Free Rhythm: Ethnomusicology and the Study of Music Without Metre

Clayton, Martin

Abstract

Like many other rhythmic terms, ‘free rhythm’ is widely enough used to be recognized as part of the vocabulary of musicology, without ever having been convincingly studied or even denned. In general, this term and its various synonyms refer to music without metrical organization. ‘Free rhythm’ is an important musical phenomenon which has been largely neglected by the field of ethnomusicology. This paper discusses the deeper theoretical and methodological problems underlying this neglect.

Citation

Clayton, M. (1996). Free Rhythm: Ethnomusicology and the Study of Music Without Metre. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 59(2), 323-332. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0041977x00031608

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 1996
• Deposit Date: Sep 29, 2010
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 6, 2011
• Journal: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
• Print ISSN: 0041-977X
• Electronic ISSN: 1474-0699
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 59
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 323-332
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0041977x00031608