A DISCUSSION ON THE AESTHETIC PARAPHERNALIA IN AFRICAN

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

Olawole Aro
Department of Creative Arts (Music),
University of Lagos Akoka, Nigeria.
E-mail: wolescholar33@gmail.com

Abstract

Aesthetic paraphernalia is the perceptible part that forms the component of beauty, taste, and
pleasure of arts in the context of any culture, such as in African arts with the inclusion of
musical practices. These components are apparent in African instrumental music by
examining; aesthetics as a cognitive exercise, African’s cultural heritage, compositional
technique and process of African instrumental music, and polyphonic nature of African
instrumental music. African instrumental music is a major component of African music that
mirrors a wide range of idioms practiced by Africans, Afrocentric musicians, and critics. In
the light of this, participant-observation and bibliographical methods were used to gather data
for this study. The scope of discussion here will cover aesthetic tools in West Africa that
projects a huge chunk in Africa. Therefore, it was revealed that the aesthetic tools in African
instrumental music should not be viewed exclusively under its expressivity but also its
technical view in the context of its cultural inclination, sonic attributes, and the active
enjoyment derived from it. Although aesthetic materials in African instrumental music can be
considered in several dimensions and phases, possible parameter available for aesthetic
exercise includes; symbolism, functionality, techniques, theoretical realization, ensemble
formation, performers’ identity, performers, and audience participation. To this end, aesthetic
paraphernalia in African instrumental music should be examined not only in its obvious
values but also in its intrinsic values where a lot to be discovered lies.

KEYWORDS: Aesthetics, Instrumental music, aesthetic property, Drum language,

African music.

Introduction

Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy that stemmed out of axiology. Idang (98) shows that
axiology is a branch of philosophy that deals with values embracing both ethics and
aesthetics. This branch of philosophy has been examined by several aestheticians and
philosophers such as Baungerten (aesthetic content), Kant (aesthetic judgement), Hegel
(cognitive theory of art), Collingwood (aesthetic pleasure), and Siegel (aesthetic realism).

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Aesthetics is the eyes through which works of art can be viewed for worth in itself, worth
around itself, and worth by its contacts. Hence, aesthetics is an exercise for theorising both
the visible and invisible beauty of a work of art such that; it is not only related to the visual
perception but also involves other means of perception.

Aesthetics was derived from the Greek word aisthetikos which means to perceive. The
perception of any tangible or intangible object or personality can be done through an
encounter – ethereal or physical, concrete or non-concrete, personified or natural – with such
object. This encounter leaves an experience in the mind of whosoever did the perception. For
this reason, Aro (2019) observes that the aesthetic process in a given piece of music is in
three stages; encounter, perception, and experience respectively. The first stage, encounter,
entails picking, identifying, or contacting a piece of music for an aesthetic property. The
second is the perception stage that recognises perception as the activities of the human’s
sense organ for sight, hearing, and touch, as well as the mind, to reach an aesthetic judgement
of a musical work. The third stage of the aesthetic process is the experience that connotes the
knowledge or understanding one derived from the perception. The experience of an artwork
leaves a wide range of reactions such as obsession, imagining, memory recall, reasoning,
feeling, mood swing as well as that described by Kant as disinterestedness. Therefore, those
three stages form the backbone for aesthetic paraphernalia in instrumental music paradigms
available in Africa.

Aesthetic paraphernalia is the perceptible part that forms the component of beauty, taste, and
pleasure of arts in the context of any culture. This reflects in African arts, inclusive of
musical practices. In the light of this, aesthetic paraphernalia is the bit and piece which
presents aesthetic sources in African arts, and more contextually, African music. Therefore,
these components are apparent in African instrumental music by examining the aesthetics as
a cognitive exercise, the concept of African instrumental music, African’s cultural heritage,
compositional technique and process of African instrumental music, polyphonic nature of
African instrumental music among others.

