ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 begins the musicological investigation of the garamut in Baluan, commencing with an explanation of the author’s notation system for it, including a legend. The chapter then proceeds through a sequence of topics that build a context for understanding the ensuing analysis, addressing the use of the garamut as a speech surrogate in Baluan and the playing techniques that the performer employs. Consideration is given to the organisation of the garamut ensemble, both in a physical sense (the formal performance formation) and in a musical-structural sense (the relationships and hierarchy between specific instruments and their structural roles), and to the musical material performed by the ensemble. Further consideration is given to the nature and style of composition, and to a system of theory that the author has developed in the course of analysis. The chapter identifies and names the structural templates under which the author classifies the repertoire pieces, and discusses the nature of the musical material performed, from single-count structures, through to longer passages which are characteristic of the music, and which recur with some frequency within the repertoire.
