Malawian pango music from the viewpoint of information theory
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21504/amj.v6i3.1169Abstract
Music played on a Malawian pango, a board zither, will be analysed by using concepts of probability theory and information theory. I have tried to make my analysis comprehensible to non-mathematicians. It is, however, impossible to translate all mathematical concepts into a few words which convey the same accuracy. So I had to compromise. The Conclusion of this article gives the main results of my analysis without using mathematical formulae. The music is played at a constant speed of about 6 pulses per second. The data for my analysis consists of the chords and sung melody notes which sound at each pulse.References
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Cox, D.R. and Miller, H.D. The theory of stochastic processes, reprint 1972, London: Chapman and Hall, 1965.
Davidson, Marjory "Some music for the Lala Kankobele" African Music, 4, 4, 103-113, 1970.
Khinchin, A.I. Mathematical foundations of infornmation theory New York: Dover Publ., 1957.
Nurse, G.T. "Cewa concepts of musical instruments" African Music. 4, 4, 32-36, 1970.
Shannon, Claude E. and Weaver, Warren The mathematical theory of communication, paperback edition 1972, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1949.
Tracey, Andrew "The matepe mbira music of Rhodesia" African Music, 4, 4, 37-61, 1970.
"The nyanga panpipe dance" African Music, 5, 1, 73-89, 1971.
Zanten, Wim van Markov ketens, enkele toepassingen in antropologie en sociologie (Markov chains, some applica- tions in anthropology and sociology). Publication no. 10, Institute for Cultural Anthropology and Non-Western Sociology, University of Leiden, 1975.
Cox, D.R. and Miller, H.D. The theory of stochastic processes, reprint 1972, London: Chapman and Hall, 1965.
Davidson, Marjory "Some music for the Lala Kankobele" African Music, 4, 4, 103-113, 1970.
Khinchin, A.I. Mathematical foundations of infornmation theory New York: Dover Publ., 1957.
Nurse, G.T. "Cewa concepts of musical instruments" African Music. 4, 4, 32-36, 1970.
Shannon, Claude E. and Weaver, Warren The mathematical theory of communication, paperback edition 1972, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1949.
Tracey, Andrew "The matepe mbira music of Rhodesia" African Music, 4, 4, 37-61, 1970.
"The nyanga panpipe dance" African Music, 5, 1, 73-89, 1971.
Zanten, Wim van Markov ketens, enkele toepassingen in antropologie en sociologie (Markov chains, some applica- tions in anthropology and sociology). Publication no. 10, Institute for Cultural Anthropology and Non-Western Sociology, University of Leiden, 1975.
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1983-07-12
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“Malawian Pango Music from the Viewpoint of Information Theory”. 1983. African Music : Journal of the International Library of African Music 6 (3): 90-106. https://doi.org/10.21504/amj.v6i3.1169.
