African Music

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
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMs3LTtgwY8
 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
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4oQJZ2TEVI
 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.
Kalimba/Mbira
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd7KC3PaEaA
• The Kalimba, or African thumb piano Just like the xylophone,

is a modern member of a family of ancient African
instruments.
• Actually, the general term "thumb piano" isn't correct, because

Africans often play them with more fingers than just the
thumbs
Sakara
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwZGNZYDeRw
 Sakara is a hand held drum played with a light stick

Gankogui
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD1ewlgdjv0
 Like an agogo bell. Played with a stick.

Doumbek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_ZFCDVhS-4
 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
Yenca, Shekere, Toke
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOYUvxZ
sYu0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnE50Ho7RYM
 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
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig91Z0-rBfo
 A 12-stringed harp-lute
Xalam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63gxGXsx9vE
 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- Repeating
 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?

African Music

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World Music

 Africa is a very large and diverse continent with

 Part of everyday activities- everyone joins in

 Part of rites and ceremonies where it is performed

 Not normally written down but passed on through

 Traditional African music has influenced

 The bigger the drum the lower the note

 Played at using hands or sticks or both

 It is shaped like a large goblet

 It dates back to the 12th century

 Imitate the rhythms and

 The drums can be used

 The pitch of the note is

• The Kalimba, or African thumb piano Just like the xylophone,

• Actually, the general term "thumb piano" isn't correct, because

 Sakara is a hand held drum played with a light stick

 Like an agogo bell. Played with a stick.

 Played with the fingers.

 Dum is the bass tone played

 Tek is a high ringing sound

 Ka is the same sound as tek,

 Yenca and Shekere is like a maraca shaker.

 Yenca has a sponge plug which can be removed to change the

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

 A plucked lute, very much like the banjo

 Flute, Whistles, Oboes and trumpets

 Materials from bamboo, reed, wood, clay, bones,

 Improvisation- make up music spontaneously

 Polyphony- texture featuring two or more parts,

 Call and response- simple form comprising a solo

 Choral song (tribal music)

 Instrumental music (xylophone, mbira and kora)

 The master drummer stands in the centre of the ensemble and

 The master drummer will signal to the other players when he

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

 Cueing will happen throughout the music and

 The music is essentially a series of variations on

 Master drummer can signal individual players for a

 A steady continuous beat, called the ‘timeline’, is

 What mood or feelings do you get from listening to

 What do you notice about the tempo and dynamics

 How is the hypnotic effect of the music achieved?

 Which musical features of African singing could you detect in

 What differences did you notice in the two performances?

 Ostinato/repeated rhythm, melody or chord pattern

 What is the main musical features in the music

 Describe the tempo and mood of this music

 How many different sizes of xylophone are in the

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