BE on Music Theory Print

Beach music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins: 1950s#

Historical accounts of beach music as it relates to the development of this dance are often conflicting, but most agree that the Ocean Drive section of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is where the beach/shag phenomenon had its greatest impact among vacationing teenagers and college students. The early development started around 1950. In the period from roughly the end of World War II through the mid-1950s, many white youth in the still-segregated South could not always hear the compelling music of primarily black popular recording artists in their home towns. At the time, much of these recordings were characterized as “race music”, a term later replaced by “R&B”. In some communities, this remained in effect even after racial desegregation was implemented in the region. However, young people flocked to the bars and pavilions of the Carolina beaches where the shag was gaining popularity, R&B instrumentals by artists such as Earl Bostic ruled the jukeboxes, and the “beach clubs” where R&B artists performed live also thrived. Even though toward the end of the 1960s more and more such clubs with similar jukebox selections and live band performances opened in locations other than the beach resorts, the term “Beach Music” which began to emerge in the mid-1960s, keyed off of the memorable experiences of dancing the shag to this music at venues by the sea. A major contributing influence upon this musical affinity beginning in the late 1950s was radio station WLAC in Nashville, Tennessee, which blanketed the Southeast with everything from R&B to blues and more. Stations with similar playlists began to emerge in the Carolinas and surrounding states throughout the late 1950s and the 1960s, increasing the popularity of the music across racial lines and contributing to the increasing popularity of the emerging new gospel-infused R&B sound, soul music.

Beat music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origin#

The exact origins of the terms ‘beat music’ and ‘Merseybeat’ are uncertain. “Beat” alludes to the driving rhythms adopted from rock and roll, R&B, and soul music—not the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s. As the initial wave of British rock and roll was in height in the early 1960s, “big beat” music, later shortened to “beat”, became a live dance style and alternative alongside the British rock and roll balladeers like Tommy Steele, Marty Wilde, and Cliff Richard who were dominating the charts. The German anthropologist and music critic Ernest Borneman, who lived in England from 1933 to 1960, claimed to have coined the term in a column in Melody Maker magazine to describe the British imitation of American rock’n’roll, rhythm & blues, and skiffle bands. The ‘Mersey’ of ‘Merseybeat’ refers to the River Mersey. Liverpool lies on the eastern side of the river’s estuary. The name Mersey Beat was used for a Liverpool music magazine founded in 1961 by Bill Harry. Harry claims to have coined the term “based on a policeman’s beat and not that of the music”. With the rise of the Beatles in 1963, the terms Mersey sound and Merseybeat were applied to bands and singers from Liverpool, the first time in British pop music that a sound and a location were linked together. The Beatles’ debut album Please Please Me (1963) is often cited as the record that most exemplifies the Merseybeat sound. The equivalent scenes in Birmingham and London were described as Brum Beat and the Tottenham Sound respectively.

