In search of the ideal tempo. Musical socialisation and the cultural legitimacy of bateria mestres and jurors in the samba schools of Rio de Janeiro

Résumé 0

This article aims at showing the different levels of musical socialization at work in the elaboration, reception, and reality effects of a socially built musical norm: the tempo in the carioca samba schools’ baterias. To do so, we consider the socializing frameworks, as well as the musical socialization of actors who occupy opposite positions in the social space of samba schools’ carnival (mestres de bateria towards bateria judges, but also mestres de bateria between each other). Through the perspective of the construction of the technical norm, of the modalities of its imposition, and of the mestres and judges’ different musical socializations, it is possible to understand their relationships towards different levels of cultural legitimacy. It is about showing the articulation between collective and individual socialization processes, through the study of the multidimensional institutional systems at work in the definition of the “right” tempo, and the processes of its (non-)acceptance.