Mælefjøllvisa - toner i bevegelse : om intonasjon i vokal folkemusikk

Abstract

The article is based on a case study, where a recording from 1937 with the traditional performer Aslak Brekke from Vinje, Telemark (1901-1978), has been the subject of technical measurement and analysis. The study points out methodological problems by considering a melodic progression as a series of discrete categories that can be measured in order to confirm or establish theories about pitch and step relations. Instead, pitch as sung notes and intonations seems to be elements in motion, pitch is not something stable. The measurements, in addition to established theories from international literature on perception of sound, lead to the conclusion that the sound of old style singing, "old" tonality, may be something else or at least more than earlier described in the Norwegian debate. Motion and other genre-specific aspects of sound quality must also be taken into consideration.