MU-227 Terminology

instrumental

music by any number of instruments without vocals

cultural relativism

understanding the ways of other cultures and not judging these practices according to one's own cultural ways

a capella

vocal music without instrumentation

values

what people think is right and wrong, good and bad, desirable and undesriable

patriarchy

where a father figure and men have authority

matriarchy

where a mother figure and women have authority

symbol

an object, word, or action that stands for something

measure

-a cycle of meter -also called "bar"

legend

-a nonhistorical or unverifiable story handed down by tradition from earlier times and popularly accepted as historical -the body of stories of this kind, especially as they relate to a particular people, group, or clan

note

-a sound of definite pitch and duration -the notation of such a sound

melody

-a succession of notes that forms a recognizable unit, typically the principle part of a piece of music -often used synonymously with tune

syncretism

-blending traits from two different cultures to form a new trait -also called fusion

fusion

-blending traits from two different cultures to form a new trait -also called syncretism

history

-the branch of knowledge dealing with past events -a continuous, systematic narrative of past events relating to a particular people, country, period, person, etc., usually written as a chronological account

composition

-the conception of a piece of music or the piece itself -sometimes used in contrast to improvisation, composition implies an activity done before performance or a work that is specified in sufficient detail to retain its essential identity from one performance to another -this opposition is not always clear-cut though, and the concepts vary widely with time and place

improvisation

-the conception of music in the course of performance -however tempting it might be to distinguish simply between composed music (determined precisely in advance) and improvisation (created at the time of performance), improvisation can exist in different kinds to varying degrees

bass

-the lowest sounding member of a family of instruments -the lowest sounding male voice -the double bass -the lowest pitch of any single chord and the succession of such lowest pitches

form

-the organization of a piece of music into sections -the shape of a piece of music as defined by all of its elements

meter

-the pattern in which a steady succession of rhythmic pulses (i.e., beats) is organized, e.g., four-four, three-four, six-eight, etc. -also termed "time"

volume

-the perceived characteristic of a sound that is a function of its intensity or the physical energy that the sounding body transmits to the surrounding environment -also called "loudness"

timbre

-the perceived quality of a sound that is a function of its harmonic spectrum -distinct from pitch, it enables the distinguishing between one instrument and another -also called "tone" and "color"

pitch

-the perceived quality of a sound that is chiefly a function of its fundamental frequency -we generally regard pitch as becoming higher with increasing frequency and lower with decreasing frequency

ethics

-the principles of conduct governing an individual or group -concerns what is right or wrong, and good or bad

harmony

-the sounding of pitches simultaneously -any particular collection of pitches sounded simultaneously -also termed "chord"

accompaniment

-the subordinate parts of a musical texture -everything except the melody

chord

-three or more pitches sounded simultaneously or functioning as if sounded simultaneously -two such pitches are normally referred to as an interval

tone

-timbre -pitch -note

gender

Individually and socially constructed attributions of masculinity, femininity, and sexuality based on behavioral, cultural, and psychological traits

imperialism

economic control gained through the corporate organization of nation states

tribe

a group that centers around kinship units and common-interest groups that cross kindred boundaries

racism

a belief that cultural and personal differences are inherent to race, and usually that one's own race is superior to that of others

genre

a category of music characterized by details of form, content, technique, etc.

scale

a collection of pitches typically arranged in ascending and descending order

text

a cultural object that can be "read" through a coherent set of symbols that are interpreted meaningfully

state

a culture that has a formal political organization with a central bureaucracy that has the authority to employ legalized force

diaspora

a dispersion or spreading of people belonging to a nation or a social group to a place outside of their perceived place of origin or home

theocracy

a form of state political organization in which government is based on religious offices

rite

a formal or ceremonial act or procedure prescribed or customary in religious or other solemn use

syncopation

a momentary contradiction of the prevailing meter or beat

icon

a picture, image, sign or other representation that stands for its object by virtue of a resemblance or analogy to it, as a painted representation of a sacred personage, such as Christ or a saint or angel

race

a population related by common descent or an arbitrary classification of people based on physical characteristics (e.g., skin color, facial form, eye shape, etc.)

