Swing in early Funk and Jazz-Funk (1967-1971): Micro-rhythmic and Macro-structural investigations Guilherme S. Câmara A Thesis Presented to The Department of Musicology University of Oslo in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the MA Degree Spring 2016 Swing in early Funk and Jazz-Funk (1967-1971): Micro-rhythmic and Macro-structural investigations Guilherme S. Câmara © Guilherme S. Câmara 2016 Swing in early Funk and Jazz-Funk (1967-1971): Micro-rhythmic and Macro-structural investigations Guilherme S. Câmara http://www.duo.uio.no/ Trykk: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i Oslo Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................................. vii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................... viii 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Swingin’ Funk Grooves? .................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research questions ............................................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Theory and Methods ........................................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Historical Connections - Funk and Jazz ............................................................................................. 3 Funk before Funk – Funky Hard Bop/Soul-Jazz (1950’s -1960’s) ............................................ 4 Funk as a Rhythmic Approach ................................................................................................... 6 Funk and Jazz-Funk as Distinct Styles (1967 onwards) ............................................................. 8 1.5 Overview of Salient Funk Rhythm Characteristics ............................................................................ 9 Sixteenth-note density referent ................................................................................................. 10 Syncopation and Counter-rhythm ............................................................................................. 10 Swing ........................................................................................................................................ 11 1.6 Outline Summary of Thesis .............................................................................................................. 11 Part I: Microanalysis of Select Funk and Jazz-Funk Tracks (1967-1971) 2 Theory and Methods ................................................................................................................... 14 2.1 Research into Microrhythm: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations ................................ 14 Sound and reference structures ................................................................................................. 14 Empirical research into swing .................................................................................................. 16 Determining Metric Frame of Reference for Analysis ............................................................. 19 Perceptual Attack Time ............................................................................................................ 20 Swing Ratio - Just Noticeable Difference (‘JND’) Thresholds ................................................ 22 Asynchrony............................................................................................................................... 25 ‘Absolute’ vs. ‘Relative’ Swing Ratio ...................................................................................... 25 2.2 Material and Procedures ................................................................................................................... 28 Selection of Musical Excerpts .................................................................................................. 28 Selection of Instruments ........................................................................................................... 30 Software Tools.......................................................................................................................... 30 Tempo Determination ............................................................................................................... 30 IOI Measurement Accuracy...................................................................................................... 31 Swing Ratio Calculation ........................................................................................................... 31 Asynchrony Measurement ........................................................................................................ 32 Statistical Analyses (Consistency and Correlation) .................................................................. 32 3 Microrhythm in Funk and Jazz-Funk: Results ........................................................................... 33 v 3.1 Global Mean Swing Ratio ................................................................................................................ 33 Global Mean Swing Ratio vs. Tempo ...................................................................................... 34 Inter-Instrument Global Mean Swing Ratio ............................................................................. 39 3.2 Absolute Duration of Sixteenth-Pairs’ Second Note ........................................................................ 40 Absolute Duration of Sixteenth-Pairs’ Second Note vs. Tempo .............................................. 40 3.3 Global Mean Asynchrony ................................................................................................................. 43 Global Mean Asynchrony vs. Tempo ....................................................................................... 44 3.4 Local Mean Swing Ratio .................................................................................................................. 46 ‘Stable’ Local SR Patterns ........................................................................................................ 47 ‘Irregular’ Local SR Patterns .................................................................................................... 47 .......................................................................................................................................................... 49 Comparison of Local and Global Mean Swing Ratios for All Excerpts .................................. 49 Summary................................................................................................................................... 50 3.5 Discussion ........................................................................................................................................ 50 Global Mean Swing Ratio ........................................................................................................ 51 Global Mean Absolute Duration of Sixteenth-Pairs’ Second Note vs. Tempo ........................ 56 Global Mean Asynchrony ......................................................................................................... 56 Local Mean Swing Ratio .......................................................................................................... 57 Part II: Microrhythm and Macro-Structures 4 Interaction between Microtiming and Macro-Structures of Rhythm ......................................... 60 4.1 Strictly Swinging ‘Pairs’? ................................................................................................................. 60 4.2 Pickups and Syncopations – Anticipating the Heavy Beats ............................................................. 62 4.3 Anacrusis as ‘Motional Energy’ ....................................................................................................... 65 4.4 Anacrusis in Swing Pairs and Pickups ............................................................................................. 67 4.5 Anacrusis in Syncopations ............................................................................................................... 73 ‘Late’ Syncopations vs. ‘Early’ Virtual Downbeats ................................................................. 74 Syncopations as ‘Downbeats in Anticipation’ .......................................................................... 76 4.6 Counter-Rhythm (Systematic Syncopations) ................................................................................... 79 4.7 Summary .......................................................................................................................................... 87 5 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 88 5.1 Swing as one factor of a Fundamentally Ambiguous Funk Rhythm Aesthetic ................................ 88 5.2 Strengths and Limitations of the Present Study ................................................................................ 90 6 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 92 7 Appendix ...................................................................................................................................