This work examines some aesthetic components in African instrumental music hence,
significantly painting a vivid picture of instrumental music as an aspect of African music to
music theorists, composers, composers-in-training, and further demystifying African music to
all. Therefore, participant-observation and bibliographical methods were used to gather data

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for this study. The scope of discussion here will cover aesthetic tools in West Africa that
projects a huge chunk in Africa.

Aesthetics as a cognitive exercise

Kant accounts that;

The beauty of objects, artworks, and natural phenomena alike, consisted in their
ability to stimulate the free play of the cognitive faculties in virtue of their pure
forms, both spatial and temporal, and without the mediation of concepts. (Kant in
Levinson 2005).

This is why aesthetic content requires the sense organs of the perceiver which translate to a
personal understanding. Yet, any art form that is required to be seen is seen, any art form that
is required to be heard is heard, more generally, any art form that is required to be perceived
is perceived accordingly. Austern (5) suggests that “to sense” is not merely “to feel”, it is to
become aware of the hidden meaning of something, to be affected, concerned, pleased or
displeased, or aroused by it. The above-stated ideas were upheld by several other
aestheticians, such as Goodman (1968), Stephen (1990), Bérubé (2005), and Levinson
(2005). Graham (2005), Idang (2015), Shava (2015), and Njiofor (2018) have described
aesthetics as the uses of appropriate faculty for the perception of value, beauty, or sentiment
of artwork. Aesthetic properties include perceptual or observable properties, directly
experienced properties, and properties relevant to the aesthetic value of the objects that
possess them; but beyond that, the demarcation of the class of aesthetic properties is subject
to dispute (Levinson 2005; Collingwood in Graham 2005). The latter asserts that some
musical and extra-musical practices around Africa yarn for contextual understanding.

Goodman (260) confirms that both dynamics and the durability of aesthetic value are natural
consequences of its cognitive character. Similarly, to distinguish unconditional sensual
pleasures from those “higher” mental ones (conditional training) the latter requires training
while the former does not (Bérubé, 2005). This is why Stephen (153) corroborates that if we
relate the aesthetic experience to art, it is a question that needs to be taken seriously simply
because, before aesthetic experience can be defined in terms of our experience of art, we need
to be reasonably certain of what constitutes arts (music) in the first instance. By implication,
one is required to identify what art is yet, a musical work enjoys suitable aesthetic value from
an ardent knowledge of its constituent parts, such that is included in the elements of music
and other components that are found in it. Interestingly, Graham (74) summarises that art is

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most valuable when it serves as a source of understanding. Hence, aesthetic experience in
music would be more valuable when it is comprehensible and adds to our knowledge.

Concept of African instrumental music

African instrumental music is a major component of African music that mirrors a wide range
of idioms practiced by Africans, Afrocentric musicians, and critics. A performance inspired
by the African music paradigm might be incomplete without the cognisant or incognisant use
of African musical instruments. Although musical instruments can function as a retinue of
praise chant presentation, they can also accompany a dance performance or form the
background music for a drama presentation; whereas, in other events, musical instruments
play prominent roles. It is commonplace to find the wedlock of instrumental music with other
art forms in a single performance. At such performances, other forms like dance, drama,
magic, comedy, and visual arts can be featured. Euba in Omojola (5) remarks that music is
practiced in the context of other performing arts. For instance, the use of (Instrumental) music
as an integral part of dance, of poetry, and dramatic expression all fused in the same
performance context (Ibid.).

Beyond performing arts are also a practice of instrumental music in other spheres of cultural
practices. For instance, Baba mogbà (Sàngó priest) who rattles Sẹẹrẹ (rattle) to invoke Sàngó
during his ritual rite and, Yèyé Òsun (Òsun priestess) also chants the Òsun chant and jiggles a
small bell simultaneously. The aforementioned are typical of the role music plays in
communicating with the gods and they are of African musical instrument interest. In addition,
African instrumental music usually stands with the support of vocal music, speech, or as
accompaniment for dance performance. Hence, instrumental music could complement vocal
music in performances such as folk song, moonlight play, eulogy, praise chant, incantation,
and other forms of oral poetry indigenous to Africa. Consequently, aesthetic activity can be
sourced where a talking drummer put up a show while accompanying Ijálá Ọdẹ chant or
Ràrá. Iyéré Ifá chanter does so by tapping the Opόn Ifá (divination tray) with Iroke Ifá
(divination tapper) (Pogoson and Akande, 2011).

