The Word "Polytempo"

by John Greschak

Introduction

Many different words have been used as a name for the class of music for which two or more different tempi occur simultaneously. For example, words such as polytempo, multi-tempo and polytempic have been used for this purpose. This article describes various aspects of the word polytempo.

Spelling

The word polytempo is sometimes spelled with a hyphen as poly-tempo.

Derivation

Polytempo is a hybrid word. That is, it is composed of parts from different languages. It is formed from the prefix poly- which is derived from the Greek polys (many) and tempo which is derived from the Latin root tempus (time). Other related musical terms which are hybrids are:

• multiphonics (the sounding of more than one pitch at once on an instrument that normally sounds only one pitch at a time) = Latin multus (many) + Greek phone (voice) + ...


• polychord (a chord composed of two or more other chords) = Greek polys (many) + {Old French acorder (to agree), from Latin ad- (to, near, at) + cor, cord- (heart)}


• polytextuality (the simultaneous use of two or more texts in a vocal work) = Greek polys (many) + Latin past participle of texere (to weave, fabricate) + ...

Usage

The word polytempo has been used as an adjective or a noun.

As an adjective, it may mean "having two or more different tempi that occur simultaneously". For example, it has this function in the phrase "the polytempo writing of Ives" (p.134) in Emmanuel Ghent's (1967) article "Programmed Signals to Performers: A New Compositional Resource".

A grammatically unacceptable adjectival form that is sometimes used is polytempi, as in the phrase "polytempi music" (as opposed to "polytempo music"). This is unacceptable because in English, adjectival constructions have no plural form. For example, a multi-movement work and a polyester fiber are acceptable whereas a multi-movements work and a polyesters fiber are not. For more information, see the entry for plural in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition (2000).

Polytempo is occasionally used as a noun that means "the condition of having two or more different tempi that occur simultaneously". For example, it is used in this way in the title of James E. Saunders' (1996) dissertation "The Final Frontier: The Development of Polytempo in the Music of Conlon Nancarrow" and in the following phrase from the abstract for the same work: "The development of Conlon Nancarrow's use of polytempo...".

The following two plural forms of the noun polytempo have been used: polytempi and polytempos. Here, polytempi (or polytempos) may mean "two or more different tempi that occur simultaneously". For example, it is used in this way by Kyle Gann (1997) when he describes his rhythmic language as being "drawn from the polytempos and isorhythms of Conlon Nancarrow..." (see: http://www.monroestreet.com/60101/01notes.html).

Related Words

The following words have been used in place of polytempo by various authors for situations in which two or more different tempi occur simultaneously:

• multi-tempo: This term is used often in place of polytempo. For example it is used in the phrase "multi-tempo instrumental music" in the biography of Emmanuel Ghent that is available at http://www.asci.org/belllabs/ghent.html. Sometimes, it is spelled without a hyphen as multitempo. The plural forms multi-tempi and multi-tempos are also used.


The word multi-tempo is formed from Latin parts: multus (many) + tempus (time).

Note: The term multi-tempo is also used for cases where a sequence of tempo changes occurs during the course of a work (e.g. in phrases such as "multi-tempo suite" or "multi-tempo song").


• polytempic: The composer Kenneth Jönsson (also Jonsson) uses this term in place of polytempo. For example, he describes his piece Good Mourning as "a polytempic piece" (see: http://www.kenneth.nu/). Outside of the writings of this composer, the term is rarely used.


• polychronic: This term was coined by anthropologist Edward T. Hall. In the book The Silent Language (1959), Hall notes that in some cultures it is the norm that individuals attend to different events simultaneously, while in other cultures events are handled sequentially. Here, he uses the words monochronic and monochronism for the idea of doing one thing at a time (p.177-8). In later works, he has used the word polychronic to describe cultures where different events are handled simultaneously. For example, in his book The Hidden Dimension (1969), there is a section titled "Monochronic and Polychronic Time" (p.173-4) where he discusses the ways in which city space is structured in monochronic and polychronic cultures. Later, in The Dance of Life: The Other Dimension of Time (1983), Hall discusses how time is "formulated, used, and patterned in different cultures". His describes his ideas regarding polychronic and monochronic time in Chapter 3 of this book.


