American Music Exam #1
What is an arwhoolie?
a field holler
What is a ballad?
a narrative song in strophic form; tells stories, entertains, and teaches a moral lesson
What is the meaning of the words to "Yankee Doodle"?
a pre-revolution song sung by British soldiers; makes fun of the "Yankees" whom British fought during French and Indian war
What is a spiritual?
a sacred folk song; has a steady pulse, call and response, repetition and variation, and related to movement (the "shout"); often included encoded messages as a way to escape slavery
Barbara Allen
ballad from movement of independence
How does Benson J. Lossing describe the Shakers' music?
beautiful, sincere, solemn, etc.
Wondrous Love
classic folk hymn from Second Awakening
Ainsworth Psalm 100
from the Bay Psalm Book; early 18th century; Great Awakening
What were fundamental characteristics of Second Awakening?
fueled ideas of social equality: democratize religious practice, simplicity of doctrine and biblical authority, decisions made by congregations, both blacks and whites at camp meetings, education for women, uniting church and state
What tunes are included in the Southern Harmony?
fuged tunes and ancient music
What constitutes a "true song"?
given by the gods
Source of Native American Songs?
given to humans by spirits or gods, often in dreams or vision quests
How does the average person react to the Sacred Harp?
harshly because of shrill voices, strange harmonies, and absence of melody
Approximately when did the Second Great Awakening begin?
in the early 1800s
Only instrumental music that Sharp heard?
jig tunes on fiddle
What is the "Old Way"?
lining out
What is a "song?"
longer, more elaborate and emotional lines
What are folk songs that aren't hymns called?
love songs
What is unique about distribution of parts in Sacred Harp?
male sopranos and women tenors; women voices can stand out
What are vocables?
non-lexical texts that aren't literal words but are specific to a song
What are fuging tunes and how were they received?
open harmonies and similar to a round; deplored by "serious" musicians and congregations
What is Regular Singing?
reading music-singing schools created and a need for teachers, textbooks, and classrooms arose; related to Great Awakening in modernizing/rethinking religion
For what did slaves make music?
religious expression, work, recreation and dance, entertainment of master, boat and waterfront, code songs
What does Crawford think of music during the independence era?
says the music is "functional, not artistic"
What does "democratic music making" mean?
singers do what they want, not for the audience
What is a folk hymn?
sometimes referred to as spirituals; camp meeting had these songs; simple, repetitive, catchy, and for the purpose of praise
What does "context specific" mean and what are some contexts? (Native American)
songs only used for one purpose: Love Songs, butterfly dance, sun dance, songs of agriculture, healing ceremonies
Importance of secrecy in music?
songs orally transmitted from practitioner to apprentice
How were people of Laurel County, NC speaking language of a past day?
spoke with old-fashioned pronunciaiton and obsolete expressions
What was worship like at camp meetings?
stands erected with preachers, emotional dancing and "the jerks," music and hymn singing; hymns had verses with simple choruses
How are West African and African American music styles similar?
steady pulse, call and response
Shared characteristics of West Central African music?
steady pulse, call response, predominantly vocal but often with percussion accompaniment, accents/syncopation, polyrhythms, cross-rhythms, use of instruments to emulate human voice, oral transmission, improvisation, repetition and variation, communal
Characteristics of mountain folks' singing?
straightforward, even tone and clarity, dwell arbitrarily on certain notes
What is Symmes' final suggestion for promoting the singing of psalms?
that ministers teach it to the congregation: beneficial way to spend time, singing by note is melodious and ancient, most agreeable to scripture
What is a folksinger's aim when he or she sings?
to forget everyday life
What happened to the primarily written tradition and why?
turned into oral because of erosion of education and general push to the countryside
Consequence of misusing a song?
upsets the deities
General shared characteristics of Native American music
vocal; accompanied by drums, bells, rattles; drumming w/o singing non-existant; drums and voices can be at different tempos, melodies often descending
Why is the New England Psalm Singer important?
was the first published collection of entirely American music and the first tune book devoted to just one composer (William Billings)
What was the first known shape-note tunebook?
Bay Psalm Book
What special songs did Mitchell know?
Chief Songs-used for tying up Mountain Earth Bundle
Sherburne
Daniel Read; fuging tune from Great Awakening
Where did he learn Blessingway songs?
He Who Seeks War, Man Who Shouts, and his father
What has been called the first American music textbook and who wrote it?
Introduction to Singing of Psalm Tunes by John Tuft
The Liberty Song
John Dickinson; late 18th century, part of independence movement
What tribe was Frank Mitchell part of?
Navajo tribe
What situations might a Blessingway be used for?
Pregnancy, bad dreams, worry, etc.
On Jordan's Stormy Banks
Samuel Stennet; early 18th century; Second Awakening
First book printed in America?
The Bay Psalm Book
Who wrote the Reasonableness of Regular Singing and why?
Thomas Symmes; wrote so that ordinary people could understand it
Chester
William Billings; Great Awakening; pro-resistance and independence
What are the two most important collections of shape-note collections?
William Walker's Southern Harmony and Benjamin Franklin White/E.J. King's The Sacred Harp (still in print)
What made the Cane Ridge camp meeting so influential?
1000-2000 souls converted, news spread through KY and other states
Information on Liberty song?
American song of propaganda written by John Dickinson in 1768, appeared around time of the Townshend Acts, a "broadside" ballad