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Hand drumming is significant throughout Africa
Hand drumming is significant throughout Africa

The music of Africa is as vast and varied as the continent's many regions, nations and ethnic groups. The continent of Africa can be conceptually subdivided into a number of Regions or Subregions Directional approach One common approach categorises Although there is no distinctly pan-African music, there are common forms of musical expression, especially within regions. The continent of Africa can be conceptually subdivided into a number of Regions or Subregions Directional approach One common approach categorises

Some musical genres of northern and northeastern Africa, and the Islands off East Africa, share both traditional African and Middle Eastern features. The Horn of Africa (alternatively Northeast Africa, and sometimes Somali Peninsula; shortened to HOA) is a Peninsula in East Africa The Horn of Africa (alternatively Northeast Africa, and sometimes Somali Peninsula; shortened to HOA) is a Peninsula in East Africa East Africa is the Easternmost Region of the African Continent. The music of the Middle East and North Africa spans across a vast region from Morocco to Afghanistan and its influences can be felt even further afield

The music and dance forms of the African diaspora, including many Caribbean and Latin American music genres like rumba and salsa, as well as African American music, were founded on musical traditions from Africa, taken there by African slaves. The African diaspora was the movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world - predominantly to the Americas, then later to Europe, the The Music of the Caribbean is a diverse grouping of Musical genres They are each syntheses of African European Indian and Latin music, includes the music of all countries in Latin America (and the Caribbean) and comes in many varieties Salsa music is a diverse and predominantly Latin American Caribbean genre that is popular across Latin America and among Latinos abroad African American music (also called black music) is an umbrella term given to a range of Music and Musical genres emerging from or influenced by the This article discusses systems of slavery within Africa the history and effects of the slavery trade upon Africa

Contents

Musical instruments

Besides using the voice, which has been developed to use various techniques such as complex melisma and yodel, a wide array of musical instruments are used. Melisma, in music is singing a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession Yodeling (or yodelling, jodeling) is a form of Singing that involves singing an extended note which rapidly and repeatedly changes in pitch from the A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. African musical instruments include a wide array of drums, slit gongs, rattles, double bells as well as melodic instruments like string instruments, (musical bows, different types of harps and harp-like instruments like the Kora as well as fiddles), many types of xylophone and lamellophone such as the mbira and different types of wind instrument like flutes and trumpets. The drum is a member of the percussion group technically classified as a Membranophone. A Slit gong, sometimes also called "slit drum" is a Log Drum used throughout Africa, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. RATTLE is an award-winning poetry magazine based in Los Angeles, California The Gankoqui (or Gonkoque) is popularly referred to as gakpevi (ga - forged iron + kpe - carrying + vi - child and is a popular West African musical instrument A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a Musical instrument that produces Sound by means of Vibrating strings In the Hornbostel-Sachs The musical bow is a simple string Musical instrument consisting of a string supported by a flexible string bearer usually made out of Wood. The harp is a Stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. The kora is a 21- string Harp - Lute used extensively by peoples in West Africa. The xylophone (from the Greek words ξύλον - xylon, "wood" + φωνή - phone, "voice" meaning "wooden Lamellophone (also spelled " Lamellaphone " also referred to as Linguaphone (from "tongue" i See also Thumb piano In Zimbabwean music, the mbira is a Musical instrument consisting of a wooden board to which staggered metal keys A wind instrument is a Musical instrument that contains some type of Resonator (usually a tube in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing The flute is a Musical instrument of the Woodwind family Unlike other woodwind instruments a flute is a Reedless wind instrument that produces its

Drums used in African traditional music include tama talking drums, bougarabou and djembe in West Africa, water drums in Central and West Africa, and the different types of ngoma drums (pronounced by some "engoma") in Central and Southern Africa. The talking drum is a West African Drum whose pitch can be regulated to the extent that it is said the drum " talks " A Bougarabou (alternative spelling “Boucarabou” is a set of Drums commonly used in West Africa. A djembe (ˈdʒɛmbeɪ JEM-bay) also known as djimbe, jenbe, jembe, yembe, or sanbanyi in Susu is a skin covered West Africa or Western Africa is the Westernmost Region of the African Continent. Water drum s are a category of Membranophone characterized by the filling of the drum chamber with some amount of water to create a unique sound Central Africa is a core Region of the African Continent often considered to include Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad Ngoma drums are Musical instruments used by the Bantu peoples of central, eastern and Southern Africa. Southern Africa is the Southernmost Region of the African Continent, variably defined by Geography or Geopolitics. Other percussion instruments include many rattles and shakers, such as the kosika, rainstick, bells and woodsticks. The Kosika (also known as Kashaka Patica Asalato Kes Kes Tchangot Tche or many other names is a simple Ghanese percussion instrument consisting of two small A rainstick is a long hollow tube which is filled with small baubles such as beads or beans and has small pins arranged helically on its inside surface Many cultures use song and dance to ward off evil spirits, and pay respects to good spirits, the dead, and ancestors.

