Terminology and Notation
There are quite a few Indian, Caribbean (mostly Spanish) and West African terms used in this study. I have chosen to use the spellings as I encountered them in other peoples’ works, even when two different spellings for the same or similar terms were used. I feel this better represents the actual practice as one will find it in the literature or in working with different teachers. These differences also remind us that many of the terms in their common usage are either not written, or are written in other scripts (e.g., Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit, etc.). I have included explanatory notes where appropriate and italicized all non-English words.
I have also chosen to denote numeric time cycles (metres) in italics, and other numeric designations in normal script. For example, ‘Beats one, two, and three of four,’ refer to specific temporal locations, or points of articulation, within the conceptual designation of four as the repetitive cycle. Normal, Arabic numbers are used on occasion, I hope their specific referents will be clear.
Most of the examples in music notation are rhythms on one or two lines. For tabla, the top line is for the smaller drum, the bottom line for the bass drum. ‘X’s represent dry, non-sustaining or closed sounds (also slaps on the jembe, or occasionally, just a second, distinct sound), while other note heads are for open tones, of various types, or for no particular sound. A fairly standard drum set notation is also used. The examples are not meant as repertoire specific instructional material but rather for conceptual support. Three legends are presented below.
