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Glossary

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fado: Literally "fate", a song genre closely associated with Lisbon and popular within Portuguese expatriate communities.


Fairuz: Famous Lebanese singer who performs with instrumental ensembles of both Arab and Western instruments.


fais-dodo: A Cajun term meaning dance music as well as the dance halls where such music is performed.


Falcon, Joe: Famous Cajun accordionist (1900-1965).


falsetto: A special high register above the normal male singing range.


fancy shawl dance: A more recent and virtuosic Shawl dance performed by Native American women.


fancy war dance: A more recent and virtuosic War dance performed by Native American men.


fasola: See shape-note.


fiddle: A name used for the violin in the context of a wide range of Euro-American folk and vernacular musics.


fieldwork: Research conducted while living among the people one is studying.


figures: A stereotyped motion that is part of a given dance such as the dos-a-dos in square dancing or the polka-step (one-two-three-hop).


Filè: A contemporary band that includes Cajun and zydeco musicians.


fixed form: A musical form in which aspects of its content are predetermined.


fixed tuning: The singing or playing of music at a pitch level determined in reference to a standard, fixed frequency. One example is A 440 for Western orchestra tuning. Contrast with relative tuning.


flag song: A Native American song performed during the powwow Flag Ceremony to honor the American flag.


flute: Aerophones, such as the ney, which are generally tubular and whose air column is set into vibration by dividing the breath of the player against a sharp edge. Flutes can be vertical (end blown) or transverse (blown through a side-hole).


folk music: A category conventionally applied to styles of music transmitted by oral tradition and maintained in collective memory by a group of people. Generally associated with non-professionals and often regarded as the cultural property of a group of people bounded by national, social, or ethnic identity, folk music is often referred to as "traditional music or vernacular music".

form: The structure of a musical piece as established by its qualities, pitches, durations and intensities. Musical forms are typically constructed of distinct sections that are either repeated or are used to provide contrast with what has come before. Some basic formal designs include air and variations, sonata form and strophic form.

frame drum: A membranophone with a skin stretched over a round frame, such as the tambourine or Tibetan rnga.

free aerophones: Aerophones which act directly on the surrounding air. Examples include the Australian bullroarer and the reeds in an accordion.

free rhythm: Rhythm can be described as free when it is not organized around a regular pulse.

frequency: An acoustical term referring to the number of vibrations occurring per second in a vibrating string or column of air. Generally measured either in cycles per second [cps] or in Hertz [Hz] and kilohertz [kHz]. Perception of frequency determines pitch.

friction idiophones: Idiophones which sound through an object rubbing its surface.

Ft. Washakie: The main city of the Wind River Shoshone reservation, named after Chief Washakie.

fundamental: The lowest tone in a harmonic series, also referred to as the "first harmonic or "first partial, which determines the perceived pitch of a sound.