Cart
Free Shipping in the UK
Proud to be B-Corp

Flow Mitchell Ohriner (Assistant Professor of Music Theory, Assistant Professor of Music Theory, University of Denver)

Flow By Mitchell Ohriner (Assistant Professor of Music Theory, Assistant Professor of Music Theory, University of Denver)

Summary

Flow theorizes the rhythm of the rapping voice at the intersection of music, speech, and poetry. Author Mitchell Ohriner addresses pressing questions in theories of musical rhythm and meter through a combination of computational music analysis and humanistic close reading.

Flow Summary

Flow: The Rhythmic Voice in Rap Music by Mitchell Ohriner (Assistant Professor of Music Theory, Assistant Professor of Music Theory, University of Denver)

From its dynamic start at dance parties in the South Bronx in the late 1970s, hip hop and rap music have exploded into a dominant style of popular music in the United States and a force for activism and expression all over the world. So, too, has scholarship on hip hop and rap music grown. Yet much of this scholarship, employing methods drawn from sociology and literature, leaves unaddressed the expressive musical choices made by hip hop artists. Fundamental among these choices is the rhythm of the rapping voice, termed "flow." Flow presents unique theoretical and analytical challenges. It is rhythmic in the same way other music is rhythmic, but also in the way speech and poetry are rhythmic. For the first time, Mitchell Ohriner's Flow: The Rhythmic Voice in Rap Music reconciles approaches to key concepts of rhythm, such as meter, periodicity, patterning, and accent, treated independently across other branches of scholarship. Ohriner theorizes flow by weaving between the methods of computational music analysis and humanistic close reading. Through the analysis of large collections of verses and individual tracks, the book addresses theories of rhythm, meter, and groove in the unique ecology of rap music. In a series of case studies in the second half, the work of Eminem clarifies how flow can relate to text, the work of Black Thought of The Roots clarifies how flow can relate to other instrumental streams, and the work of Talib Kweli clarifies how flow can relate to rap's persistent meter. While Ohriner focuses on rap music throughout the book, the methods he introduces will be useful for other musical genres that feature the voice freely interacting with a more rigid metric framework.

Flow Reviews

a fine and very important book. Despite the book's density, the model presented offers substantial and illuminating findings that will aid the understanding of flow. Aspects of Ohriner's model will certainly benefit scholars engaged with hip-hop performance, and it has real potential to augment studies of rhythm in poetic speech, such is the unique intersection between music and oratory contained within the art form ... The resultant tome provides much-needed analytical tools for an erstwhile unquantifiable phenomenon, formalising flow for future generations of scholars and students alike. * Alex de Lacey, Journal of the Society for Musicology in Ireland *

About Mitchell Ohriner (Assistant Professor of Music Theory, Assistant Professor of Music Theory, University of Denver)

Mitchell Ohriner has earned degrees in music composition and music theory from the Universities of Colorado and Indiana and taught music theory at Washington University in St. Louis, Shenandoah University in Winchester, VA, and the University of Denver. His work on rap music, rhythm, expressive timing, and computational music analysis appears in journals, conference proceedings, and edited volumes. He lives in Denver with his wife and two sons.

Additional information

NPB9780190670412
9780190670412
019067041X
Flow: The Rhythmic Voice in Rap Music by Mitchell Ohriner (Assistant Professor of Music Theory, Assistant Professor of Music Theory, University of Denver)
New
Hardback
Oxford University Press Inc
2019-10-24
288
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a new book - be the first to read this copy. With untouched pages and a perfect binding, your brand new copy is ready to be opened for the first time

Customer Reviews - Flow