When you attend a Yoruba ceremony, for instance, and a typical African spray the musician
with plenty of money, not only should you give all credits to the singers over the gesture but
also check for the active role of the talking drummer who has also painted the atmosphere
with an ecstasy of praise in danceable beats and drum language. Dance performances are
rather incomplete without the complementary role of the musical instrument ensemble which

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supplies the rhythmic background and also “talks” thereby communicating an idea about the
performance. From this discussion, we can reasonably say that African music has favoured
the use of various musical instruments partly due to the rhythmic nature of Africans. As a
matter of nationalism, Africans are a rhythm-oriented race, unlike the westerners who are
rather turn-on by the rapid melodic progression from their musical instruments. This acclaims
for the complex rhythmic structure in African music and the fact that most Africans are
motivated to dance when the rhythm of the music is right.

African instrumental music essentially acquires its identity through various cultural materials
such as folklores, oral poetry, norms, and rituals. One or more items listed above usually
form the bedrock, or fundamentally inspire the practice of African music. From this
standpoint, warning signals and ritualistic expressions embedded in Akan drum music can be
reflective of African music practice as much as the Uta ensemble is used as a rite of passage
among the Ibibio people. Although African music is usually considered as communal
property in African traditional society yet, its instrumental music aspect requires plenty of
technicalities and specialty. Oluyemi Olaniyan, a Yoruba drum scholar, observes that each
instrumentalist of the ensemble usually has a specific role which they become skilful on
overtime. A drummer-in-training is expected to master all the rhythms possessed in every
musical instrument that makes up an ensemble. The master drummer improvises his music
alongside the wide range of materials in his repertoire. Specialization in African music is
evident in some parts of Africa like Yoruba and Akan.

Bebbey (185) observes that African societies have professional musicians, such musicians
live solely by their art and belong to particular families or castes. Their music is more
esoteric and it is transmitted from one generation to another. These families or castes may be
recognised by their characteristic surname. Keita, Mamadi, Diubate, Dibate, Kuyate, and
Sory are names usually associated with musicians in Mali (ibid). Omojola (5) affirms that
musicians who grow up to become specialists are usually born into a family that has a long
history of specialist musicians such, as the Yoruba Àyàn family. Àyàn usually comes as a
prefix or suffix to the surname of such individual hence, names like Àyànwálé, Àyàndosu,
Àyànwunmi, Asamuayan, and Koleayan. An investigation into these and similar surnames
will confirm a drum or music history in their lineage. In some African clans, certain rituals
must be performed for a drummer that would succeed a dead Lead Drummer. Palaces are
characterised by professional musicians who engage in several musical activities in the
palace. Top in the list of activities in the palace includes oral poetry that can be encoded in

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drum languages featuring praise of the king or guest, warning, scolding, or sarcasm. Figure
1a below shows an example of drum rhythm for extolling the power of a king in Yorubaland.

Figure 1a: Drum rhythm of king’s praise

This rhythm progresses among high, medium, and low pitches that further reveal the multi-
tone nature of some African drums. The set of asterisked notes each glides to the next in a
falling manner. The text from the drum language of this drum rhythm is found in figure 1b
below.

Figure 1b: Text of drum language for the king’s praise

The text from figure 1b above, Ọba to to to to mo le mi o peri Ọba (Translation: The King is
powerful enough to defeat me). The word “to to” (powerful) was re-emphasised to show
seriousness in the statement and absolute submission to the monarch. Although this rhythm
was originally meant for praising the Yoruba kings nowadays, this rhythm may be used in
Christian religious gatherings to ascribe praise to God.

