DENSMoiiB] CHIPPEWA MUSIC 19 



the song. One measure occasionally constitutes the rhythmic unit, 

 which is continuously repeated. 



Tlio rhythm is simplest in the songs used while "shooting" a can- 

 didate for initiation into the Mide'wiwin. In these songs there is 

 only one object — that the person shall fall unconscious, showing that he 

 is "entirely controlled by the medicine." The rhythm of these songs 

 is an emphatic regular rhythm. When it is desired that a person be 

 energized to some great undertaking the rhythm is irregular but so 

 fascinating in its irregularity that it holds the attention. This is 

 what is always sought — to control the person. 



The ni'miwtig' (dancing songs) are always sung vibrato, with the 

 wavering of voice which would be produced by the motion of the 

 body in dancing. This wavering of the voice is inseparably con- 

 nected with the song. In all Mide' songs there is a tendency toward 

 uncertainty of intonation. Repetitions of the same tone usually 

 shade downward, and the transition from one tone to another is fre- 

 quently glissando. By a strange contrast it is found that accidentals, 

 when present, are usually given clearly and correctly. With very 

 few exceptions, the repetition of a song is begun on exactly the same 

 pitch as the first rendition. This frequently involves the ascent of a 

 twelfth and is often made more didicult by the fact that the song 

 ends on a tone below the natural range of the singer's voice. Thus 

 the song as a whole preserves its tonality and repetitions are accu- 

 rately begun, although the individual tones of the song may be uncer- 

 tain in intonation. This suggests the possibility that these variations 

 in intonation may be an attempt at ornamentation. The melodic 

 material is extremely limited and this wavering of the voice may 

 seem to add to the effectiveness of the song. 



A few points concerning the song as a whole deserve our attention. 

 The repetition of a song is usually continuous with the previous ren- 

 dition, although a half rest occasionally occurs between the rendi- 

 tions. The repetition of a song frequently opens with a new word 

 and the melody returns to the fifth or sixth measure of the original 

 rendition. Repetitions of a song by different singers are found to 

 be identical in all important respects. 



Unimportant phrases near the close of the song frequently vary in 

 number. They are usually reiterations of a word and the exact 

 number seems not essential. 



An Indian rarely hums a Mide' song before singing it into the 

 phonograph and the accuracy of his memory is shown by the fact 

 that the song in repetition is never changed in rhythm, the changes, 

 when they occur, being in unimportant note values or melodic pro- 

 gressions. 



In summarizing the preceding chapter we find the songs of the 

 Mlde' to be essentially a musical expression, the form of the words 

 being subordinate to the form of the melody. 



