15th December 2020 (Research)
In Western Africa there are several musical societies which place great focus on the interlocking of two separate rhythms overlapping each other, this is the principle of a polyrhythm. The focus on rhythm instead of melody is most prevalent in African music historically speaking however of course in the modern world polyrhythms and almost all styles have begun to blend as information spreads more easily through the internet and modern society. European classical music has always focused more on complex harmonies of tones by contrast, it is really interesting to see how these styles have combined in the modern world specifically in progressive electronic music there are many examples of African style Djemba drums as polyrhythms combining with analog synthesis and MIDI in general. The artist âSangoâ described by ânprâ as âA masterful deconstructionist when it comes to polyrhythmsâ consistently utilizes overlapping African style rhythm in his music and is my personal favorite exemplification of this artform being developed in a modern context.
A gamelan is an ensemble which generally is made up mostly by percussion if not only by percussion, the more melodic alternate notes produced by the percussion are used to form the melody.Â
The interlocking kotèkan rhythms of Bali are divided into two parts known as nyangsih (male) and polos (female).
â There were four types of melodic kotèkans that were recognized in North Bali by Music in Bali, Colin McPhee's ground breaking documentation of Balinese music in the 1930's: chandetan, tutugan, ochètan, and semi-ochètan. Modern Balinese music scholarship seems to be coalescing around another set of terms, but these four types serve as a good starting point for study in the musicianship required to perform interlocking rhythms.â - source: http://www.ancient-future.com/kotekan.html
I have found Balinese Gamelan the most confusing form of rhythm to understand - as far as I can work out, this generally is defined by a big group of percussionists forming rhythms around these interlocking pre-defined measurements of what we would generally refer to as bars and beats, but what is known as different kotekans in Bali, so essentially they are like time signatures but specifically for a percussion ensemble.
âThe concept of the ever-recurring cyclic rhythms of the universe is one of the basic tenets of Hindu philosophy.â source -Â http://www.ancient-future.com/india.html
Indian rhythmic cycles seem to infer a more spiritual approach to counting rhythm which is formed from a spiritual and philosophical understanding of the universe and sound based in Hindu and Muslim culture.Â
âThe tabla (a North Indian pair of drums with goat-skin heads) has a language all its own. For every sound on the drum there is a corresponding syllable.â - source:Â http://www.ancient-future.com/india.html
The tabla is the North Indian drummer language and the Solkattu is the onomatopoetic drum syllable language of the mridangam. The mridangam is the drum more commonly used in the south - they are both similar but correspond to an actual different Drum instrument. Each North Indian tala has a theka, a standard set of bols that identify the rhythmic cycle. A âTalaâ refers to the âThirteen Talasâ which is an explanation of the thekas for thirteen different talas, including instructions for keeping tal (which is the making of the beat using different hand gestures to represent the rhythm).Â
North Indian Raga is explained as âa melodic recipe for a mood, with sets of notes in ascending and descending order, and a hierarchy of note importance.â...
Rhythm in Arabic music is organized into cycles of beats and pauses. These rhythmic modes are known as iqa'at in many Arabic countries, but there are other names for this concept.Â
âRhythm in Arabic music is organized into cycles of beats and pauses. These rhythmic modes are known as iqa'at in many Arabic countries, but there are other names for this concept. In Egyptian music they are called durub. In North-Western Africa they are called mazim. In Turkish music rhythmic modes are known as usul and in Iran they are called darbâ - source: http://www.ancient-future.com/arab.html
Similair to some western interpretations of counting beats or rhythms there is a verbal library used to represent various counts - for example 1,2,3,4 could be represented as Dum, Tek, Dum, Tek which to me seems a reasonable way to count a 4/4 house music song as an example.
