Half way: Appreciating the poetics of Northern Kimberley song

Abstract

In a series of discussions between 1999 and 2002 Scotty Martin—an expert composer of junta songs in the northern Kimberley—dictated the texts of his jadmi style songs to first Linda Barwick and then myself so that they could be accurately transcribed. In the course of these discussions, Martin identified five short sections of text that he described as ‘half way’. In each case, this ‘half way’ description refers to the fact that, when sung, the text differs from its spoken form. The question of differences between sung and spoken language has been the focus of much recent research on Australian Aboriginal song by musicologists and linguists, and a number of recent detailed studies have identified textual and rhythmic factors that guide the rhythmicization of texts. As well as deepening understanding of the technical processes of song text construction and performance, this line of inquiry has also enabled linguists and musicologists to turn more closely to the poetics and aesthetics that permeate the relationship between and delivery of text and rhythm in songs. In this article I investigate the relationship between rhythmic modes and text structures in Martin's jadmi repertory to determine whether correlations between these two elements may play a role in the ‘half way’ singing of words, and then consider other creative factors—musical and non-musical (ancestral and foundational)—that may also play a role, in relation to Martin's own explanations of how and why ‘halfway’ text occurs. I argue that an understanding of how text/rhythm correlations are combined and negotiated by the composer and an awareness of the broader creative foundations of jadmi songs and singing are core to appreciating what ‘halfway’ (in the context of sung versus spoken language) means, and that these also contribute to appreciating the poetics and aesthetics of the jadmi song tradition and northern Kimberley song more broadly.

Much of the data presented in this article is drawn from my doctoral research, supported by various grants from the University of Sydney and a Research Grant from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. I am grateful to the singers who taught me junba songs and how to sing, in particular skilful women singers Pansy Nulgit, Maisie Jodba, Mabel King (dec.), and Lucy Ward. I am also indebted to composer and singer Scotty Martin for his patience and generosity in sharing knowledge of his songs and encouraging me to continue to engage with them, as a singer and analyst. For discussions and feedback on the analysis of text and rhythm presented in this article, I also thank Linda Barwick, Allan Marett and Myfany Turpin.

Much of the data presented in this article is drawn from my doctoral research, supported by various grants from the University of Sydney and a Research Grant from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. I am grateful to the singers who taught me junba songs and how to sing, in particular skilful women singers Pansy Nulgit, Maisie Jodba, Mabel King (dec.), and Lucy Ward. I am also indebted to composer and singer Scotty Martin for his patience and generosity in sharing knowledge of his songs and encouraging me to continue to engage with them, as a singer and analyst. For discussions and feedback on the analysis of text and rhythm presented in this article, I also thank Linda Barwick, Allan Marett and Myfany Turpin.

Notes

Much of the data presented in this article is drawn from my doctoral research, supported by various grants from the University of Sydney and a Research Grant from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. I am grateful to the singers who taught me junba songs and how to sing, in particular skilful women singers Pansy Nulgit, Maisie Jodba, Mabel King (dec.), and Lucy Ward. I am also indebted to composer and singer Scotty Martin for his patience and generosity in sharing knowledge of his songs and encouraging me to continue to engage with them, as a singer and analyst. For discussions and feedback on the analysis of text and rhythm presented in this article, I also thank Linda Barwick, Allan Marett and Myfany Turpin.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sally Treloyn

Dr Sally Treloyn is a Research Fellow at Charles Darwin University and coordinates the National Recording Project for Indigenous Performance in Australia (www.aboriginalartists.com.au/NRP.htm). Her research interests lie in Applied Ethnomusicology, particularly investigating strategies to support oral transmission of song and knowledge, and Musical Analysis, investigating performance and compositional practices and their relationship to religious and cosmological beliefs. Her primary fieldwork has been carried out in the Kimberley region of northwest Australia, and she is currently collaborating with the Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation in the Pilbara to investigate endangered Ngarluma song traditions and methods to help sustain them into the future.