Line 24. Tempo

As employed here, tempo is based on a relative and approximate determination of the speed or speeds of a performance.

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.

  1. Fast. S. Europe, Italy, N. Italy, Piedmont. Such small brass bands are an old tradition in this region of industry and industrialized farming. Mixed group. (Lomax #31, A12)
  2. Extremely (very) slow. Oceania, Melanesia, Bismarck Archipelago, New Ireland. Kara. Fertility song in which chanting alternates with singing at 1’54”. (Duvelle #4, 1.)
  3. Very fast. Oceania, Melanesia, Bismarck Archipelago, New Ireland. Kara. At later point in the same recording the singing speeds up. (Duvelle #4: 1.)
  4. Quite slow. Oceania, New Guinea, Butala area. After an elderly woman’s death her son sang this song. (Sheridan, A5a)
  5. Slow. Oceania, Polynesia, New Zealand Maori. See Line 5, #14. Mixed group. (New Zealand, A4)
  6. Moderate. N.W. Europe, England, Suffolk. A ribald ballad recorded at a rural pub. (Kennedy & Lomax #4, A1)
  7. Fast. S.E. Asia, Malaysia, N. Borneo. Formerly, the Bajau (known as Sea Gypsies) live in family-size canoes and gather fish and seaweed for a living. A woman sings a sacred text from the Koran. (Polunin #2, A9)

Test

Which form of Tempo is recorded here?
For each example below, choose the feature that best fits from the following scale.

Very slow
Quite slow
Slow
Moderate tempo
Fast
Very Fast

Consult the Coding Guide as needed. Note your answers in order to check them against the answer key.

  1. C. Africa. The Nilotic Luo raise cattle and live in patrilineal family groups, and compose praise songs to particular cows or bulls. Male solo with eight-string lyre and leg bells. (Tracey #2 TR-168] A5) Reveal Answer
  2. East Asia, Japan. Urban Japan (Tokyo). Female solo. (Masu, A8) Reveal Answer
  3. S.E. Asia, Malaysia, C. Borneo. The Iban, or Land Dyaks, who farm tropical rice and sheep, sing a song for a headhunting ritual. Male chorus with lute and horn. (Ivanoff, A1) Reveal Answer
  4. C. Africa. The Congo Ekonda people keep yam gardens and fish in extended family groups organized into patrilineal clans. One part of a remarkable choral suite is performed with parallel chords and overlapping parts by a female chorus. (Merriam #1, B9) Reveal Answer
  5. E. Asia, Japan. Tsugaru. An urban rendition of a charcoal burner’s song. Male solo with shakuhachi (bamboo flute). (Masu, A5) Reveal Answer
  6. N. America, Northwest U.S. Bitterroot Salish (Plateau Flathead). Dance song. (See also Line 15, Tests #2 and #4.) (Merriam #2, A8) Reveal Answer
  7. E. Asia, China. Three Gorges Culture. A work song for hauling barges through the rapids on the Yangtze River. (Menegoz, B16) Reveal Answer
  8. E. Asia, Japan. Amami Island farmers and fishermen retained many of the traditional lifeways of Old Japan. A song of mourning. (Haring #2, A1) Reveal Answer
  9. C. Africa. A man of the clan-organized Topoke people sings of his dangerous work harvesting palm fruit high up in the trees. Male solo. (Camps, A7) Reveal Answer
  10. E. Africa, Tutsi (Watutsi). From this regal Nilotic people, who traditionally herded cattle, comes this melodically embellished epic recounting warlike exploits of bygone days. Male solo. (Verwilghen #2, A4) Reveal Answer
  11. C. Africa, Topoke. Overlapping female chorus. (Camps, A1) Reveal Answer
  12. N. America, Southwest U.S., S. Arizona. A chorus of Akimel O'odham (Pima), who practiced dry-wash maize cultivation and gathering, sing a social dance song. Male chorus. (Boulton #1, B7) Reveal Answer

Line 24 Test Answers: 1) Very fast. 2) Quite slow. 3) Extremely slow. 4) Fast. 5) Quite slow. 6) Moderate. 7) Fast. 8) Extremely slow. 9) Very fast. 10) Slow. 11) Moderate. 12) Slow.

Back to Lesson