If Israeli music comes up in your exam you might get asked to list typical features for this style of music.  If you get this question, the following features are ideal answers.  

TOP TIP: you will not have to explain these features in your exam.  Single worded answers are fine for this type of question.

TOP TIP: if you are asked to list features of a style of music, there is usually a maximum of two marks for just identifying instruments.  It wont say this on the exam paper but it usually says it in the mark scheme, so you need to list musical features not just instrument names.

Instruments

Israeli Music features lots of different instruments from a mixture of different cultures.  Because of this, there is not a deffinitve list of instruments; you need to use your ears to identify the instruments within the extract in your exam.

However, this is a list of instrument you will 'most likely' hear in an extract of Israeli music...

• Drum kit

• Bass Guitar

• Guitar (either electric, acoustic or both)

• Accordian

• Clarinet

• Violin

• Synthesizer

• Flute

• Vocals

The Accordian, Ciolin and Clarinet are usually quite important within a piece of Israeli music - they are often used to perform the melody.

Syncopation

Israeli music uses lots of syncoption, with the chords being played off beat.  Syncopation means playing on the + between beats.  E.g. 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +  The chordal instrument in Israeli music (e.g. the guitar or ssynthesizer) will play the chords off beat (syncopated).

Passing the Melody Between Instruments

It is quite common for the melody to passed between different instruments.  For example, a song might start with the Clarinet playing the main melody but the Accordian might then take over.  This can happen multiple times throughout a performance.

Either 2 or 4 Beats Per Bar

The time signature will either be 2/4 or 4/4.  The mark scheme will usually give a mark for either of these answers.

Accelerando

Israeli music usually starts quite slow and the tempo gradually builds (it gets faster).  The correct musical term for this is Accelerando.  Isreali music is mostly associated with having a fast tempo.

The Bass Part

The Bass instrument (usually the Bass Guitar) will play on every crotchet beat (e.g. 1 2 3 4).  The bass line will usually play the root note and the fifth note of a chord.  So if we look at a C Major chord (which has the notes C E G) the bass would alternate between the notes C and G on every beat.

You can listen to more examples of Israeli music by pressing play on the YouTube videos.  Can you hear any of the features listed above?