Abstracts - American Musicological Society

14 Thursday Morning: Session 1- 12
AMS/SEM/SMT New Orleans 2012
theme in intergenerational dialogue on the islands—as a useful lens for examining how contemporary soca in St. Kitts-Nevis
seeks to create a Kittitian-Nevisian sound that points toward an international -beyond intra-Caribbean—sensibility through
deliberate use of “wutlessness.”
Chromatopes of Noh
Michael Gardiner (University of Pittsburgh)
Although it is widely known that timbre serves an expressive means integral to the instrumental and vocal sounds of noh,
little research has been undertaken to reveal the impact of timbre designs upon conceptions of musical form with any amount
of precision. The following article presents an approach specifically from the vantage point of timbre with the aid of spectrographic
imaging software. Spectrographic images allow one to discuss in detail elements of the acoustic spectrum including
overtones, non-harmonic bands of noise, formants, and changes of intensity. I name these timbre designs “chromatopes”
(chroma meaning color, and topos referring to a spatial motif or path). The first half of the paper reveals a set of spectral connections
between the two drums, the ōtsuzumi and kotsuzumi, and the melodic elements of noh, the nohkan flute and the
voice. The second half of the paper considers the chromatopes that follow from three common introductory sections in noh
performances, a shidai, a nanori-bue, and an issei, and how these timbre designs interact with traditional conceptions of form.
Session 1-12 (SEM/SMT), 10:45–12:15
Analytical Studies of Indonesian Musics
Lisa Gold (University of California, Berkeley), Chair
In Search of Refinement: Manifestation of Alus in Genderan Pathetan in
Performances of Martopangrawit and Prajapangrawit
Maho Ishiguro (Wesleyan University)
After listening to a recording of a gendèr performance by a renowned Javanese musician, Sumarsam makes a comment that
left me wondering for the rest of the week: “pak X’s style is so alus, so refined.” What exactly is it that Sumarsam finds “so alus”
in this particular performance of gendèran? Alus is a Javanese word that is deeply rooted in its culture. The English term that
best expresses this all-encompassing word is refinement. In my studies on alusness in gendèran pathetan, the principal question
is such: is the manifestation of an alus quality possible solely through music? If so, what musical components make one’s
gendèran playing alus and why? If not, what are the associations which belong to the domain outside of music and which play
a role in the Javanese perception of affective properties of music? I analyze gendèran of pathetan pelog lima by Martopangrawit
and Prajapangrawit, two musicians from the court of Surakarta known for their distinctive musical styles. Based on discussions
with musicians of Javanese gamelan, I have constructed criteria for the analysis of musical styles. These criteria deal with
a musician’s choice in manner of playing notes. From the music analysis and interviews with informants it becomes evident
that what is perceived as alus in performances of gendèran is not limited to musical features. Through biographical information
about the two Solonese musicians, I examine the inseparable links between socially alus behaviors and the manifestation
of alusness in a musical context.
Ethnotheory Unravelled: An Analytical Approach to Understanding
Balinese “Rules” for Kendang Arja Improvisation
Leslie A. Tilley (University of British Columbia)
The paired drumming traditions of Bali are known for their intricate interlocking patterns. Drum-strokes on the higher
kendang lanang intertwine seamlessly with patterns of like strokes on the lower kendang wadon to create complex composite
patterns. Almost invariably, these patterns are exactingly composed. Yet, in the cyclic kendang playing of the Balinese dancedrama
Arja, both drummers improvise. How these simultaneously improvising drummers are able to weave their patterns
seemingly effortlessly around one another, often at very high speeds, is an analytical question that has only begun to be investigated
(e.g. Hood, 2002). Most Balinese Arja drummers claim adherence to several broad guiding principles that govern improvisation,
placing the two drums in various opposing roles: emphasizing on- vs. off-beats, for instance, or underscoring beat
structure vs. highlighting a larger cyclic framework. These indigenous “rules,” however, are general guidelines only; the reality
is never that simple, and drummers have considerable freedom within these regulating systems. The purpose of this paper,
therefore, is to elucidate further on these ethnotheoretical categories through musical analysis. Kendang Arja improvisation,
which is made up of small cyclic patterns, lends itself well to a close, microscopic study. Thus, drawing from variation analysis
and musical pattern classification techniques employed by Tenzer (2000), Arom (1991) and Toussaint (2005), I will analyse the