A bell pattern is a rhythmic pattern of striking a hand-held bell or other instrument of the idiophone family, to make it emit a sound at desired intervals. It is often a key patternNovotney, Eugene N. (1998: 165) Thesis: The 3:2 Relationship as the Foundation of Timelines in West African Musics, UnlockingClave.com. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois.Peñalosa, David (2012: 255) The Clave Matrix; Afro-Cuban Rhythm: Its Principles and African Origins. Redway, CA: Bembe Inc. . (also known as a guide pattern,Gerstin, Julian (2013) "Rhythmic Structures in the African Continuum" Analytical Approaches to World Music. phrasing referent,Agawu, Kofi (2003: 73) Representing African Music: Postcolonial Notes, Queries, Positions. New York: Routledge. timeline,Nketia, Kwabena (1961: 78) African Music in Ghana. Accra: Longmans. or asymmetrical timelineKubik, Gerhard (1999: 54) Africa and the Blues. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi. .), in most cases it is a metal bell, such as an agogô, gankoqui, or cowbell, or a hollowed piece of wood, or wooden claves. In band music, bell patterns are also played on the metal shell of the timbales, and drum kit cymbals.
Sub-Saharan African music
Gerhard Kubik notes that key patterns are not universally found in sub-Saharan Africa: "Their geographical distribution mainly covers those parts of Africa where I.A.4 (Kwa languages) and the 'western stream' of the I.A.5 (Benue–Congo languages), or 'Bantu' languages are spoken, with offshoots into the Lower Zambezi valley and the Nyasa/Ruvuma area in southeast Africa" [within the larger Niger–Congo-B group].Kubik, Gerhard (2010: 57). Theory of African Music v. 2. Chicago Press. Use of the patterns has since spread throughout the greater Niger–Congo language family. The use of iron bells (gongs) in sub-Saharan African music is linked to the early iron-making technology spread by the great Bantu migrations. The spread of the African bell patterns is probably similarly linked.
Kubik observes that "at the broadest level," the various key patterns "are all interrelated." Key patterns exist in their own right,A.M. Jones (1959: v. 1: 211). Cited by Kubik, Gerhard (2010: 60). Theory of African Music v. 2. Chicago Press. as well as in relation to the three inner reference levels of elementary pulsation, main reference beat, and primary cycle.Kubik, Gerhard (2010: 60). Kubik further states that key patterns represent the structural core of a musical piece, something like a condensed and extremely concentrated expression of the motional possibilities open to the participants (musicians and dancers).Gerhard Kubik cited by Agawu, Kofi (2006: 1-46). “Structural Analysis or Cultural Analysis? Comparing Perspectives on the ‘Standard Pattern’ of West African Rhythm” Journal of the American Musicological Society v. 59, n. 1.
Key patterns are generated through cross-rhythm.Novotney, Eugene D. (1998). Thesis: The 3:2 Relationship as the Foundation of Timelines in West African Musics, Web. UnlockingClave.com. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois. They typically consist of 12 or 16 pulses, and have a bipartite structure, which evenly divides the pattern into two rhythmically opposed cells of 6 or 8 pulses each.Kubik, Gerhard (2010: 62-63). Theory of African Music v. 2. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. The key pattern defines the musical period; the first cell is antecedent, and the second is consequent."The time span of the bell rhythm and its division into beats establish meter, a concept that implies a musical period" Locke, David "Improvisation in West African Musics" Music Educators Journal, Vol. 66, No. 5, (Jan., 1980), p. 125-133. Published by: MENC: The National Association for Music Education."We find that all its melodic design is constructed on a rhythmic pattern of two measures, as though both were only one, the first is antecedent, strong, and the second is consequent, weak" Grenet, Emilio, translated by R. Phillips (1939). Popular Cuban Music New York: Bourne Inc. The asymmetrical array of attack-points contradicts the metrical symmetry of the two cells.Peñalosa (2009: 65-67).
