Social solidarity

Folk Song Style and Culture • American Association for the Advancement of Science • Washington, D.C. • Published In • Pages: 170-203 •
By Lomax, Alan

Abstract

This chapter examines the relationship between social cohesion (measured using variables like subsistence type, stable work teams, and settlement patterns) and musical cohesion. All hypotheses are supported.

Samples

Sample Used Coded Data Comment
OtherLomax Cantometrics Sample
Ethnographic Atlas (EA)Also ethnographic reports and non-participant observation

Hypotheses (9)

HypothesisSupported
"Game producers, irrigationalists, and nomadic pastoralists seldom sing cohesively. Some incipient producers, collectors, and plow agriculturalists employ good blend some of the time. The gardeners …usually sing cohesively" (176).Supported
"A…strong relationship exists between the percentage of stable [work] teams found in a culture and the incidence of cohesive vocalizing per culture" (183).Supported
"Solo singing…and diffuse choral performance…are likely to be found in cultures where unstable [work] teams are the rule" (184-185).Supported
"Cohesive singing…occurs…more frequently…in stable societies and 'non-toppy' communities than elsewhere" (187).Supported
Stable settlements contribute to an ability to sing together cohesively (188).Supported
"Ayres found a significant relation between childhood training for compliance and cohesive singing and the contrastive correlation of assertiveness with individualized singing" (191).Supported
"Increasing complexity tends to normalize voice qualities…nasalized tone and narrow…tone…[have a strong] negative relationship to good vocal blend" (193).Supported
"Where feminine premarital sexual activity is severely restricted or sanctioned, narrowing and nasality, both signs of tension, become prominent….Relaxed vocalizing is relatively uncommon" (195-196).Supported
"Vocal tension (narrow, nasal vocalizing) is far higher in non-complementary societies, where men perform all or most of the main subsistence tasks" (200).Supported
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: Megan Farrer