A king can also determine if the guest introduced in drumming is worth seeing or not.
Ajewole (6) recounts that court music is played on various events, occasions, and ceremonies
that take place in the palace of the Alaafin of Oyo. Rite of passage like an initiation into an
age group, birth, wedding, coronation or chieftaincy title, and funeral ceremonies require the

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service of musicians who usually comprise of drummer, flutist, mbira player and player of
other African traditional instruments. During a typical ceremonial procession around the
town, the drummer can change the subject of his drumming into a satire when the entourage
gets to the house of an infamous rebel or a wicked person; in other instances, the procession
might be meant solely to ridicule this person. The master drummer on such an occasion can
drum the following rhythm to codify mockery.

Figure 2a: Drum rhythm for mockery

This rhythm, usually played with vigour on the drum, may also be interpreted in song as thus;
“Ile wọn naa nun ni, Ile wọn naa nun ni. Ile abẹrẹwo bi ile ekute. Ile wọn naa nun ni”
(Translation: That is their house, that is their house. A stunted house like the mouse’s house.
That is their house.) Figure 2b shows the text from this drum language. This rhythm may be
played repeatedly purposefully to arouse more hatred or sober reflection in the mind of the
subject and at the same time, in the minds of the music makers, it is an instrument of
chastising and pleasure.

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 Figure 2b: Text of drum language for mockery
Figure 3 illustrates a vulgar drum language used to discredit a fashionista male or female. The
text encoded in this rhythm is Pata kan, kọsẹ kan, Ẹ ti sọ di yunifọm (Translation: You have
turned one pant or one brassiere into everyday wear).

Figure 3: Text of drum language for mockery

Instrumental music idioms can be viewed majorly in the perspective of performance that
makes use of African musical instruments or compositional works done by using materials
stimulated by these instruments. Musical instruments in Africa are organised into various
ensembles and, are inexhaustible. From the Khoi and Mbira ensembles to the Igbo’s
Ekelebem ensemble and the Hausa’s Kakaki ensemble; not forgetting the Dùndún and Ikon
ensembles in Yoruba and Ibibio respectively. Curt Sach and Eric Hornbostel have classified
these instruments into four groups: idiophones, membranophones, chordophones, and
aerophones (Nettl 1964:124). Ensembles can be named after the major instrument in such an
ensemble as in Bata, Dùndún, and Mbira ensemble. The whole performance can also be
named after the musical instruments used in accompanying such performance. Omojola gives
instances of this as Ere Kiriboto (Kiriboto musical performance), an ensemble of five drums
of the membranophone family made up of a calabash resonator (Kiriboto), covered with the
skin of an animal; and Eré Dùndún (Dùndún music), an ensemble of double-headed hourglass
tension drums (Dùndún). Some musical instruments were named after the onomatopoeic
sound derived from them. For instance, the Dùndún drum was derived from the dùn-dún
sound, caused by a glide between high and low pitches, is produced when the tensions on the
drum are constricted or released. Beaded gourd called Sèkèrè in Yoruba, Ichaka in Igbo, or
Segesege in Southern Nigeria all got their names from the sound they make.

In addition, African instrumental music can be examined under the idealistic attempt to
imitate African musical instruments by using western melo-rhythmic musical instruments.
Though this idea was made popular by Kwabena Nketia and Akin Euba in their African

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pianism, several other composers have adopted a similar idea. African pianism has the
rhythms of all or some musical instruments in an ensemble conspicuously crafted on the
piano. In furtherance to this feat, a composer can create a cello passage that sounds like Iyá
ilu Bata more like creating a trumpet passage that has the gong’s time rhythm. These were
attempts to infuse African instrumental music in musical culture elsewhere in the world,
which would in turn gives more understanding to African music art around the world. Other
exponents in the aspect of African instrumental music study include Nzewi’s Ese drumming,
Akpabot’s Ibibio music, Uzoigwe’s Ukom music, and so on. These musicologists have, in
various capacities, prepare African music for export as a result of their assiduous study.

