Name ______
H.S. Orchestras World Music Unit
Final Exam Study Guide
(You may use this guide on your exam)
Chapter 1: The Adufe from Portugal
Portugal is on the ______part of the ______peninsula with Spain. In 711, the peninsula was invaded and subsequently ruled by ______, called ______. This Arab influence helped improve building construction, roads and education. By 1415, the Portuguese became great sailors and established many colonies both in Africa and South America. In the 1960’s Portugal’s ______colonies rebelled against outside rule and by 1974, almost all colonies gained ______and there were free ______in Portugal. Most Portuguese are rural ______and coastal ______and keep close family ties. The arts have been heavily influenced by the ______, royalty and the country’s love of the sea. The adufe drum is a ______frame drum similar to drums found in Egypt that date back as far as 1400 BC. The drum was introduced into the Spanish and Portuguese cultures by the ______beginning in the early 700’s. Because of its small size, it was taken to foreign lands by ______. The instrument is usually played by ______and is used to accompany religious songs, festival songs and ceremonies. The adufe is also played by ______, but not during religious events.
Chapter 2: The Snare Drum from Switzerland
The Snare Drum is a ______-headed ______drum. The country of Switzerland is land locked and forms a crossroads for ______and ______Europe. Today, Switzerland is known as a peaceful neutral country, but its history is anything but peaceful.
In 58 BC Julius Caesar’s armies conquered the area from a group of Celtic people called the Helvetians. Over the next several hundred years the area was conquered by tribe of people after another. By 962, most of this land had become part of the ______. In 1291, three central Swiss states (called Cantons) joined in a defense agreement called the ______. This pact helped each other stay free from foreign rule. After a series of wars for independence from 1315-1388, the Swiss finally defeated the Hapsburgs. During this period of expansion, the Swiss Confederation added many new Cantons (states); 13 by 1513. When the ______defeated the Swiss two years later, the Swiss questioned the policy of territorial expansion and eventually adopted the stand of ______in times of war – a policy that has lasted to the present day.
While there is no standing army, all men receive military training each year, keeping their weapons, uniforms and musical instruments at ______. Over a period of 200 years, as the country sought independence from Austria, the military grew stronger. With these social and political changes, musical instruments associated with the ______including the fife, the bugle and the drum also gained in importance. The snare drum’s history begins in Medieval Europe around 1300 with a small, simple two-headed drum with a single strand snare called the ______. (The snare is the strand of beads or metal on the underside of the drum that give it a unique buzz sound). The use of a snare drum in the military probably came from the Turkish davul and ______drums. The Ottomans (Turks) reached Vienna Austria in 1529, likely influencing the Swiss drum makers. In the 1400’s, the early tabor increased in size and along with the flute was adopted by the Swiss military in fife and drum corps for giving signals. In the 1600’s new tension methods were developed that allowed the snares to be tightened with screws, increasing the tension on the drumheads and enabling drummers to play faster and more complex rhythms. Today, the snare drum is being used all over the world in orchestras, bands, as part of drum sets in Jazz and Rock groups. The snare drum has thus developed from a local Swiss instrument to an international tradition.
Chapter 3: The steel drums from Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago are two islands located in the West Indies and are part of the ______archipelago. Even though they are only seven miles from Venezuela, they are often considered part of the ______continent since they are a Caribbean country.
During his 3rd voyage to the Americas, ______landed on and claimed Trinidad for the Spanish Empire. The Spaniards brought European diseases that killed most of the original inhabitants. Afterwards, thousands of Africans were brought to work on the plantations as ______, a type of slavery. From 1632 to 1814, Tobago changed hands 22 times as different nations such as the Dutch, Spain, Britain, France and the Netherlands fought for control. When the British abolished ______on the islands in 1833, more than 150,000 Hindu and Muslim workers were brought in from India to replace the slave labor force. The first commercial oil drilling started in 1901. An extensive oil industry developed replacing agriculture (sugar cane cocoa) as the country’s main source of income. Trinidad and Tobago have two major folk traditions: ______and ______. Creole is a mixture of African elements with Spanish, French and English Colonial culture. The East Indians have retained much of their traditional way of life, including Hindu and Muslim religious festivals and practices.
The Steel drum has two important cultural associations: ______and ______. Calypso was born as a way for musicians to satirize politics and society in song. This probably started during slavery when Africans, often forbidden to communicate with each other, used music to forge a sense of community and mock their overlords.
Carnival is a pre-Lent celebration that includes elaborate indoor masked balls, which of course, were not to be attended by the enslaved Africans. As a result, black inhabitants started festivals in their backyards and streets eventually developing into the Carnival street parades that we know today. Steel drums, or “______” are one of the major unique ______(metal percussion instruments) and were invented in the 20th century.
To understand how steel drums developed, it is important to understand the history of Carnival. African and East Indian drumming evolved over the years into percussion ensembles of young, often unruly men who paraded the streets during festivals beating mainly skin-headed drums. In 1884, when the British banned drumming during parades, these drummers turned to hitting ______tubes. Some competing bands became violent and fought using them as weapons forcing the British to outlaw their use in 1935. During this time, Carnival marchers began using garbage can lids, automobile brake drums, pots and pans and other metal pans in large groups known as “steel bands”. Two people had a profound influence on the development of the steel drum: ______and ______. When a friend returned a loaned drum to Ellie (age 10) it was beaten so hard that the can’s bottom was now ______. As he began hitting the can’s bottom back to a convex shape with a small stone, each time he hit the dent it would make a pitch. In this way he learned to first form the concave shape, now called “______” and then tune convex notes with opposite hits. Eventually Mannette began using discarded 55 gallon oil drums to make pans, hammering them concave, but then heating the metal to make it stronger and hammering the underside to make each note convex for true pitches. Gradually more and more pitches were added until today, the entire steel band can have the musical range of almost an entire piano. Other instruments including congas, maracas, scrapers and a standard drum kit are called the “______” providing the rhythmic pulse of the group.
Because they were invented separately from the rest of the world’s drums and percussion, the physical form of the steel drum has little direct relationship to the other percussion instruments. Therefore, steel drums can be considered a ______instrument and as such have evolved to an advanced state while spreading their influence to drummers and drum makers around the world. However, even though their design and development may have no direct connection to earlier instruments, steel drums do have much in common with the technology of pitched instruments such as the ______(xylophone from Thailand) and khong wong yai (set of tuned gongs also from Thailand) as well as the syncopated rhythms of the African djembe. Such indirect extensions show the steel drums to be a mixture of cultures, which include features related to Asian instruments, European melodic scales and African and Middle Eastern rhythms. The indirect connection between the making of the steel drums and the ranat ek relates to the idea that a ______and a hollowed out area can help the sound. The bump or load on the ranet ek’s keys adds weight and focuses the pitch, while the shape of the bump on the steel drums does the same thing. Hollowing out the material on both instruments thins it, which focuses the ______more efficiently.
These examples show how pans, like many percussion instruments, are the result of a mixture of different influences and ideas. In addition, the steel drum is an excellent example of how commonly available local materials, in this case ______, are often used to create instruments that eventually become accessible to players and audiences around the world.
Potential topics for short essay questions (use your own words)
1. How might the tradition of Calypso have influenced the way the steel drum developed from a skin-headed drum?
2. Describe how steel drums are made and its connection to instruments from other cultures.
3. Why is it ironic that Switzerland today is considered such a peaceful nation compared to its history? Why was the snare drum originally associated with the military?