DENS more] 



TETOlSr SIOUX MUSIC 



49 



Songs having' 

 a change of 

 time (84 per 

 cent) 



Fig. 15. Change of time (measure-lengths). 



Table 18 A. — This analysis concerns only the rhythm of the drum. 

 There were recorded without the accompaniment of the drum 234 

 songs; these were excluded in computing the percentages. In 56 

 per cent of the songs recorded with drum it is found that the beats 

 of the drum are not divided into groups by accented strokes, but 

 are an unaccented pulsation. The metric unit of the drumbeats 

 is indicated as an 

 eighth, quarter, or half 

 note, according to tlie 

 note value which con- 

 stitutes the metric unit 

 of tlie song. In 6 per 

 cent of the songs the 

 drumbeats are ac- 

 cented in groups of 

 two, and in more than 

 34 per cent the di-um 

 is in a triple division, 

 two parts of which are 

 marked by drumbeats and one by a rest. With a few exceptions the 

 unaccented drumbeat immediately precedes the accented beat. 

 In 3 per. cent of the songs the drimi is in quadruple division, the 

 accented stroke being preceded by a short unaccented stroke. (See 

 fig. 16.) 



Table 19A. — On examining these songs it was found that many 



contain a group of 

 tones which form a 

 distinct phrase, this 

 phrase being repeated 

 either consecutively or 

 at intervals through- 

 out the song. In order 

 to use this pecuharity 

 as a basis of classifica- 

 tion it became neces- 

 sary to formulate a defi- 

 nition. This phrase 

 {or motif) was accord- 

 ingly called a ''rhythmic imit," and defined as "a group of tones 

 of various lengths, usually comprising more than one count of a 

 measure, occurring at least twice in a song and having an evident 

 influence on the rhythm of the entire song." Having recognized 

 the rhythmic unit as an important part of the structure of these 

 songs, it was noted that many songs contained two or more of these 



Accented in 

 g r o u p s of 

 four (3 per 

 cent) 



Fig. 16. Rhythm of drum. 



