Africa

Ghana

Three cultural zones

1) Pan-Arabic zone in the north

2) The Sahel Zone—includes the Sahara Desert

  • Countries (put in order of population: Nigeria, Sudan, Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, BurkinaFaso, Niger, Chad, Ethiopia, Somalia

  • The name Sahel accurately describes the location because it is an Arabic word meaning “border” or “margin”. The southern border of the region is the Sahara Desert (an Arabic word meaning “desert”). It is a transition zone between the arid Sahara to the north and the wetter, more tropical area to the south

3Sub-Saharanan Africa

  • We’ll focus on some areas in this region

 

Music is vital in daily lives in Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Mundane tasks put into the rhythm of music

  • Dance and singing are equally essential—music, dance, and singing are considered inseparable—the same.

 

Ghana (West Africa)

  • The bulk of enslaved people taken from this region, cultural traditions were disseminated throughout the Caribbean and the Americas.

  • Dance, Singing, Instruments - inseparable

  • Idea of collective community – important

The importance of the collective community is shown in the three main musical activities.

  • Communal dance

  • Call and response singing

  • Polyrhythm – multiple independent rhythmic parts

Dance

  • Informal dance—large groups—an individual may step out from the crowd, but briefly, and soon steps back with the group

  • A person may step out from the crowd, but soon steps back with the group

  • More traditional – Adowa Music and Dance

  • Formal dance activities performed with some social function in mind also emphasize some group participation.

  • Designated space for singers/drummers/dancers with a crowd around the outside

  • Formal observances include – funeral, communicating with ancestors, holidays, and community events.

Vocal music – Singing

  • Used in rituals, religious ceremonies, storytelling/history, royal functions, dance, entertainment, communication

  • The majority of performance involves group singing.

  • Most often call-response form – an individual sings a call and the group responds (or question-answer)

  • The leader calls out with a phrase of music

  • .Group sings a response

  • Majority are drums – many kinds

  • Usually have bell-type – often plays main pattern

  • Some rattles

  • May have one or two aerophones

  • Main organization is polyrhythm – Polyrhythm=multiple rhythmic layers

  • Each drum/player has own rhythmic pattern – Each participant plays a rhythmic pattern that follows its own time

  • Each play their rhythm around main beat/pattern

  • g.—two against three cross-rhythm—try one hand doing duple, and other doing triple division of beat at same time

  • Polyrhythmic ensembles are much more complicated and each musician must interlock their pattern with the other musicians’ patterns

  • Usually there is one central rhythm and the others play their parts in relation to it

Cultural consideration

  • “recreational bands” play at wakes, funerals, annual festivals, social clubs, weddings, community events, entertainment

  • Ensembles often have a master drummer who oversees all aspects of a permance

  • Most learn their craft in an informal manner

Talking drums

  • Surrogate speech

  • Drums mimic rise and fall of speech

  • Imitate rhythms of spoken language

  • Natives who know spoken and drum language can communicate

  • Talking-drum-demonstration]

  • Drums give words more power to be heard by living and dead (ancestral spirits)

  • Drums used a speech surrogate to give the words more power and to be heard by ancestral spirits along with living

  • Also used for storytelling, to honor a person of royal lineage or praise an ancestral spirit

Imitating speech rhythms

South Africa 

Mbube Vocal Choir

Cultural Background

  • Roots of mbube originated during the lifetime of the Zulu ruler Shaka (1787-1828)

  • Shaka regarded as powerful warrior, great dancer, strong singer

  • Much of Zulu traditional repertoire attributed to Shaka, said to have composed many songs to keep morale high among his soldiers

  • Zulu choral singing existed prior to the colonial period

  • Powerful sound

  • It had no harmony or instruments – sung a cappella

  • Current harmonies and strong cadences (closing phrases) show European musical influence

  • Traditionally all male (warriors) – now women also sing

Mbube in the Modern Era

  • Traceable to 1920’s when migrant workers held evening singing competitions as form of entertainment after long day of work

  • Earliest recordings come from 1939 – by Solomon Linda and his Evening Birds (probably named after the idea of songbirds and the evening singing competitions)

Musical Characteristics

  • Most mbube war originally performed by all-male vocal groups (stemming from migrant worker and earlier warrior tradition), though some female vocal groups exist now

  • Started a cappella – instruments added later

  • Distinctive feature of mbube sound is emphasis on lower vocal range—considered to be characteristic of Zulu choral performance predating the colonial period

  • Rich full timbre (not nasal)

  • Mainly call-response organization

  • A lead singer/solo voice (“the controller”) leads with a call (usually higher pitch range – maybe falsetto)

  • The group (the “chord”) responds

  • The response group may also do backup harmonies to the solo/lead singer

  • Varying interaction between lead and group creates tempo and mood changes

  • Mbube style also distinctive for frequent changes in tempo

Mbube Inspired Pop Hits

  • Solomon Linda’s recordings inspired some American hits including

  • “Wimoweh” by the Weavers (1951) – more folk music oriented – notice banjo, guitar, bass instruments

Isicathamiya

  • Derivative of mbube style is iscathamiya

  • A softer style of mbube

  • Iscathamiya means “to walk like a cat”

  • Named for the tiptoeing dance steps that accompanies the singing

  • The tiptoeing choreography contrasts with traditional Zulu dancing of hard stamping and vigorous “warrior” movements.