TA on Music Theory Print

Taarab

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

Etymology#

The word taarab is a loanword from Arabic. The Arabic word tarab () means “having pleasure, delight with music”.

History of taarab music#

After the spreading of taarab from the Sultan’s palace to Zanzibari weddings and other community events, the first famous female singer of taarab was Siti bint Saad. The 1960s saw a group called the Black Star Musical Club from Tanga modernize the genre, bringing it to audiences farther afield, especially Burundi and Kenya. More recently, modern taarab bands like East African Melody have emerged, as have related backbiting songs for women, called mipasho. Taarab music is a fusion of Swahili poetry sung in rhythmic poetic style, performed by male or female singers and taarab ensembles comprising numerous musicians. Taarab forms a part of the social life of the Swahili people along the coastal areas, especially in Zanzibar, Tanga and even further in Mombasa and Malindi along the Kenya coast. Wherever the Swahili-speaking people travelled, Taraab moved with them. It has penetrated as far inland as Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi in East Africa, where taarab groups compete in popularity with other kinds of popular musical groups. In the early 21st century a taarab revolution has been taking place and much debate continues about the music which has been changed by the East African Melody phenomenon. Melody, as they are known by their mostly female fans, play modern taarab, which is ’taarab to dance to’ and features direct lyrics, bypassing the lyrical subtlety of the older songs, where the meaning of the lyrics is only alluded to, and never directly inferred.

Tabanka

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

As general music#

As general music, tabanka characterizes by having an allegro, a binary compass, and traditionally being melodic only. In its traditional form, its structure song-responst, in which a singer mainly chants a verse that are repeated in unison by other singers. It is rhythmically done with drums and other instruments including whistlers and conches. Tabanka today have been composed in other forms by recent composers and musicians.

History#

The word “tabanka” existed in Portuguese texts in around the 16th century. The word was likely originated from some of the African languages, mainly the westernmost part of West Africa, that time, it was used to build and design fortifications by Portuguese navigators in the coast of Guinea (now roughly Guinea-Bissau) in the Guinea-Bissau Creole, the word “tabanka” or “tabanca” means “locality” or “neighbourhood”, in Cape Verde, it achieved a different significance. The origin of tabanka is unknown, Semedo and Turano, one of the hypotheses for the rise of tabanka into the definition in the 18th century. Although tabanka was hostile by the Administration (due to the uprising by the slaves) and the church (not very “catholic”) in the early years. In 1896, tabanka became prohibited in Praia by the colonial governor Serpa Pinto. Performance was banned in urban centers and the genre was slowly disappearing. The ban lasted until Cape Verdean independence. Along with funaná and batuque, tabanka was a symbol for the struggle for Cape Verdean independence. Afterwards there were attempts to revive several Cape Verdean music styles. It did not met the success of the revival of funaná in the 1980s or batuque in the start of this century.

Tafelmusik

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

Origin#

The custom of accompanying banquets and symposia with music has been attested by ancient Egyptian, Hebrew, Greek and the Romans in Roman temples. The term was often used as a title for collections of music, some of which were intended to be used at banquets as a musical background, or during outdoor events. The tradition lasts in the Middle Ages and takes on new vigor in the 15th century. The short compositions of Gioachino Rossini, a composer who also gained fame as a gourmet, titled “antipasto” and “dessert” are recognized as related to “table music” .

Tagelied

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

References#

*Sayce, Olive L. “Tagelied” in Alex Preminger and T.V.F. Brogan, eds., The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993. 1264. http://ler.letras.up.pt/uploads/ficheiros/3950.pdf

Tahitian drumming

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

History#

Tahitian heiva is an authentic performance that manages to symbolize both the past and present state of social hierarchies within the community while describing, in full, the state of the land itself. Although important historically, there has been a significant amount of change to Tahitian drum dancing within the past seventy years. These changes come from many different aspects of the Polynesian society, however, many of them stem from the broader outreach of this wonderful tradition to the rest of the world. This music has served as inspiration for many other styles across the globe, especially in other areas of the Pacific, and will continue to do so for years to come. Tahitian drumming has an extremely rich history, however, the terminology has changed drastically over the years. For example, Tahitian drumming and dancing is now known as ‘ote‘a. This term only started being used around the turn of the century. Over the course of the twentieth century the dance (and especially performance) has become much more commercialized.

