Malawian pango music from the viewpoint of information theory
Wim van Zanten · African Music Journal of the International Library of African Music · 1983
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.