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BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



[BULL. 61 



units, each clear, and given with exactness in every rendition of the 

 song. It was further noted that, when two or more such units occur, 

 there is a resemblance among them. In many instances the note- 

 values of the first unit are reversed in the second, while in others 

 the second unit is what might be termed a "complementary" or 

 "answering" phrase. Thirty-three per cent of the songs do not 

 show a rhythmic unit, but in many of these the song itself is a rhyth- 

 mic whole. Instead of being composed of rhythmic units it is itself 

 a long phrase, with a rhythmic completeness which is satisfactory to 

 the ear. Sixty per cent of the songs contain one rhythmic unit, 

 and 7 per cent contain two, three, four, or five such units. The 

 rhythmic structure of these songs gives evidence of a primitive musi- 

 cal culture. (See fig. 17.) 



Tables 20 A, 21 A. — In these tables are shown the metric units of voice 

 and drum. The metric unit is determined by comparing the phono- 

 graph record with the 

 speed of a Maelzel 

 metronome (which 

 has been tested for 

 accuracy). The num- 

 bers at the left of the 

 analysis tables indi- 

 cate the number of 

 ' ' ticks " of the metro- 

 nome per minute. In 

 the rhythmic analysis 

 this corresponds to 

 the comparison of the 

 phonograph record with the piano in the melodic analysis. On 

 comparing Tables 20 A and 21 A it is seen that the speed of the drum is 

 sUghtly faster than that of the voice. Thus in the voice table, 37 

 per cent have a speed of 100 or more, while in the drum table, 57 per 

 cent have a speed of 100 or more. In each instance the note value 

 indicated in connection with the metronome speed is the same for 

 voice and drum. 



Table 22 A. — The data in Tables 20 A and 21 A suggest a discrepancy 

 between the tempo of voice and drum which is furtlier shown in this 

 table. Only 44 per cent of the songs have the same metric 

 unit of voice and drum. This does not signify that in every 

 instance there is one drumbeat to each quarter note of the melody, 

 if the metric unit be indicated as a quarter note. The metric 

 unit of the melody may be a quarter note, the speed being 90 

 (J =90), and the drum may be in rapid beats, two of which are 

 equivalent in time to 90. Thus the metric unit would be the same, 

 the drum being indicated as in eighth notes. In 56 per cent of these 



Songs con- 

 taining one 

 rhythmic 

 unit (60 per 

 cent) 



Fig. 17. Rhythmic unit. 



