Call and response, in which a soloist plays or sings a phrase and a group of singers or players answers. Riff, a short phrase repeated over changing harmonies. Use of low tones in the reed section. Use of the double bass as a solo instrument.
Students can identify instruments of the band and orchestra by sight and sound.
African slaves brought with them to the New World a way of making music wherein rhythm was the dominant element. These characteristics, along with more sophisticated techniques, were incorporated later into ragtime, blues, and jazz to create a new American music that influenced the world. Duke Ellington, drawing on these traditions, dedicated his composition Koko to the memory of the Congo Square drum ceremonies in New Orleans. From around 1786, African American slaves would assemble in a large area called Place Congo on Sundays and church holy days to sing, dance, and play instruments. By about midafternoon, the dancing would become more and more frenzied.