Tahona

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

History#

The word “tahona” initially described a type of single-headed hand drum with a body made of a wooden barrel and a goatskin head, larger than the tumbadora (conga drum). The ensembles, and ultimately the music itself, also adopted the term tahona. As a genre, tahona is considered a style of Cuban rumba, and together with yambú it is one of the oldest. However, it differs from the canonical rumba styles in the fact that it developed in the eastern part of Cuba, the Oriente Province, due to the immigration of Haitian slaves following the Haitian Revolution of the 1790s. Thus, tahona exhibits similarities to tumba francesa (another Afro-Cuban style imported by Haitians) and conga (a style of street music developed in Santiago de Cuba). Initially, tahonas were holiday dances performed by the slaves and their descendants, later turning into “rural congas” (Afro-Cuban parades) performed during carnival celebrations. According to Fernando Ortiz, tahona ensembles emerged as a way of making tumbas francesas “portable”, since the drums in tumba francesas were to large to be carried in street parades. He described tahona ensembles as containing three tahonas (one repique and two fondos), one tambora, one tragaleguas (another drum), a hierro, and a guamo (an aerophone made of a sea snail). Chachás (rattles) were also added as in tumba francesa. An additional bass drum called bimba, which is smaller but deeper than the tambora, was also played by tahona ensembles. Tahona spread across Oriente to Alto Songo, La Maya and Ti Arriba. In the Havana neighborhood of Carraguao, the tahona became commonly performed on many festivities. Its popularity among bakers led many to believe that it was named after the Spanish tahona, i.e. bakery.

Taiwanese hip-hop

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

Cultural context#

A mid-70s movement titled the Modern Folksong Movement sought to reclaim hip hop for the Taiwanese people. Artists such as Yang Xian and Li Shuangz inspired a new generation of localization of music which strove to strip away the years of American cultural imperialism, which at the time, the United States was supporting Taiwan as Cold War ally. This movement paved the way for more Taiwan-specific music and allowed for new Taiwanese to take from local traditions and language and create their own national music.

Taiwanese opera

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

Origin#

Taiwanese opera is the only form of Han traditional drama known to have originated in Taiwan, specifically in Yilan. In the early stages, most Han immigrants in Yilan were from Zhangzhou, Fujian, bringing with them the Hokkien Zhangzhou dialect. Koa-á were story-telling ballads spoken in Hokkien. Each line could have five or seven characters, and every four lines constituted a paragraph.

Formation#

Jinge (錦歌; ) is the forerunner of Taiwanese opera. As early as seventeenth century, immigrants from southern Fujian, China brought Jinge, the popular folk songs that set the poetry in local dialect to Taiwan. Around the nineteenth century, amateur singers in Gilan modified Jinge and gradually developed a new style called Kua-a (). Other than Jinge, Taiwanese opera absorbed the styles of formal operas including Peking opera, Luantan opera (亂彈戲), Siping opera (四平戲), Liyuan opera (梨園戲), and Gaojia opera (高甲戲). Between 1923 and 1949, Peking opera troupes from Shanghai and Fujian toured Taiwan. Some actors stayed in Taiwan and became performing directors of Taiwanese operas. The influences of Peking operas can be seen in repertory, gesture, movement, percussion music and costume. Fighting themes and acrobatic movements became standards in the operas.