Standard pattern
The most commonly used key pattern in sub-Saharan Africa is the seven-stroke figure known in ethnomusicology as the standard pattern,Jones, A.M. (1959: 210-213) Studies in African Music. 1978 edition: .King, Anthony (1960). “The Employment of the Standard Pattern in Yoruba Music” American Music Society Journal.Novotney, Eugene D. (1998: 155). Thesis: , UnlockingClave.com. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois. or bembé. The standard pattern is expressed in both a triple-pulse ( or ) and a duple-pulse ( or ) structure.Peñalosa (2009: 55) Many North American percussionists refer to the triple-pulse form as the bell.Alan Dworsky and Betsy Sansby (2001). Hip Grooves for Hand Drums, p.77. . The standard pattern has strokes on: 1, 1a, 2& 2a, 3&, 4, 4a.
In : 1 & a 2 & a 3 & a 4 & a || X . X . X X . X . X . X || In : 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a || X . . X . . X X . . X . X . . X ||
The axatse (Ghanaian beaded gourd instrument) part which typically accompanies the 12-pulse standard pattern in Ewe music is verbalized as: "pa ti pa pa ti pa ti pa ti pa pa". The "pa"s sound the standard pattern by striking the gourd against the knee. The "ti"s sound pulses in between the bell strokes, by raising the gourd in an upward motion and striking it with the free hand. As is common with many African rhythms, the axatse part begins (first "pa") on the second stroke of the bell (1a), and the last "pa" coincides with 1. By ending at the beginning of the cycle, the axatse part contributes to the cyclic nature of the overall rhythm. See: standard bell with accompanying axatse part. Atsiagbekor.
bell patterns
There are many different triple-pulse bell patterns found in sub-Saharan Africa. These are but a small sample. Bell patterns 1 and 2 are considered by A. M. Jones to be the two simplified forms of the standard pattern.Jones, A.M. (1959: 212) Studies in African Music. 1978 edition: . Pattern 2 was the first African bell pattern to be transcribed.Curtis, Natalie (1920: 98). Songs and Tales from the Dark Continent. New York: Dover Press. Pattern 2 contains exactly the same pattern of attack-points as Pattern 1, but begins on a different stroke, has a different relationship to the main beats, and therefore, is a related, but different key pattern. Pattern 3 is another variant of the standard pattern, one which contains exactly the same pattern of attack-points as the standard pattern, but in a different relationship to the main beats. The geographical border of Pattern 3 seems to be the Niger River. Kubik states that east of the Niger, Pattern 3 is used "among the Igbo, and the large group of Benue-Congo speakers from eastern Nigeria through western Cameroon, down to southern Democratic Republic of the Congo, eastern Angola and northern Zambia."Kubik, Gerhard (2010: 82). Theory of African Music v. 2. Chicago Press. The pattern is also used in Cuba and Haiti. Pattern 4 is a bell pattern used by the Hausa people of Nigeria.Stone, Ruth M. (2005: 82). Music in West Africa; Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture. New York: Oxford University Press. It is also used in the Cuban-Congolese rhythm palo. The figure is sometimes referred to as a horizontal hemiola.Tenzer, Michael ed. (2006). Analytical Studies in World Music p. 102. Oxford University Press.
Three-beat cycle bell patterns
There is a category of bell patterns based on "slow" cycles of three cross-beats across four or eight main beats. Three-over-eight (3:8) is one of the most metrically contradictive, and extraordinarily dynamic cross-rhythms found in African music. Within the context of a single four-beat cycle (single measure or musical period), the cross-rhythmic ratio is 1.5:4. The three cross-beats, spanning 24 pulses, are represented as whole-notes below for visual emphasis.
