World Music

Africa

Africa is a very large and diverse continent with many musical styles and cultures across its different countries and regions.

African Music

Part of everyday activities- everyone joins in clapping, singing and dancing to the music.

Part of rites and ceremonies where it is performed by specialist master drummers and court musicians

Not normally written down but passed on through oral tradition

Traditional African music has influenced contemporary styles such as blues, gospel and jazz.

African Drums

The bigger the drum the lower the note

Played at using hands or sticks or both

DjembePronouced ‘Zhem-bay’.

It is shaped like a large goblet and played with bare hands. The body is carved from a hollowed trunk and is covered in goat skin.

It dates back to the 12th century Mali Empire of West Africa.

Talking Drums

Imitate the rhythms and intonations of speech

The drums can be used to imitate speech patterns or as signals to make announcements or warnings.

The pitch of the note is changed by squeezing or releasing the drum’s strings with the arm.

Sakara

Sakara is a hand held drum played with a light stick

Doumbek

Played with the fingers.

Dum is the bass tone played with your right hand in the middle of the drum

Tek is a high ringing sound played with your right hand

Ka is the same sound as tek, but played with your left hand

Gonkogui

Like an agogo bell. Played with a stick.

Yenca, Shekere, Toke

Yenca and Shekere is like a maraca shaker.

Yenca has a sponge plug which can be removed to change the seeds for different sizes, to give a different sound.

Shekere can be hit at the top of the ball to create a deeper tone.

Toke or a banana bell is played by striking it with a metal rod.

Kora

A 12-stringed harp-lute

Xalam

A plucked lute, very much like the banjo

Non- Percussion

Flute, Whistles, Oboes and trumpets

Materials from bamboo, reed, wood, clay, bones, animal horns or wood.

Common Elements ofAfrican Music

Repetition-

Improvisation- make up music spontaneously

Polyphony- texture featuring two or more parts, each having a melody line and sounding together-creates a multilayered texture

Call and response- simple form comprising a solo (call) followed by a group answering phrase (response)

Categories

Drumming

Choral song (tribal music)

Instrumental music (xylophone, mbira and kora)

Drumming

Oral tradition- no music notation

The master drummer stands in the centre of the ensemble and is responsible for directing the whole performance.

He will be surrounded by other drummers and percussion instruments.

The master drummer will signal to the other players when he is ready to start, often with a vocal cry followed by a short rhythmic solo to set the mood or tempo of the music.

This is called a cue and the other players will then come in together to play the response.

the response could be an exact copy or even a different rhythm entirely.

Structures in Drumming

Cueing will happen throughout the music and creates a structure of contrasted sections.

The music is essentially a series of variations on rhythmic patterns.

Master drummer can signal individual players for a solo. This again will be a variation or development of the original rhythmic pattern.

A steady continuous beat, called the ‘timeline’, is often played by the master drummer.

Cross RhythmsPolyrhythms

the complex rhythm played by the drummers create polyrhythms, often with stresses that conflict with each other and with the steady constant beat of the timeline- creating cross rhythms. The result is a polyrhythmic texture.

The music will usually increase in tension as the piece progresses, and the tempo and dynamics will vary from section to section to provide interest and variety in the music. It is the responsibility of the master drummer to control the changes and make sure that the music never becomes monotonous or dull.

Listening- DrumAkan Drumming, Pan

African Orchestra Identify as many of the common features of

African drumming:

What mood or feelings do you get from listening to the piece?

What do you notice about the tempo and dynamics during the course of the music?

How is the hypnotic effect of the music achieved?

Choral

Music serves as a link to the spirit world.

Call and response

Melodies are usually short and simple, repeated XX

Melodies are usually in a scale of 4-7 tones

These melodies can be changed at will by other singers- format into theme and variations

Polyphony- performers improvise new melodies while others continue the original melody.

Texture- singers coming in a different points in a continuous cycle.

Harmony- in unison or parallel 4th, 5th, or 8ve. Others harmonize in 3rds or 4ths

Listening- ChoralMbube, Soloman Linda’s Original Evening Birds

Which musical features of African singing could you detect in both pieces?

What differences did you notice in the two performances?

Which piece did you prefer? Give at least two musical reasons for your choice.

Kangivumanga,Ladysmith Black

Mambazo

Which musical features of African singing could you detect in both pieces?

What differences did you notice in the two performances?

Which piece did you prefer? Give at least two musical reasons for your choice.

Mbira (thumb piano)

Used at religious rituals as well as social gatherings

22 metal strips of varying length, fixed to a soundboard

The two thumbs stroke the keys downwards and the right forefinger then plucks them back up.

Balophone (Xylophone)

Wood

Features of African Instrumental Music

Repetition

Ostinato/repeated rhythm, melody or chord pattern

Improvisation

Cyclic structures

Polyphonic textures

Intertwining melodies

Listening-Induna Indaba, Chopi

people of MozambiqueWhat other instruments, apart from the

xylophones, can you hear?

What is the main musical features in the music played by the xylophones?

Describe the tempo and mood of this music

How many different sizes of xylophone are in the ensemble?