Taiwanese rock

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

History#

Early listeners to Western rock music in Taiwan were university intellectuals who were often bilingual. The pioneer of Taiwanese rock was Xue Yue, also known as Simon Hsueh (1954-1990), who debuted as part of the campus folk movement prior to the end of martial law in Taiwan. Xue, a part-time drummer in the American Military Club, released his first album The Stage of Rock and Roll in 1984; collaborating with famous contemporary poets such as Chen Ko-hua and Hsia Yu for the lyrics of his later albums. Xue died in 1990, shortly after the release of his fifth album. In 2000, the group was invited to perform at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan, which inspired Lim. The band had previously played at the Formoz Festival, then an intercollegiate event held by the Northern Taiwan Rock Association; Lim created a new company, the Taiwan Rock Association, and broadened the reach of the festival. It continued until 2008 and then was reestablished in 2013.

Talempong

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

Cultural contexts#

There are many different styles of talempong. Those that are considered older include talempong pacik (“handheld talempong”) and talempong duduak (“seated talempong”). Those that are newer include talempong kreasi (new creation talempong) which evolved in the late 1960s and early 70s from the institution known at the time as Akademi Seni Karawitan Indonesia (ASKI) which is now known as Institut Seni Indonesia (ISI) Padang Panjang. A later development includes talempong goyang (“talempong that shakes or rocks”) which brings in pop influences. These ensembles can be used to accompany dance or welcoming performances, such as the typical Tari Piring, Tari Pasambahan, Tari Alang, Tari Suntiang Pangulu and Tari Gelombang. Depending on the style, a variety of instruments can be added to the talempong themselves: accordion, synthesizer, saluang, gandang, serunai and other traditional Minangkabau instruments. Talempong can be used to play a wide variety of music traditional and modern. Talempong have also been used in some experimental gamelan pieces composed at Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia Surakarta, which has West Sumatran instructors and students.

Talking blues

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

Development of the genre#

Woody Guthrie and his song “Talking Hard Work” is a title-tribute to Bouchillon’s “Talking Blues” and “Born in Hard Luck”. The “Talking Blues” begins with the line: Several sources of the 1940s–1950s, including the Almanac Singers, wrongly credited Guthrie as the creator of the talking blues. By the 1940s, what had started as a comedic country music genre became a more pronounced form of wry political protest singing. This sample lyric, from “Talking Union” by Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, and Millard Lampell shows the development of the genre into a vehicle for political commentary: In 1958, the musician and folk music scholar John Greenway recorded an album collection called “Talking Blues” on the Folkways label. His compendium included 15 talking blues songs by Guthrie, Tom Glazer, and others, and was, according to the music historian Manfred Helfert, the “obvious source” for the many 1960s forays into the genre by Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan recorded “Talking World War III Blues” in 1963. Dylan’s fame and his repeated use of the talking blues form contributed to the genre becoming a widely popular vehicle for the composition of songs with political content. When the country singer Johnny Cash recorded a song that described his trip to Vietnam with his wife June Carter Cash, he chose the talking blues format to describe his dissent against the Vietnam War. Talking blues is also popular as a medium for parody, as in “Like a Lamb to the Slaughter”, Frank Hayes’s talking-blues parody of Matty Groves:

Tallava

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

History#

Tallava originated in the 1980s and 1990s within the Albanian-speaking areas of Kosovo region, created by the Romani ethnic minority community. The name is derived from Romani tel o vas, meaning “under the hand”, referring to the čoček dance where the hands are waved delicately. Kosovo Albanian refugees of the Kosovo War in North Macedonia had brought their music with them, including Tallava. It has since also been adopted by the non-Albanian-speaking Roma in North Macedonia.

Tamang Selo

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

Hira Devi Waiba, pioneer of Nepali folk songs and Tamang Selo#

Hira Devi Waiba is hailed as the pioneer of Nepali folk songs and Tamang Selo. Her song “Chura ta Hoina Astura” (Nepali: चुरा त होइन अस्तुरा) is said to be the first Tamang Selo ever recorded. Waiba has sung nearly 300 songs in a career spanning 40 years. Waiba’s children Navneet Aditya Waiba and Satya Aditya Waiba have carried the legacy further by continuing on her footsteps.

