STARTER ACTIVITY
STARTER ACTIVITY Listen to the track ‘Yiri’ by Koko: Where do you think the music comes from and why? What instrumentation is used in the piece? What do these keywords mean? IMPROVISATION CALL & RESPONSE CROSS-RHYTHMS POLYPHONIC OSTINATO ORAL TRADITION ‘Yiri’ by Koko Sub-Saharan African Music Edexcel Music GCSE Area of Study 4 KOKO: ‘YIRI’ In the study of this set work you will learn about: The rich and diverse cultures of sub-Saharan Africa The social importance of African music How music is learnt and passed on through the oral tradition The key common techniques used in African music Rhythmic and melodic patterns and procedures in African drumming, balaphone music and choral singing How the set work ‘Yiri’ is constructed AFRICAN MUSIC IN SOCIETY Sub-Saharan African music = rich, diverse and colourful Covers a range of 50 different nations Each nation has its own musical traditions and languages Music plays an important role in African society Music used to communicate different feelings and emotions Music important in social gatherings: weddings, harvest, birthday, funeral. AFRICAN MUSIC IN SOCIETY Music combined with speech, dance and vibrant costumes = exciting and dramatic performances ‘Yiri’ = strong emphasis on dance Dancers = vivid costumes, body painting and elaborate masks Stories told through body actions and mime BURKINO FASO: MASKS & DANCE Video BURKINA FASO DANCERS AFRICAN MUSIC 3 main areas: Drumming Choral Song (tribal music) Instrumental music AFRICAN MUSIC: COMMON FEATURES Repetition: Repeating a section of music. Just a few notes or a whole section. Improvisation: Music is made up spontaneously (on-the-spot) without written notation. Polyphony: 2 or more independent parts playing different things at the same time. Multi-layered texture Call and Response: Solo (call) followed by a group answering (response) a phrase. AFRICAN DRUMMING Drum considered to be most important of all instruments Drum = form of communication Different rhythms mean different things Hundreds of drums, different in every region AFRICAN DRUMMING: DJEMBE DJEMBE is the most common African drum (single-headed) Goblet shaped West Africa AFRICAN DRUMMING: DUNDUN Double Headed Drum Played using sticks AFRICAN DRUMMING: DONNO Known as the Talking Drum Held under the arm Played with the hand AFRICAN DRUMMING: DIFFERENT SOUNDS Playing hands on skin of drum – different sounds when fingers open/closed Playing hands on wooden edge of drum Using sticks = sharp, staccato sound Stretching drum membrane to produce different pitches (mainly donno) AFRICAN MUSIC: PERFORMANCE Oral tradition: no musical notation. Master drummer directs whole performance (signals to start often with a vocal cry) Performs a rhythmic solo to set mood and tempo – called a cue. Cueing happens throughout the performance – creates structure and contrasting sections AFRICAN MUSIC: PERFORMANCE Players then come in together and play a response Response could be the same or different to the Master Drummer’s rhythm. Call and response = main feature of tribal music Other players perform solos when Master Drummer signals to them Solos = variations/development of original rhythmic pattern AFRICAN MUSIC: PERFORMANCE Steady continuous beat performed by Master Drummer = ‘timeline’ Performance can also include percussion rattle or bells – most common are agogo bells. AFRICAN MUSIC: PERFORMANCE Music increases in tension as the piece progresses Tempo and dynamics vary from section to section Master drummer controls change - music must not become monotonous Performances can take up to 5 hours AFRICAN MUSIC: PERFORMANCE TEXTURE Complex rhythms played by drummers create polyrhtyhms Stresses conflict with each other and the ‘timeline’ creating cross-rhythms Polyrhthmic texture AFRICAN DRUMMING & PERFORMANCE: KEYWORDS IMPROVISATION POLYPHONIC CALL & RESPONSE CROSS-RHYTHMS OSTINATO ORAL TRADITION PLENARY: KEYWORDS RECAP What is the master drummer responsible for in an African drumming performance? What is the most common African drum called? What is another name for the donno drum? What are the three main strands of African music? From which African nation does ‘Yiri’ originate from? What texture is associated with African drumming? When stresses conflict with each other and the steady constant beat, what type of rhythms are created? What 