What does the absence of time line patterns in older forms of African American roots music tell us?
G.K: The absence of asymmetric timeline patterns such as [SINGS “kon, kon, kolo, kon kolo”] etc. and some of the older forms of African American music in the United States, notably the blues, can be interpreted in various ways. But we should not forget that in New Orleans timeline patterns weren’t not completely absent. There are three hypotheses to explain their absence in the blues. One is that most of the African traits converging in the creation of the blues ultimately came from the savanna and the sahel zones of West Africa, where timeline patterns are not prominent. Another is that living conditions on the farms in the Delta South tended to discourage Guinea coast traditions in which drums and timeline patterns are prominent. So the carriers of other styles took over. A third hypothesis is based on the fact that blues guitarists started off imitating ballads and other music of the master with simply divided rhythms. When field holler tonality was introduced, it did not require a