Beatboxing

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

Techniques similar to beatboxing have been employed in diverse American musical genres since the 19th century, such as early rural music, both black and white, religious songs, blues, ragtime, vaudeville, and hokum. Examples include the Appalachian technique of eefing and the blues song Bye bye bird by Sonny Boy Williamson II. Additional influences may perhaps include forms of African traditional music, in which performers utilize their bodies (e.g., by clapping or stomping) as percussion instruments and produce sounds with their mouths by breathing loudly in and out, a technique used in beatboxing today. Many well-known performers used vocal percussion occasionally, even though this was not directly connected to the cultural tradition that came to be known as beatboxing. Paul McCartney’s “That Would Be Something” (1970) includes vocal percussion. Pink Floyd’s “Pow R. Toc H.” (1967) also includes vocal percussion performed by the group’s original lead vocalist, Syd Barrett. Jazz singers Bobby McFerrin and Al Jarreau were very well known for their vocal styles and techniques, which have had great impact on techniques beatboxers use today. Michael Jackson was known to record himself beatboxing on a dictation tape recorder as a demo and scratch recording to compose several of his songs, including “Billie Jean”, “The Girl Is Mine”, and others. In contrast, the English progressive rock band Jethro Tull adopted beatboxing on at least one track on their 2003 Christmas album. Gert Fröbe, a German actor most widely known for playing Auric Goldfinger in the James Bond film Goldfinger, “beatboxes” as Colonel Manfred von Holstein (simultaneously vocalizing horned and percussive instruments) in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, a 1965 British comedy film. Contribution to hip-hop Modern beatboxing first began as a way to assist or backup the MC. When drum machines were unavailable or unaffordable, communities in the inner city of New York began to mimic the sounds with their voices in ciphers. The term “beatboxing” is derived from the mimicry of early drum machines, then known as beatboxes, particularly, and specifically, the Roland TR-808. They were followed by the TR-808, released in 1980, which became central to hip hop music Swifty, the first to implement the inhale sound technique; Buffy, who helped perfect many beatboxing techniques; and Wise, who contributed significantly to beat boxing’s proliferation. Wise inspired an entire new fan base of human beatboxers with his human turntable technique. Other pioneers of beatboxing include Rahzel well known for his realistic robotic sounds and for his ability to sing and beatbox simultaneously, Scratch a beatboxer and musician well known for further revolutionizing the use of vocal scratching in beatboxing, Kenny Muhammad the Human Orchestra, a beatboxer known for his technicality and outstanding rhythmic precision, who pioneered the inward k snare, a beatbox technique that imitates a snare drum by breathing inward, and Emanon, an early protegee of Doug E. Fresh associated with Ice T and Afrika Islam. Many refer to beatboxing as the unofficial 5th element of hip-hop.

Beatdown hardcore

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Beatdown makes use of low pitched, shouted vocals, downtuned guitars and thrash metal–inspired drum rhythms, putting a particular emphasis on breakdowns. Many bands make use of palm muted guitar riffs, influenced by slam death metal, in conjunction with hip hop-influenced vocals. According to Bandcamp Daily writer Kevin Warwick, after the 1990s the genre expanded from a specific style of metal-influenced hardcore to “encompass a larger variety of mosh-friendly, breakdown-fixated groups”, which includes both 1990s-style hardcore revivalists like Absolute Suffering and more metallic groups like Knocked Loose. One prominent characteristic of beatdown is its close association to hardcore crews particularly New York’s DMS and Boston’s Friends Stand United, to the extent that academic Jeff Purchla used the term “crew scene hardcore” to refer to the genre in his 2011 essay The Powers that be: Processes of Control in ‘Crew Scene Hardcore. Sociology academic Edgar M. Peralta defined crews as being people involved in hardcore scene who unify “based on reciprocal ties and varying interests, including non-criminal elements such as music or sports, but also including some criminal elements, which often include violence and graffiti”, specifically originating as a means to oppose the white supremacist currents in their scenes. Beatdown bands often make use of hip hop–inspired imagery, with logos being based on graffiti designs and band members wearing sagged pants and baseball caps on irregular angles.

Beatrhyming

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Technique#

The primary technique of beatrhyming is singing or speaking rhyming lyrics while concurrently imitating drum beats with the voice and lips. It can also involve techniques such as vocal scratching the spoken or sung lyrics, making vocal sound effects relevant to the lyrics, and instrument mimicry. It can be improvised, pre-written, or covering a popular song.

Early history#

Kid Lucky began developing the concept for beatrhyming in the early 2000s. He credits Biz Markie’s hit song “A one two” as the earliest known example of what he defines as beatrhyming. The techniques of beatrhyming were already being practiced by artists such as Rahzel, D-Cross, and Masai Electro.

Beautiful music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Beautiful music initially offered soft and unobtrusive instrumental selections on a very structured schedule with limited advertising interruptions. It often functioned as a free background music service for stores, with commercial breaks consisting only of announcements aimed at shoppers already in the stores. This practice was known as “storecasting” and was very common on the FM dial in the 1940s and 1950s. Many of these FM stations usually simulcast their AM station and used a subcarrier (SCA) to transmit a hitch-hiker signal to a store receiver by subscription. The signal was usually a slow-moving audio tape of “background music” or Muzak-type service, which was independent of the simulcast AM signal. Some FM stations made more income from these music subscriptions than from their main programming. WITH-FM, in Baltimore, Maryland (1950s and 1960s), had to keep its FM carrier on the air until 2:00a.m. for restaurants that subscribed to the service, and thus could not sign off their main FM carrier until that time. The station ran a repeat of its previous day’s evening concert on its main FM program line.