2 main elements vary from section to section in African drumming music? ‘Yiri’ by Koko Sub-Saharan African Music LESSON 2 Edexcel Music GCSE Area of Study 4 SPEED DATING! Write down 3 keywords/facts you can remember about Yiri Pair up with someone else and think of as many more keywords/facts that you can remember When I say ‘change’ move onto someone else and think of some more. AFRICAN MUSIC: CHORAL SINGING Sub-Saharan Africa = centred around singing Music serves as a link to the spirit world African languages = tone languages Tone languages = pitch level (high or low) determines meaning of words Pitches of melodies and rhythms can match meanings and speech rhythms of words AFRICAN SONGS: COMMON FEATURES Basic form = call and response Short simple, repeated melodies Melodies = scale of only 4, 5, 6 or 7 tones Melodies changed and developed during a piece = theme and variations Singers improvise new melodies over the original melody = polyphonic AFRICAN SONGS: COMMON FEATURES Music can often be sung in rounds Musical texture is always changing Harmony varies from tribe to tribe = Unison Parallel octaves, with odd fourths or fifths. Thirds or fourths in 2 or 3 different parts. COMPOSITION TASK Compose a short repeated melody using only 45 notes Perform the melody with your group as a round. EXTENSION: Add harmonies to your melody (4ths or 5ths) Create a vocal performance of your piece HOMEWORK Revise what we have learnt so far for a test next lesson. 11th March ACTIVITY: WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT SO FAR? Pass the parcel! BLUE QUESTIONS: EASY (ONE WORD ANSWERS) GREEN QUESTIONS: SLIGHTY MORE DIFFICULT RED QUESTIONS: CHALLENGING (DEFINITIONS AND HIGHER ORDER ANSWERS) ‘Yiri’ by Koko Sub-Saharan African Music LESSON 3 Edexcel Music GCSE Area of Study 4 STARTER ACTIVITY What are the 3 main areas of African music? (3) Where in Africa does ‘Yiri’ originate from? (1) What is the name of the main African Drum? (1) What is the Donno also known as? (1) Who directs the whole performance in African Drumming? (1) What does the director of the performance do to start different sections (what is the keyword for this)? (1) What 2 main instruments (other than drums) are used in Yiri? (2) When stresses conflict with each other and the steady constant beat, what is created? (1) What is the musical device where the same melody is developed throughout a piece known as? (1) How are African vocal pieces structured/performed? (1) Name 3 different ways in which harmony can applied to African vocal performances. (3) Write a definition of the following words (4): Ostinato Oral Tradition Unison Polyphonic IN PAIRS, LIST THE INSTRUMENTS IN THEIR CORRECT INSTRUMENTAL FAMILIES: TRUMPETS (WOOD/METAL) RATTLES LYRES FLUTE PIPES OCARINAS BELLS PAN PIPES ZITHERS MUSICAL BOWS MBRIA (THUMB PIANO) HORNS CLAP STICKS SLIT GONGS STAMPING TUBES WHISTLE LUTES IDIOPHONES (resonant/solid) AEROPHONES CHORDOPHONES (wind) (strings) AFRICAN INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC AFRICAN INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IDIOPHONES (resonant/solid) AEROPHONES (wind) CHORDOPHONES (strings) Rattles (shakers) Flutes (bamboo, horn) Zithers Bells Ocarinas Lutes (kora) Mbria (thumb piano) Horns (animal tusks) Lyres Xylophones (balaphones) Trumpets (wood, metal) Clap sticks Pipes (single and double reeds) Slit gongs Panpipes Stamping tubes Whistle Musical bows AFRICAN INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC Balaphones – xylophones Wide range of pitches Smaller xylophones = higher pitches Membrane in between bars made of natural materials such as orange peel AFRICAN INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC: COMMON FEATURES REPETITION IMPROVISATION CYCLIC STRUCTURES POLYOPHONIC TEXTURES INTERTWINING MELODIES BACKGROUND TO ‘YIRI’ Musicians in Koko are: Madou Kone: vocals, balaphone, flute Sydou Traore: vocals, balaphone Jacouba Kone: djembe Francois Naba: vocals, tam-tam, dundun, maracas Keresse Sanou: talking drum Tidiane Hema: vocals, maracas BACKGROUND TO ‘YIRI’ From Burkino Faso: West Africa Burkino means ‘men of integrity’ Faso means ‘father’s house’ People from Burkino Faso are called Burkinabe Themes in music include battle, fight for surival and the environment; creation, community celebrations and friendship. MUSICAL STRANDS IN ‘YIRI’ There are 3 clear musical strands (ideas that run the whole way through the piece/shape the piece) in Yiri. What do you think they are? Balaphone ostinati – complex polyphonic texture Drum ostinato – based on a one-bar pattern (little variation) Vocal line – pentatonic, call and response CONSTANT FEATURES IN ‘YIRI’ Unvaried tempo Regular and unvaried beat Drum ostinato Pattern of voices and instrumental breaks Largely unvaried dynamics Listen to the introduction of ‘Yiri’. What do you hear with regards to the following: Instrumentation Texture Patterns in the music 1. What happens after the introduction (after bar 9)? 