Leonardo

Time Structure in the Music of Central Africa: Periodicity, Meter, Rhythm and Polyrhythmics Author(s): Simha Arom Source: Leonardo, Vol. 22, No. 1, Art and the New Biology: Biological Forms and Patterns (1989), pp. 91-99 Published by: The MIT Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1575146 . Accessed: 10/02/2011 04:19
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Time Central Rhythm

Structure Africa: and

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of
ABSTRACT

Periodicity, Meter,
Polyrhythmics
Simha Arom

he purpose of this article is to describe the principles underlying rhythm and polyrhythmics in Central African traditional music. Given the complexity of the subject, it will be convenient to divide this discussion into four parts: the first will describe the basic features of rhythm in Central Africa, the second will deal with the temporal organization that provides the governing framework, and the third and fourth will take up the aim of this organization, namely, the production of rhythmic events and polyrhythmic structures. Before proceeding, I must distinguish between (1) rhythm as it appears in music in which relativized pitches give rise to a scalar system, i.e. any melodic music, and (2) rhythm appearing in a context where melody no longer comes into play and one encounters pure rhythm. Here, I am concerned with the latter case. Pure rhythm maybe based on accentuation, on tone color alternation or on contrasting durations. In Africa, as elsewhere, rhythm is produced by musical instruments (mostly of the idiophonic or membranophonic types), but also by parts of the human body, e.g. by tapping one's foot on the ground or clapping one's hands.

7IIT

BASIC FEATURES
If one listens closely to a percussion group from Central Africa, one can perceive the basic rhythmic features that prevail in this region: * Steady, regular motion with no accellerandos, rallentandos or rubatos: Central African music is measured and comprised of strictly proportional durations. * The predominance of repetitive, uninterrupted formulae, in which similar material reappears at regular intervals, is evidence of strict periodicity. * The formulae one hears are not perfectly identical; the repetitive system allows for a certain degree of variation. * The simultaneously performed instrumental parts do not give the impression of being ordered vertically, one above the other, but rather of being placed diagonally, according to a principle of crossing, or interweaving, of individual rhythms. * Central African music does not use a temporal reference matrix based on the regular alternation of an accented sound with one or more unaccented sounds. Consequently, it uses neither the notion of 'measure' nor the strong beat involved in this notion. For the listener, the interweaving of accents and tone colors, together with the absence of a reference system of regular accentuation, creates a feeling of uncertainty and of

ambiguity regarding how the subdivision of the period is perceived. This feeling can be compared to what one might feel on a train if one thought one had caught the rhythm of the 'clickety-clack' but suddenly noticed an offsetting of the periodic repetition: what one had taken as a 'strong beat' marking the beginning of a new temporal cycle now sounds like a 'weak beat' and vice versa. Something similar happens when one listens for some time to the binary cycle of the 'tick-tock' of a clock: the stress feature, which is first attributed to the 'tick' (TICKtock), suddenly shifts onto the 'tock' (TOCK-tick). The ambiguity is even greater in the case of a ternary period. Thus, an unaccented figure with two sounds of equal value and a rest of the same duration can be perceived in three different ways:

inCentral African Rhythm ona strictly music is based periodic structure. The is internally orperiod ontwolevels: ganized bythepulse and operational bytheminimal intheimvalues. consists Rhythm ofcyclic or position figures-with anunderlying without variations-on canbedeperiod. Rhythmic figures fined features: bya setoffive mark, durations, morphology, and structure. The domimetricity inCentral nant feature rhythmic Africa is a contrametric relationship tothepulse, anantagwhich creates onism between therhythmical events and their frametemporal work. music results Polyrhythmic from theinteraction oftwoormore which superposed rhythmic figures, indimensions but have vary pemay insimple riods and ratios, standing itsdominant feature is theinterweavtonecolors and/or ingofaccents, ofthesimultaneously attacks performed This riseto a figures. gives conflict between and rhythm which is coupled the with rhythm, between and antagonism rhythm meter eachindividual characterizing ofthephenomena figure. Many inthispaper described arecurrent over a much area wider ofsubSaharan Africa.

In none of the three cases, however, has the articulation of the periodic cycle been changed in any way. The only change is in one's perception, in the Gestalt extracted by the mind from invariant data. By its very regularity, an acoustic form will create this feeling of uncertainty and allow itself to be organized perceptually in different ways.