Bebop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology#

The term “bebop” is derived from nonsense syllables (vocables) used in scat singing; the first known example of “bebop” being used was in McKinney’s Cotton Pickers’ “Four or Five Times”, recorded in 1928. It appears again in a 1936 recording of “I’se a Muggin’” by Jack Teagarden. Some researchers speculate that it was a term used by Charlie Christian because it sounded like something he hummed along with his playing. Dizzy Gillespie stated that the audiences coined the name after hearing him scat the then-nameless compositions to his players and the press ultimately picked it up, using it as an official term: “People, when they’d wanna ask for those numbers and didn’t know the name, would ask for bebop.” Another theory is that it derives from the cry of “Arriba! Arriba!” used by Latin American bandleaders of the period to encourage their bands. At times, the terms “bebop” and “rebop” were used interchangeably. (Although rebop differed from bebop with its more impressionist use of discordant chords.) By 1945, the use of “bebop”/“rebop” as nonsense syllables was widespread in R&B music, for instance Lionel Hampton’s “Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop”. The bebop musician or bopper became a stock character in jokes of the 1950s, overlapping with the beatnik.

Bećarac

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Description#

Bećarac uses a strict form of couplet in trochaic decasyllable, always sung to the same music, played by a tamburitza orchestra, less common accordion or samica, and the best ones are spread and reused for later parties. Bećarci are often difficult to translate and to be understood by outsiders due to the use of puns, reference to local events and cultural allusions. For example, “Mala moja, visoki jablane / Je l’ ti mjesec vidio tabane?” literally translates to “My little one, tall apple tree / Has the moon seen your soles?”.

Bel canto

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History of the term and its various definitions#

As generally understood today, the term bel canto refers to the Italian-originated vocal style that prevailed throughout most of Europe during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Late 19th- and 20th-century sources “would lead us to believe that bel canto was restricted to beauty and evenness of tone, legato phrasing, and skill in executing highly florid passages, but contemporary documents those of the late 18th and early 19th centuries describe a multifaceted manner of performance far beyond these confines”. The main features of the bel canto style were: * prosodic singing (use of accent and emphasis) * matching register and tonal quality of the voice to the emotional content of the words * a highly articulated manner of phrasing based on the insertion of grammatical and rhetorical pauses * a delivery varied by several types of legato and staccato * a liberal application of more than one type of portamento * messa di voce as the principal source of expression (Domenico Corri called it the “soul of music”) * frequent alteration of tempo through rhythmic rubato and the quickening and slowing of the overall time * the introduction of a wide variety of graces and divisions into both arias and recitatives * gesture as a powerful tool for enhancing the effect of the vocal delivery * vibrato primarily reserved for heightening the expression of certain words and for gracing longer notes. The Harvard Dictionary of Music by Willi Apel says that bel canto denotes “the Italian vocal technique of the 18th century, with its emphasis on beauty of sound and brilliance of performance rather than dramatic expression or romantic emotion. In spite of the repeated reactions against bel canto (or its abuses, such as display for its own sake; Gluck, Wagner) and the frequent exaggeration of its virtuoso element (coloratura), it must be considered as a highly artistic technique and the only proper one for Italian opera and for Mozart. Its early development is closely bound up with that of the Italian opera seria (A. Scarlatti, N. Porpora, J. A. Hasse, N. Jommelli, N. Piccinni).”

Bélé

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

As a dance#

The bélé dance formed from a combination of traditional African dance styles and Caribbean influences due to the changed landscape, musical instruments, and tumultuous lifestyle. It may be the oldest Creole dance of the creole French West Indian Islands, and it strongly reflects influences from African fertility dances. It is performed most commonly during full moon evenings, or sometimes during funeral wakes (Antillean Creole: lavèyé). In Tobago, it is thought to have been performed by women of the planter class at social events in the planters’ great houses, and the dress and dance style copied by the enslaved people who worked in or around these houses http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Birthplace-of-the-bele-112487054.html .

