In Mali, traditional music is used to pass on knowledge about the history of their people. It is important to note that while music and dance are not the same thing, they often work together in African cultures.
Music can be described as any sounds made with human vocal cords or instruments; some examples of types of music include classical, pop, rock, hip-hop, country and folk. Dance is a type of physical activity involving rhythmic movements like stepping or swaying that usually takes place to musical accompaniment. Music has played an integral role in many African societies for hundreds if not thousands of years. Different tribes had their own individual songs related to hunting rituals or courtship practices at different times throughout history until today when these traditions continue during cultural celebrations such as weddings.
It was traditionally believed by Africans that people who could sing were very special and had a connection to the spiritual world. There is no single answer. However, there are some common characteristics found throughout most traditional African music: polyrhythms; call-and-response a vocal or instrumental interaction between two musicians ; ostinato the repetition of a rhythmic pattern like an interesting drum beat and improvisation.
Ghana Similar to Nigeria, Ghana is yet another West African nation where music is fundamental in society and has gained international renown for its funky rhythms that blends with contemporary music styles, creating dynamic sounds. In the s, Hiplife emerged as an exciting style, fusing Ghanaian culture with hip hop. As in many African countries, religion has an essential role in society and Ghana is no different with soulful gospel music setting the tone for church services.
Furthermore, while in many western societies death is a mournful and solemn occasion, in Ghana it is a celebration of life with song and dance vibrantly accompanying the ceremony. Angola Angolan music is rooted in its origins as a lusophone community with many of its music and dance genres drawing parallels with Portuguese and Brazilian culture.
Created by Angolan slaves, semba is part of the same family of Brazilian samba but with its own distinct voice that has a subject matter revolving around storytelling with cautionary tales and social events sung about in a wonderfully witty way. Gaining increasing international recognition and often offered at many dance schools, you may already be familiar with kizomba, an intimate dance that sees dancers intertwined as they move their body with the seductively slow rhythm of sensual songs typically sung in Portuguese.
After gospel music, maskandi is the second most popular genre and is particularly popular in urban cities such as Johannesburg and Cape Town as well as the sprawling KwaZulu-Natal province. It is played using portable instruments and tells the story of the trials and tribulations, joys and ecstasy of the Zulu man. It is probably one of the oldest existing testimonies to music and dance in Africa and is attributed to the 'Saharan' period of the Neolithic hunters. Traditionally, African musicians were not concerned with the impact of the music, nor its 'beauty', it had a specific function with dance being an integral partner to music and was used to entertain as well as to mark occasions and provide moral guidance.
African singers use a large number of sounds, not all of them appealing to the ear; some are confronting or emotionally and spiritually charged. Singing style can be loud and resonant but can also be constricted and accompanying sounds can be added. African traditions also emphasize dance and all the mime and props that go with it because movement is a significant form of communication.
Body percussion; clapping and foot stamping is also utilized. Improvisation is a fundamental element in African music. The musician's capabilities are measured by the community and his listeners, they must reflect his inventiveness From the 15th C onwards, our history of music making in Africa is mainly derived from studying representations of dances and making music with African musical instruments and scenes depicted in terracotta, stone or metal.
In Ife, Yorubaland we see footed cylindrical drums dating from the 10th to 14th century on terracotta artefacts. In Benin, pressure drums appear on brass plaques from the 15th C onwards. These plaques have proven to be a never-ending supply of information on the use of instruments like horns, bells, drums and bow lutes in ceremonial occasions. Migrations of tribes, movement of slaves and colonial porters and servants have all contributed to the wide dispersement of African musical instruments.
For example, lamellaphones with metal keys were a prominent feature in ancient Zimbabwe and spread through neighbouring kingdoms to Katanga and Angolan cultures, all the while becoming smaller and smaller for travelling purposes.
Zimbabwean 'mbiras' lamellaphone and 'ngomas' drums were first written about by Father Joao dos Santos, a Portuguese who travelled through the lower Zambezi in and recorded his impressions of the sounds these instruments made and the effects they had on their combined audience. Historically, Africa has contributed hugely to music-making in many other areas of the world most notably the Americas and most significantly in genres such as jazz, rock and roll, blues, salsa and samba.
Music once considered "primitive" by Westerners is now highly respected for its rhythmic sophistication and complexity. Singing is as basic a function as talking for most African people; mothers sing to their babies on their backs as they walk, work and dance, building an inherent sense of rhythm. There are a great variety of sounds produced but generally singing is loud and resonant but it can also be shrill and piercing or it can include ululating, clicks and grunts.
It can also be extremely melodious, using acapella and creating deeply harmonious songs. Personally, some years ago, I had the privilege to listen to an extraordinary group of performers from the Zambesi Valley in Zimbabwe: Tongas, whose haunting music blown from their horns and beaten off their drums made such amazing sounds that, if one closed one's eyes, one could believe one was in New York or London hearing the very latest contemporary jazz.
If anyone has heard the ground hornbill calling to his mates in the African bush in the early mornings then you will know the sound of Africa and it is echoed in their fantastic evocative notes. If anyone has watched an African woman hoeing in the field with a baby strapped tight to her back and the thud of her hoe is harmonised with the song she is singing while she toils, then this too is the resonance of Africa and is intrinsically lodged in their genetic memory.
Many factors which affected the development of jazz were intentional. However, many were also circumstantial, and as a result, gave jazz unique elements which otherwise would not be present. Jazz has two main genres of music which influenced it: Western military marches and traditional music which came from Africa and.
The fight was staged in Zaire, Africa and is subsequently predominantly an African influenced film, although still effective in delivering the story and exposition of one of the greatest sporting moments of our modern era.
Through use of a complex sound track - including live sound and interviews from the past - Gast is able to. By using analysis from Turner and Janzen, this essay will address the large impact of rites of passage, the significance of communitas, and the. If you observe any part of the culture you can see that music is essential in representing their heritage.
Unlike most cultures today, ancient African cultures brought music into their lives every day. Music also helps with African story-telling, dance, and even religious practices. Music is especially important for African dance because in some cultures there is not even a spoken language, they tell their stories through songs and dance.
When discussing the impact of music in Africa it is important to also mention the power of dance as well.
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