Research Draft 1 – Micheal Murray

Exploring composition through the abstraction and synthesis of folk music.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Music of the Aka and Baka tribes
3. Analysis of TBT
5. Abstraction of folk music concepts to the electro-acoustic ensemble
6. Conclusion
 Introduction

The abstraction of melodic and rhythmic elements in Aka, Baka and Irish Folk
music to electroacoustic improvisation based music.

The main focus of this paper is to analyse and understand some of the rhythmic
and melodic elements of the Baka and Aka tribes, as well as the melodic components
of the Irish singing style of 'Sean-nós', and subsequently the abstraction and synthesis
of those ideas into different musical elements, and using these elements as the basis
for composition. I chose the music of the Baka and Aka Pygmy tribes as I was struck
by the unique polyphonic components of the music, in particular the way in which
different music elements are layered on top of one an another, and Irish Sean-nós
music for it's melodies, ornamentations and song structure.
The main outcome of the study of these musical elements in the context of this
paper is their abstraction and synthesis into different musical roles within the
composition, away from the original nature of their source. For this I decided to write
music based on these elements for an electro-acoustic ensemble of flute,voice,
saxophone, bass, drums and synthesisers, which are designed in Pure Data, a visual
synthesiser building program, first released in the 1990's by Miller Puckette. The use
of computer synthesiser's have been used since their invention to help in the
manifestation of complex computations, and provide a lot of flexibility in their ability
to abstract and process ideas, and subsequently have become an integral part of the
composition presented in this paper, and coupled with an acoustic ensemble, provide
a rich palette of sound based on the ideas analysed in this thesis.

I will analyse and discuss the following musical elements mentioned:

1. Polyphonic Melody
2. Polyrhythmic Cycles
3. Melodic Ornamentation
4. Melodic Intervals
5. Harmonic Structure
And through the study of these elements I hope to achieve these objectives:
1. Compositions based on these elements
2. A synthesis of electronics and acoustic instruments with these
elements as the basis
3. An understanding of composition through rhythmic and melodic
sources
4. An ability to expand musical ideas from the nature of their musical
source
 Music of the Aka and Baka Tribes

Before the analysis pf my own composition, I want to look at the music of the Aka and Baka
Tribes through three musical lenses:

1. The social context in which their music takes place1

2. The Melodic and Rhythmical Characteristics of their music

1 . Aside from the musical elements which is important to give a social and historical context to
this music, and the role it plays within their society, as well as the nature of the music itself in a
general way, and some of its key characteristics. There has been much on the study of this society
and the role that music and dance plays within it, and to cover everything is beyond the means of
this paper, but I felt it is important display some of the cultural significance of this music before
any form of analysis, especially given that the nature of this thesis is to extract and abstract the
information acquired from recordings and transcriptions, and also in the creation or synthesis of
new music or ideas it is important to have some form of understanding of where that music comes
from, as the social, religious and philosophical reasonings play a vital role in shaping the sound of
music itself, and to understand these reasons is also an important source of inspiration for the
composer.
 3.1 Social Context for the Baka and Aka Music