PERIODICITY
A period is a temporal loop based on "the recurrence of similar events at similar intervals" [1]. All Central African musical manifestations are based on a principle of periodicity.

Levels of Organization

The period provides a temporal framework for rhythmic events. It is always composed of whole numbers, generally even ones (2, 4, 6, 8, 12, etc.), i.e. divisible by two. This means
Simha Arom (ethnomusicologist), Laboratoire de Langues et Civilisations a Tradition Orale, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (C.N.R.S.), 44 rue de l'Amiral Mouchez, 75014 Paris, France. Received 16 March 1988.

? 1989 SAST inGreat Britain. Presspic.Printed Pergamon $3.00+0.00 0024-094X/89

LEONARDO,

Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 91-99,

1989

91

Fig. 1. The macro-period (at the bottom) provides the sole point of junction that is common to all the superposed periods shown above it.

that the period has a symmetrical structure, which can be measured by the pulse. The pulse is an isochronal standard, which is used by Central African cultures as the unit of reference for the measurement of musical time. It provides a series of regular reference points for ordering rhythmic events. In polyrhythmic music, the pulse is the common regulator of temporal organization for all the parts. It is thus the basic unit of time according to which all durations are defined. In Central Africa, however, the pulse is rarely materialized. While it is always possible to give it the concrete form of handclaps, it is nevertheless more often implicit, i.e. underlying. The pulse can be subdivided in three different ways:the subdivision is binary when the pulse splits into two or four equal parts; it is ternary when the pulse splits into three (or rarely six) equal parts; and it is composite when the pulse splits into five equal parts by a combination of the two preceding (binary and ternary) types. The smallest operational value equals the shortest relevant duration, in comparison to which all the other durations are multiples. The period thus will equal the total number of these values, e.g. a period of 12 pulses will have 36 operational values if the division is ternary, and 24 (or 48) if the division is binary. The importance of how the pulse is subdivided for understanding rhythmic organization in Central Africa will become apparent later. Metrically speaking, the period is thus twice subdivided, into the pulse and into its operational values. It is important to note the absence in this organization of an intermediate level between the period and the pulse, consisting of a regular accent scheme, known as the 'measure' in Western music, with a characteristic strong beat. Since there is no such phenomenon in the music

of the majority of the peoples of Central Africa, the time-units that the period comprises are all of equal value.

On Diversity of Periodicities
The foregoing discussion concerns the metric organization of the period as a temporal framework for rhythmic events. In African music, however, it is common for several rhythmic events to take place simultaneously: this is what is known as polyrhythmics, which will be discussed later. For the time being, it need only be remarked that, in a polyrhythmic context, the superposed rhythmic figures are of varying dimensions but stand in simple ratios, such as 2:1, 3:1, 3:2, 4:2 and multiples thereof. As far as metrics is concerned, this means that different periodic forms will also be superposed. It therefore will be necessary, hereafter, to use the term 'period' in the plural, or, to be more precise, to speak of 'periodicities', and to introduce two new terms: 'amplification' and 'macroperiod'. By amplification, I mean the procedure by which the rhythmic material of a period is developed sporadically over a number of periods, which is a multiple (generally the double or triple) of that period. Thus, a period of four pulses can be transformed for a few loops into a cycle of 8, 12 or, more rarely, 16 pulses. By macro-period, I mean the cycle resulting from the superposition of periods of different dimensions, all of which are smaller than the dimension of the macro-period. Such is the case with two or more periods in a 2:3 and/or 3:4 ratio. The macro-period then provides the sole point of junction that is common to all the superposed periods (Fig. 1). A few words on tempo are required before concluding this section, for tempo is the unavoidable concomitant of the pulse as the basic structural ele-

ment of all periodicity, i.e. insofar as it provides the determining standard of temporal reference. Tempo is the expression of the inner motion (or speed) of a piece of music. That the motion of Central African music is extremely regular has been shown by comparing several recordings, made over a period of 7 years, of identical pieces played by the same musicians. Metronomic measurements showed that, in all cases, the differences in tempo from one performance to the next were negligible, even when several years had intervened [2]. Thus, for a given piece where a quarter note is taken as the metronomic reference unit, the tempo will not varymore than from 148 to 156 oscillations per minute. These observations confirm the remarkable intuition of Andre Souris, who, more than 20 years ago, wrote: "One may assume that in civilizations that lack writing systems, the tempo of highly structured music can be orally transmitted with the highest degree of accuracy" [3]. They also corroborate the more recent observations of David Epstein, who describes the striking human ability to conserve a time standard in a sort of organic memory like "a highly accurate biological clock mechanism" [4]; this seems to describe exactly what happens.