Tamborera

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

History of the Tamborera#

The Tamborera was created by Ricardo Fabrega in the first half of the 20th century, to exalt nationalism and identify the Panamanians with their traditions. This is recognized by journalist Ignacio Nacho Valdes, who said: “His compositions, of a deep romantic content, have the purpose of exalt the national soul of Panamanians, and therefore, through generations, our people have sung his songs sometimes with joy and often with a deep melancholy. “His music traveled to all corners of the country and internationally and has been the enjoyment of all classes The Tamborera became known throughout Latin America with the famous song “Guararé” that is today part of the classics of Latin American music, with “Santiagueñita”, “Chiricanita”, “Agüita de canela”, “Mi negro”, “El filo”, “Chichaco por los aires” and " Tan Bella y Presumida” The genre gave life to real stars. Among these the most famous was Silvia De Grasse who brought her career to developing gender cusp outside the Panamanian border, especially in Puerto Rico, where she was recognized by the Puerto Rican television for her talent.

Tamborito

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

History#

The tamborito is a derivative of mestizo dance and folkloric music, with the melody tracing its roots as far back as the 17th century. This genre of folkloric music is a hybrid mix of the Spanish, Amerindian, and African cultures. Its rhythm is of African influence, the lyrics tend to be repetitive, and as in West African vocal music, it also incorporates popular commentary. Panama’s most famous tamborito was written in 1918 by Juan Pastor Peredes, put to music by Carmen Lagnon, entitled “El tambor de la alegria”.

Tambu (music)

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

The Slavery Era#

Tambú first emerged on Curaçao in the early stages of Dutch slave rule during the early 17th century. It is a tradition which was started by the large number of African slaves sent to Curaçao from Angola. The slaves acted as servants for Dutch families who resided there. The drummer was accompanied by a lead vocalist, who sang tributes about the contestants before they began fighting, in which the audience could gain an understanding about the fighters past history and special talents. Tambú further evolved as the Dutch became more conscious of the growing slave communities and set out to control them. Stick fighting and other general martial arts traditions became restricted by law, and the traditional kokomakuku performance became extinct. Instead the tradition transformed into a performance more focused on the drumming and wordplay. The use of sticks as weapons, were instead replaced with words, spoken by the lead vocalist, who were used by people to attack another person’s defects and vice versa. The ritual finished with the audience making a judgement on who had the better performance and awarded the winner.

Tanci

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

History#

Historically tanci was a popular art form with women in the lower Yangtze River Valley, specifically the Jiangnan region. Women’s tanci often are about their philosophy of literary creation, the sentiments of the author, and descriptions of seasons. During the Qing dynasty it was not only used for entertainment but also for political and social propaganda. The Gengzi Guobian Tanci, a tanci by Li Baojia (Li Boyuan) written about the Boxer Rebellion, is an example of a political tanci.

Tango (flamenco)

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

Etymology and terminology#

In flamenco, the palo is normally referred to in the plural as tangos. Performers commonly say that a singer, guitarist or dancer performs por tangos, meaning in the style or compás of tangos. The singular tango may be used in general description, but the plural is the usual name of the palo in flamenco contexts. The etymology of the Spanish musical and dance term tango is uncertain. The current Diccionario de la lengua española of the Real Academia Española marks this sense of the word as perhaps onomatopoeic, and distinguishes it from another word tango meaning a game-piece, derived from an old form of tañer. The dictionary gives separate definitions for several musical and dance uses of the word, including the Rioplatense tango and the flamenco palo. Flamenco writers have also pointed to early Andalusian documentation of the word. José Blas Vega cited an 1814 Cádiz manuscript, Apuntes para la descripción de la ciudad de Cádiz, in which tango appears in connection with popular dances and festivities in Cádiz. This earlier use of the word tango should not be confused with Argentine tango, which later developed as a distinct Río de la Plata music and dance tradition.

