Music of Africa Northern, Eastern, Western, and Southern

Music of Africa
Northern, Eastern, Western, and Southern
Music of Africa
Africa, being so large, has many different
regions with distinct musical traditions
 Africa can be split into the following
regions…
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Regions
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Northern: Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco
Western: Western Sahara, Senegal, Gambia,
Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia,
Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso
Central: Chad, the Central African Republic, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia
Eastern:Uganda,Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi,Tanzani
a, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe as well as
the islands of Madagascar
Southern: SouthAfrica, Lesotho, Swaziland, Bots
wana, Namibia and Angola
REGIONAL MAP
Music of North Africa
Red region on map
 The music of North Africa has a large
number of different types, from the music
of ancient Egypt to the Berber and
the Tuareg music of the desert nomads.
 The region's art music has for centuries
followed the outline of Arabic classical
music
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A little history…
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North Africa is the seat of
the Mediterranean culture, including ancient
Egypt and Carthage.
The ancient civilizations had strong ties to
the ancient Near East and which have heavily
influenced the ancient Greek and Roman
cultures.
Eventually, Egypt fell under Persian
rule followed by Greek and Roman rule,
while Carthage was later ruled
by Romans and Vandals.
North Africa was later conquered by the
Arabs, who established the region as
the Maghreb (“West”) of the Arab world
Instruments?
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Many of the instruments from the Middle
East are prevalent here:
◦ The oud
◦ The ney
◦ The percussive instruments
 Tabla
 Hammered Dulcimer
Music of Egypt
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The ancient Egyptians credited one of their
gods Hathor with the invention of music,
which Osiris in turn used as part of his effort to
civilize the world.
Music dates back to the Predynastic period
(3100BC)
Percussion instruments, lyres and lutes were
added to orchestras by the Middle Kingdom.
Cymbals frequently accompanied music and
dance, much as they still do in Egypt today.
Egyptian folk music, including the
traditional Sufi dhikr rituals, are the closest
contemporary music genre to ancient
Egyptian music, having kept many of its features,
rhythms and instruments.
Music of Egypt
Since the Nasser era (1918-1970), Egyptian pop
music has become increasingly important in
Egyptian culture, particularly among the large
youth population of Egypt.
 Egyptian folk music continues to be played during
weddings and other traditional festivities.
 In the last quarter of the 20th century, Egyptian
music was a way to communicate social and class
issues
 Religious music remains an essential part of
traditional Muslim celebrations called mulids.
Mulids are held in Egypt to celebrate the saint of
a particular church.The Egyptian flute, called
the ney, is commonly played at mulids.
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Music of Morocco
The music of Morocco ranges based on the
country’s regions
 Berber folk music
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◦ There are three varieties: village, ritual, and the music
performed by professional musicians.
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Chaabi "popular" folk music
◦ Came from many popular forms; was originally
performed in markets, but is now found at any
celebration or meeting.
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Gnawa, mystical
Classical Malhun
◦ Meant to be peaceful; has been played around in the
streets of Morocco for over a thousand years
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Classical Sufi music
◦ This music is an attempt at reaching a trance state
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Rai, rock music
Music of West Africa
West Africa stretches from the Sahara
Desert to the Atlantic Ocean.
 The region's musical heritage includes a
variety of popular music style
 Griots, wandering musicians and praise
singers, are found throughout the region
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Instruments?
Some musical instruments are found in a
majority of West African countries.
 Examples include:
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◦ Kora (21 string bridge harp made from a
gourd covered in cow skin)
◦ Xalam (5 stringed lute; many believe it was
the ancestor of the banjo)
◦ Djembe (goblet drum played with the hands)
◦ Talking drum (hourglass drum tuned to mimic
speech)
A Note on Percussion…
The main types of drums in Western Africa
are the Djembe and the Talking Drum .
 These drums are used as the most
important parts of musical performances
and ceremonies.
 They appear easy to play, however the
drummers, particularly the master drummer,
play complicated polyrhythms and have
usually trained from childhood .
 These drums play a very important part of
life for the people and are used all the time
in everyday life, especially in festivals and
ceremonies such as marriage or birth
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A little history…
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Some performers are tribes people who have lived
a nomadic existence, which is true of Mariem Hassan,
a vocalist from the country of Western Sahara.
Before the 1960s, a large amount of Africa was under
Imperial rule
One example was Western Sahara, which was a
Spanish colony, and its inhabitants spoke some
Spanish, Arabic, and other dialects common to the
region.
In the 1960s, many revolutionaries died for their
freedom. After this, many were uncertain of what
might happen and became nomadic
Those who moved to refugee camps found that most
often, it was women gaining stature as the storytellers
of their past, their existence, and their hopes through
their songs and performances
Music of Senegal
Senegal's musical heritage is better known
than that of most African countries, due
to the popularity of mbalax, which is a
form of Serer percussive music
 It has been popularized by Youssou
N'Dour.
 Sabar drumming is especially popular.
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Music of Senegal
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During the colonial era, Senegal was colonized
by France, and the people grew to adopt a French
identity.
Many, though not all, Senegalese identified as French
instead of any African ethnicity.
After their independence, Senegalese people began to
re-find their own identies
Senegalese popular music can be traced back to the
1960s, when nightclubs hosted dance bands
(orchestres) that played Western music
In the 70s, rhythmic music and rapping blended with
American funk and jazz and reggae
In 1990s, the most popular music expansion was hip
hop. Traditional culture includes rapping traditions.
Modern Senegalese hip hop is mostly in Wolof,
alongside some English and French… (Akon is born
Senegalese)
Music of Nigeria
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The music of Nigeria includes many kinds
of Folk and popular music, some of which
are known worldwide.
