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habaòera: A song and dance form in slow duple meter dating from nineteenth-century Cuba.

haflah: A party held among Syrian Jews to celebrate a special occasion such as an anniversary. Held any day except for the Sabbath, these parties generally feature a professional vocalist who sings popular Arabic songs with accompaniment.

Haile Selassie, Emperor: The Ethiopian emperor who was known by Rastafarians by his birth name, "Ras Tafari. See also reggae.

Hanan: Lebanese singer who immigrated to New York in the 1940s.

harmonic series: See harmonics.

harmonic singing: See biphonic singing.

harmonic texture: See harmony.

harmonics: The series of simple vibrations which combine to create a complex pitched sound. Also called the "harmonic series". The lowest or "first harmonic", called the fundamental, determines the basic pitch of the sound. The remaining harmonics, called overtones, influence the the soundís perceived quality. Harmonics are also referred to as partials. They are inherently present in the sounding of any kind of string or air column.

harmony: The collective sound of a series of chords, serving as a support to a melody. The term also refers to an intricate set of rules that govern the progression of sound in Western classical music.

harps: Chordophones whose strings run at an angle away from the soundboard. Harps are sub-categorized by shape, playing position and tunings.

Hawaiian steel guitar: See steel guitar.

Hebrew: The Semitic language used in Jewish prayers and spoken in modern Israel.

heterophony: A musical texture where two or more parts are playing almost the same thing at almost the same time; often the parts are ornamented differently. Heterophony is often found in Middle Eastern musical traditions, but can be heard in many traditions where musicians improvise together on the same melody.

Hip and Tiyo:A French-derived Cajun cowboy refrain which Alan Lomax postulates may have inspired the cowboy song Hipiyaye, Tipiyayo.

hip-hop: The cultural movement associated with African-American urban culture of the 1970s that emerged at once in the graphic arts (graffiti), dance (break-dancing) and music (rap).

ho: A Vietnamese work song.

homophony: A musical texture, as in the Western hymn, where the parts perform different pitches but move in the same rhythm. See also polyphony.

Houston: A modern, southwestern city and fourth largest city in the United States by the late twentieth century. Rooted in the Gulf Coast landscape crossed by bayous, Houston has a growing ethnic diversity which is reflected in its musical life.

Hykes, David: Performer of semi-improvised vocal music who draws on khoomii, dbyangs and North Indian classical singing.

hymn: A sacred, strophic vocal genre which is sung homophonically during ceremonies of worship.

Hymnary: The most elaborate musical rite of the Ethiopian church performed before the Mass on Sundays and festivals.