Ethnomusicology

Common Pulse is a musical field notebook that helps people move from a short recording to an editable, participatory understanding of rhythm. A researcher, educator, or learner can record clapping, voice, or an isolated instrument; review detected sound events in a Time Unit Box System (TUBS) grid; edit the cycle and tempo; see equivalent unpitched Western rhythmic notation; and export MusicXML. They can attach time-linked observations, practice a part by tapping or clapping, and save the notebook locally. The project treats automated transcription as a draft, not an authority. The recording stays available alongside the quantized grid, and the app makes clear what is measured, what a researcher has named, and what is an interpretation. It does not infer cultural origin or instrument identity from a rhythm. With Astra connected, Common Pulse turns field notes into a research conversation. An ethnomusicologist can dictate a note, ask Astra to explain an edited pattern or make a bounded correction, and search for cited performance examples—including YouTube when available. Astra is instructed to distinguish documented sources from possible comparisons and to avoid unsupported cultural claims.