Music of

AFRICA
 Music of Africa
❖ African music is one of the earliest in
time
❖ music has been an important part of
the lives of Africans (birth, death,
initiation, marriage and funeral)

❖ it was usually performed with dancing

 Music of Africa
❖ African music is one of the most
influential styles of music in the world
❖Their music is highly energetic and
rhythmically challenging (Jazz, Gospel
and spiritual, RnB)
❖ their music is a product of the musical
heritage of more than 50 countries
 01
TRADITIONAL
MUSIC OF AFRICA
 Traditional Music of Africa
African music – has
an interlocking
structural format,
due to its overlapping
and dense texture
and its rhythmic
complexity.
 Purpose
● Functional (ceremonial
rites for birth, death,
marriage, succession,
worship and spirit
invocations
● Work-related or social
● Entertainment
 Types of African Music
Afrobeat – fusion of West African with Black American
music.

Apala (Akpala) – from Nigeria; used to wake up the

worshippers after fasting during Ramadan.

Axe – from Salvador, Bahia and Brazil. It fuses the Afro-

Caribbean styles of marcha, reggae and calypso, and it is
played by carnival bands.
Types of African Music
Jit – hard and fast percussive Zimbabwean
dance played with guitar accompaniment.

Jive – popular form of South African music

featuring a lively and uninhibited variation of
the jitterbug, a form of swing dance.

Juju – from Nigeria, relies on the traditional

Yoruba rhythms.
 Types of African Music
Kwassa kwassa – dance style
popularized by Kanda Bongo Man.
The hips move back and forth
while the arms follow the hip
movements.

Marabi – characterized by simple

chords in varying vamping
patterns and repetitive harmony
LATIN AMERICAN
MUSIC INFLUENCED
BY AFRICAN MUSIC
 LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC INFLUENCED BY
AFRICAN MUSIC
Reggae – Jamaican musical style influenced by mento and calypso
music. Its distinctive qualities is its offbeat rhythm and staccato
chords.
 LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC INFLUENCED BY
AFRICAN MUSIC
Salsa – is Cuban, Puerto Rican and Colombian dance music.
 LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC INFLUENCED BY
AFRICAN MUSIC
Samba – a Brazilian musical genre and dance style. It has a lively
and rhythmical beat.
 LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC INFLUENCED BY
AFRICAN MUSIC

Soca – “soul of Calypso”

combining traditions of 2 ethnic
groups. It is a modern
Trinidadian and Tobagonian pop
music combing souls and
calypso.
 LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC INFLUENCED BY
AFRICAN MUSIC

Zouk – fast, carnival-like

rhythmic music. It has a
pulsating beat.
Vocal Forms of
African Music
 VOCAL FORMS OF AFRICAN MUSIC
Maracatu – combining the
strong rhythms of African
percussion instruments with
Portuguese melodies.
The maracatu groups were
called nacoes (nations) who
paraded with a drumming
ensemble, accompanied by a
singer, a chorus, and a coterie
of dancers.
 Musical Instruments used in Maracatu

Alfaia Tarol Caixa

Gongue
Agbe Ganza or miniero
 VOCAL FORMS OF AFRICAN MUSIC
Blues – an expressive and
soulful sound.
-feelings of misfortune, lost
love, frustration, or loneliness.

Ray Charles
Georgia in My Mind by Ray Charles
 VOCAL FORMS OF AFRICAN MUSIC
Soul – accompanied by handclaps and extemporaneous body
moves. “Call and response” between the soloist and the chorus,
and intense and powerful vocal sound.

James Brown Etta James

“Godfather of Soul”
Ben by Michael Jackson
 VOCAL FORMS OF AFRICAN MUSIC
Spiritual – to express
their loneliness and
anger. Texts are mainly
religious. Vocal
inflections, African
accents, and dramatic
changes in dynamics.
When the Saints Go Marching In
 VOCAL FORMS OF AFRICAN MUSIC

Call and Response –

question and answer
sequence in human
communication;
verse-chorus form.
Musical Instruments
of Africa
 CLASSIFICATION OF TRADITIONAL
AFRICAN INSTRUMENTS
A. IDIOPHONES
● Percussion instruments that are struck with a mallet or
against one another.
B. MEMBRANOPHONES
● Usually drums
● Have a vibrating animal membranes.
● Shapes: conical, cylindrical, barrel, hour-glass, globular or
kettle
● Played with sticks, hands, or a combination of both
 CLASSIFICATION OF TRADITIONAL
AFRICAN INSTRUMENTS
C. LAMELLAPHONE
● Most popular African percussion instrument

D. CHORDOPHONES
● Stringed instruments

E. AEROPHONES
● Produce sounds by trappings or enclosing air causing it to
vibrate.
 IDIOPHONES
1. Balafon
2. Rattles
3. Agogo
4. Atingting kon
5. Slit drum
6. Djembe
7. Shekere
8. Rasp
IDIOPHONES

Balafon
IDIOPHONES

Rattles
IDIOPHONES

Agogo
IDIOPHONES

Atingting Kon
IDIOPHONES

Slit Drum
IDIOPHONES

Djembe
IDIOPHONES

Shekere
IDIOPHONES

Rasp
MEMBRANOPHONES
1. Body percussion
2. Talking drum
 MEMBRANOPHONES

1. Body Percussion – bodies as musical instruments (clapping,

slapping thighs, pounding upper arms/chests, shuffling or stomping
feet)
2. Talking drum – used to send messages to announce births, deaths,
marriages, sporting events, dances, initiation, or war.
 LAMELLAPHONE
1. Lamellaphone – a set of plucked tongues or key mounted on a
sound board.
Ex. Mbira
 CHORDOPHONES
1. Musical bow – types: mouth bow, resonator bow, earth bow.

Mouth Bow
 CHORDOPHONES
1. Musical bow – types: mouth bow, resonator bow, earth bow.
Resonator
Bow
 CHORDOPHONES
1. Musical bow – types: mouth bow, resonator bow, earth bow.

Earth
EarthBow
Bow
 CHORDOPHONES
2. Lute – shaped like 3. Kora – a harp made 4. Zither – strings are
the modern guitar and from a gourd or stretched along its
played similarly. calabash body
Nkoni

Kora

Raft
Zither
Kora
 CHORDOPHONES
5. Zeze –a fiddle with a bow, a small wooden stick or plucked with fingers.

Zeze
 AEROPHONES
1. Flutes 2. Horns – made from
elephant tusks and
animal horns.

Fulani

Kudu horn
 AEROPHONES
3. Reed Pipes 4. Whistles 5. Trumpets

African
Whistle

Rhaita
Lord of the Rings,
Mordor theme
 Let’s Wrap it Up!
● What are the purposes of traditional
African music?
● How relevant is African music to this time?
● What are the contributions of African
music in today’s musical forms?
● Why is it important for you as a student to
learn about African music?