African MusicalE Arts Midterm

Eno abena

Nnwom/Agoro (song/play). AB form - cyclical, call and response. ABA¹B, A²BCB, C¹BA³B, C²BC³B, C⁴BDB

African music in a constellation of arts

Music is an interlinked form of performance - singing, instruments, visual arts, drama, storytelling, dance

Examples of music in a constellation of arts

Zulu Amahubo Empi, Soweto gospel choir

Zulu Amahubo Empi (South African war dance)

Zulu war anthem, perform war dances to fortify the soldiers. Dramatize stories of war, sometimes to teach fighters how to fight

Soweto gospel choir (South Africa)

Call and response, leader and singers in the background, use dance, arm gestures, swaying, and levels.

Physical environment/ecosystem in Asem Ben

All female singers in the front, male percussionists behind (can be in a circle). Sung at funerals, festivals, parties, and national events. Pre-performance composition.

Asante soul names in asem ben

abena, afua, kofi, kwame/kwami

Performance unit

1st section: Abee, lead singer rattles off poetry followed by a choral response/cue of mmmm (krumuu). Function is to set the mood, spiritual preparation, draws attention of audience to group.

2nd Section: songs/play, set off by krumuu and afirikeyewa, singing, medley of songs, dance, clapping, strict meter

Circular worldview and african musical arts

circular worldview emphasizes the connection between past present and future, life and death. Music is composed in cyclical time, call and response.

Personification of musical instruments

Treated as living beings with human features. Possess names, gender, social status, conduits for language, carvings, seen as voices of ancestors.

Personification of the mbira

lowest key on lower left is considered the father, low key on upper is considered the mother. High pitch keys are the children, two keys with the same pitch are twins 

meaning of nhemamausasa

A traditional song, means to build a shelter, make plans for the future and be protected from rain. Use the msasa tree to build a home hence the name.

function of nhemamausasa

Relatives and family members come together to celebrate the completion of the home, symbolizes refuge. House warming, welcoming.

Close listening of nhemamausasa

Begins like rain, simple, 2 mbira and rattles. Repetition and variation, cyclical component of the song. Interlocking parts create a multilayered sound.

Two parts of nhemamausasa

Kushaura, kutsinhira

Kushaura

leading part

kutsinhira

following part

three singing styles of nhemamausasa

mahonyera, kudeketera, huro

mahonyera

low riffing vocals

kudeketera

sung poetry

huro

high pitch yodeling

modes of drumming

signal mode, speech mode, dance/music mode

signal mode

short phrases, call signals

speech mode

imitative of speech

dance/music mode

geared toward movement, dance or gestures

ayan (drum poetry)

divine poetry, comes from god

the awakening and asante concept of creation

order, knowledge, death. The court crier, the drummer, the state executioner

the court crier

Symbol of order in the universe, court criers are responsible for keeping order during formal meetings

the drummer

principle form of communication, symbolizes knowledge, he is the memory for the community

The state executioner

symbolizes death, but death isn’t final; reintegration into ancestorhood, soul goes back to god

types of xylophones

log, gourd, pit

log xylophone

(amadinda & embraire from uganda) wooden slabs laid across banana trunks (vibration), keys separated by tall thin sticks to prevent keys from hitting eachother. 6 or more players can play

Gourd xylophones

Wooden frame and wooden keys, usually tied above gourd resonators. High pitch → small gourds, low pitch → big gourds. Holes are cut for spider web membranes for buzzing sounds

Pit xylophone

on the ground

Wole noko ehtnic group and country

Ga-dangme or ga people from ghana

Wole noko genre

recreational song/dance, performed as part of kpanlogo dance

Wole noko bell pattern structure

123 45

variable phrases

Variable allow people to connect personally with the song (recomposition)

fixed formulaic phrases

fixed phrases make it possible for people to identify the song.

letters representing wole noko form

ABA¹BCDCDE

Call and response in Eno Abena vs. call and response in Wole Noko

In eno abena, the response is always the same, the call is what differs, the singer recomposes the call. Wole noko is more dialogic than eno abena, a conversation.

Variable phrases wole noko

Nke, aa o, teshie

Buzzing in balafon

spider web silk covers holes to produce buzzing sound

Buzzing in mbira

bottle caps, enhance the sound, add echo/rainlike quality

Buzzing in atumpan

the membrane/skin vibrating against the drum

binaries in African societies and African musical arts

Rural vs city, ancient vs modern, old vs new. In urban and city environments: Different lifestyles, music, new social groups tied to occupation. Music played at the pub through speakers, vs in village its tied to rituals, birth ceremonies and communicated through instruments 

Rural vs city in “Bank alert“

Clothing contrast, architecture contrast, dancing, code switching between English vs traditional language

Drums of kete

Red and black represent times of crisis and concern, performed for such or funerary.

leading kete drum

Kwadum

Attributes of hunters

Hunters are medicine men, brave, skilled, patient, persistent, strong. Study herbs and animals for dietary and medicinal purposes

Why kete abofoo in honor of the king

Kete group wanted to communicate expectations to the king. Expectations of bravery, strength, persistence, patience. Power is like holding an egg. If held tightly it breaks, it also breaks if not held well