religion

a set of beliefs and practices concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs

myth

a traditional or legendary story, usually concerning a heroic being or event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or a natural explanation, especially one that is concerned with deities or demigods and explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature

postmodern

a view that social and cultural reality, as well as social science itself, is a human construction

ritual

an established or prescribed procedure for a religious or other rite

supernatural

characteristics of reality beyond the senses

ethnology

comparative analysis of cultural patterns to explain differences and similarities among societies

humanism

concern for human welfare, dignity, and values

nature-nurture

contrasting the biological verses cultural or environmental basis for behavior

holistic

cultures are integrated wholes, no dimension of which can be completely understood in isolation

ethnography

description of a culture, usually based on the method of participant observation

origin story

description of how a culture came into being

colonialism

forced change in which one culture, society, or nation dominates another

cultural transmission

how culture is passed on through learning from one generation to another

cosmology

ideas about the universe as an ordered system and the place of humans in the universe

cultural knowledge

information, skills, attitudes, conceptions, beliefs, values, and other mental components of culture that people socially learn during enculturation

ethnocentrism

judging other cultures by the standards of your own, which you believe to be superior

egalitarian

lack of formalized differences in the access to power, influence, and wealth within a society

fieldwork

living among a group of people for the purpose of learning about their culture

participant observation

living in a culture that is not one's own while keeping a detailed record of observations and encounters in order to learn about it

homophony

music consisting of a melody with accompaniment

monophony

music consisting of a single melody without an accompaniment

heterophony

music consisting of simultaneous variations of a single melody

polyphony

music consisting of the simultaneous performance of more than one melody

warfare

organized, armed conflict between groups, each of which is motivated by a common purpose

adaptation

patterns of behavior that enable a culture to cope with its surroundings

social class

people having the same rank in a system that differentiates people from high to low

peasants

people who produce for their own subsistence in preindustrial and industrializing societies--usually rural, lower class, primary producers such as farmers, artisans, or fishermen

multiculturalism

stressing the importance of different cultures and ethnicities

science

systematically acquired knowledge that is verifiable

beat

the basic pulse underlying the music

world view

the beliefs about the limits and workings of the world shared by the members of a society and represented in their myths, lore, ceremonies, social conduct, and values

sex

the biological and physiological characteristics that define males/men and females/women

canon

the body of standards, rules, laws, texts, or repertoire accepted as axiomatic, universally recognized, and/or authoritative in a religion, art, or field of study

repertoire

the entire stock of works in a particular artistic field or genre

notation

the graphic or visual representation of music

rhythm

the grouping or organization of musical sounds as a function of time

cultural construct

the idea that the characteristics people attribute to such social categories as gender, illness, death, status, and success are culturally defined

culture

the learned pattens of thought and behavior that characterize a social group and involve adaptation of the members to their surroundings

fundamental

the lowest and primary note of the harmonic series

wealth

the net gain in material wellbeing from economic activity measured according to the values of a given culture

neocolonialism

the policy of a strong nation in seeking political and economic hegemony over an independent nation or geographical area without extending the subordination of the nation or area to the legal status of a colony

status

the position one has in a social network

urbanization

the process by which people increasingly come to live in cities

acculturation

the process of adopting the cultural traits of another social group

enculturation

the process of learning one's own culture

socialization

the process of learning one's own culture

class stratification

the ranking of members of a society from higher to lower based on wealth, prestige, position, or education

interval

the relationship or distance between two pitches

anthropology

the scientific study of the origin, behavior, and physical, social and cultural development of humans

tempo

the speed at which music is performed, i.e., the rate of successive beats in a piece of music

cultural anthropology

the study of cultural variation and similarity; includes ethnology and anthropological linguistics, and may include archaeology

hegemonic

the use of power usually involving the control of a meta or master narrative by one culture against another culture

secular

things and actions not regarded as religious or spiritual

sacred

things and actions set apart as religious or spiritual and entitled to reverence