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

In Survey 2004, people were asked whether the song they had just heard was light or heavy and, after choosing one, why it was light or heavy.

People had no problem distinguishing between heavy and light songs, as the answer ‘both’ was given in only 2% of the cases.

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

The first group of reasons (318 instances) given for why a 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) for why a 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 could also refer to the fact that all singers performed well and in good combination. If so, the respondents seem to infer from this that the song is easy, and therefore light.

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

A first group of reasons (130 instances) explaining why a 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 a song is not easy or easily understandable and “because the words (mashiwi) are large (not easy)”.

A very small third group (8) states that the song is heavy because it is too fast and therefore difficult, and thus heavy. A fast tempo is normally called ‘light’.

We see that for both answers, light and heavy, in half of the cases a relationship is made between weight and understandability and easiness, a connection to which the exegetes paid little attention to this relation in the 1980s.