Oom-pah, Oompah or Umpapa is an onomatopoeic term describing the rhythmical sound of a deep brass instrument in combination with the response of other instruments or registers in a

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

, a form of background ostinato. The oom-pah sound is usually made by the

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

alternating between the root (tonic) of the chord and the 5th (dominant) — this sound is said to be the ''oom''. The ''pah'' is played on the off-beats by higher-pitched instruments such as the clarinet, accordion or

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

. Oompah is often associated with ''

Volkstümliche Musik Volkstümliche Musik (German for "folksy/traditional/popular music") is a modern popular derivation of the traditional ''Volksmusik'' genre of German-speaking regions. Though it is often marketed as ''Volksmusik'', it differs from traditional f ...

'', a form of popular German music, and with polka. In

triple time Triple metre (or Am. triple meter, also known as triple time) is a musical metre characterized by a ''primary'' division of 3 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 3 (simple) or 9 ( compound) in the upper figure of the time signature, with , , ...

genres such as the

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...

it is oom-pah-pah. The musical '' Oliver!'' contains a song named "

Oom-Pah-Pah "Oom-Pah-Pah" is a lively and somewhat risqué show tune with music and lyrics by Lionel Bart and appearing in the 1960 musical '' Oliver!'', when it is sung by Nancy and the crowd at the "Three Cripples" tavern. The word "oom-pah-pah" is seemin ...

", which is named after the oom-pah. A more modern variation is the playing of contemporary pop and rock songs in an Oompah style, by bands such as

Global Kryner Global Kryner were a six-piece Austrian folk group, consisting of clarinet player Christof Spörk, bass trombonist, tenor and yodeller Sebastian Fuchsberger, guitarist Edi Koehldorfer, trumpet player Karl Rossmann, accordion player Anton Saupr ...

(Austria) and Oompah Brass (UK) (who dubbed the style "Oompop"). The American

jam band A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational " jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often ...

Phish features the oom-pah-pah in their song "Harpua".

References

Accompaniment Bass (sound) Rhythm section {{Music-theory-stub

See also

References