and culture.