songs that are not notated but transmitted through live performance are of particular interest for the psychological study of the stability of tempo across multiple performances. While experimental research points to highly accurate memory for the tempi of well-known recorded music, this study asks whether there is any evidence of absolute tempo in a performance tradition that does not draw on such reference recordings. Fifty-four field recordings of performances of one Aboriginal dance-song, Djanba 14, were analyzed. Results showed that over a span of 34 years, performance tempi deviated positively or negatively, on average, by 2%. Such small tempo variation is similar to JND thresholds to discriminate the tempi of isochronous sequences. Thirty-five field recordings of another song from the same repertory, Djanba 12, deviated in tempi by an average of 3%. We discuss the musical, psychological, physical, and cultural factors likely to shape such temporal stability.
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June 2011
Research Article|
June 01 2011
Absolute Tempo in Multiple Performances of Aboriginal Songs: Analyzing Recordings of Djanba 12 and Djanba 14
Freya Bailes;
University of Western Sydney, Penrith, Australia
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr. Freya Bailes, MARCS Auditory Laboratories, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith NSW 2751, Australia. e-mail: f.bailes@uws.edu.au
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Linda Barwick
Linda Barwick
University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
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Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr. Freya Bailes, MARCS Auditory Laboratories, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith NSW 2751, Australia. e-mail: f.bailes@uws.edu.au
Music Perception (2011) 28 (5): 473–490.
Article history
Received:
October 29 2008
Accepted:
January 14 2011
Citation
Freya Bailes, Linda Barwick; Absolute Tempo in Multiple Performances of Aboriginal Songs: Analyzing Recordings of Djanba 12 and Djanba 14. Music Perception 1 June 2011; 28 (5): 473–490. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2011.28.5.473
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