African Music – The Blog of Samite

Posts Tagged ‘Traditional African Music’

Linking traditional African music with the United States, there are generous grants being offered to preserve the history and culture of traditional African songs, dances and musical instruments.

The U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation has been quietly assembling samples of African music.  Most people think of the State Department efforts as a fund to save historic buildings,  museums and historical sites, however some of the monies have gone toward saving the music that is in danger of being replaced by modern sounds.

A project funded by the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation dispatched archivists throughout Africa with recording equipment.  In Burundi alone, the historians returned with 230 recordings of traditional music.

In an effort to make this music accessible to future generations, the field recordings of questionable quality were enhanced with Burundian musicians who ‘’filled the gaps” with traditional instrument.  The famous Burundian drums are now highlighted in 176 songs on CDs.

African youth are being exposed to new kinds of instruments and village elders are concerned the indigenous sounds will disappear.   An Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation grant also went toward a research project for young Africans to explore their musical history and to learn from the elders how to make the instruments themselves.  The young people recorded the music on these instruments to have an audible record.

In the process, the youth are learning entrepreneurial skills to market and sell the instruments to a new generation who would otherwise not be exposed to this cultural treasure.

Lastly, in Madagascar, the AFCP funded an attempt to preserve the unusual Malagasy dances, music and instruments.  The various districts there have distinct sounds and costumes.  All of it was recorded and shared in the classrooms of school children, insuring that future generations will be comfortable and knowledgeable with the sounds of their ancestors.

The purpose of African Wind Instruments is quite different from the musical instruments of the United States and Europe.

In Africa, musicians do not seek to produce a lyrical and melodious sound that is always pleasing to the ear.  There is a message in the music of Africa that is conveyed through the centuries from this second largest continent in the world.

The most commonly used instrument in World Music is percussion.  Whether it is a drum, rattle, bells, clapper or rattle, percussion speaks a language that bridges the many cultures and the 50 countries which comprise the African continent.

Wind instruments are not as prominent as drums in the music of this culture.  Their construction incorporates all natural materials made available by nature and produce a more subtle sound.  For example, some wind instruments are made from conch shells, animal tusks and horns or wood and gourds.

Pre-made musical instruments can be very expensive to buy in Africa so from an early age children are taught how to make their own.  In addition to the elements found in nature, children construct wind instruments from household items like pipes or even corn stalks.

As the sound of air passing over the material changes with the material itself, wind instruments in Africa have a very unique tonal quality.  Whether it is an ocarina, oboe, panpipe or whistle, these instruments add to the complex nature of the music.  Virtually anything can be used to create a wind instrument, even a can of soda pop.

Because traditional African music is not passed down in writing in the way music composition is passed to the next generation in the west, the instruments create patterns to the sound which are altered by the tone of the language.  It is the pattern of the music and African Wind Instruments that gets carried forth through the generations.

A close look at traditional African music reveals a spectrum of influences; from the Arabic seeds of the north and its contribution to Egypt and Carthage, there are dominant strains that evoke sounds of the Middle East.  Specific locales to be included in this realm are Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania.

It’s not exactly what one thinks about with Africa, however the Continent is vast and includes many ancient cultures.  Not to be forgotten are the Sudan and Ethiopia, all clustered in this unique area of northern Africa.

Southern, West and Central Africa are solidly sub-Saharan and lure influences from North America and Western Europe.   This is the music most often associated with “Africa”.  There is an emphasis on rhythm and dance.  Various work songs evoke the early history of music in antebellum America.  There are different songs to accompany marriage, childbirth and hunting.  Some songs repel evil spirits, some honor good spirits and much of it is political.

Sub-Saharan music incorporates four regions:  The eastern section of Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi and Mozambique,  the South including Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia and Angola; Central, Chad, Congo, Zambia and music of the Pygmies, and the west which houses Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Togo and Nigeria.

African music uses various techniques not associated with this continent, like yodeling and melisma.  A broad spectrum of instruments are used.  Drums, rattles and bells create memorable melody and rhythm.

There are several kinds of xylophone and lamellophone, trumpets and flutes, but the most distinctive is the drum and it comes in many shapes and sizes.

English is the common language of Africa however specific local dialects lend themselves to the music.  A native singer adds an authentic component to a song whereas other songs are automatic for a western ear.    That’s because cross-pollination of music across the globe has brought a new dimension to traditional African music.

We invite you to listen to Samite as he pleasures your senses with the sounds and culture of Uganda and Kenya where he learned his style and crafted his unique skill.  There is an order form on his main website for you to pre-order his latest CD.  We are all excited about its release.