Lecture on Instrumental Construction and General Resources of African Music
Introduction
African music is deeply intertwined with the social, cultural, and spiritual life of its people. One of the unique features of African music is its rich variety of instruments, each with distinct methods of construction and sounds that reflect the diversity of the continent’s ethnic groups.
1. Overview of African Musical Instruments
African musical instruments are generally categorized into four groups:
Idiophones: Instruments that produce sound from the material itself without needing strings or a membrane (e.g., rattles, bells).
Membranophone: Instruments that produce sound by vibrating a stretched membrane (e.g., drums).
Chordophones: Instruments that use strings to produce sound (e.g., harps, lyres).
Aerophone: Instruments that produce sound through air vibration (e.g., flutes, horns).
2. Instrumental Construction in African Music
a. Idiophones
Idiophones are some of the oldest and most widespread instruments in Africa. They include:
Xylophones (Balafon): Made from wooden slats that are struck with mallets. In some regions, gourd resonators are attached beneath each slat for amplification.
Construction: Hardwood slats are tuned to different pitches, typically suspended on a frame.
Cultural Use: Balafons are played at ceremonies, festivals, and storytelling events.
Rattles (Sekere, Maracas): Made from dried gourds with seeds or beads attached to the outside.
Construction: The gourd is dried, hollowed out, and then covered with a net of beads.
Cultural Use: Rattles are used in religious rituals, festivals, and as accompaniment to dances.
Bells (Gankogui): Double bells struck with a stick, common in West African music.
Construction: Made from iron or bronze, with one bell producing a high tone and the other a low tone.
Cultural Use: Provides rhythmic structure in ensembles, especially in Ewe and Yoruba music.
b. Membranophone
Drums are essential to African music, with a variety of types across the continent:
Talking Drum (Dundun): A double-headed drum with tensioned strings, allowing the player to mimic the tonal patterns of language.
Construction: Made from a wooden frame and covered with animal skin. Tension cords are adjusted to change the pitch.
Cultural Use: Used to communicate messages, announce events, or accompany oral histories.
Djembe: A goblet-shaped drum from West Africa, known for its versatility.
Construction: Carved from a single piece of hardwood and covered with a goatskin head, tightened by ropes.
Cultural Use: Played in community events, celebrations, and rites of passage.
Ngoma: A large barrel-shaped drum found in Central and Southern Africa.
Construction: Made from hollowed tree trunks and covered with cowhide or goat skin.
Cultural Use: Ngoma drums are used in healing ceremonies, rituals, and dance events.
c. Chordophones
Stringed instruments are common in various regions of Africa, including:
Kora: A harp-lute with 21 strings, popular among the Mandinka people of West Africa.
Construction: The resonating body is made from a large calabash cut in half, covered with cowhide, and fitted with long strings attached to a wooden neck.
Cultural Use: Played by griots (oral historians) to accompany praise songs, historical recitations, and epic tales.
Krár (Bowl Harp): A six-stringed instrument from East Africa, especially Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Construction: Made from a wooden body covered with hide, and gut or nylon strings attached to a wooden neck.
Cultural Use: Used to accompany songs of love, praise, and storytelling.
Nyatiti: A lyre-like instrument from the Luo people of Kenya.
Construction: Made from wood, with strings stretched between a soundboard and the neck.
Cultural Use: Played to accompany traditional dance and songs.
d. Aerophone
Wind instruments are less common in African music but still significant:
Flutes (Fula Flute, Oja): Simple bamboo or wooden flutes found across Africa.
Construction: Carved from bamboo or wood, with finger holes for pitch control.
Cultural Use: Often used in ceremonial music, hunting rituals, or pastoral tunes.
Horns (Ivory Horn, Vuvuzela): Made from animal horns or metal.
Construction: Hollowed animal horns (e.g., antelope, buffalo) or metal are used to create a resonant tube.
Cultural Use: Used in royal ceremonies, hunting signals, and during large gatherings or celebrations.
3. Cultural and Social Context of African Instruments
African musical instruments are not just tools for producing sound; they are deeply connected to the cultural, social, and spiritual lives of African communities. Key functions include:
Communication: Instruments like the talking drum convey messages across long distances in many African societies. Specific rhythms can symbolize messages related to events, emergencies, or celebrations.
Rituals and Spiritual Practices: Drums and rattles are used in religious rituals to summon spirits, call upon ancestors, or accompany healing ceremonies. For example, the Yoruba people use drums in their rituals for deities called Orishas.
Storytelling and Oral Tradition: Griots or oral historians use instruments like the kora or balafon to accompany their storytelling. Music becomes a medium for preserving history, genealogy, and moral lessons.
Celebrations and Festivals: Music, especially drums, plays a central role in African weddings, harvest festivals, initiation rites, and funerals. The instruments' sounds are believed to bridge the material and spiritual worlds.
Dance and Movement: African music and dance are inseparable. Instruments provide the rhythm that drives movement. Many dances correspond to specific social functions, such as courtship, rites of passage, or warrior preparation.
4. General Resources of African Music
a. Rhythm and Polyrhythm
One of the most characteristic features of African music is its emphasis on rhythm and complex polyrhythms. Musicians often layer different rhythmic patterns together, creating intricate textures of sound that reflect the dynamic nature of African life.
b. Call and Response
This is a common structural form where a leader (singer or instrumentalist) performs a musical phrase (call), and the group or audience responds. The interplay of solo and group participation is central to African music's communal aspect.
c. Improvisation
Improvisation plays a key role in African music. While certain pieces follow specific structures, musicians are encouraged to add personal flair, embellish rhythms, or even introduce new melodies during performances.
d. Tonality
African music employs a variety of scales, often pentatonic or heptatonic, depending on the region. Instruments are tuned to match the tonal qualities of the local language, which in many African societies is tonal.
e. Community Participation
African music is not a passive experience. It involves active participation from everyone present, whether through singing, clapping, dancing, or playing simple instruments. This creates a collective musical experience.