Tango music

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

Origins#

Even though present forms of tango developed in Argentina and Uruguay from the mid-19th century, there are records of 19th and early 20th-century tango styles in Cuba and Spain, while there is a flamenco tango dance that may share a common ancestor in a minuet-style European dance. All sources stress the influence of African communities and their rhythms, while the instruments and techniques brought in by European immigrants in the 20th century played a major role in the style’s final definition, relating it to the salon music styles to which tango would contribute back at a later stage. Ángel Villoldo’s 1903 tango “El Choclo” was first recorded no later than 1906 in Philadelphia. Villoldo himself recorded it in Paris (possibly in April 1908, with the Orchestre Tzigane du Restaurant du Rat Mort), as there were no recording studios in Argentina at the time. Early tango was played by European immigrants in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. The first generation of tango players from Buenos Aires was called “Guardia Vieja” (the Old Guard). It took time to move into wider circles; in the early 20th century, it was the favorite music of thugs and gangsters who visited brothels, in a city with 100,000 more men than women (in 1914). The complex dances that arose from such rich music reflect how the men would practice the dance in groups, demonstrating male sexuality and causing a blending of emotion and aggressiveness. The music was played on portable instruments: flute, guitar, and violin trios, with bandoneón arriving at the end of the 19th century. The organito, a portable player-organ, broadened the popularity of certain songs. Eduardo Arolas was the major driver of the bandoneón’s popularization, with Vicente Greco soon standardizing the tango sextet as consisting of piano, double bass, two violins, and two bandoneóns. Like many forms of popular music, tango was associated with the underclass, and attempts were made to restrict its influence. In spite of the scorn, some, like writer Ricardo Güiraldes, were fans. Güiraldes played a part in the international popularization of tango, which had conquered the world by the end of World War I; he wrote the poem “Tango”, which describes the music as the “all-absorbing love of a tyrant, jealously guarding his dominion, over women who have surrendered submissively, like obedient beasts”. also dates from this time. The first two sections of “La Cumparsita” were composed as an instrumental march in 1916 by teenaged Gerardo Matos Rodríguez of Uruguay.

Tanzanian hip-hop

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

Bongo Flava#

Etymology of the name “Bongo” of Bongo Flava comes from Kiswahili usually meaning brains, inelegance, cleverness but can also mean mentally deranged. Bongo is the augmentative form of Ubongo, Kiswahili for Brainland. Flava is kiswahili for Flavour. Remmy Ongala would become the most famous musician ever for Tanzania, reaching global fame working with English singer Peter Gabriel.

