Arthur Morris Jones (1889–1980), was a
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
and
musicologist who worked in
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
during the early 20th century. He was stationed at
St Mark's School in
Mapanza, a community in the Southern Province of present-day Zambia (called Rhodesia at the time). He is best known for his
ethnomusicological
Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...
work, particularly his two-volume ''
Studies in African Music
''Studies in African Music'' is a 1959 book in two volumes by A.M. Jones. It is an in-depth analysis of the traditional music of the Ewe tribe.
Summary
The work is divided into two volumes, with the first volume being an analysis of the music ...
''. He made an important contribution to the literature with his work in African rhythmic structure.
In 1934 he introduced the technical term ''
cross-rhythm'': Formulae of movement, phrases or motifs are combined in that way, that their starting place, main accents and, or beat reference points "cross", that is, that they do not coincide.
[Gerhard Kubik, Zum Verstehen afrikanischer Musik, Reclam, 1988, (ger.)]
He is also remembered for his controversial theories on scales and the music of the
xylophone
The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in the ...
, which he claimed migrated from
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
to
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. One hundred of Jones' acetate field recordings are part of the
British Library Sound Archive (number C424).
Bibliography
* Jones, A.M. ''Africa and Indonesia: The Evidence of the Xylophone and Other Musical and Cultural Factors.'' Leiden: Brill, 1964.
* Jones, A.M. "African Hymnody in Christian Worship." Gwelo: Mambo Press, 1976.
* Jones, A.M. ''African Music''.
Rhodes-Livingstone Museum Occasional Papers; No. 2. Livingstone, Northern Rhodesia:
Rhodes-Livingstone Institute
The Rhodes-Livingstone Institute (RLI) was the first local anthropological research facility in Africa; it was founded in 1937 under the initial directorship of Godfrey Wilson. It is located a few miles outside Lusaka. Designed to allow for easie ...
, 1943.
* Jones, A.M. ''African Rhythm''. London:
International African Institute, 1954.
* Jones, A.M. ''Studies in African Music''. 2 vols. London: New York, 1978.
* Jones, A.M., and L. Kombe. ''The Icila Dance, Old Style. A Study in African Music and Dance of the Lala Tribe of Northern Rhodesia''. Roodepoort, South Africa: Published by Longmans, Green and Co. for African Music Society, 1952.
References
External links
British Library Sound Archive catalogueListen to Arthur Morris Jones recordings
1889 births
1980 deaths
Protestant missionaries in Zambia
British ethnomusicologists
People associated with the Rhodes-Livingstone Institute
English Protestant missionaries
20th-century British musicologists
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