Relationship to language

Many African languages are tonal languages, leading to a close connection between music and language in many African cultures. There are an estimated 2000 Languages spoken in Africa. About a hundred of these are widely used for inter-ethnic communication A tonal language is a language that uses tone to distinguish words In singing, the tonal pattern or the text puts some constraints on the melodic patterns. On the other hand, in instrumental music a native speaker of a language can often perceive a text or texts in the music. This effect also forms the basis of drum languages (talking drums). Developed and used by Cultures living in Forested areas drums served as an early form of long distance Communication, and were used during ceremonial The talking drum is a West African Drum whose pitch can be regulated to the extent that it is said the drum " talks "

Relationship to dance

An African woman, wearing native garments, performs during a visit from participants in the West Africa Training Cruise 1983.
An African woman, wearing native garments, performs during a visit from participants in the West Africa Training Cruise 1983.

The treatment of "music" and "dance" as separate art forms is a European idea. In many African languages there is no concept corresponding exactly to these terms. For example, in many Bantu languages, there is one concept that might be translated as "song" and another that covers both the semantic fields of the European concepts of "music" and "dance". So there is one word for both music and dance (the exact meaning of the concepts may differ from culture to culture).

For example, in Kiswahili, the word "ngoma" may be translated as "drum", "dance", "dance event", "dance celebration" or "music", depending on the context. Swahili (called Kiswahili in the language itself is the First language of the Swahili people (Waswahili who inhabit several large stretches Each of these translations is incomplete.

Therefore, from an intracultural point of view, African music and African dance must be viewed in very close connection. The term intracultural is used to describe data and interactional data from within one Cultural group. In this article African dance refers mainly to the dance of black Africa and more appropriately African dances because of the many cultural differences in musical and movement The classification of the phenomena of this area of culture into "music" and "dance" is foreign to many African cultures.

Traditional music

A lot of African traditional music is or was performed by professional musicians. Traditional music is the term now used in the terminology of Grammy Awards for what used to be called " folk music " Some of it belongs to court music or sacral music traditions, therefore the term "folk" music is not always appropriate. Religious music (also sacred music) is Music performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence Nevertheless, both the terms "folk music" and "traditional music" can be found in the literature.

Sub-Saharan African folk music and traditional music is mostly functional in nature. This is a list of folk music traditions, with styles dances instruments and other related topics There are, for example, many different kinds of work songs, ceremonial or religious music and courtly music performed at royal courts, but none of these are performed outside of their intended social context. A work song is typically a Rhythmic A cappella Song sung by people working on a physical and often repetitive task

Music is highly functional in African ethnic life, accompanying childbirth, marriage, hunting, and even political activities. Childbirth (also called labour, birth, partus or parturition) is the culmination of a Human Pregnancy or NOTICE TO WOULD-BE ROMEOS ************** Hunting is the practice of pursuing Animals for Food, Recreation, or Trade. fact|date=November 2007}}.

Popular music

Main article: African popular music

Influence in American music

African music has been a major factor in the shaping of what we know today as blues and jazz. "Afropop" redirects here For the radio program see Afropop Worldwide. The Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of Music based on the use of the Blue notes It emerged as an accessible form of self-expression Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States These styles have all borrowed from African rhythms and sounds, brought over the Atlantic ocean by slaves. Paul Simon, on his album "Graceland" has used African bands and music along with his own lyrics. Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13 1941 is an American Songwriter, Musician, and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Graceland is an Album released in 1986 by Paul Simon. It was a big hit in the UK topping the charts at #1

As the rise of rock'n'roll music is often credited as having begun with 1940s blues music, and with so many genres having branched off from rock - the myriad subgenres of heavy metal, punk rock, pop music and many more - it can be argued that African music has been at the root of a very significant portion of all contemporary music. Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949 Events and trends The 1940s was a period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s which also leads the period to be Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure

See also

References

External links

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