Aesthetic perspective in African instrumental music and their cultural heritage

A study into the aesthetic tools present in African instrumental music requires a survey of
African aesthetics as a springboard to launching a contextual discussion. Therefore, Ozumba
in Njiofor (2018) defines African aesthetics as the African’s way of appreciating nature,
creating aesthetic objects, evaluating and improving on nature’s aesthetic raw materials for
the overall improvement of their wellbeing hinged on man’s multi-layered relationship that is
in tune with God, nature, spirit, and ancestors, plants, animals and other seen and unseen,
terrestrial and celestial forces. Although beauty, grace, glamour, and more, are the words
used to describe aesthetic features, other covert features that have been proven logical in the
discussion about the aesthetic feature of a musical work are obvious. Some of the covert
features are ugliness, weird, odd, or mystical are also contained in the aesthetics of African
instrumental music. In affirmation of the above submissions, the African aesthetic approach
is elastic enough to accommodate the beautiful and the ugly, the gracious and the bizarre, the
serene and the strange, the primitive and the exotic, the harmonious and the discordant (ibid).
In addition, the practice of African instrumental music can also synthesize aesthetics from the
ground of mysteries that are part of African culture. An instance of this is the uses of rattle
(Sẹẹrẹ) to invoke Sàngó during his ritual rite or the activity of tapping the Opόn Ifá
(divination tray) with Iroke Ifá (divination tapper) during the Iyéré Ifá chant. The above is in
line with Bebey (1975) assertion that “African musicians (practitioners) do not attempt to
combine sounds pleasing to the ear. Their aim is simply to express life in all its aspects
through the medium of sound". Therefore, Sotunsa’s (44) suggestion that music is an art of
combining sounds for purpose of the beauty of form and expression depends on individual or

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cultural practice to be right entirely. The determining ground for beauty in the African
perspective of aesthetics is such that does not only engage our feelings (tastes), pleasant
appearance, and harmony concerning an aesthetic object but also our theoretico-practical
cognitive faculties of judgement towards such an object. (Njiofor, 2018).

Cultural features in African instrumental music

Instrumental music, like other kinds of music in Africa, is abstract art that relies on several
tools and instruments for its concreteness. These tools can be non-material and intangible
items such as norms, values, and languages – where poetry can be associated. Other cultural
items which are materialistic and tangible comprise musical instruments, food, cloth, relics,
and artefact. Awoniyi has made provision for the general overview of cultural contents as
thus;

Culture embraces religious beliefs, languages, dresses, style of living, political

organization, and all other aspects of life…culture is used as the totality of the
way of life of African people including their tangible and intangible products,
habits, customs, thoughts as well as the arts, technology, music, literature, theatre,
health, drama and education. Awoniyi (2015:8)

Though, the above submission has not created disparities between the various cultural
contents as Idang below.

Culture has been classified into its material and non-material aspects. While
material culture refers to the visible tactile objects which man is able to
manufacture for human survival; non-material culture comprises the norms and
mores of the people. While material culture is concrete and takes the form of
artefacts and crafts, non-material culture is abstract but has a very pervasive
influence on the lives of the people of a particular culture. Idang (2015: 98)

From the foregoing, African instrumental music carves its identity from the aforementioned
African cultural paraphernalia. Therefore, aesthetic tools in music can be explained in terms
of the culture to which the music belongs or better still, a knowledge of the culture in which
the music has been crafted. For this reason, the Mbáise people better project aesthetics in
Ágábá masquerade of the Mbáise community in the context of the practice, then Halloween
will offer more understanding in its original culture. Likewise, aesthetics in “Halleluyah

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Chorus” differs when performed in contemporary gospel idiom, unlike its natural classical
idiom. While its classical rendition obeys the dynamics and other elements of music strictly,
the contemporary style would adopt styles that befit the work not minding if the work has
been modified from its original state. Oludare (2018) admits that “traditional music in Nigeria
is created entirely from traditional elements and existing in several idioms…before the
Arabic and European influences, functioned in the context of the religious and secular aspects
of the people’s indigenous music, representing a viable means of understanding their ethos”.

