The Tinguian: Social, Religious, and Economic Life of a Philippine TribeCole, Fay-Cooper
Religion
The Tinguian: Social, Religious, and Economic Life of a Philippine Tribe
Cole, Fay-Cooper
Tinguian (Philippine people)
_Muted Tones_.--Sort of half-articulated tones, if I may use that
expression. Without more records of the same songs in which these are
shown, it is not possible to determine whether they are intended by
the singers as necessary parts of the records. Sign,--note with small
square head.
_Inhaled Tones_.--Tones produced well back in the throat while
sharply inhaling the breath rather than exhaling it, as practiced
almost universally by singers. Sign,--circle with dot in center.
_Pulsated Tones_.--Tones of more than one beat sung with a rythmic
stressing usually in accord with the time meter or some multiple
of that meter. Pulsation is rarely heard among modern musicians,
except in drilling ensemble singing. It is heard quite frequently in
the singing of our American Indians and in the songs of several other
primitive peoples. It occurs to some extent in nearly every one of the
Tinguian men's songs. It is found in but one of those sung by women.
Though pusation does serve to define the rhythm, I believe it is used
by primitive peoples mostly as a purely æsthetic touch. It is indicated
in the notation by the usual musical staccato sign thus, --.....
_Swelled Tones_.--Tones usually of from two to four beats which are
sung with increasing volume to the center, finishing with a decrescendo
to the end. The Swell is sometimes applied to tones of more than four
beats, but when so used, it looses some of its character. Swelled
tones must be given to single syllables only, and they are the most
effective when introduced several times in succession with but few, if
any, intervening tones. The sign which I have used is double diverging
lines followed by double converging lines placed under the note.
In 1905 it was my privilege to transcribe a number of native songs
from the singing of a group of Igorot. In these songs they made
frequent use of swelled tones.
_Downward Glissandos_.--An even sliding of the voice from the topmost
tone of a group to the lowest with no perceptible dwelling on any
intermediate tone and without in any manner defining any of the tones
lying between the extremes. Sign,--a straight line drawn obliquely
downward beneath the group.
_Upward Glissandos_.--An even sliding of the voice upward without
sounding any of the intermediate tones. Sign,--a straight line drawn
obliquely upward beneath the group.
_Notes in Group, Beats in Measure, or Measures in Period_.--Groups of
five seem to have no terrors for these people. In modern music it is
extremely unusual to find notes grouped in fives, or measures having
the rhythmic value of five beats, or periods made up of measures in
fives. A study of the tabulation shows that the Tinguian have a rather
natural bent for groupings in this number. It seems easy for them
to drop into that metric form. I consider this trait, evidenced in
their melodies, one of the marked characteristics of their music. [256]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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