Unheard Sound: Inequality in Time Structuring in Sampé Music
Julia Chieng · 關渡音樂學刊 · 2011
The sampe is a stringed instrument from Borneo. In listening to a speed reduction playback of the recording of the piece Datun Jelut (Datun Julud) played on sampe by Tusau Padan, an unexpected rhythmic feature of the music was perceived. Ironically, this feature was not noticed previously in the normal speed playback. Further study was then carried out through interviews, transcriptions, and analyses of frequency spectrums. The findings on the characteristics of this sound appearance bring implications to the playing techniques, the musical culture of the sampe players, and the outcomes of this rhythmic feature.