Identity
In the early 20th century, how did Columbia records categorize their music?
Based on the race of the performer
True or False: Music can encourage people to adopt certain political beliefs.
True
The practice of preserving traditional practices at risk for extinction is referred to as _________.
Salvage anthropology
What are some hybrid features of many types of music among indigenous peoples in Ecuador and Peru?
The use of the harp and its inclusion in syncretic religious practices (religious practices which have historically Christian and indigenous elements).
How do we hear gender in the human voice?
Higher pitched voices are associated with femininity, whereas lower pitched voices are associated with masculinity.
What are the origins of ideas of "whiteness" in country music?
Early ethnographers believed that country musicians were direct descendants immigrants from the British Isles, and that their music was transplanted directly to Appalachia.
What movement served as a philosophical foundation for Reggae music?
Marcus Garvey's "Back to Africa" movement.
What are three possible names for the Native American aerophone?
Native American flute, American Indian flute, and Cedar flute.
How does hindewhu work?
Involves the person blowing over a bamboo tube and alternating its sound with the singing of individual pitches.
In Reggae music, what does "Babylon" refer to?
White colonial power.
What are the origins of the banjo?
What were two major protest events of the Red Power movement?
The Occupation of Alcatraz in California and the Occupation at Wounded Knee in South Dakota
How did Alice Fletcher preserve music of the Omaha people?
She transcribed it as piano music, adding her own harmonies to make it fit European frameworks of what music should sound like.
What type of music making connects Madonna and Herbie Hancock to people in the Central African rainforests?
hindewhu
What does it mean to "queer" something?
To reorient or reevaluate it; turn it upside down.
Identity can be best described as what?
Identity is a complex, changing idea influenced by many things (who we are, where we are from, languages we speak, media we consume, etc.)
Identity can also be interpreted in many different ways by ourselves and others, making it a fluid and unstable category.
Ska
"Indigenous" refers to people, communities, nations that have some sort of historical lineage with pre-colonial societies with areas they originally inhabited or developed. They often consider themselves distinct from other societies now in those spaces.
There are many indigenous groups around the world, not just in the US.
Why did "hybrid" musics become popular in the popular music (including "world music") industry? What concept is "hybrid" a stand-in for?
What Sachs-Hornbostel instrument category appears most frequently in country music?
Chordophone
Short Answer:
Discuss the ways in which Dolly Parton both adheres to and contradicts ideas, values, and expectations regarding country music. What about her image does or does not suit the genre? How does she negotiate her contradictions? Please incorporate her song "Backwoods Barbie" into your answer.
DO NOT copy and paste text from the slides. Use your own words.
Your answer should address the following: 1) ideas about ideas of authenticity in country music, 2) Dolly's background, 3) her overall look, 4) her ties to the drag community, 5) her ability to laugh at herself or not take herself too seriously.
Short answer:
Discuss the political dimensions of Jimi Hendrix's performance of "Star Spangled Banner" at Woodstock. What was the historical/political context of this performance? How did he communicate political ideas through sound without using lyrics?
DO NOT copy and paste text from the slides. Use your own words.
You should talk about the political context of this piece, Hendrix's own background, and the sounds he is imitating on guitar.
Also, there is one song that he cites in his performance other than the Star Spangled Banner. What is it, and what political beliefs was he communicating by including it in this performance?
Short answer:
Describe the music and historical/political context of "Reservation of Education" by XIT. What instruments do you hear? What are the lyrics about? How is indigeneity communicated in this rock music song?
(Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBhiVd79Q34)
DO NOT copy and paste text from the slides. You should use your own words.
You should talk about 1) the political movement this was associated wtih, 2) the instruments and languages you hear, 3) what phenomenon the lyrics refer to, and 4) what musical styles are being blended together.
Explain the global process of hindewhu in Madonna's "Sanctuary." Where is the sound from? How did it get to Madonna's music? Why might it be used? What are the implications of this sample and other Central African rainforest musics in Madonna and other popular musicians' music?
The original recording of "hindewhu" was from a field recording from the 1960s of the Ba-Benzele from the Central African Republic. Herbie Hancock appropriated it on his album "Watermelon Man" in the 1970s and Madonna picked up a sample of Hancock in her song "Sanctuary" in the 1990s. The sound entered Hancock's music, presumably, because he used it through a process of borrowing which he validates through his African heritage. Hindewhu and other "pygmy" musical styles have been incorporated into many popular music (including world music) songs because hyrbidity became a newer way to denote authenticity.
Short answer:
How is gender performed in music? How might we hear/see gender in musical performances? Please use at least one musical example from class to illustrate your point.
DO NOT copy and paste text from the slides. You should use your own words.
You can talk about 1) gender and the voice, 2) gender and particular musical instruments, 3) how certain genres are gendered, 4) how performers might challenge ideas about gender in music by defying genre expectations.