African music relies on natural and technologically modified devices for its concreteness.
These include musical instruments and non-musical instruments like costumes and other
props required for a musical presentation. Instrumental music is the practice of music that
employs the uses of one or more musical instruments in the context of musical performance.
African instrumental music, however, can be conceived majorly by the practice of
instrumental music in the African cultural perspective. African instrumental music comprises
not only African musical instruments but also cultural endowments in Africa, such as value,
norms, language (oral poetry), and folklores. Advancement in technology, globalisation, and
acculturation process of the European and Arab has bellied up the scope of African musical
instruments. Hence, contemporary African instrumental music tradition sees the uses of
several musical instruments that were not indigenous to Africa. Examples of such musical
instruments are guitar, piano, saxophones, trumpet, set drum, rebab, and oud.

Understanding the compositional technique and process of African instrumental music

Sociologically, African instrumental music is created in the context of the occasion to which
it is used. Idamoyibo (54) notes that;

…traditionally the Dùndún ensemble plays during social gatherings while another
kind of ensemble, called Bàtá, plays sacred roles, but in the contemporary
context, their roles have been extended to the church where Èsà music now finds
a new audience. Idamoyibo (2016: 54)

Initially, the Dùndún ensemble was used for secular ceremonies but the Bàtá ensemble was
used in sacred functions such as in the worship of Sàngó. These ensembles cannot be used
interchangeably. Olaniyan (11) opines that composers are expected to use musical ideas that
are appropriate for each musical event and its participants. For instance, a Dùndún ensemble

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should not perform the music of Obàtálá when Sàngó is being worshiped or vice versa (ibid).
Contemporarily speaking, the role of these ensembles has gone past sacred uses only but has
also been integrated into any kind of performance which are not tied to either sacred or
secular functions. Similarly, Kehinde (7) detects that the orchestration motives in Fela’s
Afrobeat music are sometimes in a protest-like manner simulating the uses of wind
instruments in Africa to protest against injustice by playing some ‘rebellious’ songs, be it on
the field of play (in the case of sport) or for political reasons. Fela also uses wind instruments
as interjections, interludes, and improvisations (Ibid).

Fuji music is a popular music in Nigeria that involves drumming of various sorts. Olaniyan
(9) elucidates that the initial techniques of creativity of drumming accompaniment in Fuji
music are the use of textually based ostinato background, the rhythmic pattern for dance
gestures (alujo) and drumming interludes with truncation. Olaniyan (2011), however, made
more general review of drumming processes used by Yoruba drummers. He explained these
processes in the light of musical awareness, retention and utility of remembered musical
ideas, use of intuition, creative imagination and mental musical realization or the musical
intellect of the creative artist. While Olaniyan’s suggestion caters to the compositional
process, Oludare explores more compositional techniques in the light of elements of music.
In his study of compositional techniques in Apala music, Oludare (208) explains the musical
techniques such as speech melody, speech rhythm, scale, phonemic tones, theme and motivic
development, call and response form, etc., as compositional and creative resources.

Rhythms in African instrumental music

African instrumental music is used in the context of various forms of rhythms and melody
which act as its backbone. In other words, rhythm is a launchpad to introducing any
instrumental music from the African source. Robert and Metz (9) define rhythm as a general
term used to refer to when and how long musical sounds occur in time. This means that the
duration of every musical sound in a piece of music makes up the rhythm of that music. The
artistic combination of various lengths of musical notes in a compositional work gives it a
distinctive rhythmic shape. Notes can express rhythm with definite pitch using an instrument
such as piano; or indefinite pitches, using an instrument such as a drum. It is possible,
however, that African musical instruments can have few pitches and, can function as melodic
as well as rhythmic instruments.