Music style of Bongo Flava#

There has been a lot of debate over whether Bongo Flava/Fleva is Tanzanian Hip Hop. While many scholars and journalists use Bongo Flava and Hip Hop interchangeably, distinctions are made by many Bongo Flava and Hip Hop artists. Bongo flava borrows from Tanzanian hip hop, with fast rhythms and rhymes in Swahili. The name “Bongo Flava” comes from the Swahili word for brains: ubongo. Bongo is the nickname of Dar es Salaam. It means that you need brains to survive there. It has evolved over time, combining elements of American rap, R&B, hip hop, with its unique Swahili twist. As much as American culture, the lyrics within Tanzania hip-hop and the culture are politicized, about HIV, poverty, and corruption, or about life, relationships, money, jealously, and love. Bongo Flava is a mixture of Afrobeat and arabesque melodies, dancehall and hip-hop beats, and Swahili lyrics. It developed in the 1980s when Tanzanian youth started rapping because they were fascinated by the hip-hop scene in the United States. They fairly quickly added their own spin and flavor to the music by localizing it with beats, rhythms, and topics. The genre has become popular very quickly; it is the best-selling musical genre in East Africa, This was often viewed as Tanzanians simply appropriating American culture and style, relating this to the idea of Americanization. In the early 1990s, as the genre was developing, the ‘Kiswacentric’ concept was born. Artists began to “localize” the music by addressing purely Tanzanian issues and eventually using the Swahili language, which in itself is a language with many global influences. Additionally, beats shifted from American hip hop sampling to organic synthesized beats often incorporating local beats, rhythm, and sounds. This Kiswacentric rap has continued the Swahili poetic tradition of using wordplay, puns, and rhyme to express oneself. Many artists strive to use Swahili ideas and culture in their songs and styles rather than reproducing American pop culture or gangsta rap. He also notes that albums produced in Swahili, with minimal English, helps to make his language more accepted internationally. Between the prominent mainstream US hip hop image of gangster rappers and increased radio and television airplay for groups from South Africa, Europe and the Congo region who project that image, Tanzanian rappers are heavily swayed toward a more raw style. Thus, the use of the Swahili language in Tanzanian rap helps take ideas from a larger hip hop discourse and incorporate them into the local context of that African rap culture. It makes sense then that those most dependent on the more marketable hardcore rap generally come from the impoverished regions of Tanzania, like Dar Es Salaam, where any chance at success may be more important than the worry of abandoning national pride in exuding a culturally ambivalent image. One of the paramount rap topics in this issue of balance is the objectification of women, which while it may be more marketable than less explicit forms, stands in contention with the Islamic ideals that many Tanzanians embrace. Still though, crude styles tend to appeal to the urban youth of Tanzania, as exemplified by the rap group LWP Majitu who, according to Out Here Records, “are popular for their hardcore hard hitting lyrics.” Whether in the poorer parts of Tanzania or the more privileged, it is crucial for rap artists to maintain a healthy balance between the traditional and the original, the local and the global.

Taoist music

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

Music in Taoist ceremony#

Music has long played an integral part in religious ceremonies. In Taoist ceremonies, music has several different functions. Taoists believe that music is a way to speak to the gods, to inspire religious followers and to achieve inner harmony, bringing the listener or participant closer to Tao. To follow Tao is to recognise the inner harmony and balance in all living things. Music is patterned off of “the music of nature”, which was the divine “natural notes of the respiration of the earth and the cosmic breath that inspires everything” that adept Taoists can get in touch with. In the ceremony witnessed at the Evergreen Taoist Church of Australia in Deagon, the birth of Guan Yin, the goddess of mercy was celebrated. Music and instrumentation played a central role in this ritual. The priests sung each chant and prayer to their gods, and accompanied these on musical instruments. The musical expression of a Taoist ceremony supports the core beliefs of the religion. Firstly, the role of music in the ceremony will be described, showing its religious importance to Taoism. Secondly, this relates the structure of the birth of Guan Yin ceremony to the achievement of Tao. The principal doctrines of Taoism and the roles of the various participants in the ceremony will also be described. Following this, the demeanour of participants and the physical setting of the ceremony will be illustrated. Studying the role of music in Taoist ceremony will demonstrate the importance of music in religion as a means to inspire followers, improve and deepen faith, and enable communication with gods. Describing how the music in the ceremony witnessed communicates and confirms the belief systems of Taoism will reveal music is as intrinsic to the Taoist as the path of Tao itself.