RHYTHMIC ORGANIZATION
Having discussed the metric aspects of the various levels of periodicity, i.e. its function as a framework of temporal reference, I will now turn to the rhythmic organization of the period, i.e. how rhythmic events are distributed within this framework, or, to be more precise, how they are divided and arranged into cells and configurations, and what principles underlie these arrangements. Thus, from now on, I will be dealing with rhythmic figures.

A rhythmic figure can be defined by a set of features that fall into different categories or orders. There are five such orders: mark, durations, morphology, metricity and structure. The orders are organized so that each contains no more than one feature. This is to say that a feature belongs solely to one order and that a set of five features is necessary and sufficient to describe

The ConstituentFeaturesof Rhythmic Figures

92

Arom,Time Structure in the Music of Central Africa

any rhythmic figure from the region I am discussing. Mark. The mark is the basic tool used to segment any rhythmic sequence. If a sequence of percussions is to be accounted a rhythmic figure, at least one of its constituents must be marked. There are three kinds of marks-accentuation, tone color alternation and contrasting durationsone of which will be used to break down figures into their constituent parts: cells and configurations. A sequence of at least two sounds is required for a cell or a configuration to exist. In other words, a single isolated percussion may never be treated as a constituent unit of a rhythmic figure. In accentuation, segmentation is based on the recurrence of accents, i.e. on the time interval separating two accented sounds within the same figure (Fig. 2). Clearly, if there is only one accent, the figure containing it cannot be split into parts. In such a case, one must look for one of the other marks. Segmentation of unaccented figures may be based on marking by tone color alternation. Cells and configurations here are bounded by the recurrence of at least one sound with a tone color differing from that of the preceding sound. When a figure contains only one sound with a different tone color, another mark must be sought; for only when at least two sounds are different in tone color from the others can it be said that change of tone color is used as a mark. When there is no accent and the constituent sounds of a rhythmic figure are not distinguished by tone color contrast, the alternation of durations-i.e. contrasting durations, the similarity and/or difference of values and their arrangements-provides the sole basis for segmentation. Durations. The durations comprising a rhythmic figure may be equal or unequal. At first glance, this remark may seem trivial;yet, for the important and still often obscure problem of making a precise distinction between meter and rhythm, it is not without significance. Thus, a sequence of equal unaccented values with no tone color differentiation, such as the sequence illustrated in Fig. 3a, is in fact a metric continuum, but it lacks one of the two indispensable attributes for it to be considered rhythmic. It would first have to be marked, either by accents (Fig. 3b) or by tone color differentiation (Fig. 3c).

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Morphology. The form of a rhythmic figure is determined by the configurations and cells that it comprises. These figures may be classified as unitary, uniform or multiform. A figure is unitary when it contains only one configuration; in such cases, there is no distinction between cell and figure (Fig. 4a). A figure is uniform when it is based on the repetition of an identical cell or configuration, whose position nevertheless varies with respect to the pulse each time it recurs (Fig. 4b). A figure is multiform when it contains two or more different configurations (Fig. 4c). Metricity. There are five features by which the relationship of any rhythmic figure to the pulse can be defined. This relationship can be commetric or contrametric [5]. Both these types can be either regular or irregular; however, the metricity also can be mixed. A figure is commetrically arranged when the accents, changes of tone color or (failing these) the attacks tend to coincide with the pulse. Commetricity is regular if all the accents, or more than half of the tone color changes or attacks, coincide with the pulse, and if no sound produced offbeat overlaps the following pulse (Fig. 5a). It is irregular whenever a stressed sound is off-beat, and/or whenever

less than half of all the sounds that are off-beat overlap the following pulse (Fig. 5b). A rhythmic figure is contrametrically related to the pulse when accents, tone color changes or (failing these) the attacks occur predominantly offbeat. Contrametricity is regular when the marked element is invariably found in the same position with respect to the pulse (Fig. 6a). Contrametricity is irregular when the position of the marked element with respect to the pulse is not systematically the same (Fig. 6b). Structure. A rhythmic figure can have a symmetric or asymmetric structure (the latter of which can be either regular or irregular); however, on rare occasions, it also can have a structure that I will call 'indivisible'. A structure is symmetric when it can be divided into two equal parts, starting from the position of at least two of its accents, tone color alternations or attacks (Fig. 7a). A structure is asymmetric when no such segmentation is possible, given the position of the accents, tone color alternation or attacks. Asymmetry is regular when the cycle can be split on the same basis into any number of equal parts other than two and multiples thereof