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Rhythm exists as a regular and repeated pattern-as in beat rhythm Mereni (2004), and
Oludare (2016). It can also exist as speech rhythms Omojola (1995), Sotunsa (2009), and
Olusoji (2010), as well as free rhythm Mereni (2004). Similarly, Walker and Don (2013)
expound on cyclic rhythm and cinquillo rhythm. While the former is a sequence of note
durations that repeats itself periodically, the latter has the basic rhythm laid down in the first
measure of the score (music), and then repeats for the next three measures. Cyclic rhythm
features in most African instrumental music. Anku (2007) notes that African music is rigidly
controlled by a recurrent rhythm often associated with the role of the Bell pattern, typical of
West African drumming. This Time line concept of the bell rhythm translates as a Time
Cycle because African music is perceived essentially as a circular concept rather than linear.
(ibid)

In his model on the aesthetic contents in Fela’s Afrobeat music, Kehinde (8) notes that Fela
employed the use of various rhythmic forms as Hemiola, Ostinato, Hocket, and Interlocking
in a dialogic or complementary pattern of the rhythm of various musical instruments
simultaneously. Oludare (133-135) describes both the linguistic and musical development of
konkolo rhythm- a percussive rhythm that is usually played by the gong in Yoruba. An
analysis of the rhythmic development of the konkolo pattern shows that it is a syncopation of
the quadruple meter or duple meters, also possible in both simple and compound meters. Not
only do the properties above attest to the dynamic nature of konkolo rhythm but also its
suitability for timeline in most African instrumental music. Nevertheless, the timeline role
could also be delegated to other musical instruments in the ensemble where the gong is not
used. Hence, konkolo rhythm can also be applied on other percussion instruments such as the
drums, sekere, agidigbo, and so on (ibid).

Speech rhythms are related to the inflectional character of language on drumming whereby
the drummer imitates the speech tone of a language on his drum. Olusoji (74) opines that
poetry as a medium of language is tailored and structured to follow speech rhythms and is
said to be inflectional. Mereni (2004), Sotunsa (2009), and Oludare (2016) attest to the
logogenic quality between the text and music in African musical performance. This
corroborates the earlier discussion that African instrumental music takes it form from cultural
items. Hence, instrumental music and vocal music exist side by side, while the former derives
its material from the later and the later, a pathfinder. Speech rhythms are interpolated into
instrumental music by various techniques. A total imitation of a statement on the drum is
possible in some African cultures. Olaniyan (152) observes that musical texts are derived

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from proverbs, folksongs, idioms, metaphors, anecdotes, similes, irony, etc. Olaniyan (21)
describes the repeated imitation of speech phrases in Yoruba drumming. Asides from the
rhythms described earlier, other speech rhythms have been identified. For instance, Omele
bata in Bata ensemble could play “Bótán ma tun r’oko” (Translation: I shall go to the farm to
get more if the food is exhausted) repeatedly in the performance.

Figure 4: Drum rhythm and its text

Omele drum could play this because only two pitches were required to enunciate this text on
the drum. Similar to the speech rhythm stated by Omele drum in the figure above, Iya ilu can
also play the speech rhythm in figure 4 on another occasion to welcome a guest.

Figure 5a: Drum rhythm

The speech rhythm, “Kabọ, ṣe daada lẹ de a tin reti rẹ” (Translation: Welcome, hope you
arrived well, we have been expecting you), is found in figure 4b below.

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 Figure 5b: Drum rhythm and its text

Another speech rhythm is in Figure 5a which is used by the followers for expressing absolute
support to their leader.

Figure 6a: Drum rhythm

This drum text, “Bo lọmọ ogun, boo lọmọ ogun wẹyin rẹwo” (Translation: If you have
legions if you have not, check behind of you), is found in Figure 5b below.

