Terms Flashcards
(32 cards)
What is a sorrow song?
A type of spiritual that is centered around past and future trials placed within the context of Christianity.
What is cultural memory?
Cultural memory occurs whenever a culture seems to recognize or remember something without conscious knowledge or training, possibly due to persisting tendencies within the culture.
What is a spiritual?
A Black religious folk song that is usually passed down through the oral tradition or by word of mouth.
What is acculturation?
Acculturation occurs when a minority culture is influenced by a larger/majority culture.
What is Congo Square?
Congo Square was briefly established in New Orleans before the Civil War as a place where enslaved people could congregate on Sundays, allowing for a rejuvenating experience where people could sing, dance, and sell their wares.
What is syncretization?
This occurs when disparate elements are combined.
What is a portamento?
A portamento occurs when in music, one note seems to “slide” to another note.
What is a cultivated tradition?
When stories, rituals, and other facets of a culture are actively influenced and maintained through written record.
What is syncopation?
Syncopation occurs when emphasis is placed on the offbeat instead of the normal rhythm.
What are timbral variations?
Timbral variations occur when there are differentiations within the sound of a piece, not the pitch.
What is call-and-response?
Call-and-response is when two distinct, successive phrases are performed as if the phrases are in conversation, often with a leader who performs the call.
What is signifyin(g)?
Signifyin(g) is figurative, implicative speech that includes trash-talking, moral themes, and personal touches.
What is a diaspora?
A diaspora is when people originating from one area are dispersed throughout the world, ending up connected by heritage but not location.
What is the Great Migration?
An event taking place from the early 20th century to the 70s, when African-Americans, en masse, relocated north, seeking better opportunities and greater rights.
What is heterophony?
Multiple variations of a single theme performed at the same time.
What is Black Nationalism?
A philosophy promoted by Marcus Garvey that sought to uplift black people through separation (such as only supporting black businesses), or going back to Africa, ultimately seeking to distance themselves both physically and creatively from Europeans.
What are blue notes?
When the 3rd, 5th, and 7th degrees are lowered on a major scale.
What is Pan-Africanism?
The philosophy that people from across the African Diaspora have a shared identity and heritage that should be celebrated.
What is a call-and-response pattern?
Successive phrases that respond to each other as if in conversation, usually with a leader
What is improvisation?
A personal twist on something.
What is propensity of sound?
Filling all available space with sound.
What is polyrhythm?
Multiple contrasting rhythms played simultaneously.
What is opera?
A type of theater that relies heavily on music and places singers in starring roles.
What is program music?
Music created to portray a story or image.
