World Music Midterm Study Guide
Midterm: March 20, 2019
Lecture 1: Javanese Gamelan and Epistemology
Listening Examples
Gending Kinanti _ Pelog Nem
Palarang Pangkur _ Pelog Barang
Ladrang Wilujeng_Slendro Manyura
Vocabulary
Java: the most populous island of Indonesia, home to the Javanese
gamelan: a Javanese musical ensemble, composed primarily of bronze metallophones
may refer to the music, the players, or the instruments themselves
balungan: skeletal melody, the written portion of the music
colotomy: cyclical structure in music
laras: scale
pelog: 7-tone scale
slendro: 5-tone scale
irama: relative density/speed of balungan to elaborating/flowering instruments
epistemology: the study of knowing
ngelmu: the Javanese theory of knowledge, achieved through the use of rasa
rasa (from Sanskrit): intuition, flavor, ability to sense non-material qualities of things
batin (from Arabic): the internal or hidden meaning of an thing
lahir (from Arabic zahir): external, material qualities of a thing
Lecture 2: Indigenous Instruments of Mexico and the Americas
Listening Examples
Luis Perez Ixoneztli - En el Omligo de la Luna excerpt
(this excerpt uses atecocolli, ayotapalcatl, and tlapan huehuetl)
Jorge Reyes - Baa Wehai demonstration
Jorge Reyes - Tehuehuetl Demonstration
Vocabulary
tawitol: musical bow
baa wehai: percussive gourds placed in water
atecocolli: sea shell trumpet
ayotapalcatl: turtle shell marimba
chililitli: gong
teponaztli: slit drum, often carved to resemble deities
tehuehuetl: stone marimba
tlapan huehuetl: tall drum cut from a single tree, 3 lightning bolt legs
Maya: A Mesoamerican civilization stretching throughout the Southern half of
modern-day Central America from 2000 BC until their murder by Spanish
invaders in the 16th century
Mexica: an indigenous people in the Valley of Mexico, considered to be the rulers of
what is now referred to as the “Aztec” empire
Nahuatl: the language spoken by the majority of indigenous people in the Valley of
Mexico, including the Mexica
Lecture 3: Organology, Bagpipes, and the Musical Bow
Idiophone: body of the instrument is the vibrating material; (includes all percussion
except drums)
Aerophone: air is the vibrating material; (woodwinds, brass instruments, bagpipes, etc)
Chordophone: strings are the vibrating material; (fiddles, zithers, etc)
Membranophone: membrane is the vibrating material; (drums, kazoo, etc)
Lecture 4: Japanese traditional music
Listening Examples
Classical Koto - Godan Ginuta
Teruhisha Fukuda - Honkyoku excerpt
Ensemble Nipponia - Shamisen solo
Vocabulary
Japan: an island nation in East Asia, located in the Pacific off the East coast of the
Asian continent
Koto: a 13 string, plucked zither from Japan with movable bridges
Shakuhachi: an end-blown bamboo flute; its name means “1.8 shaku,” referring to its
length in an archaic unit of measurement
Honkyoku: compositions for solo shakuhachi played by Japanese zen monks called
komuso
Gagaku: imperial court theater (music and dance) of Japan; the full ensemble may
contain shakuhachi and koto
Shamisen: a three string fretless Japanese chordophone (often referred to as a
Japanese banjo)
Lecture 5: Ethiopia
Listening Examples
Alemayu Eshete - Ambassel
Asnaqetch Werqu - The Lady with the Krar - (Tizita mode)
Ethiopian Liturgical Chant - Zema
Vocabulary
Ethiopia: East African country located on the horn of Africa
kiñit: Ethiopian musical mode
tizita: major pentatonic mode, 1 2 3 5 6
ambassel: phyrigian pentatonic mode, 1 b2 4 5 b6
azmari: wandering musician storytellers, respected in traditional Ethiopian society, bard
begena: large 10 string lyre with a buzzing timbre, used for meditation and prayer
washint: bamboo or wooden flute
mesinko: one string bowed chordophone
krar: 5 or 6 string small lyre (chordophone)
zema: liturgical chant of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church
sistrum: idiophone instrument used for zema, originating in Ancient Egypt
esketsa: Ethiopian dance characterized by vigorous shoulder movement
Sample Question
(Listening example that is played is Palaran Barang - Pelog Nem, unbeknownst to you, the
student)
1. Where is the example you just heard from?
a. Java
b. Philippines
c. Ethiopia
d. Mexico
2. In this style of music, what is the word for the written melody?
a. Irama
b. Kiñit
c. Balungan
d. Mexica
3. What scale is this example in?
a. Ambassel
b. Irama
c. Koto
d. Pelog
4. For the culture that produces this music, what is the word for knowledge?
