The term Schwebungsdiaphonie (‘beat diaphony’) refers to two-part musical (usually vocal) styles with a lot of dissonant (beating) intervals such as seconds. In contrast to Western tonal music, the dissonant sonorities in Schwebungsdiaphonie lie at the core of their tonal structures. These musical cultures, although not abundant, are found in different locations all over the world (Cazden, 1945; Brandl, 1989; Messner, 1989; etc.). Sutartinės are a Lithuanian type of Schwebungsdiaphonie (Račiūnaitė-Vyčinienė, 2002; Ambrazevičius & Wiśniewska, 2009). Roughness is considered either synonymous with sensory dissonance or its main component. It is caused by fast beating (amplitude modulations). Schwebungsdiaphonie singers adjust interval sizes to maximize sensory dissonance (Brandl, 1989; referring to the diaphony in the Balkans and elsewhere; Ambrazevičius, 2008a, referring to Lithuanian Sutartinės). We aim to differentiate between roughness and sensory dissonance (as defined in psychoacoustic studies) and consider the case of Sutartinės in this context. A supplementary purpose is to discuss the phenomena of tonality perception in Sutartinės. The psychoacoustic studies were overviewed and discrepancies between the concepts of roughness and sensory dissonance were noted. The experimental findings on the intervals corresponding to the maximum values of roughness / sensory dissonance were collated and significant disparities were found. It seems that, at least for a substantial frequency range, maximum roughness is associated with larger interval sizes than maximum sensory dissonance. Comparing these results with the findings of acoustical measurements of Sutartinė performances suggests that the ideal vocal “clash” in Sutartinės involves maximum roughness, but not maximum sensory dissonance. The tonal hierarchies in Sutartinės diverge substantially from Krumhansl’s tonal hierarchy profiles, anchoring on a central nucleus and dissipating towards more peripheral pitches. Nevertheless, some associations with the tension-relaxation patterns characteristic of Western tonal music are apparent. Studies on sensory dissonance and roughness should define these notions more specifically and differentiate them. Findings may contribute to ethnomusicological courses on Sutartinės (and probably Schwebungsdiaphonie, in general).

Reikšminiai žodžiai: Sutartinės; Schwebungsdiaphonie; Roughness; Sensory dissonance, tonal hierarchies.; Tonal hierarchies