In ballads sung in groups, for example, katauta (poem fragment), with its 5-7-7 syllable structure, were sung to and from members of the group in the form a question and answer, which formed sedoka (whirling head poem) with its 5-7-7, 5-7-7 syllable structure.
集団でうたわれる歌謡においては、例えば旋頭歌（五七七、五七七）は、片歌（五七七）が集団の掛け合いで問答の形になったものだ。