Q2 | Music

Chapter 1: African Music

Significance of African Music:

African Music is tied up into their daily lives.
The traditional music of Africa, given the vastness of the continent, is historically ancient, rich and diverse, with different regions and nations of Africa having many distinct musical traditions.
Very important when it comes to religion and tradition.

Use of Music in Africa:

Entertainment
Expression
Tribal Passages
- Songs and music are used in rituals and religious ceremonies, to pass down stories from generation to generation, as well as to sing and dance to.

— INSTRUMENTS OF AFRICA

Talking Drum — A two-headed drum with a stretched out membrane (made from dried animal skin) which is hit by a stick.

Has strings around its body which can be squeezed to change the tone of the sound it produces.
Called a talking drum because it mimics the sound and prosody of human speech.

Mbira ("thumb piano") — Played by striking the metals using your fingers.

It resonates its sound through its flat wooden base.

Shekere — African percussion instrument made of dried gourd and is wrapped around by a beaded net.

Played by shaking and hitting its surface.

— Types of African Music

Call and Response — The leader will call and the members will respond. The call has vocal slides and scoops. While the response is an imitation of the call.

Mbube ("lion" in Zulu) — A song of the Jungle which started with Solomon Linda and his band the Evening Birds.

It is traditionally sung in Acapella.

Maracatu ("a lot of people") — Has heavy drum beatings, fast tempo, and lively rhythm.

Chapter 2: Latin-American Music

Tango (Buenos Aires, Argentina) — Distinctive style of music from the late 18th and 19th century. The traditional tango music can be played both with a solo instrument or an ensemble orchestra.

The rhythm of the modern tango holds the 2/4 or 4/4 beats per measure with two upbeats and two downbeats, with frequent use of accented notes, nostalgic lyrics, sudden changes in dynamics, use of slides (glissandi), often use of staccato (march-like phrases), intense but melancholic mood and freedom for improvisation that is fueled by its old jazz origins.

Chacha (Cuba) — Lively and playful music evolved from a slow version of Mambo called "Triple Mambo" or Mambo with guiro rhythm.

Usually in a 4/4 time signature and often uses staccato rhythm.
Often played by big band instruments such as trumpets, trombones, and saxophones.

Rumba (Afro-Cuban) — Mixture of African dance and drum genres (abakua and yuka) and Spanish coros de clave.

Very energetic, often polyrhythmic (multiple rhythmic patterns layered atop one another) musical form.
A binary meter, a time signature of either 2/4 or 4/4, though uncommonly you could find a triple meter (9/8, 12/4).
The important part is the syncopation of the meter.

Syncopation — Emphasizing the off-beat parts of the meter, like the half beat.

Bossa Nova (Brazilian; “new style/trend”) — Emerged in the 1950s and ’60s combining elements of samba—a popular music genre within Brazil—with American jazz traditions.

Rhythm: A two-bar pattern derived from samba music.
Recalls the syncopated claves of Afro-Cuban music.

Reggae (Jamaica, 1930s) — Reggae bands incorporate musical idioms from many different genres, including mento (a Jamaican folk genre), ska, rocksteady, calypso, and American soul music and rhythm and blues.