2. Describe the tempo of the piece. Is the piece in a major or minor key? 3. Are the drums all playing at the same pitch? 4. How does the size of drum determine the pitches that are heard? 5. How would you describe the rhythms of the instrumental melody? 6. Are the different balophones playing the same thing? 7. What and how are the drums playing when they enter? 8. What are the different textures heard in the first part of the piece? Justify your answers. ‘YIRI’ 0.00-0.18: Intro Free tempo, high balaphone improvised solo played at a soft dynamic. Monophonic texture. Solo balaphone in G flat major, fast high and low rolls on every note. Simple and repetitive. ‘YIRI’ 0.18-0.34 Moderato tempo established by first balaphone. Second lower-pitched balaphone joins in after bar 9 – mainly playing octaves Both balaphones play for whole piece – polyrhythms and independent of each other Strong sense of major tonality as opening two notes of melody are dominant (D flat) and tonic (G flat). Melody built on 2 bar phrases with a strong rhythmic basis. Second balaphone plays the same melody but with different pitches. Heterephonic texture – contours of melody roughly the same. Rhythms – mainly quavers and semiquavers with some tied notes. ‘YIRI’ 0.34-1.09 Large donno, small donno and djembe enter with a half bar ostinato: When the drums come in they all play the same rhythm The drums are at different pitches (smaller = higher, larger = lower) Drums can get different sounds depending on how they’re played Balaphone plays variation of original melody Lower balaphone plays an ostinato in bars 17-20 Occasional djembe fills Melody includes syncopated rhythms and octave repetitions on tonic (G flat) and dominant (D flat) ‘YIRI’ 1.09-1.25 Chorus A1 Voices in unison Melody = short, simple, repetitive No harmony Semi-quaver, quaver, semi-quaver rhythm 1.25-1.44 Short balaphone instrumental Drums ostinati 1.44-2.01 Chorus A2 Voices again – music same as before 2.01-2.10 Voices out Solo instrumental on lower balaphone Variation in balaphone melody ‘YIRI’ 2.10-2.45 Solo with choral responses (call and response) New melody with long held notes and short notes on ‘Yiri’ Vocal melody with triplet figures – variation on original melody Lower pitched balaphone plays same ostinato heard in bars 17-20 Voices (choral response) in unison at bar 63 New melodic riffs in balaphone based on original melody ‘YIRI’ 2.45-3.14 Solo voice (call) with long held notes Drums same as before Balaphones play rhythmic 3-note semiquaver melodic figure – cross-rhythms created Bar 71 = solo voice singing variation of original melody Triplets, syncopated rhythms and semi-quaver/quaver rhythms (heard before) 3.15-3.19 Vocal response from choir in unison 3.20-3.28 Solo voice (call) with balaphone rhythms in solo break ‘YIRI’ 3.28-3.59 Instrumental solos continue New melodies on balaphones Short rest (one bar/3 beat) rest before next chorus 4.00-4.31 Chorus B1 Full choir in unison singing ‘Yiri’ Short instrumental interjections to break up vocal lines 4.31-4.35 Dialogue between voices and instruments ‘YIRI’ 4.45-5.20 Balaphone break instrumental Riffs with variations Extended section but based on original melody with variations Rapid figures Octave leaps Semi-quaver and demi-semi-quaver patterns 5.20-5.36 Chorus A3 Full choir in unison Instrumental interjections ‘YIRI’ 5.36-6.24 Instrumental ending – balaphone break Syncopated Drums re-enter at bar 153 (one bar before coda) 6.24-end Coda 5 two-bar phrases – in octaves and dramatic rests Sense of a strong riff Heterophonic texture Drums play familiar ostinato from bar 153 Piece concludes with a single strike on a bell
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