Depends on the degree to which members of a singing group coordinate their attacks and releases. Rhythmic blend is considered maximal when attacks and releases are precisely coordinated. If the movements from note to note are invariably differentiated, then rhythmic blend is considered minimal. Observe how the members of the singing group move together rhythmically.
Read the Coding Guide for this Line. Listen to each example at least twice. Once you have listened to all the examples, take the Test which follows.
W. Africa, Burkina Faso (Upper Volta). In collective wailing for the dead, each Dogon mourner expresses personal sorrow, with a diffuse effect. Known for their cosmogony and elaborate mortuary rites, the Dogon say, “To mourn the dead is to sow the grain”—the cries of mourners fall on the ears like seeds from the hand of the sower. (Gaisseau #2, 1) E. Europe, Russia, Karelia. A choir of peasant girls from this northern wooded province near Finland sings in the cohesive Russian style. (Former U.S.S.R. #1, A7) Caribbean, E. Caribbean. In Carriacou, farmer-fisher folk spontaneously join in on a little refrain that animates a traditional chantefable, or story-song. (Lomax #36, 1) Caribbean, E. Caribbean. As they row, men from Nevis sing their own rendering of a traditional British sea chantey. (Lomax #36, 4) N. America, Southwest U.S. Taos Pueblo men sing a gambling song in a unified style achieved through rehearsal, as well as through lifelong, face-to-face cooperation in many other activities. (Rhodes #3, A2)Which form of the Rhythmic Coordination of the Vocal Group is recorded here?
For each example below, choose the feature that best fits from the following scale.
Solo
Miminal rythmic coordination
Moderate rhythmic coordination
Unified rhythmic coordination
Maximal rhythmic coordination
Consult the Coding Guide as needed. Note your answers in order to check them against the answer key.
E. Africa. Luo girls portray solidarity and complementarity as they sing, “Tong, tong went the woodchopper’s axe, and the girl beside him danced to the sound.” Female group. (Tracey #2 (TR 167), A4) Reveal Answer W. Europe, Portugal. A mixed group sings a Portuguese epiphany carol for the Three Kings in the moderate blend of Western Europe. Mixed group. (Boulton #2, B3) Reveal Answer S. America, Peru, Interior Amazonia. Asháninka, Rio Napo. A mixed group of Orejón-speaking people, a remnant of the Secoya cluster in Ecuador, sings in a loosely interlocked style that reflects their egalitarian, complementary culture. Mixed group. (Chapelle & Marion, B2) Reveal Answer Oceania, Melanesia, New Guinea, Sepik, N. Abelam. A wanyim (traveling song) is hooted and yodeled by a male group from a solidary horticultural society. (Forge, 4) Reveal Answer S. America, Brazil, Interior Amazonia. Asháninka. Tukuna boys and girls sing in a diffuse, high-pitched style common in this region of virtually leaderless, clan-organized, shifting, fire-fallow cultivators. (Schultz & Chiara, A5) Reveal Answer S. America, Warao, Orinoco Delta. Guarauno (Warao, or “boat people”) live in stilt houses over bayous, where men fish and women gather shellfish, roots, and other food—a complementary but individualized community. Male group. (Preloran, 12) Reveal Answer W. Europe, Spain. W. Spain. The girls of a shepherd village in the plains of Extremadura sing a llana (plains dance), one of them bouncing the square pandero (double-sided tambourine) off her supporting fingers. (Lomax #26, B8) Reveal Answer N. Australia, N.E. Arnhem Land, Marajin. Marajin aboriginal people live in small, nomadic bands of gatherers, headed by elder men who exercise their control over descent lines and territory through rituals such as this song. (West, B8) Reveal Answer Oceania, Polynesian Outliers, Ontong Java (Luangiua). Women of this solidary, complementary coral atoll culture remember a song they once sang for dancers on the moonlit beach. (Zemp #2, B10) Reveal Answer S. America, Interior Amazonia. Asháninka. The Iawa use the rhythms and the model of a riverine fish-drive to structure a magic chant about the fish Kaputia. Note the alternation between rhythmic individualization and hummed chords. Mixed group. (See also Line 1, #13.) (Flornoy, A3) Reveal AnswerLine 6 Test Answers: 1) Maximal. 2) Moderate. 3) Little or none. 4) Unified. 5) Minimal. 6) Moderate. 7) Unified. 8) Little or none. 9) Maximal. 10) Minimal.