Beleganjur

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Like the Western military band, the original purpose of beleganjur was to accompany armies into battle and strike fear into the hearts of the enemy. In fact, gamelan beleganjur literally means “gamelan of walking warriors”. Also like its Western counterpart, today beleganjur has mostly lost its association with warfare, and instead is associated with festivals, contests, and cremation ceremonies - modeled on the modern marching band and the Javanese tanjidor tradition to the west. Although the origin of beleganjur is uncertain, it bears resemblance to the now rare gamelan gong bheri.

Belgian hardcore techno

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Originally a slow form of electronic dance music, Belgian new beat evolved into a native form of hardcore techno during the early 1990s with the introduction of techno records played at their intended speeds or slightly accelerated. This brutal new hardcore style spread throughout Europe’s rave circuit and reached the pop charts. The Belgian hardcore sound also influenced part of the UK and US rave scenes. The genre was spearheaded by Belgian producers from the new beat scene, like Frank de Wulf, Olivier Abbeloos, Maurice Engelen, Oliver Adams and Nikki Van Lierop. This style of music was also pioneered by Dutch projects like Human Resource, L.A. Style and Holy Noise. Outside mainland Europe, a small group of producers adopted the style in the UK. The main labels that developed this style in the UK were Kickin’ Records, Vinyl Solution, Rabbit City, Edge and Rising High. Producer Caspar Pound of Rising High Records, known by its stage name “The Hypnotist”, was a vocal supporter of this style of hardcore techno. The most notable achievement of this style of hardcore in the pop charts is L.A. Style’s single “James Brown Is Dead” reaching the Billboard’s Hot 100 Airplay chart. Notable acts like The Immortals, 2 Unlimited, 2 Fabiola and AB Logic achieved relative success blending the style with dance-pop. After a brief period of expansion during the mid 90s, the style lost popularity, while modern hardcore techno (gabber), trance, happy hardcore and jungle music took place as the leading genres within the rave circuit.

Belgian hip-hop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins and early mainstream success (1980s–1990s)#

The roots of Belgian hip-hop date back to the early 1980s, galvanized by the global arrival of breakdancing and turntablism. The first recorded releases emerged around 1990 with the landmark collective Brussels Rap Convention. However, Belgium’s earliest international hip-hop footprint came from a fusion with electronic dance music. In the late 1980s, the electronic/hip-house project Technotronic achieved massive global success. The group featured Congolese-Belgian emcee Ya Kid K (Manuela Kamosi), whose vocals and lyrics propelled hits like “Pump Up the Jam” to the top of international charts. Shortly after, Benny B emerged as the first major commercial pop-rap act in the country. His heavily mainstream sound found immense commercial success, which simultaneously triggered a cultural backlash. This backlash fueled the rapid expansion of a dedicated underground hip-hop movement determined to protect the subculture’s grassroots elements.

Belgian jazz

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

19th century#

The time before jazz developed was recognized as an individual style (1851–1912) and is now commonly known as the Pre-Jazz period. In this period of the Minstrels, the end of the 19th century, the first recording techniques emerged, which was very important for jazz and for music in general. In 1877, Thomas Edison developed the phonograph, which one year later was exhibited in Brussels, in the ‘Panopcticum de Monsieur Castan’. Belgium, however, had no recording studios of its own and therefore the spread of pre-jazz music for a long time (until after the First World War) relied on foreign record labels such as “Colombia”, “Zonophone” and “Favorite”. Another invention which to a large extent contributed to the development of jazz music was Adolphe Sax’s new instrument. By 1890, saxophones in the United States were made by the Conn and Buescher companies, and Belgian virtuoso saxophonists such as Jean Moermans of Sousa’s Orchestra ensured the growing popularity of the instrument. The saxophone quickly became the symbol of a new music genre that emerged gradually by the end of the 19th century. Belgian musicians were among the first to make recordings of saxophone solos in America. Eugene Coffin, for example, made recordings on wax cylinders (1895–1896) and Jean Moermans on gramophone record in Washington D.C. (1897). In 1881, the first American minstrel show was staged in Belgium. It was followed, over the years, by similar shows and performances. By 1900, Belgian music lovers had become acquainted with several American brass bands, the most famous of them being John Philip Sousa’s orchestra. They played marches, symphonies, as well as “Cakewalks” and “Ragtimes”, both characterized by syncopated rhythms. The Belgian composer Louis Frémaux followed in their footsteps and made a cakewalk composition entitled “Bruxelles Cake-Walk”.

