Traditional Maasai music is based on a rhythmic pattern which can only be described by the hypnotic sensation it produces called Laleyio (la-ley-eo). All songs directly or indirectly incorporate the term as a basis for rhythmic structure. For example, commonly sung nonsense phrases such as hoyia-hoo and hoyia-yio stem from Laleyio.

Rhythms are provided by a chorus of vocalists singing hocket harmonies while a song leader called the olaranyani sings the melody (one or two octaves above the group is common). Throat singing resembles the sound of sawing wood and animal grunts. Large groups can produce a ‘hypnotic’ hum.

Phrases such as Laleyio, for example, may be repeated by a group to match the rhythm of a song. Each syllable represents one beat. A song with a 5/4 rhythm may be sung as ‘la-ley-eo-la-ley.’  The breathing pattern in which a song is sung effects the rhythm.  Some members might breathe in on the ‘ley,’ others on the ‘ley-eo’ and second ‘ley,’ giving it a feeling of urgency through polyphonic syncopation.

(Common rhythms are in variations of 5/4, 6/4 and 3/4 time signatures.)