As I began studying the music of the Baka and the Aka tribes, I very quickly realised that coupled
with an understanding of the musical elements, an understanding of the culture of the music is also
paramount to begin in the steps to invest yourself in some form of understanding of how, in this
case music, functions within their lives and begins to dig deeper than a superficial element to the
music. There has been so much study into this way of life, music only a part of that, that here
presents only a partial view of the music and it's role in society, but in my opinion it is crucial to
mark this step in terms of a long-term understanding of the music and what it represents generally,
and also for the composer themselves.
The Baka and Aka Tribes are historically hunter-gatherer tribes, living semi-nomadically in the
rainforests of the Congo. Their music is central to their way of life, and used in many different
facets of their society, like hunting, and also in their religious practice.
“The Aka present an extreme example where religion is nearly exclusively expressed
through music and dance...” 2(Bahuchet 1995).
What is interesting to note within their culture, is that music is seen as an integral part of
that the whole community, it is not a profession and is something that anyone interested can
engage in, and is introduced at a young age.
“Children are never kept apart from any musical activities of elders.” 3(Furniss 2006)
Furniss also continues about their practice of music and dance, saying that “all members of the
community have an equivalent status.” 4(Furniss 2006).
Within their spiritual and religious philosophy, there is a deep and serious tie to the forest
and the spirits that dwell within it, and that sound plays a crucial role with this. What they describe
as good sounds, (of which music and performance are very important) are integral to opening up
the forest and its resources necessary for their survival. Bad sounds (Motoko) are “the product of
discord, stress/ chaos...” 5(Lewis 2006), and cause the forest to close up, therefore affecting the
people's survival. This idea of good and bad sounds, and the literal deep and direct relationship
they have with the forest, furthers the idea that even when the music is more for entertainment, it
still has a deep spiritual connection and effect on the community, therefore showing that all of their
music is essentially religious and spiritual in some form, and furthers the idea of equal
participation within their group, as everyone contributes to the survival and well being of each
other. In a musical sense, it leaves us with an interesting insight into the music, in that every sound,
part and contribution is equally as important, and is therefore an important point of context for any
of the musical analysis that comes afterwards.
To summarise the characteristics of the music and its context within their society here are a
list of some of characteristics that I am keeping in mind and that are particularly useful especially
with regards to applying the analysis of the following pieces to my own compositions.
1. Music is nearly always tied into some form of performance, dance or spiritual
practice.
2. Music is communal, anyone who is interested is encouraged to participate,
and there is no hierarchical role created through music.
3. The music is characterised by a rich vocal polyphony, where the polyphony
is a key element to the spiritual success of the performance.
4. Each participant is free to vary their part as they wish, reflecting an
individual freedom, but also maintaining a focus on the collective.

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 The BaAka music is characterised by rich layers of interweaving polyrhythmic
vocals and rhythmical accompaniment. Because of the nature of their semi-nomadic lifestyle, many
instruments are improvised in there construction, and frequently you can hear the music comprised
drums, metal blades, woodblocks and hand clapping. Often you can also hear different improvised
string instruments also. The polyrhythmic cycles of the vocals are in themselves extremely
important and here I will refer to the work of Sima Arom and Susan Furniss, in helping to define the
layers and their roles within the music, through reference to this list, we can also use this as a basis
of understanding the rules and nature of the polyphony found in this music, and also use it as a
means for abstraction for ideas later on. (Furniss 2006)
“– the mòtángòlè, literally "the one who counts", which is generally sung by a
man. It is the principal voice that contains the essential words of the song and allows the
other singers to identify the piece without ambiguity;
– the ngúé wà lémbò, literally "the mother of the song", is a male part as well. It
is generally situated lower and has longer rhythmic values than the mòtángòlè. It is the
equivalent of a bass part;
– the òsêsê, literally "below" (which means inferior in hierarchy to the
mòtángòlè), is a female middle voice characterized by fairly little melodic and rhythmic
movement.
– the dìyèí, literally "yodel", is sung above all the other parts by women. It is
determined by the yodel technique...” (Furniss 2006)6
This list displays major characteristics of part of the Aka music relative to the vocals parts.
One thing I would like to note, is that this music is highly relevant in relation to the language and
words, and Furniss notes7 that the three latter parts here do not use words, just syllables, with the
other layer having the words. This is because due to the polyrhythmic nature, and the tonal nature of
the language itself, that in order to make it understandable and for the words not to be lost, only the
mòtángòlè uses words. In my study I am approaching it from an instrumental standpoint, but I feel
that this is a major characteristic of the music and one worth noting, not only for the culture
understanding but that even when transferred to a purely instrumental setting, we can even use this
as a reference for ideas within our instrumental setting.
One other reference from Furniss (2006) worth noting is the system of variation that is also
used within the cycles, and is another system that we can extract a lot of information from. Here is a
condensed description of each part.
“- kpókpó, literally "straight on", is the equivalent of the English word "pattern",
as a song realized "kpókpó" is the mere reproduction of the unvaried pattern.
- kété bányé, literally "take a shortcut" or "take a small path alongside of the
large way", is the variation of the melody around the pattern.
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 - kùká ngó dìkùké, literally "simply cut it", is a specific process of rhythmic
variation that transforms the cycle into a succession of several short segments
- Dìyèí (yodeling) is not only one of the constituent parts, but also a yodelled
variation technique that can be applied to any of the parts.” (Furniss 2006)8
It is worth noting that Furniss mentions a key point about these variations, being that “their specific
features are as immanent as the features of the parts and the terms are rarely used.”9 Meaning that
these variations are integral to bringing life to the the basic parts and subsequently integral to the
performance and therefore not seen with a layer of separation. These layers of variation are free for
the performers to switch at any point but also must always contribute to the whole of the polyphonic
performance, and again is a reflective element of the Egalitarian lifestyle, and a general sense of
community.
“in musical practice, every musician realizes his part in relation to what the others sing
around him..” (Bahuchet 1995)
Also worth mentioning, is that although as Furniss notes, these rules are not taught in any formal
structure and are not spoken about by the performers, they are in fact there, and the understanding
of them is important to us so we can understand further how the music reflects their society and way
of living and combines the means of individual freedom and expression while still focusing on the
group as a central point.