Arom,Time Structure in the Music of Central Africa

93

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(Fig. 7b). In Central Africa, regular asymmetry generally is based on the repetition, within the rhythmic figure, of a single cell or configuration, with its position with respect to the pulse being offset each time it recurs. This offsetting is the result of a constant ratio between two different arithmetic progressions, one metric and the other rhythmic. This is precisely the principle of the hemiola (Fig. 7c). Asymmetry is irregular when the figure contains two or more configurations that cannot be divided into equal parts (Fig. 7d). A particular form of asymmetrythat is frequently found in Central Africa is rhythmic oddity. This term applies to periods for which an even number is obtained when the number of pulses is divided by two. Figures under this principle are so arranged that whenever their rhythmic content is segmented as closely as possible to the central dividing point, the two resulting parts will be composed of an odd number of minimal values. These figures are always formed by irregularly juxtaposing binary and ternary quantities. They thus give rise to subtle and complex rhythmic combinations. They respect a rule that might be called 'half - 1 / half + 1', as illustrated by the following examples. A figure of this kind with eight minimal values, i.e. which is a total of two binary pulses, divides up as follows (Fig. 8a): 3/3.2=3/5=4-1/ 4+1.

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A figure contained in a period of 12 operational values arranged into four ternary pulses can yield (Fig. 8b): 5/3.4 = 5/7 = 6- 1 /6 + 1; or (Fig. 8c): 3.2/3.2.2 = 5/7 = 6- 1 / 6 + 1. A four-pulse figure divided into 16 minimal values presents the following organization (Fig. 8d): 3.2.2/2.3.2.2 = 7/9 = 8- 1 / 8 + 1. Finally, an eight-pulse cycle divided into 24 operational values yields the following arrangement (Fig. 8e): 3.2.2.2.2/3.2.2.2.2. = 11/13 =12-1 / 12 +1. But, as Fig. 8f shows, it can also be arranged differently: 2.3.3.3/2.3.3.2.3 =11/13 =12-1 / 12 + 1.

Fig. 4. A figure is unitary when it contains only one configuration (a), uniform when it is based on the repetition of an identical cell or configuration (b), or multiform when it contains two or more different configurations (c).
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Arom,Time Structure in the Music of Central Africa

Rhythmic oddity works by a principle of enlargement based on the progressive insertion of binary quantities in configurations bounded by ternary quantities. This is apparent from the paradigmatic representation of its functioning shown in Table 1. The figure illustrated in Fig. 8f (2.3.3.3/ 2.3.3.2.3) applies the same principle, but in reverse, for here ternary quantities are inserted in configurations bounded by binary values. Finally, a structure is called indivisible when it contains only one duration. This case, though extremely rare, can appear in a polyrhythmic context (Fig. 8g).

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Combination of Constituent
Features
A rhythmic figure, as mentioned, is made up of a set of features. These features (17 in all) are distributed among five different orders. Since a feature cannot belong to more than one order, it follows that five features are necessary and sufficient for the definition of any rhythmic figure, as the following examples will show. Figure 9a, which is taken from a Banda-Linda piece performed by the drum called 'the husband', can be described as follows: it is marked by accents, it is composed of unequal durations and it is multiform and irregularly contrametric but symmetric. Figure 9b, performed by the drum called 'the mother', is superposed on the preceding one. It has all the same features as the 'husband's' figure but one: its structure is irregularly asymmetric. The next two figures, which are employed by each of two double bells, sustain a repertory of Ngbaka songs accompanied on the harp: The first is marked by tone color alternation and has unequal durations, its morphology is uniform, its metricity is mixed and its structure is symmetric (Fig. 9c). The second has the same mark and also contains unequal durations; however, its arrangement is multiform, its metricity is irregularly contrametric and its structure is irregularly asymmetric (Fig. 9d). Once one has established a list of features that characterize a rhythmic figure, it becomes possible to set up a typology, for the recurrence of a set of features in different figures allows them all to be placed in a single category. I would conclude this study of the various ways of organizing rhythmic
tone color

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material in Central Africa by saying that the dominant characteristic of rhythm is a strong tendency towards contrametricity, which gives rise to an unceasing conflict between the metric structure of the period and the rhythmic events it contains.