The following 24-pulse bell pattern is used in the Ewe rhythm kadodo."Kadodo," Ritual Music of the Yeve, (Ladzekpo brothers). Makossa phonorecord 86011 (1982). The three single strokes are muted. The kadodo bell pattern is an embellishment of three "slow" cross-beats spanning two measures, or three-over-eight (3:8).
bell patterns
Pattern 1 ( standard pattern) is played on the head of a small Yoruba bata drum in Benin."Ogogo" Yoruba Drums from Benin, West Africa. Smithsonain CD 04294 (1980). Pattern 2 is used by the Yoruba and Igbo people of Nigeria.Hartigan, Royal (1995: 63). West African Rhythms for Drumset. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Publishing. Pattern 3 is the bell part in fufume (Ghana).Kofi, Francis (1997: 42). Traditional Dance Rhythms of Ghana v. 1. Everett, PA: Honey Rock. Pattern 4 is used by the Ewe people (Ghana) for the rhythm gahu.Locke, David (1998) Drum Gahu: An Introduction to African Rhythm Tempa, Arizona: Whitecliff Media Co. Patterns 3 and 5 are used in the Ghanaian rhythm Kpanlogo by the Ga people and Borborbor by the Ewe people .Hartigan (1995: 29). Patterns 2 and 3 are known in Cuba as rumba clave and son clave respectively.
Single-celled bell patterns Some bell patterns are single-celled and therefore, not key patterns.Peñalosa (2009: 55). A single-celled pattern cycles over two main beats, while a two-celled key pattern cycles over four main beats. The most basic single-celled pattern in duple-pulse structure consists of three strokes, known in Cuban music as tresillo.
Metric structure
Divisive rhythm versus additive rhythm Sub-Saharan African rhythm is divisive rhythm. However, perhaps because of their seemingly asymmetric structure, bell patterns are sometimes perceived in an additive rhythmic form. For example, Justin London describes the five-stroke version of the standard pattern as "2-2-3-2-3",London, Justin (2012). Hearing in Time, p.155. . while Godfried Toussaint describes the seven-stroke form as "2-2-1-2-2-2-1."Toussaint, Godfried (2005). Pattern Recognition and Data Mining, p.22. Sameer Singh, Maneesha Singh, Chid Apte, Petra Perner, eds. . The following example of the five-stroke standard pattern is represented within an additive structure: 2+2+3+2+3.Montfort, Matthew (1987). Ancient Traditions Future Possibilities: Rhythmic Training Through the Traditions of Africa, Bali and India, p.16-17. .
The bell pattern, and every aspect of the overall rhythm, is considered divisive within both cultural understanding, and by most contemporary music theoreticians. Novotney states: "The African rhythmic structure which generates the standard pattern is a divisive structure and not an additive one . . . the standard pattern represents a series of attack points, . . . not a series of durational values."Novotney (1998: 158). Kubik concurs: "Although on the level of structural analysis it cannot be denied that different 'distances' of strokes, combining two or three elementary pulses, are 'added up' within the cycle, performers do not think of time-line patterns as 'additive rhythms,' . . . 'Additive rhythms' are the analytic construction of the musicologist."Kubik, Gerhard (2010: 58). Theory of African Music v. 2. Chicago Press. Agawu states: "Additive rhythm . . . is a highly problematic concept for African music . . . it is not in sync with indigenous conceptions of musical structure. It arises as a kind of default grouping mechanism for those transcribers who either disregard the choreography or fail to accord it foundational status."Agawu (2003: 94).
Tresillo is often interpreted as an additive rhythm because of the irregular grouping of its strokes: 3+3+2. However, tresillo is generated through cross-rhythm: 8 pulses ÷ 3 = 2 cross-beats (consisting of three pulses each), with a remainder of a partial cross-beat (spanning two pulses). In other words, 8 ÷ 3 = 2, r2. Tresillo is a cross-rhythmic fragment. It contains the first three cross-beats of the four-over-three cross-rhythm.Peñalosa, David (2010). Rumba Quinto p. xxx. Redway, CA: Bembe Books.