Applying the concept of musical social entrainment in researching tambura practice in Serbia

Abstract

Entrainment in music refers to the interaction and synchronization of two or more rhythmic processes. The first part of this paper presents entrainment the­ory in ethnomusicology as a methodology for interdisciplinary research into musical, social, and cultural phenomena. The second part of the paper concerns the application of the concept of musical social entrainment in the example of tambura practice. Because tambura players display mutual entrainment through various behaviors during playing and social interaction, applying entrainment theory entails an analytical segmentation of the social and musical spheres in a specific musical performance.

Keywords

• entrainment in ethnomusicology
• musical social entrainment
• intra/inter-individual and intra/inter-group entrainment
• tambura practice
• tamburitza ensemble „the hearth of bačka”.