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Predicting Rhythm Meaning in the land of GA-MA-LA In this article I repeatedly speak of runs of a rhythm. A "run of a rhythm" is a sequence that performs a hit in each adjacent subdivision of a rhythm once a starting hit is performed, which continues until a rest subdivision is encountered to end that run. Such hit sequences are said to "run" because the subdivisions of the rhythm within the run are visited at the maximum speed allowed by the rhythm's subdivision scheme. When the beat of a rhythm is subdivided into three equal parts, we use the syllable GA to represent hits of the rhythm that coincide with the beat, MA, to represent hits that occur at the start of the second subdivision of the beat, approximately one-third of the way through the beat after GA, and LA, to represent hits that occur at the start of the third subdivision of the beat, two-thirds of the beat after GA and one-third of the beat after MA. In this article, we intend to show how can one anticipate playing a single hit or a run of hits will feel, when the beat for your rhythm is subdivided by a multiple of three. Observations: 1. A single GA hit, falls precisely on the beat, and sounds very strong. Runs that ends with GA (e.g.. LA-GA, MA-LA-GA, GA-MA-LA-GA, LA-GA-MA-LA-GA, MA-LA-GA-MA-LA-GA, etc.) all feel as though a complete statement has been uttered. 2. Runs that end with LA or GA, all end leaving the listener with a feeling of incompleteness, as if the player should have more to say, since runs that end on these beat subdivisions end away from the beat. Example incomplete ideas ending with LA:LA MA-LA GA-MA-LA LA-GA-MA-LA MA-LA-GA-MA-LA GA-MA-LA-GA-MA-LA Example incomplete ideas ending with MA: MA GA-MA LA-GA-MA MA-LA-GA-MA GA-MA-LA-GA-MA LA-GA-MA-LA-GA-MA MA-LA-GA-MA-LA-GA-MA 3. A single LA hit produces a strong expectation that a GA hit will be played immediately after it (that LA-GA will be played). When that expectation is frustrated, the listener is left in a strong state of suspense. 4. Any run of hits that ends in LA, sets up a similar state of suspense and expectation. Playing a run that ends in LA, and then adding a GA to the end so that it ends in LA-GA, will demonstrate this sensation. 5. Once the feeling of the beat subdivided by 3 is activated in our minds, following a single LA with the MA in the next beat is very surprising and very exciting. It indicates that all of a sudden we are thinking of the rhythm as a series of TA-KE hits and that we strongly intend to visit only the TA hits in the series. The surprise is even stronger when GA-ti(ck)-LA is followed by a MA, because if we were thinking of the beat subdivided by 3, we would nearly automatically expect that idea to be completed by the playing of GA-ti(ck)-LA-GA. Playing MA tells us that the expected game is off, and that we intend to follow the TAs of the TA-KE series instead. 6. The tension of longer runs that end with GA-MA-LA can also be released, by dropping MA-LA from the end so that the run is shortened by two hits and now ends in GA. This is a somewhat surprising move. The stronger expectation is that the run would be lengthened by adding a single GA to the end (GA-MA-LA becomes GA-MA-LA-GA) 7. A single MA hit, like a single LA, also does not satisfy our urge to hear complete ideas in a rhythm performance, but does not set up as strong of a drive to hear a following GA. 8. When a run ends in GA-MA, our stronger expectation is that we would be most likely to relax the tension of such runs by dropping that MA from the end of the run, producing a run one hit shorter that ends on GA. Examples: GA-MA becomes GA LA-GA-MA becomes LA-GA MA-LA-GA-MA becomes MA-LA-GA GA-MA-LA-GA-MA becomes GA-MA-LA-GA 9. The tension of a run ending in GA-MA can also be released by adding LA-GA to the end of the run, a less expected, slightly more surprising, resolution of tension.
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Last update: Sunday, September 1, 2019 at 9:08 PM. |
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