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197(2) Another inconvenience is that closely related cultures (or even withinthe same culture) sometimes use different scales. For example, amongthe sub-Saharan African cultures, obviously connected to each other,some traditional cultures are based on tetratonic, some pentatonic,some hexatonic and some diatonic scale systems, and some use morethan one scale.The rhythm and metre are also universally important for both monophonic andpolyphonic cultures, as the “building blocks of timing”. Like scales, some rhythms arealso spread too widely through different continents to be helpful in comparative researchof polyphonic studies. For example, simple duple and triple rhythms are actively used ina huge number of musical cultures all over the world. Another, more specific example isthe use of rhythmic formulas, and indeed, some of the comparative research even hasbeen done relying on certain rhythmic formulas only (for example, see Zemtsovsky,1990). As a general tendency, we may say that polyphonic cultures mostly tend to usesimple and precise rhythms, although this can by no means be considered a rule (forexample, Ba lkans are the obvious, and not the only exception).Therefore, as we can see, most of the comparative research presented in thisbook is based on specific parameters, connected to the polyphonic texture.- : - :- : - : - : - : - : - : -So, we have discussed the general methodology of the comparative study ofpolyphonic traditions, then became witnesses of the amazing stability of musicaltraditions (and particularly – the stability of polyphonic traditions), then had a look at afew cases of borrowing particular songs and discussed the mobile and stable elements ofmusical cultures. We have also discussed the importance of different parameters of thepolyphonic texture for comparative analyses, and finally, we have established the set ofall-important parameters that are going to guide us through the comparativegeneralizations of polyphonic cultures. So, we are ready to move on.Section 2. Practical IssuesRegions, Styles, Peoples, Migrations:Historical Dynamics and Comparative PerspectivesI consider this section the most important for the general idea of this study. Ofcourse, the issues, discussed in the third part of this book (origins of choral singing,intertwined with t he origins of human intelligence, language and speech) are much widerand should be naturally considered more important, but this part is the main historical“engine” for the suggested model of the origins of vocal polyphony.