Africa – Sub-Sarahan

Africa today – regional traditions - Instrument types

Overview

n  Ancestors, Communality, Function and Religion

n  Characteristics – tonality, scales, polyrhythms, dance

n  Regional aspects – urban v.rural, old v. new

n  Vocal characteristics n  Instrumental traditions

Week 11 - Africa (Sub Saharan)

n  Birthplace of mankind n  Separation of North and South due to

divide of Sahara n  Until 100 years ago Sub Saharan had no

literacy tradition n  Oral-aural culture n  Music tied to social context and religious

custom

Ancestors

n  Central to mores of Sub-saharan society is belief that the moral life of community is watched over by the ancestors.

n  Ancestors communicate through music – in particular the drum.

n  Music strengthens moral values that inform community life.

Functions of Music

n  Deters individual or community misfortunes.

n  Intrinsic to age-set ceremonies n  Important for obtaining happiness n  Without music to organise community

events society is dead. Example of Greeting in Uganda

n  Example of Work Song.

Aesthetics

n  Africans judge musical performance not so much for entertainment as social relevance.

n  Songs for all activities. How well does the music aid and affect the activity?

n  Music both practical and aesthetic. n  Praise-singing and aural history is bound

up in music. n  ‘Jahli’ or ‘griots’ in Mali, Gambia,

Senegal

Hereditary Musicians

n  In many traditions professionals are born into a caste or class and learn from their family.

n  In some areas professionals are also witch doctors or healers in some way. Chosen by the spirit world.

n  Now there are conservatories in some cities – and some teach traditional musics.

Kora

Kora

Regional Difference

n  Big differences between city and rural areas. Cities have evolved hybrid musics based on blend of traditional and western. Traditional areas have retained more of their traditions.

n  Religious divides in most areas. Islam and Christianity vie with traditional gods and spirits.

Islam South of Sahara

n  Islam is strong in both in East and West Africa and especially in desert and coastal areas.

n  Big effect of slavery across Africa – Islamic culture used and accepted slaves long before the Europeans. Example of Zanzibar.

n  Mixed cultures that are both Islamic and African are particularly rich culturally – the islamisation was often only a matter of convenience to avoid slavery.

n  Example of Sudan and southern Egypt and Ethiopia.

European Intervention

n  Originally Portuguese, then Dutch, then British, French and Germans in a big carve up in the 19th century.

n  Colonisation set Africans against Africans. European armies included lots of Africans. Example of Boers.

n  Partitioning of Africa by European powers in the 19th century is still in place despite independence in post war era.

Colonisation

Vocal Styles in Sub saharan Africa

n  3,000 different societies and over 1,000 distinct languages. All have considerable variation in style and usage.

n  Also correspondences and similarities. n  Vocal music is predominant – central to religious

practice – song words express belief. n  Language and music is particularly intimate in Africa. n  Musical lines follows contour of speech, instrumental

melodies act as surrogates for vocal melodies. n  Antiphonal singing – call and response structure.

Reflects social function of music. n  Initiation Song

Notes Sets

n  Particular societies have note-sets. 5,6 or 7 – diatonic, anhemitonic (no semi-tones or equidistant.

n  As with speech shape of melody tends to fall – downdrift. A high tone at the end is lower that tone at beginning.

n  Call and response may be structured by rhythmic cycles.

n  Variation of patterns in words and melodies by professionals is highly prized.

Rhythm Aspects

n  Organising force of all African expressions n  Derived from Speech and drummers often

represent a specific speech-text. n  Drums speak. Melody of drums is

important. This works with layers of drums within ensembles.

n  Interplay of cross-rhythms. Polyrhythmic cycles – or rather polymetric. The ability to hear two metres concurrently and their resultant patterns.

Drumming Session - Mali

Polyrhythms

Combinations of simple patterns are combined to create complexity.

n  Master drummer can then invent in the context of the ongoing patterns and lead into new ideas.

n  Example of East African polyrhythms. Xylophones, drums, rattles, shakers, voices. Call and response.

Musical Instruments

n  Drums – made in many shapes and forms. Some societies however do not use drums but stamping sticks, or body percussion, and foot-stamping.

n  Idiophones ubiquitous – rattles and shakers. n  Flutes made from natural local materials – cane, grass,

gourd, horn, millet. n  Single and double reed instruments and natural

trumpets. n  Plucked strings – lutes, harps, arched harps and lyres.

Example of Ugandan lyre. n  Bowed lutes in Eastern Africa and spiked fiddles in West

Africa. Example of Tanzanian one-string fiddle.

Marimbas - Botswana

Xylophones - Ghana

Spiked fiddle

Ensemble Playing

n  Some instruments typically solo – others are ensemble – xylophones and interlocking patterns.

n  Llamellaphone also use interlocking patterns – Example of Zimbabwean Mbiras

n  Ensemble panpipes.

Mbira

Zimbabwe Mbira

New Forms

n  African musicians have been enthusiastic in taking up Western instruments and adapting techniques to them – also amplification.

n  Lots is local forms based on blends – Kwela, High-Life, etc.

n  Great Success of World Music as a sector of popular music – has made some African musicians superstars.

Kwela Video

Youssou Ndour (1955-)

n  Senegalese singer. n  From Dakar n  Singing in French. Huge following in

France and French speaking countries. n  Mix of native styles, Western pop

technology and festival culture. n  Wolof language and traditions given new

life

Promo Video

Readings

n  World Music, The Rough Guide, vol 1 n  Gregory Barz, Music in East Africa, Oxford

OUP 2004 n  Elizabeth May, Music of Many Cultures n  Jeff Todd Titon, Worlds of Music, New

York, 1992