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Innovations in Waiata Style

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 February 2019

Mervyn McLean
Mervyn McLean*
Affiliation:
Univ. of Aukland, New Zealand
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Extract

In an earlier paper (McLean 1961)—presented at the IFMC Vienna Conference in 1960—I emphasized what seemed to me to be an extreme conservatism associated with the transmission of traditional Maori singing—or waiata—style. I outlined some of the evidence for this, and indicated ways in which accuracy of transmission was attained in practice. As a sequel, I should like now to examine Maori concepts of accuracy more closely, and go on to consider anomalies presented by such phenomena as traditionally approved reworkings of waiata texts, the undoubted existence of melodic variants of particular songs, and an evident current trend towards accelerated change in waiata singing style itself.

Type
Articles
Information
Yearbook of the International Folk Music Council , Volume 9 , 1977 , pp. 27 - 37
Copyright
Copyright © 1978 By the International Folk Music Council 

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References

Publications Cited

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