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
Djembe
Pronouced ‘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 of
African 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 Rhythms
Polyrhythms
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- Drum
Akan 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?
Listening- Choral
Mbube, Soloman Kangivumanga,
Linda’s Original Ladysmith Black
Evening Birds 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.
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 Mozambique
What 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?