POLYRHYTHMICS
Polyrhythmics is the coherent superposition of two or more rhythmic figures, each of which is arranged in such a way that the configurations composing it (as defined by accentuation, tone color alternation or contrasting

durations) are inserted in those of other figures, so as to create an effect of constant interweave. While all these figures have a common standard of temporal reference, i.e. the pulse, they are contained in periods of varying dimensions, which nevertheless stand in simple ratios (1:2, 1:3, 2:3, 3:4) to one another. The various superposed configurations always move along in a fast tempo. The result is a permanent state of tension deriving from the antagonism among the different figures. This antagonism shows up simultaneously in

two ways:I already remarked that each

Table 1. Paradigmaticrepresentation of the functioningof rhythmic worksby a principle of enlargement based hereon oddity oddity. Rhythmic the progressive inconfigurations insertion of binary bounded quantities byternaryquantities. values Cycleof 8 minimal values Cycleof 12 minimal values Cycleof 16 minimal values Cycleof 24 minimal F ] 2 F 2 f3 2 . 2 . 2. 2.2.2.

3. 2. 2 2.2. 2

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Arom,Time Structure in the Music of Central Africa

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in a ratio of 1:2; the figures produced by the first two drums and by thejingles establish a two-pulse cycle, while the third drum has only one pulse. p In l~* 4 the l ' drum parts, the pulse is divided into five minimal values arranged in binary and ternary quantities, while in the jingles its division is perfectly bi* The four superposed figures different marks: the first parts have no accents tone color change whatsoever, are marked by attacks, while third drum and jingles parts marked by accents. use two or but the are

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Fig. 7. (a) Astru cture is symmetric when it can be divided into two equal parts, starting from the positiol n of at least two of its accents, tone color alternations or attacks. (b) Asymmetry is reg,ular when the cycle can be split on the same basis into any number of equal parts otherrthan two and multiples thereof. (c) The principle of the hemiola: regular asymmetry generally is based on the repetition, within the rhythmic figure, of a single cell or con figuration, with its position with respect to the pulse being offset each time it recurs. Th is offsetting is the result of a constant ratio between two different arithmetic progressio ns, one metric and the other rhythmic. (d) Asymmetry is irregular when the figure contai ns two or more configurations that cannot be divided into equal parts.

* There is one simultaneous percussion by all three drums; their parts are partially interwoven. *Since thejingles figure is based on a binary division of the pulse, it follows that its accent does not coincide with any of the drum-part percussions: it therefore is completely interwoven with them. * The figure performed by the first drum regularly adjoins two followed by three quantities, thus contrasting with the arrangement r te of the the third cc he accents s of te r drum,

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which performs an equally regular succession of three followed by two quantities. Meanwhile, the second drum alternates these two arrangements: each of the two pulses that make up its figure

96

Arom,Time Structure in the Music of Central Africa

shows a different arrangement, the first being three plus two, and the second, two plus three. The second formula is the polyrhythmic support for a piece from the mbenzele dance music repertoire of the Aka pygmies (Fig. lOb). This formula has four parts, which are distributed among three drums and a pair of iron blades, which are struck together. The following observations can be made: * It contains three different periodicities: the figures performed by the second drum and the blades provide the longest period of eight pulses; the first drum plays a figure based on four pulses, while the third plays the shortest, with only one pulse. * The metal blades have neither accents nor tone color change, unlike the three drums, which are all marked by accents. *The accents of the second and third drums are simultaneous; their parts are distinguished by their content. * The first drum plays an irregularly contrametric hemiola-type figure; it stands in a 2:1 ratio with the figure of the second drum, and in a 1:4 ratio with that of the third; its accents are partiallyinterwoven with those of the other two drums. * Finally, the blades perform a figure of the same dimensions as that of the second drum; this figure stands in the same ratio to the parts of the first and third drums as the figure of the second drum. As a result of the clear and penetrating sound produced by the two blades striking against each other, some of the attacks, which are interwoven with the accents of the other parts, stand out sharply from the whole. The degree of complexity of a polyrhythmic piece is not a function of the number of parts alone. It can depend equally, if not more, on the internal organization of each one. Thus, the more ambiguity (contrametricity, asymmetry and, above all, rhythmic oddity) there is in the rhythmic content of the superposed figures, the more complex the resulting polyrhythmics will be. The following example provides an eloquent illustration of this fact. The ritual polyrhythmic basis for the zoboko music of the Akas employs two figures whose periodicity is identical. The first, called mokongo(Fig. lla), is performed by several crouching men,

