Inter-group entrainment in Afro-Brazilian Congado ritual

Abstract

This paper investigates the phenomenon of entrainment between independent groups of musicians in the context of Afro-Brazilian Congado performance. Based on audiovisual recordings made during a festival in May 2006, we present analyses of four different occasions during which two different groups play different music in close proximity to each other. The results indicate the occurrence of (a) entrainment in phase, (b) entrainment out of phase, and (c) no entrainment. These results are discussed in the particular ethnographic context, as well as with reference to existing literature on entrainment and interpersonal coordination.

Coupling factors, visual rhythms, and synchronization ratios

“…The study of Lucas et al (2011) also draws attention to the significance of visual rhythms in entrainment, which seems in line, as the authors remark, with other studies that "have pointed to the role of visual information in unintentional interpersonal coupling (Richardson, Marsh, & Schmidt, 2005;Richardson, Marsh, Isenhower, Goodman, & Schmidt, 2007;Schmidt & O'Brien, 1997)" (p. 77). However, a couple of experimental studies indicate that claims about the role of visual information in entrainment are not uncontested.…”

“…The Lucas et al (2011) paper also highlights the importance of a close collaboration of ethnographic and analytical approaches in entrainment research. The need for this collaboration arises from the fact that entrainment theory predefines neither the nature of the implemented oscillatory processes nor the nature of the interaction (coupling) between these processes -they have to be identified by the applying disciplines: what acts as coupling forces and the kind and degree of interactions is dependent on the specific systems in which the oscillatory processes are implemented.…”

“…I enjoyed reading this study on inter-group entrainment by Lucas, Clayton and Leante (2011), which is an interesting research report that advances studies in both empirical ethnomusicology and entrainment research in several ways. It provides an attractive new case to the much needed empirical studies on musical entrainment.…”

“…The inter-group entrainment study by Lucas et al (2011) is a stimulating demonstration of the status and scope of (performance) analytical studies in ethnomusicological research where socio-cultural factors often cannot be subjected to experimental manipulations without severe disruptions of the performance context. Clearly, as the study shows, analytical studies are not just 'preliminary' or 'pre-experimental', only performed to help formulating initial hypotheses; rather they are an important means -often the only available ones -to test hypotheses, interpretations, and assumptions in an ecologically valid manner that is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve in experimental studies in the lab.…”

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ABSTRACT: The inter-group entrainment study by Lucas, Clayton, and Leante (2011) is an interesting research report that advances studies in both empirical ethnomusicology and entrainment research in several ways, and provides an important addition to the much needed empirical case studies on musical entrainment. I submit that the authors' analysis of an instant of resistance to entrainment is a key demonstration of the complementarity of analytical and ethnographic approaches in entrainment research.

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