Beneventan chant

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

During the Lombard occupation of the 7th and 8th centuries, a distinctive liturgical rite and plainchant tradition developed in Benevento. It included feasts of special local importance such as the Holy Twelve Brothers of Benevento. At the time it was called cantus ambrosianus (“Ambrosian chant”), although it is a separate plainchant tradition from the chant of Milan which is called Ambrosian chant. The common use of the name cantus ambrosianus, the common influence of the Lombards in both Benevento and Milan, and musical similarities between the two liturgies and chant traditions suggest a Lombard influence in the origins of Beneventan chant. Gregorian chant had already begun to take hold in the Beneventan orbit as early as the 8th century. The two traditions appear to have coexisted for about a century before the Gregorian chant began to replace the native Beneventan. Many Beneventan chants exist only as interpolations and addenda in Gregorian chantbooks, sometimes next to their corresponding chants in the Gregorian repertory. External ecclesiastical influences, such as two German abbots at Montecassino during the 11th century, led to an increasing insistence on the Roman rite and Gregorian chant instead of the local Beneventan traditions. One of these abbots later became Pope Stephen IX, who in 1058 officially outlawed the Beneventan rite and chant. A few Beneventan chants continued to be recorded and performed for a time, especially for the feasts of local importance such as the Holy Twelve Brothers, which had no Gregorian counterpart. However, the Beneventan repertory as a whole fell into disuse. This was commemorated in a legend of a singing contest between a Gregorian and a Beneventan cantor, which ended in victory for the Gregorian repertory when the Beneventan cantor fainted from exhaustion.

Benga music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Luo, Kamba & Kenyan Modern Benga#

The Luo of Kenya have long played an eight-string lyre called nyatiti, and guitarists from the area sought to imitate the instrument’s syncopated melodies. In benga, the electric bass guitar is played in a style reminiscent of the nyatiti. As late as the turn of the twentieth century, this bass in nyatiti supported the rhythm essential in transmitting knowledge about society through music. Opondo Owenga of Gem Yala, the grandfather of Odhiambo Siangla, was known for employing music as a means of teaching the history of the Luo. The father of the popular Luo benga is George Ramogi (Omogi Wuod Weta) and CK Jazz. He helped the benga enthusiasts by recording their benga music in different labels in the capital city of Nairobi. Dr. Mengo of Victoria Jazz was a protege of George Ramogi. In 1967, the first major benga band, Shirati Jazz, was formed by Daniel Owino Misiani. The group launched a string of hits that were East Africa’s biggest songs throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Shirati Jazz’s biggest rival was Victoria Jazz, formed in 1972 by Ochieng Nelly Mengo and Collela Mazee. Despite many personnel changes, Victoria Jazz remained popular throughout the 1970s, when the Voice of Kenya radio station pushed an onslaught of East African pop. Victoria C Band of Awino Lawi was one of the splinter group of Victoria Jazz. 1997 saw the death of three prominent Luo benga artists, Okatch Biggy of Heka Heka Band, George Ramogi and Prince Jully. The Jolly Boys Band of Prince Jully was taken over by his wife Princess Jully and she has since been a leading female benga musician. Another famous benga band Migori Super Stars was formed in the mid-70s and was led by Musa Olwete which later split to form another popular benga band Migori Super Stars C with musicians such as Joseph Ochola (Kasongo Polo Menyo), Onyango Jamba, Ochieng’ Denge denge and others. More modern benga artists include Kapere Jazz Band and the rootsy Ogwang Lelo Okoth. The new millennium has seen the emergence of Dola Kabarry and Musa Juma. The latter saw his career cut short as he died in 2011. MJ, as he was popularly known to his fans, developed a kind of benga that infused elements of rumba. He was able to mold other musicians such as John Junior, Ogonji, Madanji, and his late brother Omondi Tonny. Currently, Odhiambo Tusker of Malela Kings Band is considered the superstar of Luo benga music, with all his music loved by people of all ages. There are also other benga artists based countries other than Kenya, such as the American/Kenyan group Extra Golden.

