Answer to Question 1
Sioux Grass Dance has a steady beat, but does not have a regular meterthat is, the music is not based on continually recurring groups of beats with specific beats consistently emphasized more than other beats.
For example, compare CD 1:3 to CD 1:7, Folsom Prison Bluesa country western song, which can be counted in either a slow duple (two-beat) meter 1 2 1 2 . . . or a fast quadruple (four-beat) meter 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 . . . In each grouping of beats (called a measure and divided by vertical lines), the first beat, the downbeat, is automatically accented (stressed) more than the rest of the beats in each grouping. Folsom Prison Blues is obviously organized around a strong meter that is being reinforced by the drum (trap set). Tap along with Folsom Prison Blues to get a feel for the meter. In contrast the Sioux Grass Dance and other traditional Native-American musical examples are not normally organized around such meters.
Sioux Grass Dance has a fast tempo. Notice how the drum beat does not coincide exactly with the singing part.
Answer to Question 2
Two melodic phrasesA and Brepeat.
Grass Germination
The salt marsh grass Spartina anglica originated on the coast of England as a hybrid of European and
A zebra feeding on grass
But tortoises on lusher islands where grass is plentiful and the need to reach into trees not so fre
Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja), Tamil Nadu, India.
Sioux winter count.