tags: philippines music instrument kulintang culture ensemble ethnomusicology rhythmic-mode
Kulintang Rhythmic Modes
The rhythmic modes of [[kulintang]] (also referred to as genres or patterns) are basic rhythmic patterns that [[palabunibunyan]] players use to improvise phrases. Rather than learning written notation, kulintang players learn these rhythmic modes, which are performed as pieces.
These rhythmic modes are
- ways of viewing organization and repertoire
- musical units that bind together all five instruments in [[palabunibunyan]]
- distinguishable by the length of musical phrases and characteristic rhythmic/melodic flow
Each rhythmic mode has a basic pattern of popular formula that is recognizable to any performer.
Academia
The concept of rhythmic modes for kulintang music is partly a dominant academic framework for understanding kulintang music, headed by pioneer in [[philippines|Philippine]] ethnomusicology Jose Maceda.
- even [[maguindanao|Maguindanaon]] practitioners explain their kulintang pieces in "rhythmic modes"
Maceda also uses the concept of the [[nuclear-melody|nuclear melody]] to describe kulintang music.
Ethnomusicologist Kristina Benitez uses the concept of "modules", akin to musical "licks" in Western music, to describe kulintang music.
- recurring musical phrases, 2 or 4 beats in length
- integrative of rhythm and melody
- occupy slots in the musical sequence of a kulintang rendition
- options selected in actual performance
Modes
The following modes are outlined by Kristina Benitez in [[maguindanao|Maguindanaon]] terminologies (referred to in her studies as "genres"):
- [[duyug-sirong|duyug/sirong]]
- [[binalig]]
- sinulog
- tidtu
Each mode is identified primarily by
- the number of beats in the recurring musical phrases
- melodic and rhythmic groupings within the musical phrase
- rhythmic emphasis
Most kulintang pieces begin and end on kulintang gong 3 (or gong 5 in pieces with 2-beat musical phrases). There exist some distinctive features between modes, but they can also be a matter of personal style:
- opening formulas
- cadential patterns
Pieces in a new style ([[bagu]]) feature many innovations:
- gongs 1 and 2 used in cadential figuration leading to a final stroke on gong 2
- opening with gong 4
- moving immediately to gong 4 after a few initial strokes on gong 3
Examples
- [[binalig-a-mamayug|Binalig a Mamayug]]
- [[sinulog-a-bagu|Sinulog a Bagu]]