2.3 Rhythmic Layers through Liquindi Drumming.

Liquindi Drumming, also known as Water Drumming is a style performed by Baka women and
girls early in the morning before a hunt (Yelli), and is used to enchant the spirits of the forest in the
dawn hours. 10

The sound is produced by using trapped air in the hands to create percussive sound on the water and
produce different rhythmic tones.11 In the example below, we can hear three women performing this
drumming, each having their own distinct pattern and voice. We can see see through the
transcription12 that the drumming is categorised into three layers according to the space that they
generally occupy sonically.

The first layer is taking place in the surface of the water, and we can hear it as the highest toned
sound, in the example it provides the 8th note subdivision and is the most rhythmically dense layer,
providing the clearest base for us to hear a pulse. There are also many accents within this layer that
shape the sound and give it a very distinct pulse.
The second layer occupies a much lower place sonically, and provides a strong (base) to the sound,
and can be comparable to the sound of a bass drum on a standard drum kit.
The third layer in this example of Liquindi drumming is a middle layer with a more distinct and
clear melody in the tones. This has a much longer rhythmic pulses, and also has the most variations
in these examples. The main subdivision of this layer is a group of 5 (2+3) and 7 (2+5), with the
variations mainly occuring within the group of 7.

Below are 10 compositional examples that follow the following principles of the cycles.

1) We have three distinct layers of rhythm.

2) Each layer occupys a different area sonically

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 3) Each layer provides its own rhythmic melody independent from the others.

5 Abstraction of folk music elements into the electro-acoustic ensemble.

In the journey of this thesis, I have observed how the nature of the musical outcome shifted from
the beginning to the end from what I conceived of first when I began thinking about the ideas
behind this music. I was and still am always left with the question of how is one to integrate these
elements successfully, beyond the surface elements of the music, and to be able to form new sounds
and ideas based on the ideas extracted. This led me to the idea of abstraction of ideas, with
abstraction being a general idea rather than one relating to a particular object, person, or situation13.
In a musical context, I used this concept to extract different elements from the music analysed in
this paper, and began to try and understand how I could remove them from there original source and
function, and use these ideas as the basis for other musical elements such as form, texture, and
chordal voicings.

The idea of abstraction started to become clearer and more open in its possibility when I in parallel
but initially independently to this paper, started working in synthesis building with the program
Pure Data. As time has gone on, it continued and continues to open up musical possibility limited
only by knowledge, and I began to use it more and more as a generator of ideas, until it has become
a part in and of itself to the sound of the ensemble, morphing what I thought would once be a purely
acoustic group into more of an electro-acoustic ensemble, and something which I wish to continue
to integrate further into the ensemble sound and arrangement and compositional process.

One last note I would like to make to make is that I feel it is crucial to point out that with this
concept of abstraction, that one needs to spend a huge amount of time with all of these musics to
atleast begin to understand the culture and inner workings of the music on a deep level, and that in
the future I would like to continue further in the study of these musics, in order to deepen my
knowledge and widen my scope, and continue to generate and integrate new ideas sourced in these
rich musical cultures.

