Maia Gaffney-Hyde

Rhythmanalysis is the study of the social, using rhythms to interpret time, action and repetition. Henri Lefebvre identifies that everyday life is government by two types of repetition, cyclical and linear, the former are the rhythms of becoming, of nature and the latter are the rhythms of mechanisation and work. Although each activity may be obvious, their rhythm may be concealed, to reveal it, measure, frequency and difference, are tools that can help do so. Each action whether of work or of leisure is infused with the cyclical and the linear, but it is the activities of free time, recreation that I have focused on in the following texts. Rhythm, with its origins in music and belonging to the world of sound, has been a guide which has lead me to interrupted the spaces of Blackfriars bridge and the Whispering gallery in St. Paul’s Cathedral, with a particular emphasis on their soundscapes and the effect that has on the rhythms of those who inhabit them.

Keywords: Rhythmanalysis, Henri Lefebvre, Gaston Bachelard, Henri Bergson, Rhythm, Cyclical, Linear, Repetition, Sound, St Paul’s Cathedral, Blackfriars Bridge, Whisper, Voice