Creativity in Folk Music: An Analytical Study of Ceremonial Practices in the Manzil Shakir Region

By Mariam Al Madhyub, Tunisia

In this study, I attempted to address the issue of creativity in Tunisian folk music based on a sample of the folk singing heritage from the Manzil Shakir region.

I tried, as much as possible, to present a comprehensive study at the theoretical level by relying on scientific studies of creativity and the creative process and its concepts and theories. On a practical level, I relied on field studies of the lyrical style as a practice in which multiple artistic elements interact to shape artistic production.

I have chosen three singing styles common in the Manzil Shakir community: ‘Sawt’; ‘Jurrad’; and the folk song. I tried to study these styles in their natural context and place of origin – the traditional wedding. I dedicated a considerable part of this study to the traditional wedding.

Through analysis, we discovered that the basic melody of the lyrical styles is comprised of short musical scores. Each musical score contains a simple melodic motion and various musical transitions (binary, triple and quintet). Most of these styles were confined to a melodic movement that did not exceed five degrees of the musical scale.

No matter how simple the melodies of the lyrical styles are, they convey a spontaneous creativity that makes them distinctive in their general construction, from the content of the poetic lyric to the melodic composition and the style of performance.