🪇World Music Unit 2 – African Music: Rhythms and Community

What's This Unit All About?

• Explores the rich tapestry of African music, focusing on the central role of rhythm and community
• Examines how African music is intricately woven into the fabric of daily life, serving as a means of communication, storytelling, and cultural preservation
• Highlights the diversity of musical traditions across the African continent, each with its own unique instruments, rhythms, and performance styles
• Investigates the social and spiritual significance of music in African communities, from celebrations and rituals to work and play
• Traces the influence of African music on global musical genres, including jazz, blues, rock, and hip-hop
• Emphasizes the importance of oral tradition and the transmission of musical knowledge from one generation to the next
• Explores the concept of "participatory music," where the lines between performers and audience are blurred, and everyone is encouraged to engage in the musical experience

Key Rhythms and Instruments

• Polyrhythms: multiple rhythms played simultaneously, creating a complex and layered musical texture
  • Cross-rhythms: two or more conflicting rhythms played together, often in a 3:2 or 4:3 ratio
  • Interlocking rhythms: complementary rhythms that fit together like puzzle pieces, played by different instruments or parts of the ensemble
• Djembe: a goblet-shaped drum played with bare hands, originating from West Africa (Mali, Guinea, Senegal)
• Talking drums: hourglass-shaped pressure drums that can mimic the tonal patterns of spoken language (Yoruba, Akan)
• Kora: a 21-string bridge-harp played by griots (storytellers and praise singers) in West Africa (Gambia, Senegal, Mali)
• Mbira/Kalimba: a thumb piano consisting of metal keys attached to a wooden soundboard, popular in East and Southern Africa (Zimbabwe, Mozambique)
• Balafon: a wooden xylophone with gourd resonators, found in West Africa (Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso)
• Ngoni: a lute-like instrument with a skin-covered resonator, played by griots in West Africa (Mali, Guinea, Gambia)

Cultural Significance

• Music is deeply embedded in African culture, serving as a means of preserving history, expressing emotions, and strengthening social bonds
• Griots, or praise singers, are revered figures in West African societies, responsible for maintaining oral traditions and genealogies through music and storytelling
• Music plays a crucial role in rites of passage, such as birth, initiation, marriage, and death ceremonies
• Work songs help to coordinate labor and alleviate the monotony of repetitive tasks (farming, fishing, construction)
• Music is used as a form of communication, conveying messages, and spreading news across villages and regions
• Spiritual and religious practices often incorporate music, such as in trance-inducing possession rituals or devotional hymns
• Music serves as a means of social commentary, addressing issues such as politics, morality, and social change

Regional Variations

• West African music (Mali, Senegal, Guinea) is known for its complex polyrhythms, griot traditions, and instruments like the kora, djembe, and balafon
• Central African music (Congo, Cameroon, Gabon) features intricate vocal polyphony, thumb pianos (mbira), and the use of pygmy flutes
• East African music (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda) incorporates influences from the Middle East and India, with popular genres like taarab and benga
• Southern African music (South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique) is characterized by vocal harmony, mbira music, and the use of gourd resonators
• North African music (Egypt, Morocco, Algeria) has strong ties to Middle Eastern and Mediterranean traditions, with instruments like the oud, qanun, and darbuka
• Afro-Caribbean music (Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica) blends African rhythms and instruments with European and indigenous influences, giving rise to genres like rumba, merengue, and reggae
• Afro-Brazilian music (Brazil) combines African rhythms and religious practices with Portuguese influences, as heard in genres like samba, capoeira, and candomblé

Performance Styles and Techniques

• Call-and-response: a musical conversation between a lead singer or instrumentalist and the ensemble or audience
• Improvisation: spontaneous composition within a given musical framework, allowing for individual expression and creativity
• Ostinato: a persistently repeated musical phrase or rhythm, serving as a foundation for improvisation and variation
• Hocket: a technique where a melody is shared between two or more parts, with each part playing alternating notes or phrases
• Polyphony: the simultaneous combination of multiple independent melodies, creating a rich and complex musical texture
• Microtonal inflections: the use of pitch variations smaller than a semitone, adding expressive nuance to melodies
• Body percussion: the use of the human body as a percussion instrument, through clapping, stomping, and slapping

Social and Community Roles

• Music serves as a unifying force, bringing people together for celebrations, ceremonies, and social gatherings
• Participatory music encourages active engagement from all members of the community, regardless of age or skill level
• Music is used to mark important life events and transitions, such as birth, initiation, marriage, and death
• Griots and praise singers play a vital role in preserving oral histories, genealogies, and cultural traditions
• Music is often tied to specific social groups, such as age grades, gender roles, or occupational guilds
• Community music-making fosters a sense of belonging, cooperation, and shared identity
• Music education is typically passed down through oral tradition, with younger generations learning from elders and master musicians

Modern Influences and Fusion

• African music has had a profound impact on global popular music, influencing genres like jazz, blues, rock, and hip-hop
• Afrobeat, pioneered by Fela Kuti in Nigeria, combines African rhythms and political lyrics with funk and jazz elements
• Highlife, originating in Ghana and Nigeria, blends African rhythms with Western instrumentation and harmony
• Afro-fusion artists like Youssou N'Dour (Senegal) and Salif Keita (Mali) incorporate elements of rock, pop, and electronic music into traditional African styles
• Collaborations between African and Western artists have led to innovative cross-cultural musical exchanges (Paul Simon's "Graceland," Toumani Diabaté and Björk)
• African diaspora communities have developed unique musical traditions that reflect their experiences and cultural heritage (Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Brazilian, African-American)
• Contemporary African musicians continue to push boundaries, experimenting with new technologies and global influences while staying rooted in traditional rhythms and values

Listen Up: Essential Tracks

• "Yeke Yeke" by Mory Kanté (Guinea): a groundbreaking fusion of African and electronic music that became an international hit
• "Shona" by Oumou Sangaré (Mali): a powerful feminist anthem that showcases Sangaré's distinctive voice and socially conscious lyrics
• "Jingo" by Babatunde Olatunji (Nigeria): a classic example of African drumming that introduced many Western listeners to the power of polyrhythms
• "Zomba" by Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens (South Africa): a high-energy mbaqanga track featuring call-and-response vocals and infectious guitar riffs
• "Kaira" by Toumani Diabaté (Mali): a virtuosic kora performance that highlights the instrument's delicate beauty and improvisational possibilities
• "Madan" by Salif Keita (Mali): a soaring Afro-pop anthem that combines traditional griot vocals with modern production techniques
• "Pata Pata" by Miriam Makeba (South Africa): a joyful, danceable song that introduced many global listeners to the sounds of South African township music