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Fig. 8. Rhythmic oddity: periods for which an even number is obtained when the number of pulses is divided by two. (a) A figure of this kind with eight minimal values. (b, c) Figures contained in a period of 12 operational values arranged into four ternary pulses. (d) A four-pulse figure divided into 16 minimal values.(e, f) Eight-pulse cycles divided into 24 operational values. (g) An 'indivisible' structure, i.e. one containing only one duration, can appear in a polyrhythmic context.

Fig. 9. Fivefeatures are necessary and suffi-

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Arom,Time Structure in the Music of Central Africa

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Fig. 10. In a polyrhythmic context, the conflict between rhythmic elements and metric elements is conjoined with the conflict between rhythmic elements and rhythmic elements, i.e. between the content of each figure and that of all the others, as seen in the polyrhythmic formulae transcribed: (a) from the aga terumoritual music of the Banda-Linda; (b) dance music repertoire of the Aka pygmies. from the mbenzele

who, in unison, strike hard wooden sticks against a tree trunk lying on the lb), ground. The second, diketo(Fig. 1 which also appears in the preceding example, is performed by one person, who strikes two iron blades together. Before examining the way in which these two figures are superposed, it will be helpful to compare their respective constituent features. Mokongo is marked by accents, and diketoby atare all tacks. The durations in mokongo equal, while those in diketo are unequal. Both have a multiform morphology, an irregularly contrametric relationship to the pulse, and an asymmetric structure. However, mokongo's asymmetry is regular, while diketo'sis irregular. Of the five features, two are the same and three are different. Both figures are based on the juxtaposition of binary and ternary quantities. While ternary quantities appear in mokongo in the interval between single binary units, the opposite occurs in diketo, where binary quantities are inserted between the two isolated ternary elements used in this figure. The inser-

tion of binary quantities to fill the space between the two ternary units is precisely what makes it possible to segment this figure into two cells of 11 and 13 values, respectively. Since the period has a total of 24 such values, diketo is not only irregularly asymmetric, it also obeys the rules of rhythmic oddity: 'half- 1 / half + 1'. Mokongoalso follows this rule, but, unlike diketo,its asymmetry is regular. In fact, it can be divided into three equal parts, each with eight minimal values: 3.3.2/3.2.3/3.3.2. Only two cells are used for these three segments, one of them (3.3.2) occurring twice. But while the two occurrences of this cell are identical as far as rhythm is concerned, this is not so with respect to metricity, for the cell changes its position in relation to the pulse (Fig. llc). If one superposes the two figures, one obtains the formula for the zoboko (Fig. lld). The polyrhythmic nature of this formula is based on the interweaving of certain mokongoaccents

with diketoattacks, to which the isochronal handclaps (which, in this particular case, materialize the pulse) are added. The period comprises eight pulses. Mokongo has nine accents; of these, three commetric ones coincide naturally with the beat, while the other six are irregularly contrametric. In the diketo part, five attacks are commetric; the other eight are irregularly contrametric. However, mokongo'scommetric accents do not all coincide with diketo'scommetric attacks. A look at the formula shows that the commetric accents and attacks coincide only twice, on the first and third beats; elsewhere, they are interwoven. The interweaving of the quite different sounds produced by these two instruments contrasts with the regularity of the beat; moreover, it confers a rhythmic function on the beats that accent do not coincide with a mokongo or with a diketoattack, for the handclaps that materialize them are themselves interwoven with some mokongo accents and diketo attacks. The interaction of these three different kinds of sound thus will be perceived as a polyrhythmic entity of three interwoven accent, parts from which one mokongo attacks and two irregularly three diketo spaced handclaps stand out separately (see Fig. 12a). These various percussions stand out from the continuum of the formula, which, let it be remembered, consists of uninterrupted drumming of taps of equal durations, interspersed with the irregularly spaced accents of mokongo and the irregularly asymmetric striking of the iron blades. As for the remaining marks, besides the two percussions that are simultaneous to the three parts, there are 11 combined percussions: five common to mokongo and diketo,one common to and the handclaps, and three mokongo common to diketoand the handclaps. When one adds the six isolated percussions, one finds, for a cycle of 24 minimal values, a total of 17 rhythmic events, which make use of seven different combinations of three tone colors (Fig. 12b). In concluding, let me mention that all these phenomena whose complexity I have just examined interact at a tempo of J- = 144, which means that the entire cycle in which they take place lasts barely 4 seconds.