Styles of folk music are related to the
multitudes of ethnic groups in the country,
each with their own techniques, instruments,
and songs.
Little is known about the country's music
history prior to European contact,
although bronze carvings dating back to the
16th and 17th centuries have been found
depicting musicians and their instruments.
Music of Nigeria
Nigeria has been called "the heart of African
music" because of its role in the
development of West
African highlife and palm-wine music, which
fuses native rhythms with techniques
imported from the Congo
 This lead to the development of several
popular styles that were unique to Nigeria,
like apala, fuji, jùjú, highlife, and Yo-pop.
 Later, Nigerian musicians created their own
styles of United States hip hop
music and Jamaican reggae
 Nigerian Idol, winner
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Music of Central Africa
Central African music boasts a large
variety of instruments
 There is also a large number of different
styles and genres
 In this region, music is polyphonic
 There are large sub-groups of Pygmies,
which boast a vocal style similar to
yodelling
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Pygmy Music
The Pygmies are a broad group of people
who live in Central Africa, especially in the
Congo, the Central African Republic and
Cameroon.
 Music is an important part of Pygmy life, and
casual performances take place during many
of the day's events.
 Music comes in many forms, including the
spiritual likanos stories, vocable singing and
music played from a variety of instruments.
 Some of the Pygmies are particularly known
for their communal improvisation and
polyphony (two or more independent
voices).
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Music of the Central African
Republic
The music of the Central African
Republic includes many different forms.
 Western rock and pop music, as well
as Afrobeat (American Fail), soukous and
other genres have become popular
nation-wide.
 The sanza is a popular instrument.
 The national anthem of the Central
African Republic is "La Renaissance"
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Music of the Democratic Republic
of the Congo
The music is difficult to define because of the
changes in the country- formerly called Zaire,
also called Congo-Kinshasa to distinguish it from
the Republic of the Congo
 Most of the music is soukous
 The term rumba or rock-rumba is also used
generically to refer to Congolese music, though
both words have their own difficulties and neither
is very precise nor accurately descriptive.
 People from the Congo have no term for their
own music per se, although they have used muziki
na biso (our music)until the late 1970s and now
the most common name is "ndule" which simply
means music in the lingala dialect.
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Music of South Africa
There’s a strong tradition of singing to
celebrate special events or just to pass
the time during daily chores
 The African call-and-response choral style
is used in much of the music.
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Instruments?
Mouth harps, clapping and rattles are also
popular.
 One of the most interesting traditional
instruments is the single-string gourd bow
called uhadi or ugubhu
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Music of Botswana
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Music is an omnipresent part of the Botswana
culture, and includes popular and folk forms.
Batswana church choirs are common across the
country.
Music education is an integral part of the
Botswana educational system.
Children of all ages are taught traditional songs
and dances.
There has been a major push in recent years to
focus on revitalizing the Botswana music industry
instead of purchasing foreign releases.
Most popular music in Botswana still comes from
South Africa, the United States, Europe or
elsewhere in Africa.
Music of Botswana
Gumba-gumba is a form of modernized
Zulu and Tswana music, mixed with
traditional jazz; the word gumba comes
from township slang for party.
 Hip hop music is very popular
 Tswana music is mostly vocal and
performed without drums; it also makes
heavy use of string instruments.
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Music of Botswana
Kwasa Kwasa is n African version of
Rhumba popularized in Central Africa has
a strong following in Botswana
 The development of rock as a popular
genre in Botswana has been rather slow
and gradual. The music has started to gain
some momentum recently.
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Music of Angola
The music of Angola has been shaped
both by wider musical trends and by
the political history of the country. It has
been described a mix of music from the
Congo, Portugal, and Brazil
 In the 20th century, Angola was wracked
by violence and political instability. Its
musicians were oppressed by government
forces, both during the period of
Portuguese colonization and after
independence
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Music of Angola
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Semba is the predecessor to a variety of
music styles originating in Africa. The subject
matter of Semba is often a cautionary tale or
story regarding day-to-day life and social
events and activities, usually sung in a witty
rhetoric.
A new, more electronic music movement,
called kuduro, has blossomed in Angola. It
combines traditional Angolan
Kilapanga, Semba and Soca with
Western house and techno
Music of South Africa
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The South African music scene includes
both popular (jive) and folk forms
Christian missions provided the first
organized musical training in the country,
bringing to light many of the modern
country's earliest musicians
By the end of the nineteenth century, South
African cities like Cape Town were large
enough to attract foreign musicians,
especially American ragtime players.
African American spirituals were popularized
in the 1890s
Music of South Africa
The first major style of South African
popular music to emerge
was pennywhistle jive (later known
as kwela)
 In the 60s, doo wop, soul, and jazz were
popular
 Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a native music
group, became very popular in the 70s
and remains popular to this day
 Punk rock and disco were popular in the
70s
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Music of South Africa
In the 80s, South African alternative rock
grew more mainstream, as did gothic rock
 Bubblegum was a form of pure South
African pop music that arose in the
middle of the 80s, based on vocals with
overlapping call-and-response vocals.
 In 1994, South African media was
liberalized and new musical styles arose.
 A South Africanized style of hip hop
known as kwaito soon replaced actual hip
hop groups
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Music of South Africa
Gospel music became very popular in the
nineties, and began becoming popular
internationally
 Neo-traditional music has remained popular
through today
 The introduction of the South African Music
Awards (SAMA), intended to recognize
accomplishment in the South African recording
industry has raised the awareness of local artists
and bands. The awards are given in various
categories, including album of the year, best
newcomer, best artists (male and female) and the
best duo or group. South African Music Award
winners include Seether.
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