Bengali Rock music (India)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origin (1960s–1970s)#

Arunendu Das is widely credited with pioneering Modern Bengali music, introducing a fresh style of lyricism and a Western-influenced approach to songwriting, often crafted on the guitar. His innovative work laid the foundation for what would later evolve into Bengali Rock music. This musical revolution reached its pinnacle with Moheener Ghoraguli (also spelled Mohiner Ghoraguli), Kolkata’s iconic band, which is hailed as the first true Bengali Rock band. They are also recognized as India’s first Rock band, having pioneered the creation of original songs in vernacular languages, setting a groundbreaking precedent in the Indian music scene. Moheener Ghoraguli was formed in 1975 and played in many concerts. The band was inspired by Bob Dylan and many other western artists. Their music was a mixture of a wide variety of influences, including the Baul and folk traditions of Bengali and rock. Along with them, the Kolkata based rock group called High (formed 1974) consisting of late Dilip Balakrishnan (who was also part of the Great Bear rock band), Nondon Bagchi, Lew Hilt, Subhendu Chatterjee and Adi Irani started composing and performing original songs. A collection of the band’s recordings were released on the Saregama label in 2009.

Beni (music)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Brass band music was performed in German East Africa where it came to be part of the culture of competitions between neighbourhood cultural associations. Beni musicians used large military drums and brass instruments to interpret their new popular musical genre according to indigenous ngoma rhythms. Around 1914, the style spread to Tanga and Dar es Salaam. The first accounts of Beni in Nyasaland date to around 1918. During the First World War, Beni was danced by askari soldiers. Prisoners of war also danced it in the detention camp at Zomba in Malawi, and by detachments of the 2nd KAR when they returned to Nairobi. In Kenya, for example, wooden wind instruments were substituted for western trumpets. At the same time, in the late colonial period, Beni was a way for young people to express their independence. As Beni had never been as popular there as on the Swahili coast, the performance of a Beni band at the Sauti za Busara Festival 2009 was called an invented tradition for a tourist audience.

Bent edge

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Beompae

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Description#

There are three kinds of beompae: * anchaebi sori (), “indoor chant”, musically simple, sutra chants, mainly in Chinese, sung by a monk, usually inside a temple. * baggatchaebi sori (), “outdoor chant”, the solemn recitation of specific Chinese poems, either as hotsori () “simple chant”, or jitsori () “long chant”. Sung in a characteristic high pitch by a trained professional singer and monk, for special ritual occasions. The term boempae sometimes refers specifically to these kinds of chants, the most ancient of Korean Buddhist ritual chants. * hwacheong (), secular Buddhist ritual chants, in vernacular Korean, easily understood by listeners.

Berber music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Musical/vocal styles#

Berber music is characterized by its use of folk oral traditions, as well as particular scales and rhythmic patterns, which include pentatonic music and African rhythms. All these elements are combined to form one of the main sources of entertainment in Berber social ceremonies like marriages, as well as verses, tales and songs.

Instrumentation#

The Berber people are spread out over a large part of Africa, but are mostly concentrated in the northwestern region of Africa. They use a vast array of both melodic and percussive instruments. The following instruments are part of their secular and religious dance and song: *Taghanimt, an end-blown reed flute. Used mostly to accompany songs rather than dance, the taghanimt has a rich, breathy texture. *Mizwid, a type of bagpipe; the term literally means “bag” or “food pouch”. *Zukra (Tunisia) or ghaita (Morocco). In both countries, these instruments are combined with several percussive instruments to create large ensembles which may perform at public festivals or similar occasions. *Nafir, a long natural horn, a type of valveless trumpet. This instrument is used mostly as a signaling instrument to send out messages to large groups, although it also has some performance value. *Ginbri (Morocco), a fretless plucked string instrument with a skin stretched over its body on the playing side: the skin has the same acoustic function as the membrane on a banjo. Most ensembles have at least one ginbri, although some have more than one. *Rebab, a long-necked bowed instrument with a large body. Like the ginbri, it is constructed with a skin on the string side. This instrument has only one string, usually of horse hair, and is commonly played alongside the ginbri. *Tabl (), a cylindrical double-sided drum. Although it has a similar usage and spelling to the tabla of India, no direct connection has been found between the two. The qas’ah is a large shallow kettledrum found mostly in Tunisia. Similar to the qas’ah is the Naqqarah, two ceramic kettledrums played simultaneously by both hands. *Bendir (Morocco and Algeria ), a snare frame-drum. A series of bendirs played simultaneously provide the main percussive rhythm for Berber music as the above-mentioned drums are more artistic than bendirs. *Qaraqib, a large metal castanet-like musical instrument. Normally one is held in each hand. These may be used to keep a rhythm or to play their own pattern. *Tende, a drum made with mortar and pestle.

