LIETUVIŲ TRADICINIO DAINAVIMO DERMIŲ KITIMAS EKVITONIKOS IR DIATONIKOS SANTYKIO ASPEKTU

Musical scales in the Lithuanian vocal tradition and their transformations in the 20th century are discussed. Different ethno-musicological viewpoints of traditional music scales are reviewed. An alternative viewpoint of “loosely-knit” scales with intervals differing from tones and semitones is presented, in contrast to the paradigm of “Ancient Greek” diatonic modes, which is still prevalent in Lithuania. Non-diatonic scales with properties similar to equitonics (an equidistant scale) are found in some European folk musics, as well as in the Lithuanian vocal tradition (including old recordings). Thirty folk song recordings from different periods were explored. Acoustical measurements were performed and the scales were evaluated. The method of diatonic contrast was applied to quantify the equitonics/diatonics of the scales. Cluster analysis was applied to identify possible groups of the different scales. Research was carried out to find out the ratio of equitonics and diatonics in Lithuanian folk songs from different periods of the 20th century.KEY WORDS: diatonics, equitonics, ancient Greek modes, Lithuanian folk songs, acoustical analysis, diatonic contrast, cluster analysis