African Music – The Blog of Samite

Archive for the ‘African Music Instruments’ Category

These traditional African instruments enrich the fabric of African history and culture, and contribute to the exciting opportunity of a global audience for this genre.

The Basoga and Baganda Lyre is a string instrument of lizard skin and other skins in the tradition of drums and harp.  Strings are tied to wood and placed in a hole so the two arms of the lyre can connect.  The “endongo” or Ganda Lyre has a single hole, the Entongoli or Soga instrument has two pieces of barkcloth, banana threads or ordinary cloth and it winds around the yoke.

Strings are wrapped around tightly until it becomes a tuning peg.   An unusual feature of the Baganda and Basoga lyre is the lack of progressive order of the strings.  Unlike the zither and arched harp, the highest note is the third string from the left and the lowest is the fifth lowest.  Octaves are found on strings 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7.

Akindinda:  This is a percussion instrument that resembles a xylophone.  200 years ago the keys were tied in place with fiber threaded through holes in the wood.  However the more “modern” akadinda has two braces with carving on the bottom so it doesn’t move when placed on a countertop.

The keys of this instrument are held together with the novel method of the musician’s toes or even a young child holding them in place.  The Akadinda has 17 keys although older versions had 22 keys.  It took five men to play the 17 keys.

The amadinda has 12 different keys which required three men to play a unique theme.  In Ugandan culture, only the most important men in society maintained the amadinda.

The Sansa is a widely popular musical instrument first reported in 1586.  It has iron keys and a U-shaped foundation and keys determined by the specific ethnic group, making traditional African instruments a very personal experience in the continent.

The translation of Kalimba is little music, and it is a perfect blend of African sounds adapted to include Western tastes.

Developed in the 1960s by Englishman Hugh Tracey, it is often referred to as the thumb piano for allowing the musician to play harmony using both thumbs.

Tracey relocated from Great Britain to Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia, to assist in the operation of a tobacco farm owned by his brother in the 1920’s. While there, he became fascinated by the African music culture, particularly an instrument called the mbira.  Tracey invented the modern Kalimba based on the construction of the mbira.

There is some cross-pollination of these instruments in Africa.  In Zimbabwe the population still refers to the instrument as the mbira and in Kenya they say Kalimba.  To further confuse the issue, in Rwanda and the Congo the instrument is called an ikembe.  Less common names are the sanza, marimba and marimbula.

Perhaps the most generic name for this marvelous instrument is the thumb piano, gourd piano and finger harp.

Essentially, the Kalimba, pronounced ka-leem’-buh, is a wooden box with metal keys called lamellas adhered to the top.  The keys are sometimes made from cane while the box is made from an African hardwood called kyat.

Traditional African self-reliance has some of these beautiful instruments fashioned out of bicycle spokes, spoon handles or discarded wire that is shaped into the necessary length for plucking.   These strings are plucked with the two thumbs or a combination of thumbs and fingers.

The strings or keys are 20 to 24 in number, placed on two bars on the sound box.  The loose ends of the keys are various lengths which provide the different pitches.  Like any stringed instrument of the West, a longer string produces a lower pitch and a shorter string accords a higher pitch.

Our friend Samite is a master of Kalimba music, so why not invite his artistry into your home?

Order Samite’s latest CD.

The African music instrument, like the human race, originated in the cradle of humanity; Africa.  It is from here that all the musical instruments we use around the world today originated.

This is especially true of the instruments of Northern Africa which have a decidedly Islamic flair.  Nearly all the Western instruments used in Europe and the Americas started here from wind instruments to the strings like guitar and violin.

Drums are quite unique to the sub-Saharan.  They are not used much in Islamic music, but they are an integral part of musical expression in all other African cultures and societies.

To understand African music today we must first explore its roots.  The first Africans to leave the continent settled in the Caribbean in the 16th century.  By the early 17th century they arrived in the Colony of Virginia.

Unfortunately the African experience was not welcomed in the New World.  Artistic expression was tightly controlled or suppressed altogether.  Fortunately, African influences endured and today they are a driving presence in the American music scene.

African music especially that of the sub-Sahara, has strong rhythmic components.  Percussive instruments like drums, horns, rattles and even bells create an experience of many layers.  In addition, dance is an integral part of music and the body forms an instrument of its own with handclapping and bells jingling on costume to add to the musical texture.

The earliest music was intended as a communication form that was not intended to be pleasant or lyrical.  A particular drumbeat could signal the approach of an enemy tribe or even the King.  This is why ante-bellum plantation owners in America sought to thwart African slave expression.

The plantation owners feared there was a revolt underway that would catch the “owners” by surprise.  The slaves adapted their sounds to more Western sensibilities, one of many ways the African music instrument survives today.

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Diversity in African music instruments is what gives them their unique sound quality. African instruments include a range of string and percussion devices with cultural and religious significance.

Here are some typical musical instruments from Uganda:

Kikuyu:  This is a type of fiddle made from a gourd.   In Africa children often make their own instruments and they are taught how to do this from an early age.  It is not uncommon for four year olds to make instruments for themselves and this is something they can handle.

Engalabi:  A traditional percussion instrument resembling a long, small drum.  It has a reptile skin that is nailed to the wooden frame.  Lately the Ugandan government has discouraged the practice of using reptile skin but the tradition continues.  This instrument is played with bare hands.

Enkwanzi:  A panpipe also called an oburere.  It means “little flutes” and it is made from bamboo or elephant grass.  The nodules on the grass block the passage of air and gives the instrument its pitch.    The reeds are assembled, large to small and tied together with string.  Western flutes with finger holes are believed to have evolved from this ancient musical device.

Ensasi: A shaker made of two gourds with stick handles used to accompany other instruments in traditional Ugandan music especially in the eastern and central region.  In northern Uganda there is a unique sound because the beads move side to side in a tin shell or gourd with several holes.

Basoga Lyre:  Made with lizard skin and tied with animal skin like the drums and harp.  Strings are assembled with wood woven through holes.  The Endongo, or Danda Lyre has one hole and the Entongoli, or Soga, has two pieces of banana fibers or barkcloth around the yoke.

As you can see, these instruments are quite different from the ones cultivated in Europe, and the musical experience is equally wondrous with African music instruments.