A Quantification of the Rhythmic Qualities of Salience and Kinesis

• Author(s): Lopes, Eduardo ; Gonçalves, André
• Date: 2013
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10174/9362
• Origin: Repositório Científico da Universidade de Évora
• Subject(s): Música; Musicologia; Análise; Ritmo; Software
• Document Type: Article
• Language: English
• Editor(s): Cavagnetto, Stefano

Description

From a cognitive point of view, it is easily perceived that some music rhythmic structures are able to create saliences (i.e. pulses perceived as louder). Depending where in a metrical grid these salient pulses are located, a sense of stability or instability will arise. When instability is present in a rhythmic structure one will tend to psychological feel kinesis (i.e. a sense of motion). Salience and kinesis can then be identified as basic rhythmic qualities. Inspired by the theoretical construct Just in Time - an empirical based music theoretical construct for the analysis of rhythm - we decided to quantify some of its analytical output; more specifically the measure of salience and kinesis of a rhythmic sequence. We then developed a web-based tool that calculates the amount of salience and kinesis for a particular rhythmic sequence. We conclude this article pointing how this tool can be used in analysis and music education as well as other possible applications, and future research.