Benjamin H. Davis (1999) has used the term polychronic to describe situations in which one attends to several events simultaneously, where each unfolds at a different speed. The abstract of his article "Cultural Memory" begins with the following:

In many respects a "virtual world" is a time machine. Not in some science fiction context, but rather as a kind of content-clock that is inhabitable. These worlds are both monochronic and polychronic, that is, they allow the participant to interact with information in motion and that motion can be a single "clockwise" monochronic direction, or multiple layers of information moving at different speeds - polychronic - as the user calls on them.

The word polychronic is formed from Greek parts: polys (many) + khronos (time) + -ikos (of, relating to, or characterized by).


• polytemporal: This term is sometimes used as an adjective in place of polytempo. For example it is used in the phrase "his polytemporal constructions, which involve articulating several pulses at once" in the biography of Denman Maroney that is available at http://www.oberlin.edu/con/bkstage/200103/maroney.html.


Note: The term polytemporal is also used in philosophy where it means "of, or relating to more than one point or interval in time at once". For example, Raymond D. Boisvert uses this term in the title of his article "Philosophy: Postmodern or Polytemporal" and in his book John Dewey: Rethinking Our Time where he describes the philosopher Dewey as "neither ‘Modern’ nor ‘Postmodern’", but "rather, in the term introduced by Bruno Latour, ‘polytemporal’ in attitude" (p.5).

Non-English Spelling

In Italian, poly is spelled poli and the plural of tempo is tempi. In Spanish, poly is spelled poli or polí depending upon the case. For example, polygon is spelled polígono with an accented 'i' to indicate that the syllable that contains 'i' is to be stressed, while polyhedron is spelled poliedro. Also, in Spanish, the plural form of tempo is tempos. Thus, the following spellings are possible: politempo (singular in Spanish and Italian), politempi (plural in Italian) and politempos (plural in Spanish).

Coda

In the collection of articles given here under the title Polytempo Music Articles, the word polytempo is used as an adjective that means "having two or more different tempi that occur simultaneously". And, the word multi-tempo is used as an adjective that means "having two or more different tempi in succession". This is analogous to the distinction that is usually made between the terms polymetric and multimetric. Polymetric usually means "having two or more different meters that occur simultaneously" whereas multimetric means "having two or more different meters in succession".

References

Boisvert, Raymond D. 1998. John Dewey: Rethinking Our Time. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Boisvert, Raymond D. 2000. “Philosophy: Postmodern or Polytemporal?” International Philosophical Quarterly, 40(3): 313-26.

Davis, Benjamin H. 1999. “Cultural Memory.” The Society for Computer Simulation International Virtual Worlds and Simulations Conference, San Francisco, January 17-20. Available: http://www.mit.edu:8001/people/davis/CultMemory.html.

Gann, Kyle 1997. Liner Notes for Ten Years of Essential Music. Monroe Street Music, MSM 60101.

Ghent, Emmanuel 1967. “Programmed Signals to Performers: A New Compositional Resource.” Perspectives of New Music 6(1): 96-106. Reprinted in Boretz, Benjamin and Edward T. Cone (Eds.) 1976. Perspectives on Notation and Performance. New York: Norton.

Ghent, Emmanuel. Biography. Available: http://www.asci.org/belllabs/ghent.html.

Hall, Edward T. 1959. The Silent Language. Garden City: Doubleday.

Hall, Edward T. 1969. The Hidden Dimension. Garden City: Doubleday.

Hall, Edward T. 1983. The Dance of Life: The Other Dimension of Time. Garden City: Doubleday.

Jönsson, Kenneth 1993-5. Good Mourning. Available: http://www.kenneth.nu/.

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.

Randel, Don Michael (Ed.) 1986. The New Harvard Dictionary of Music. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. (Entries: multimetric, polychord, polymeter, polytextuality).

Sadie, Stanley (Ed.) 1988. The Norton/Grove Concise Encyclopedia of Music. New York: Norton. (Entry: multiphonics).

Saunders, James E. 1996. “The Final Frontier: The Development of Polytempo in the Music of Conlon Nancarrow.” Masters dissertation, Royal Northern College of Music.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. (2000).

Update History

July 1, 2001: Completed the first version of this page.

July 11, 2001: Added the related word polytemporal.

August 3, 2001: Added details regarding Edward T. Hall's use of the word polychronic.