Summary
African music, with its diverse instruments and cultural richness, plays a vital role in the lives of African people. From storytelling to spiritual ceremonies, its function goes beyond entertainment to encapsulate the essence of community, history, and identity. Understanding the construction and use of African instruments helps to appreciate the complexity and depth of African musical traditions.
The Ensemble Part Relationship
In African music, instrumental ensemble relationships are key to understanding the texture of the music. These relationships are characterized by different structures such as polyphony, homophony, and unilineal structures. Here's a detailed explanation of each structure as it relates to African instrumental ensembles:
1. Polyphony in African Music Ensembles
Polyphony refers to the simultaneous combination of two or more independent melodic lines. In African music, polyphony is common in instrumental ensembles, particularly in regions like West Africa. Here’s how polyphony functions:
a. Layering of Rhythms
In many African musical traditions, polyphony is created by layering different rhythmic and melodic lines. Instruments in the ensemble contribute unique patterns that interlock to create complex textures. Each musician or instrument performs a specific part, which contrasts with the others while still harmonizing within the ensemble.
Example (Talking Drum Ensemble - Yoruba Tradition): In a typical talking drum ensemble, different sizes of drums (e.g., iyaalu, omele) play distinct rhythmic patterns. Each drum's part is rhythmically independent but collectively forms a cohesive musical conversation.
Example (Ewe Drum Ensemble - Ghana): The gankogui (double bell) plays a steady, cyclic rhythm that acts as a time reference, while drums like the kaganu, kidi, and atsimevu each play different rhythmic patterns that interlock. The combination of these independent parts results in polyphonic music.
b. Call and Response (Antiphonal) Polyphony
In some African ensembles, polyphony emerges through call and response interactions, where one instrument or group of instruments introduces a phrase (the "call"), and another part responds (the "response"). These exchanges create multiple melodic lines that weave together in the performance.
Example (Kora Ensembles - Gambia/Senegal): In an ensemble with multiple kora players or a mix of a kora and a balafon, one player may introduce a melodic phrase that another player responds to. These back-and-forth exchanges, while distinct, blend into a polyphonic structure.
2. Homophony in African Music Ensembles
Homophony refers to a texture where multiple voices or instruments move together rhythmically, often with one main melody and accompanying parts that provide harmony or support. Homophony in African music is less common than polyphony but can still be observed in certain ensemble contexts.
a. Melody with Accompaniment
In some African musical traditions, one instrument plays the main melody, while others provide harmonic support or accompaniment, leading to a homophonic texture.
Example (Zither or Harp Ensembles - East Africa): In the playing of instruments like the mbira (thumb piano) or nyatiti (lyre), the main performer may play a central melody, while other performers or instruments provide harmonic drones or chords. The ensemble moves rhythmically together, creating a unified, homophonic sound.
Example (Choral Accompanied by Instrumental Ensemble - South Africa): In some traditional South African vocal music, instrumental accompaniment plays supporting harmonic parts while the singers perform a melody. The instruments move in synchrony with the vocal line, making the texture homophonic.
b. Parallel Harmonies
Another form of homophony in African music involves instruments playing the same melody but in parallel intervals, usually at a third, fourth, or fifth.
Example (Xylophone Ensembles - Uganda): In Ugandan akadinda (xylophone) ensembles, multiple players strike keys to produce parallel harmonies, moving together in a way that emphasizes the same melodic contour but at different pitches. This results in a homophonic sound.
3. Unilineal Structure in African Music Ensembles
Unilineal structure refers to a musical texture in which all instruments in the ensemble follow a single melodic line. This structure is more focused and less complex than polyphony or homophony, and it often emphasizes the communal nature of music-making, where all participants contribute to the same melody or rhythm.
a. Monophonic Ensemble Playing
In certain African ensembles, particularly during ritual or ceremonial performances, all the instruments may play the same melody or rhythmic line in unison, creating a monophonic or unilineal texture. This can occur in traditional music where unity of sound is essential for social or spiritual cohesion.
Example (Bantu Song Accompanied by Instruments - Central Africa): In some Bantu cultures, a single melodic line is sung or played by all participants in the ensemble, whether they are playing flutes, drums, or rattles. The focus is on collective performance rather than individual parts.
b. Rhythmic Unison
In some cases, a unilineal structure emerges when all instruments play the same rhythmic pattern together, even if they vary slightly in tone or timbre. This form of unity often signifies communal strength or ritual intensity.
Example (Ceremonial Drum Ensembles - Yoruba Tradition): During rituals, all drummers might play the same pattern in unison to invoke a spiritual presence or create an intense communal energy. The uniformity of rhythm reflects a unilineal structure in which all instruments act as one.
The ensemble part relationships in African music reflect the complexity and diversity of African societies. Polyphony highlights the individual creativity of each performer while maintaining a cohesive whole; homophony emphasizes harmonic support to a central melody, and unilineal structures focus on communal unity. These textures are not mutually exclusive; African musical ensembles often transition between polyphonic, homophonic, and unilineal forms within a single performance, reflecting the dynamic and multifaceted nature of African musical traditions.
- Lecturer : Kanife Udochukwu