Download
1 / 18
230 likes | 945 Views
AFRICAN MUSIC. African Music in Society. Music plays a very important role in African societies and is used to communicate many different feelings and emotions. Music is always part of any social gathering such as celebration festivals (harvest), birthdays, weddings or funerals.
E N D
African Music in Society • Music plays a very important role in African societies and is used to communicate many different feelings and emotions. • Music is always part of any social gathering such as celebration festivals (harvest), birthdays, weddings or funerals. • There are over fifty African nations, each with their own tradition, and so music in this area of the world is extremely rich, colourful and diverse. There are, however, some common elements including repetition, improvisation, polyphony and call & response.
African Drumming • The drum is one of the most popular and highly regarded instruments in Africa. • There are many different types of drum and their names vary from one region to another. • The drums can be played on their own but are more frequently heard in large ensembles, led by the master drummer. • Another prominent instrument in African drumming is an Atoke. This is a bell which sounds at a much higher pitch than the drums and helps to keep the musicians in time. Two-toned cowbells (or agogo bells) are also occasionally used.
Playing techniques… • A range of pitches and timbres can be produced by playing the drums in different ways: • with sticks • with the hand - to produce slap (the hand strikes the edge of the drum with the fingers spread), tone(the hand strikes the edge of the drum with the fingers together) and bass (the head of the drum is hit with the flat of the hand) sounds • by stretching the skin before hitting it • leaving the hand or stick on the skin • striking the wood of the drum
African Drumming is an oral tradition. This means that the music is memorised and not learnt form notation. Students learn by listening, observing and imitating.
The Master Drummer… • Sets the initial speed and mood of the music • Decides when to speed up or slow down • Decides when rhythms should change and individual solos should happen • Signaling changes in dynamics • Deciding when the music ends
Musical characteristics… • Polyrhythms - many rhythms being played at once • Call and Response - the Master Drummer drums a rhythm and the rest of the tribe respond • Cueing - The master drummer signals a change to the rest of the tribe through a drumming pattern of vocal cry • Cross Rhythms - conflicting rhythms with accents in different places • Syncopation - accenting weaker beats over stronger ones
African Singing • African music is centred around singing. Many Africans believe the music is a link to the spiritual world. Everyone takes part, whether they have a good singing voice or not! • Songs provide a means for communication. African languages are tonal – the pitch level (high or low) determines the meaning of the words.
Common features of African Songs… • Call and response • Melodies are short and simple, and repeated over and over • Melodies normally use between four and seven notes • Performers can improvise new melodies while other singers sing the original melody. Common to have different melodies sounding simultaneously, producing a polyhphonic texture. • Songs are often sung in rounds • Harmony varies from tribe to tribe. Sometimes, voices only sing in unison or octaves. However, other groups will freely harmonise and can sing in three or four parts.
Instrumental Music • Membranophones (have a skin - drums) • Idiophones (resonant/solid) • Aerophones (wind) • Chordophones (strings) • Body percussion (hand clapping/ foot stamping, vocal effects such as shouting and other vocables • Common features of African instrumental music include: Repetition (including ostinato), Improvisation, Cyclic structures, Polyphonic textures and Intertwining melodies
