Rhythm Beyond Measure: Computational and Ethnographic Approaches to Analysing Free-Rhythm Taksim Improvisation

Abstract

This dissertation explores the rhythmic dimension of taksim improvisation within the makam musical tradition, addressing analytical challenges posed by its free-rhythm characteristics. Despite the centrality of taksim to makam music, existing analytical tools have struggled to articulate its rhythmic nuances, largely due to its non-metric nature. Responding to this gap, the research introduces an innovative methodological framework that combines dialogues with musicians and computational analysis to investigate rhythm in taksim performances.

The research begins by integrating existing literature with insights gathered from conversations with contemporary musicians based in Greece who are experts in the makam tradition. These perspectives inform the construction of computational tools designed to quantify rhythmic structures that have previously resisted categorisation. The resulting methodology enables detailed empirical analysis and visual representation of parameters such as pulse variations and metricity within improvisations.

These tools are applied in the analysis of selected taksims by 20th Century oud masters Yorgos Bacanos, Kadri Şençalar and Cinucen Tanrıkorur, revealing their individual stylistic tendencies. This is followed by the analysis of taksims performed by contemporary oud players, highlighting how current performers creatively engage with, reinterpret, or diverge from traditional rhythmic styles.

Ultimately, the dissertation contributes to the field of computational ethnomusicology by providing analytical tools adaptable to other free-rhythm musical traditions. It offers quantifiable measures for discussing rhythmical tendencies in taksim, enabling more nuanced analysis than previously available. By challenging scalar-based theoretical models dominant in makam music theory, it proposes a phrase-oriented analytical framework more closely aligned with performance practice. This research thus bridges computational analysis, ethnographic engagement, and theoretical innovation, promoting wider understandings of rhythm in free-rhythm musical improvisation.