Elaboration M: The general public on the lightness and heaviness of songs

In Survey 2004, people are asked whether the song they had just heard was light or heavy and, after one of the two is chosen, why it was light or heavy.

People have no problem distinguishing heavy and light songs, as the answer is ‘both’ in only 2% of the cases.

The 932 answers by the ‘general public’ shed some new light on the use of light and heavy for music. In half of the cases, a relation is made between weight and understandability and easiness.

The first group of reasons (318 times) given for why the song is light is formulated in two ways: ‘because it was understandable (mashiwi yanono: small words)’, and ‘because it was easy’ or ‘because I can sing it’.

The second group of reasons (311) as to why the song is light is also formulated in two ways: ‘because all voices/pitches/tone groups/words are heard’ and ‘because of the good combination of voices/pitches/tone groups/words’. The word mashiwi (singular ishiwi) used in these answers means voices, pitches, tone groups and/or words, a broad palette of meanings. Both answers seem to refer to understandability and nyimbo shatatu in the sense that all tone groups are clearly present. The two answers can also refer to the fact that all singers sang well and in good combination. If so, the respondents seem to infer from that that the song is easy, and so: light.

A last and less frequently given reason (42) for lightness is high voices or high pitch.

A first group of reasons (130) explaining why the song is heavy was formulated in two ways: “because the voice (ishiwi) is low” and “because the performers take their time”.

A second group (123) refers to the fact that the song is not easy or easily understandable and “because the words (mashiwi) are large (not easy)”.

And a very small third group (8) states that the song is heavy because of being too fast and therefore difficult and therefore heavy. A fast tempo normally is called ‘light’.

We see that for both answers, light and heavy, in half of the cases a relation is made between weight and understandability and easiness where the exegetes did not pay much attention to this relation in the 1980s.