Berceuse

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Music#

Berceuse pour deux notes qui cornent (for two notes which continue), for organ, JA 7, by Jehan Alain
Berceuse de Jeanne, by Harrison Birtwistle
Wiegenlied (Brahms), a cradle song, is a berceuse; it is better known in English as Brahms’s Lullaby
Berceuse, by Frank Bridge, for cello and piano
Compositions by Ferruccio Busoni
Berceuse (in C major) Op. 2, for piano
Berceuse (Lullaby), for piano
Berceuse élégiaque
Berceuse, for piano by Frédéric Chopin
“Berceuse for the Infant Jesu” in A Little Suite for Christmas, by George Crumb
Berceuse Heroique, for piano, by Claude Debussy
Two compositions by Gabriel Fauré
Berceuse, Op. 16.
“Berceuse” section of Dolly Suite for Piano four-hands, Op. 56, No. 1, by Fauré. Sometimes transcribed for violin and piano: not to be confused with the Op. 16 work, above.
Berceuse for an Unwanted Child (Reginald Foresythe) 1934
Berceuse de Jocelyn, a lullaby from the opera “Jocelyn” by Benjamin Godard
Berceuse de Jupiter, also known as the aria “Que Les Songes Heureux” from the opera “Philémon et Baucis”, by Charles Gounod
Grieg Lyric Pieces Op. 38 No. 1
“Berceuse” from 114 Songs (1922) by Charles Ives
Berceuse by Armas Järnefelt 1904
“Berceuse” from 12 Transcendental Études by Sergei Lyapunov
Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré by Maurice Ravel for violin and piano
“Berceuse” in Six pieces for violin and piano, Op 79, No. 6, by Jean Sibelius
One of the excerpts from The Firebird, a ballet by Igor Stravinsky
Berceuse for Solo Piano in A flat Major, Op. 72, No. 2, by Tchaikovsky
Berceuse (sur les paroles classiques), from 24 Pieces in Free Style, for organ, by Louis Vierne
Berceuse for Mallory, a big band jazz composition by Steve Spiegl
French online radio station titled berceuses.com with lullabies for children

Art#

*La Berceuse, a series of paintings by Vincent van Gogh

Bergamask

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Reputation#

It was considered a clumsy rustic dance copied from the natives of Bergamo, reputed, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, to be very awkward in their manners. The dance is associated with clowns or buffoonery, as is the area of Bergamo, it having lent its dialect to the Italian buffoons.

Chord progression#

The basic chord progression is I–IV–V–I: : │⎸ I IV V I I IV V I :⎹⎸ I IV V I I IV V I ⎹│

Bertsolaritza

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Bertso#

A bertso consists of two main components: the spontaneous verse and the melody to which it is sung. The famous modern-day bertsolari Xabier Amuriza defined it in a bertso as: Many different forms of metre exist for bertsos but 4 of the commonly encountered ones are the zortziko txiki “small of eight”, zortziko handi “big of eight”, hamarreko txiki “small of ten” and hamarreko handi “big of ten”. An example of a Zortziko Txiki is the first stanza of the bertso Aitorren Izkuntz Zarra “Aitor’s Ancient Language” by Z. Andonegi: The zortziko txiki is called the “small of eight” as the first lerro or “line” contains 7 oinak or “syllables” (literally called “feet”), followed by 6 syllables in the next line. Such a pair of lines is called a puntu, a “point”, 4 puntu (or 8 lines) in total form one stanza in a zortziko txiki. The rhyme is carried in the lines of 6 syllables. The zortziko handi on the other hand contains 10 syllables in the first line, followed by 8 in the second. The hamarreko txiki and hamarreko handi only differ in the number of lines, of which they have 10 rather than 8. An error in the rhyme is called a poto.