Musical rhythm, bodily
movement and the emergence
of metre
Martin Clayton
Entrainment III, Milton Keynes 9 December 2005
with thanks to Udo Will, Devin McAuley, Laura Leante and Nikki Moran
Context
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Justin London, Hearing in Time (2004): our
ability to follow musical metre is a specific
instance of our capacity to entrain
Ed Large, On synchronizing movements to
music (Human Movement Science 19, 2000):
“a model of meter perception is proposed in
which a musical stimulus provides input to a
pattern-forming dynamical system”
Outline of presentation
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Brief summary of analysis presented in the
paper ‘Observing entrainment’
Discussion points arising
Video-based analysis
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Temporal processes are manifested in bodily
movement as well as in sound waves
Video-based observational analysis can be used
to extract timing data from this movement
What does analysis of video data tell us about
the temporal organisation of performance?
This example: north Indian jor, said to possess
pulse but no metre
Veena Sahasrabuddhe – jor – Shree Rag
Observer plot – tanpura (string 1)
Periods – tanpura (string 1)
Periods of tanpura patterns
Period length (s)
4.0
3.0
VS
2.0
L
R
1.0
0.0
0
10
20
30
Time (s)
40
50
Tanpura patterns – average periods and
phase relationships
Ave Period (secs)
Singer (VS)
Tanpura L
Tanpura R
2.03
2.72
3.00
Singer vs Tanpura L
 no evidence of entrainment
Singer vs Tanpura R
 stable phase relationship
Tanpura R vs Tanpura L
 no evidence of entrainment
Tanpura patterns – entrainment
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Analysis of the phase relationships between
each pair of players suggests entrainment
between the singer and tanpura R: the
periods – of 2 sec and 3 sec respectively –
alternate in and out of phase
Tanpura L is not entrained to either of the
others, but does realign her phase at a
cadence
Observer plot – performers tapping
Periodicities – performers tapping
IOIs of beat markers
3.0
IOI (s)
2.5
2.0
VS
1.5
Harm.
1.0
0.5
0.0
0
10
20
30
Time (s)
40
50
Periodicities – performers tapping
IOIs of beat markers
3.0
IOI (s)
2.5
2.0
VS
1.5
Harm.
1.0
0.5
0.0
0
10
20
30
40
50
Time (s)
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The average periods of both singer’s and harmonium player’s beat
marking gestures are 1.35 sec in the middle portion and 0.67 sec at
the beginning and end
There is a consistent relationship between the phases of the two
sets of beat markers, indicating entrainment.
Relative phase of singer’s beat markers and
tanpura patterns
Singer’s beat vs Singer’s tanpura  stable phase relationship
Singer’s beat vs Tanpura R
 no evidence of entrainment
Singer’s beat vs Tanpura L
 no evidence of entrainment
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The relative phase plots suggest only self-entrainment between the
singer’s beat markers and her own tanpura playing, with periods in
a 1:3 ratio
Periodicities (sec) and their relationships
Beat
0.67
Beat
1.35
VS tanpura
2.03
Tanpura R
3.00
1:2
1:3
2:3
Conclusion: entrainment and rhythmic
structure
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Analysis of bodily movements in this jor extract
reveal the existence of a complex hierarchical time
organisation
This emergent temporal organisation seems to be
the result of unconscious entrainment processes
occurring both within and between performers
Coda: Can this temporal organisation be
heard?
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Tapping studies suggest that some expert listeners
can perceive the faster beat (as tapped by the
singer) even in the preceding (theoretically
unpulsed) section
However, others tap at different rates (in 3:2, 2:3
and 4:3 relationship to the above)…
… and others deny the existence of any beat at all
No evidence that the relationships between pulses –
other than that between fast and slow beat markers
– is either intentional or perceived by listeners
Discussion points
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What is the relationship between the organisation
described here and musical metre?
Does this study provide evidence that proto-metrical
behaviour can emerge spontaneously when
individuals engage in cooperative activities?
If so, what are the conditions under which this
organisation will emerge?