Music of Africa - Lecture notes 8 PDF

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These are lecture notes for the lecture on Music of Africa...

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The Music of Africa: General Principles in Sub-Saharan African Music 

Interlocking: one person is playing and singing something, and another person is filling in the gaps o Hocket o Call and Response

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Dense Textures: the use of melody o Overlapping sounds

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“Buzzy” Timbres (sound quality): Quality of the sound o Jambe drum w/ metal rings o Calimba(thumb piano) (from zimbobway) places inside a Gord that has shells/bottlecaps to help form the buzzy sound o Cora w/metal plates with rings (from west Africa)

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Instruments: o Drums o Plucked strings (like the cora) o “Breathy” winds (like Falany Flute or Nay)

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Cyclical, Open-ended Forms: o Ostinato as foundation: repetitive motif (repeated pattern) o Foundation (basic) and Variations

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Community Participation: no differentiation between the performers and audience members o Music and Dance o Oral History, Story Telling

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Rhythmic Complexity: o Sesquialtera ~ Hemiola o Polyrhythms: many difference rhythms all together

Specific Cultures (Ghana)

Zimbabwe  Shona  Ndebele (Zulu): they are a group of people that came from southern part of Africa that conquered the Shona  Apartheid: A type of government  Rhodesia -named after Seisel Rhoads (before it became Zimbabwe)  Instruments of Shona o Mbira (Dza Vadzimu)— thumb piano)  Ancestral spirits are called upon with it  Bira  Kushaura (the main part)  Kutsinhira (interlocks) fits within the kushaura  Nhemamusasa (music piece) originally a hunting song but also a war song  Deze- a gord used to make the Mbira louder because it is a quiet instrument. o Hosho- maracas (brings steady beat to the music) used in Nhemamusasa  Singing: (vocables- nonsense syllibles) o Mahonyera – low bass part o Huro – a high yodeling part o Kudeketera – the words, poetry, text  Chimurenga “struggle”  Zimbabwe 1980 – won independence Exam Review: Hocket- is an interlocking pattern Ostinato- repeated patterns...