Tappa

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

History#

Tappa originated from the folk songs of the camel riders in Punjab. The tappa style of music was refined and introduced to the imperial court of the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah, and later by Mian Ghulam Nabi Shori or Shori Mian, a court singer of Asaf-Ud-Dowlah, Nawab of Awadh. In Bengal, Ramnidhi Gupta, Shibangshu De & Kalidas Chattopadhyay composed Bengali tappa and they are called Nidhu Babu’s Tappa. Tappa gayaki took new shape and over decades became puratani, a semi-classical form of Bengali songs. Tappa, as a significant genre in Bengali musical styles, reached levels of excellence in lyrics and rendition (gayaki), arguably unmatched in other parts of India. Hugely popular in the latter half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, tappa was the genre of choice of the wealthy elite as well as the classes with more modest means. An evolved format of the tappa was the baithaki style, which evolved under the direct patronage of the landed elites of the zamindari classes of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in their baithak-khanas (literally, baithak - assembly, khana - halls or salons) and jalsaghar (literally, halls for entertainment, mujra or nautch halls) Composers of repute included Bidyasundar, Roopchaand Pakkhi, Dadathakur, and Hiralal Sarkhel. Unfortunately, tappa being mainly a vocal tradition, a lot of priceless material from the body of art has been lost in the passage of time. Many celebrated artists died before recordings of music became common. What is left today is mainly handed down from the generations by oral traditions as well as some written matter, occasionally turned up in the course of research. Ramkumar Chattopadhyay was perhaps the most significant vocal proponent in recent times, of the tappa style in Bengal, renowned for his semi-humorous and majorly artistic renditions and his comical incorporation of English into the Bengali lyrics, either his own translations or his anecdotal translations based on prior sources, ostensibly for the ‘comprehension’ of the British ‘sahibs’ in the British Raj era, but containing many subversive and sarcastic tones in the English transliterations, clearly against the Imperial regime, but subtly put, so as not to arouse the suspicion of the strict and (usually) sensitive colonial government and invite charges of sedition. (e.g. Let me go, ohe dwari, tumi kader kuler bou (humorously translated by him as “Madam, whose family you belong to…”).

Taqwacore

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

History#

Muslim punk music dates at least to the 1979 founding of British band Alien Kulture. In the 1990s, Nation Records act Fun-Da-Mental and Asian Dub Foundation emerged, solidifying the first examples of UK Muslim generated punk. In an interview, Aki Nawaz, founder of Nation Records, stated that “Islam for me was more punk than punk” Knight’s novel was instrumental in encouraging the growth of a contemporary North American Muslim punk movement, and many bands who used the term taqwacore were ones that traveled with Knight on the ISNA tour featured in the documentary. Thus, the taqwacore community is almost inseparable with Knight and his literature. The first bands to use the term taqwacore are The Kominas, Vote Hezbollah and the Sagg Taqwacore Syndicate. Other bands on the scene include, Secret Trial Five, Fedayeen, Sarmust, KB and other bands under SG-Records. When Kourosh Poursalehi first read The Taqwacores, he took it to be a true account of real Muslims in the United States. He composed a song to Michael Muhammad Knight’s poem “Muhammad was a Punk Rocker”, and sent it to Knight in New York. Knight was extremely happy with what he heard, knowing that his book had reached real Muslims similar to himself, and he played the song over and over. They ended up meeting in Boston, where with Basim Usmani, the Kominas were formed, and the seeds of their tour were planted. Pourlaselhi was heavily influenced by the Fearless Iranians from Hell, as he was from the San Antonio area, and the band was also from Texas. He later went on to form the band Vote Hezbollah. A group of self-identified taqwacore bands traveled in a caravan style tour around the United States as a sort of recreation of Michael Muhammad Knight’s original novel in 2007. This was the basis of the documentary on the movement. Bands that appeared in the film are as follows: :*The Kominas members. The Kominas is a Pakistani punk band from the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. The members include Basim Usmani (bass and vocals), Shahjehan Khan (guitar and vocals), Arjun Ray (guitar and vocals), and Karna Ray (drums). :*Al-Thawra, a heavy metal Arab band from Chicago featuring Marwan :*Diacritical, a DC post hardcore, DIY punk group fronted by Omar Pitras Waqar :*Vote Hezbollah, fronted by Kourosh, an Iranian from San Antonio :*Secret Trial Five, an all-female Canadian punk rock band fronted by Sena, a Pakistani lesbian from Vancouver Secret Trial Five, however, have stated that they do not associate themselves with taqwacore: There is not a definitive “taqwacore sound”, and the scene is much more diverse now (2011) than the fictional one portrayed in Knight’s novel, with artists incorporating various styles, ranging from punk to hip-hop, and musical traditions from the Muslim world; the Kominas describe their sound as “Bollywood punk”, Sagg Taqwacore Syndicate are rap and techno inspired music while Al-Thawra uses the term “raicore”, based on North African Arabic Raï music. The genre of music is much more specific to topics of consideration, self-labeling, political framework, and ideology.

