Since Charles Keil (1987) argued that very small variations in timing, which he called
“participatory discrepancies,” were crucial for a sensation of groove, microrhythm has been
the subject of much scholarship in a variety of disciplines. Researchers have struggled to find
convincing empirical evidence for the aesthetic effects proposed by Keil. Today, however,
numerous studies show that timbre, center frequency, dynamic envelope, and duration
influence the perception of rhythmic “feel” at least as much as timing. Recently, Danielsen et
al. (2024, 180) suggested distinguishing between microtiming and microrhythm, using the
latter as a broader term that encompasses not just timing but also these additional aspects.
The range of disciplines, methods, and objects of investigation has reached an impressive
breadth: neuroscientists, psychologists, and music theorists investigate a wide variety of folk
music, jazz, rock, hip-hop, and electronic dance music using interviews, motion capture
devices, and onset detection algorithms, among other tools. While many such studies have
been conducted in controlled laboratory settings, analyzing commercial recordings remains
a challenge, particularly in the cases of songs recorded without a click track.
Microrhythmic phenomena are also currently attracting a lot of attention on popular
platforms such as YouTube, in part due to the wave of interest in the microrhythmic
manipulations of pioneer J Dilla and the many producers and drummers inspired by his
music. At the same time, user-friendly software is making it easy for the next generation of
music producers to achieve similar effects.
This conference seeks to bring together musicians and scholars from various disciplines to
connect their different perspectives and further the current state of microrhythm and
groove research.
Paper presentations should be 25 minutes long, with an additional 10 minutes allotted for
questions and answers. We also encourage scholars to submit ideas for 90-minute
workshops in which a group of participants would have the opportunity to learn about
current research methods or new software and implement them. Artistic research is also
highly welcome. Applicants can submit a maximum of one presentation proposal and one
workshop proposal.
Topics of proposed papers and workshops might include but are not limited to:
● New methods for measuring microrhythmic phenomena, including the use of AI tools
● Microrhythm and bodily movement
● Perception of microrhythm and its neurological basis
● The effect of timbre, pitch, duration, etc. on the perception of groove
● Manipulation of microrhythm in digital music creation
● Relationships between the timing of multiple instruments in a band, played live or
manipulated in the studio
● Expressive timing in rap vocals
● Teaching microrhythm in music education
● Microrhythm in specific folk musics
● Identifying microrhythmic “fingerprints” of famous recording artists
Please submit your abstract by May 27, 2024 to rhythm-ipop@mdw.ac.at. Abstracts should
be between 400-700 words (references not included in the word count).
Authors will be notified of acceptance by June 14, 2024. For further information, please
contact rhythm-ipop@mdw.ac.at. Details about registration will be forthcoming.