On this site I will be regularly dwelling on the question ‘what does music do to you’ and ‘why is that’. This post and the next one provide preliminary answers.  I will return to these issues in due course.
We start simply. We leave out melody. What that leaves is rhythm, tempo and timbre. Each of these can be three simple or varied. Just fancy that you walk with a few people. Someone claps their hands every first beat of the beat, indicating the tempo. But what is the effect? Sure enough, your little group will be ‘in tune’ for a short time and walking will be easier. Even the most basic form of music encourages movement.
Combine stamping your foot on the ground and clapping your hand. That sounds different from just clapping on your hands. The difference is the timbre. Variation in timbre makes music more engaging.
We now look at samba band Segura from Maastricht. Pay attention to the rhythm, tempo and timbre.
What they do is to play short pieces in succession. The rhythm is hardly varied, the tempo fast, and occasionally speeds up, and the timbre is two-tonal. The little drums and the bass drums. No wonder samba bands are so popular. After a short time practicing, you can join in. The leader does the solos. People do move with the musicians, but you don’t stay to listen to them for long. It is possible that the repetition of themes has a transcendental effect on some people.
The next band is different cake. It is the world-famous Top secret from Basel in Swiss. The drummers practice themselves to death. Just listen to the difference with the former band and try to name it with the concepts of rhythm, tempo and timbre.
There are six notes (five differently tuned bass drums) and a group of high-pitched drums. With these, they produce widely varying rhythms, with constantly variating changes in tempo, do does the timbre too. At the same time, they make quite a show of it. The interplay is getting closer to perfection.
Only: it is overcomplicated. You keep watching and listening, but whether you will also stamp your feet or clap your hands? I didn’t.
Compare the impact of Top secret with that of Sanct Sebastiaan from Sanct Huibrechts Lille (Belgium), the percussion section of a traditional ‘schutterij’. They replaced the traditional repertoire with a modern one, using almost the same instruments as Top Secret, and producing a comparable timbre. When marching, tempo and rhythm changes are limited. The result is a show that is less complicated, but easier to follow, without any superfluous acrobatics. The video below shows their performance at the World Music Contest in the year 2023.
A preliminary conclusion: To start moving on music, the tempo should not vary too much, but not too slow; variation in rhythm and timbre will increase listeners’ engagement.
We now look at the fourth performance, a percussion group called “Slagerij van Kampen”.
It is somewhat like the drumming in the former performances. The difference is in the timbre. They have dozens of different drums, they perform an entire concert work where they allow maximum differences in timbre and occasionally in rhythm, but each of the parts of the concert work basically has its own tempo. While listening, you feel that your limbs want to join in. It is now no longer about walking ‘in tune’ but rather about dancing!
Variation of timbre can be increased by adding melody with the use of non-percussion instruments. We are listening to ‘Slagerij van Kampen’ again. In their show ‘Beats ‘n brass’ they have supplemented the line-up with brass players, organ and guitar. This huge change in timbre will further enhance listener engagement. The energetic drumming and musical themes reinforce each other. Therefore almost no band or orchestra lacks a rhythm section.
Given the importance of the interplay of melodic and percussive instruments, the question arises as to the contribution of the human voice. This is discussed in the next post.
Music: Listen, Look and Enjoy 