Oom-pah

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

• oompah

Origin

onomatopoeia of the sound and rhythm of German folk music.

Full definition of oom-pah

Noun

1. (music genre) A genre of Germanic music (especially Bavarian music) typically involving brass instruments.
2. (music) A bass line characteristic of such music, a bass that alternates lower and higher notes or chords on the beat, or that alternates in a mid-high-low-high sequence.

Derived terms

• oompah-like