Figure 6b: Drum rhythm and its text

Sotunsa (20) provides that drum texts are often more lyrical because of the characteristic
overwhelming gliding vowels and consonants than the spoken versions. Another way of
using speech rhythms in instrumental music is by replicating some onomatopoeic text of
certain languages in drums or other African musical instruments. Olaniyan (20) describes
how onomatopoeia was employed by drummers to enhance learning and remembering of the
rhythmic patterns of the music. Oludare (201) examines the three modes of speech rhythm in
Yoruba traditional music, the speech rhythm is derived from the natural rhythmic pattern of
the language, with emphasis on some words, resulting in the iambic (short-long), trochaic
(long-short) modes, and spondee (long-long) rhythmic modes, with the iambic mostly in
consonant with Yoruba speech tone. The above assertions were summarised in Oludare’s
(202) opinion that the rendition of the styles, elements, and nomenclature of African musical
genres are a function of linguistic attributes of the people’s language. This is why piano or
any other western musical instruments can be domesticated or better still, Africanised in such

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that they express the cultural content in the contest of African instrumental music
craftsmanship.

Free rhythms are derived from a performance where musical instruments serve corroborators.
Mereni (74) explains that free rhythm does not follow any regular beat or pulse and, it is used
mainly in incantation, solo lament, and other similar performances.

Polyphonic nature of African instrumental music

As a matter of technical appreciation, the texture is another source of aesthetics in African

instrumental music composition and performance. It encompasses the different layers of
sounds that occur in a work. Yet, polyphonic texture type is commonly used in African
instrumental music. Evidently, a performance usually features independent but
complementary sounds derived from several African musical instruments. African’s concept
of polyphony is that in which diverse musical elements sound concordantly together to make
up a musical piece. Mereni (76). In African instrumental music, it is possible to find extra
tonal or non-tonal elements as well as percussion rhythm orchestra with tonal polyphonic
sounds (ibid). In another light, scholars such as Omojola (5) posits that African musical
performance is a communal event that involves the participation of everyone present. This
naturally encourages individuality in expression thereby causing several sonic impressions in
such musical performance. Mereni submits that:

Apart from singing, one would also hear the choreographed footsteps of the
dancers, the sound of shakers and buzzers, some of which are attached to the feet
and/or hands of the dancers, others played in the percussion rhythm orchestra:
one may also hear the rhythmic handclapping to the chorus, the occasional poetic
recital or speech comments from individuals in the performing group, occasional
vocal trills acclamations, responses to praise-names announced by an instrument
or by the voice of the cantor, gun-shots and several other extra-tonal sounds
produced, sometimes not by the musicians directly involved in the making of the
music, but by some individuals among the spectators. Mereni (4)

The hand-clapping, ululation, feet stamping, shakers, whistling as well as other sounds from
musical instruments give African instrumental music its distinctive polyphonic quality.

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Conclusion

Aesthetic paraphernalia in African instrumental music should not be viewed exclusively

under its expressivity but also its technical view in the context of its cultural inclination, sonic
attributes and the active enjoyment derived from it. This is why apart from the face value of
music; the constituent character and the value it portends in a given African culture suffice. In
this regard, the cultural background on which African music was founded should not be
thrown overboard during the aesthetic process of African music. No matter how weird,
primitive, or ugly African instrumental music may sound, it is the standpoint of African, her
culture, her identity, and her strength. Therefore, aesthetic materials in African instrumental
music can be considered in several dimensions and phases. This reflects in symbolism,
functionality, techniques, theoretical realization, ensemble formation, performers’ identity,
performers, and audience participation. In this light, composers and performers of African
instrumental music adopt the use of semiotic phrases with suggestive meaning in their works
likewise performers have used several materials that were originally linked to certain
practices in religion or royalty. These materials have been polished and used in different
contexts prompted by modernisation. A thorough dig into the musical components embedded
in African instrumental performance will reveal various styles available, why the music was
made, and to whom or what the music addresses. Africa instrumental music has explored
various exotic possibilities to increase its aesthetic contents. Therefore, aesthetic tools in
African instrumental music should be examined not only in its obvious values but also in its
intrinsic values where lies a lot to be discovered. This is why aestheticians should look
forward to the aforementioned as a possible parameter in aesthetic exercise.

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