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DOI :10.26650/CONS2023-1245746   IUP :10.26650/CONS2023-1245746    Full Text (PDF)

Microtiming Analysis of Two Dance-Songs from the Pirin-Macedonia Region of Bulgaria

Nathan Bernackı

The non-isochronous meters of the Balkan Peninsula are traditionally described in ethnomusicological literature through notation indicating a 2:3 beat ratio underlain by a series of isochronous subdivisions. Within the Balkans, this theory of meter can be traced back to early twentieth century Bulgarian musicology and possibly even before, yet has not been revised or amended until relatively recently. However, recent microtiming studies nuance representations of meter that surpass the capacities of traditional Western notation through IOI (interonset interval) analysis. Through an IOI analysis of two dance-songs from villages in the Pirin-Macedonia region of Bulgaria, I show that the presumptive fixed proportions of the 3-beat ‘long-short-short’ meter (7/8, 3+2+2 in musicological terminology) of both songs do not align with and cannot be described by a 2:3 beat ratio. These quantitative findings are then contextualized in the metric perspectives of both conservatory-trained musicians and village musicians in order to assess possible epistemological obfuscation, and theorize potential revisions to theories of Balkan non-isochronous meters.

Keywords: Dance, meter, analysis

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APA

Bernackı, N. (2023). Microtiming Analysis of Two Dance-Songs from the Pirin-Macedonia Region of Bulgaria. Conservatorium, 10(1), 76-86. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONS2023-1245746


AMA

Bernackı N. Microtiming Analysis of Two Dance-Songs from the Pirin-Macedonia Region of Bulgaria. Conservatorium. 2023;10(1):76-86. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONS2023-1245746


ABNT

Bernackı, N. Microtiming Analysis of Two Dance-Songs from the Pirin-Macedonia Region of Bulgaria. Conservatorium, [Publisher Location], v. 10, n. 1, p. 76-86, 2023.


Chicago: Author-Date Style

Bernackı, Nathan,. 2023. “Microtiming Analysis of Two Dance-Songs from the Pirin-Macedonia Region of Bulgaria.” Conservatorium 10, no. 1: 76-86. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONS2023-1245746


Chicago: Humanities Style

Bernackı, Nathan,. “Microtiming Analysis of Two Dance-Songs from the Pirin-Macedonia Region of Bulgaria.” Conservatorium 10, no. 1 (May. 2024): 76-86. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONS2023-1245746


Harvard: Australian Style

Bernackı, N 2023, 'Microtiming Analysis of Two Dance-Songs from the Pirin-Macedonia Region of Bulgaria', Conservatorium, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 76-86, viewed 20 May. 2024, https://doi.org/10.26650/CONS2023-1245746


Harvard: Author-Date Style

Bernackı, N. (2023) ‘Microtiming Analysis of Two Dance-Songs from the Pirin-Macedonia Region of Bulgaria’, Conservatorium, 10(1), pp. 76-86. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONS2023-1245746 (20 May. 2024).


MLA

Bernackı, Nathan,. “Microtiming Analysis of Two Dance-Songs from the Pirin-Macedonia Region of Bulgaria.” Conservatorium, vol. 10, no. 1, 2023, pp. 76-86. [Database Container], https://doi.org/10.26650/CONS2023-1245746


Vancouver

Bernackı N. Microtiming Analysis of Two Dance-Songs from the Pirin-Macedonia Region of Bulgaria. Conservatorium [Internet]. 20 May. 2024 [cited 20 May. 2024];10(1):76-86. Available from: https://doi.org/10.26650/CONS2023-1245746 doi: 10.26650/CONS2023-1245746


ISNAD

Bernackı, Nathan. “Microtiming Analysis of Two Dance-Songs from the Pirin-Macedonia Region of Bulgaria”. Conservatorium 10/1 (May. 2024): 76-86. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONS2023-1245746



TIMELINE


Submitted01.02.2023
Accepted07.04.2023
Published Online30.11.2023

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