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Ethnomusicology
field of study usually defined as the study of music in culture, or the study of music as culture, a way of organizing human activity
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Ethnic
of or pertaining to a social group within a cultural and social system that claims or is accorded special status on the basis of complex, often variable traits including religious, linguistic, ancestral or physical characteristics
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Pitch
the highness or lowness of sound: the pitch height is determined by frequency of a set number of cycles per second
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Scale
series of pitches arranged in order from low to high or high to low
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Tonic
the first and main note of a key or scale; may also be called keynote
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Pitch Range
distance between the highest and lowest tones an instrument or a given voice can produce
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Half Step
closest recognized distance in Western European music
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Whole Step
twice the distance of a half step
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Interval
distance between any two notes or tones
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Melody
a series of single notes that add up to a recognizable whole
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Harmony
how chords are constructed and how they follow each other
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Chords
combination of three or more tones sounded at once
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Octave
the eighth tone of a scale; acoustically, the tone with twice the frequency of the home tone (2/1 ratio as in Do to Do, Re to Re, etc.)
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Tuning systems
what cultures use as distance factors (markers) between pitches (ie. half step, slides, pitch ranges); which part of the pitch range is considered pleasing
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Dynamics
degrees of loudness and softness
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Transcription
to notate music; the notating of music which has been only in an oral tradition; can also mean to rewrite music which was originally for one group of instruments for another group of instruments
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Musical Form
the shape of a musical selection, its structure Examples include strophic form (AAA): through composed: call and response, etc.
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Syncretic
to combine differing beliefs; the attempt or tendency to combine or reconcile differing beliefs as in philosophy or religion
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Acculturation
the coming together of two cultures: term is often used in reference to non-Western cultures coming in contact with western cultures. Also, the effect in music of bringing together selected musical characteristics from two cultures to form a new or greatly modified style of music
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Functional
music with a specific purpose that is aligned with its performance (examples include specific music that accompanies work, rituals, dance, etc.)
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Oral tradition/Oral transmission
teaching by speaking, singing, or playing. Knowledge is passed by listening to and observing knowledgeable persons within a given culture. There are often people within a given culture that are viewed as the keepers of the culture
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Aural transmission
to learn by hearing, is often referred to in writings about oral transmission
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