98

Arom,Time Structure in the Music of Central Africa

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Rhythm in Central African music is based on a strictly periodic structure. The period is internally organized on

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equal standard units serving as temporal points of reference and excluding a regular strong beat; and by the minimal operational values, which derive from the way the pulsation is subdivided into binary or ternary (sometimes binary and ternary) quantities. Rhythm consists in the imposition of cyclic figures (with or without variations) on an underlying period. Rhythmic figures can be defined by a set of features that fall into five orders: mark, durations, morphology, metricity and structure. The dominant rhythmic feature in Central Africa is a contrametric relationship to the pulse, which creates a contrast between the rhythmical events and their temporal framework. This relationship appears in the form of regular and irregular and contrametricity (hemiola-type) rhythmic oddity. Polyrhythmic music results from the interaction of two or more superposed rhythmic figures, which may vary in dimensions but have periods standing in simple ratios: 1:2, 1:3, 2:3, 3:4 and multiples thereof. The dominant feature of polyrhythmic music is the interweaving of the accents, tone colors and/or attacks of the simultaneously performed figures. This gives rise to a conflict between rhythm and rhythm, which is coupled with the antagonism between rhythm and meter characterizing each individual figure. Many of the phenomena described in this paper are current over a much wider area of sub-Saharan Africa. The rhythm of Central African traditional music is remarkable in its ability to obtain such complex, subtle, varied and yet strictly coherent systems, with a very limited number of elements. Such systems are a lasting testimony to the extraordinary ingenuity of their creators and the contemporary cultures that carry the tradition. References and Notes

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Fig. 12. (a) The superposition of the mokongo figure and the diketofigure yield the formula for the zoboko.The interaction of these figures combined with isochronal handclaps will be perceived as a polyrhythmic entity of three interwoven parts from which one accent, three diketoattacks and two irregularly spaced handclaps stand out mokongo separately. (b) Beside the two percussions that are simultaneous to the three parts, there are 11 combined percussions. When one adds the six isolated percussions, one finds, for a cycle of 24 minimal values, a total of 17 rhythmic events, which make use of seven different combinations of three tone colors.
loque sur les rythmes a Lyon en decembre 1967, supplement No. 7 du Journalfranfais d'oto-rhino- laryngologie (Lyon: Editions Simer, 1968). Arom, "The Use of Play-Back Techniques in the Study of Oral Polyphonies", Ethnomusicology 20, No. 3, 483-519 (1976). 2. Simha 3. Andre Souris, "Tempo", in Encyclopedie de la Musique, Vol. 3 (Paris: Fasquelle, 1961) p. 787. (Resume in6dit,

Reimers-Stiftung, 1981).

Bad-Homburg

5. Mieczyslaw Kolinski, "A Cross-Cultural Approach to Metro-Rhythmic Patterns", Ethnomusicology 17, No. 3, 495-506 (1973). 6. The transcription of orally transmitted polyrhythmic pieces is now possible owing to the development of a special recording method for field use, based on the application of 're-recording' techniques. Each constituent part of a polyrhythmic whole can thereby be isolated without being with respect to the others. See desynchronized Arom [2].

du rhy1. Abraham A. Moles, "Informatique thme", in 'Les rythmes' Conferences presentees au Col-

4. David Epstein, "A Cross-Cultural Study of Musical Tempo", Communication presented at the symposium Biological Aspects of Aesthetics, Werner-

Arom, Time Structure in the Music of Central Africa

99