Drums are the basic instrument for most African music. Each group of people uses a special type of its own. Though mostly of wood, drums can be gourds, turtle shells and clay pots. Drums have many uses in Africa.
What is the most important instrument in Africa?
Among the most important African instruments are drums and other percussion. They’re used in almost all African cultures for ceremonies and rituals, some of which involve dancing. African music uses all sorts of rattles and shakers. These instruments are portable and hand-held, and they effectively provide rhythm.
What is the common feature in African songs?
Songs include accompanied and unaccompanied solos, duets and choruses. Unaccompanied choruses are an example of a cappella singing. Songs are usually either strophic (split up into verses) or are in call-and-response form.
What instruments are commonly used in African music?
African musical instruments include a wide range of drums, slit gongs, rattles and double bells, different types of harps, and harp-like instruments such as the Kora and the ngoni, as well as fiddles, many kinds of xylophone and lamellophone such as the mbira, and different types of wind instrument like flutes and …
Why is music very important in Africa?
In Africa, music is a social activity in which almost everyone participates. Music highlights African values, with various traditions accompanied by a melody. Many events of importance are celebrated with music, whether it is a marriage, a birth, or a ceremonial rite of passage.
What are the main features of Africa?
Check out some of the most-impressive physical features found in Africa.
- Victoria Falls. Victoria Falls. …
- The Namib. Namib desert. …
- East African Rift System. Kenya: Great Rift Valley. …
- Congo River. Congo River: hydroelectric dam at Inga Falls. …
- The Sahara. sand dunes. …
- Lake Victoria. …
- Ituri Forest. …
- Nile River.
What is the common element in African music?
The most frequently used form in African musical traditions consists of the use of ostinato, or repeated short musical phrases with the accompaniment of melodic-rhythmic patterns. For example, in the call and response method, a leader usually sings a phrase with a chorus singing back a response.
What is the main focus of African music?
It permeates African life and has a function, a role to play in society; songs are used for religious ceremonies and rituals, to teach and give guidance, to tell stories, to mark the stages of life and death and to provide political guidance or express discontent.
What instruments are used in Kenyan music?
Traditional music instruments of Kenya
- Long horns. These are made from animal horns. …
- Lyres. Many tribes have an instrument similar to a medieval lyre. …
- Small Rattles (Njingiri) The rattles are made by blacksmiths and they are looked upon mostly as ornaments. …
- Picture rattles (Gicanda)
What are the African percussion instruments?
Different Types of African Percussion Instruments
- Djembe Shakers.
- Bells.
- Xylophones.
- Kalimba.
Why is African music unique?
African singers use a wide variety of sounds. The melodies are short, repeated over and over, also include whistles and yodels which is peculiar to African style of music. Soloist often improvises new melodies while the chorus continuous with the original melody creating a polyphonic structure.
How many types of music are there in Africa?
With 1.3 billion people of all shades, an estimated 2,000 dialects tucked from north to south into 54 countries, Africa’s envied musical offerings are wide-reaching. And there are deep cultural contexts to each evolving genre.
What are the 5 kinds of African music?
14 African musical styles for you to explore
- Soukous. Soukous is a form of music that stems from rumba. …
- JuJu. …
- Mbalax. …
- Zilin. …
- Gnawa. …
- Mbaqanga. …
- Chimurenga. …
- Majika.