Firstly, in the analysis and explanation of some of the ideas I garnered from this study, I feel it is
important to outline part of my compositional method. As I mentioned before, a huge part of the
compositional and idea generating process, was using electronics, more specifically Pure Data. It is
worthwhile and an important insight I feel to understand how and why I chose to use this program,
and the lens in which I view it, which ultimately shapes the ways in which I generate the ideas also.
The main result that is coming from this thesis is the ability to abstract the information
garnered from the various transcriptions, excerpts and analysis in the previous chapters, and to be
able to funnel the ideas into more contemporary compositions and compositional methods. It is for
precisely this reason that I decided to explore much of this information through the use of electronic
music, and specifically using a program called Pure Data, created by Miller Puckette, first
appearing in 1996.
To give the clearest analogy of Pure Data, it takes on the role of a completely blank canvas
in which the user is able to mold sound from the fundamental soundwaves (such as the sine wave),
not unlike designing your own analog synthesisers, giving one an intimate look and understanding
into the construction of sound on both an intellectual and intuitive level. Using Pure Data allows us
to use the musical information we have analysed and then construct systems and ideas sonically that
can be processed in many different ways away from the source idea, but which enable us a potential
that is only limited by our imagination. Here I will list some of the advantages I have got from

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being able to Pure Data, and to give an overall insight into the pieces and examples that I have
presented.

1. The program has no preset sounds or patches, while this presents a learning curve,
ultimately if one can get passed that if gives the potential to create and explore sound from the point
of simplicity to complexity.
2. The user isn't limited to a set tonal scheme or tuning system, we are entirely free to
design a tuning system based on frequency, allowing for example to explore pieces based on tuning
from the harmonic series.
3. The user isn't limited to instruments in a conventional sense, we can use samples,
create sonic textures and effects.
4. In mentioning samples, it should be noted that one of my main goals in Pure Data
was to construct everything from scratch, and therefore it becomes both a conceptual and musical
tool for the user.
5. We are easily able to use time as a measurement and escape from the conventional
bar line systems, allowing use to explore having layers of sound moving at different rates but with a
consistency.
6. Using this program allows us to instantaneously hear the results of these
explorations, and not only that, but also change characteristics in realtime, in both subtle and major
ways, allowing for a vast range of exploration even within one idea.
7. Pure Data when used with external hardware, such as a Midi Control Pad, allows us
great flexibility in the way we navigate the pieces and parts, thus allowing for spontaneity and
individuality and variation in each rendition.
8. Aside from creating a set piece of music, Pure Data also allows us to create
Generative and Algorithmic music, something that always shifts and changes everytime in its
nature, independent of the creator. This element is useful and exciting to bring into a piece as it
allows a new level of interaction with the musician(s) performing, and removes this potential divide
between the technology and human performer(s).
9. Lastly, using a program of this nature changes the way in which we can process and
use these ideas, and aside from the impact on the electronic side of the music, it also effects the way
in which we play acoustically, and vice-versa.

ABSTRACTIONS

Now at this point I will refer to the methods and ideas that I used in the abstraction of the ideas.
This is only a small list of possibilities one could use of course, but for the purpose of this paper I
decided to select a small number and focus on integrating them into the piece. It is also worth
noting some of the inspirations in which I took the abstractions from, some of which we analysed
above.

Liquindi Drumming – Rhythmical Layers

The main source of abstractions in this piece came from the Liquindi Drumming analysed above.
Though a short clip, it provided a wealth of ideas that I based many of the sounds and musical
choice in D4 on.
 The idea of rhythmical layers was something that I thought a lot about upon analysing the
piece. In the analysis we see three distinct layers of rhythm, all serving separate functions for the
polyrhythmic whole, and through this I decided to explore having different independent layers of
time on top of each other. Through Pure Data, generally ms(milliseconds) as my unit of time, as
opposed to bpm, I was able to explore this idea. For example we can this here:

In this example we see how the main chordal progession moves round in a cycle that is
connected but independent to the drums, which provide the main subdivision. It moves round on
beats 1, 12 and 25 in a 32 beat cycle, and is also a 4 chord movement, which provides a further shift
in the rhythmical cycle and enlarges the cycle further, and the second chordal line moves round in a
time of every 8000 ms and is a 3 chord movement, further providing to mask the cycles and layers.
In an actual musical context, I also programmed in a way where not everything starts together as I
preferred that in a musical sense, but for the sake of clarity and example, if we start everything
together in example...., we can see how this becomes similair to the concept of the rhythmical layers
from the liquindi drumming, at a much slower pace and a larger cycle.

Within this larger cycle of rhythm however, we have the drums which occupy many layers
of rhythm by themselves, at a much faster rate, and therefore also providing smaller moving
rhythmical cycles within a much larger one.