Tarab

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

Definitions and descriptions#

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians defined tarab as “a state of heightened emotion or ecstasy felt by musicians and audience that is central to Arab music performance. Within tarab culture, performer and audience are bound by a “common emotional experience to which both contribute.” Commenting on Arabic music in the US, Kenneth S. Habib noted that tarab “refer s both to the feeling of enchantment or ecstasy produced by captivating music and to such music itself. While tarab refers to musical experience, it is also mutually reinforced in an active performer–audience dynamic, where “performers express themselves musically and audience members respond in affirming ways.” In 2003, Ali Jihad Racy, a musician and professor of ethnomusicology at the University of California, Los Angeles, published his study Making music in the Arab world: the culture and artistry of tarab. He described tarab as “a multifaceted concept that has no exact equivalent in English and refers to both the indigenous music and the ecstatic feeling associated with it.” In Arab culture, tarab represents the deep connection between music and emotional experience. The term, found in medieval writings and still used today, refers broadly to the urban, structured classical music of the Arab Near East. Closely linked to the concept of fann (“art”), tarab can denote both this musical tradition and, more specifically, an older repertoire from pre-WWI Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean, especially associated with stirring emotional responses. Further, Racy explained that tarab has been described as a “musically induced state of ecstasy”, as “enchantment”, “aesthetic emotion” and “the feeling roused by music”. Accordingly, the ecstasy of tarab involves intense emotional states in the listener, such as excitement, yearning, and timeless delight. It may also induce an altered state of consciousness, such as feelings linked to intoxication, empowerment, inspiration, and creativity.

Tarantella

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

History#

The present southern part of Italy was not part of a single country until the mid to late 19th century. The place was a colony of ancient Greece, and even Napoli comes from the Greek word Neapolis, which means ‘New City’. Before the unification of Italy, it was part of the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of Sicily (“Sikelia” is the original name of this island as a colony of Ancient Greece), and later the Kingdom of Two Sicilies when the two reigns merged. Before the unification of Italy, it was ruled by Spain and briefly by Austria. There was the ancient Greek city of Tarantas found by Spartans. In the Italian province of Taranto (taking its name from Tarantas), Apulia, the bite of a locally common type of wolf spider, Lycosa tarantula (Lycos in Greek means ‘wolf’), named “tarantula” after the region, was popularly believed to be highly venomous and to lead to a hysterical condition known as tarantism. This type of dance became known as the tarantella. R. Lowe Thompson proposed that the dance is a survival from a “Dianic or Dionysiac cult”, driven underground. John Compton later proposed that the Roman Senate had suppressed these ancient Bacchanalian rites. In 186 BC, the tarantella went underground, reappearing under the guise of emergency therapy for bite victims.

TA on Music Theory Print

Taarab

Etymology#

History of taarab music#

Tabanka

As general music#

History#

Tafelmusik

Origin#

Tagelied

See also#

References#

Tahitian drumming

History#

Tahona

History#

Taiwanese hip-hop

Cultural context#

Taiwanese opera

Origin#

Formation#

Taiwanese rock

History#

Talempong

Cultural contexts#

Talking blues

Development of the genre#

Tallava

History#

Tamang Selo

Hira Devi Waiba, pioneer of Nepali folk songs and Tamang Selo#

Tamborera

History of the Tamborera#

Tamborito

History#

Tambu (music)

The Slavery Era#

Tanci

History#

Tango (flamenco)

Etymology and terminology#

Tango music

Origins#

Tanzanian hip-hop

Bongo Flava#

Music style of Bongo Flava#

Taoist music

Music in Taoist ceremony#

Tappa

History#

Taqwacore

History#

Tarab

Definitions and descriptions#

Tarantella

History#