Essay about music in africa - 662 Words

Music and dance are so related closely in African thinking that it is difficult for them to separate song from movement or speech from playing the drum. In this case, the arts are a part of everyday normal life. Life cycle events including, but not limited to, birth, puberty and death are celebrated with a musical performance. Because music is so integral to society, everyone is expected to be able to sing and dance at a certain level of proficiency. Beyond that, certain people are selected for special musical training. These exceptional performers tend to reply on the help of spirits for guidance, which demand high performance from the individual. Musical instruments in West Africa are not just objects; they are semi-human as they take†¦show more content†¦In this tale, Woi got the help of an anteater and mole who dug a tunnel under the hill so that the house could pass. In the chorus of Woi, there are two different singing parts: both singing the same thing, but one repeated after the first and at a different interval. This use of faceting and interlocking and alternating parts, is greatly admired in the West African culture and is the highest form of performance. Another example is from a horn ensemble (CD track 3: Tranverse Horn Ensemble). In this case, the players were playing a very short motif that was interlocked with that of the other musicians, turning into a larger pattern, or hocket. While hard at work bush clearing, music could still be heard. Men who were not cutting were playing short patterns of several notes that interlocked with the other instrument’s pattern while the working me worked to the rhythm of this slit-log ensemble. Also, there was a singing call-and-response pattern between the musicians and the clearers. Faceting and cutting-the-edge is a dance that symbolizes the end of an event, with a bow and a hand gesture. With this, it shows that they highly prize faceting. Cutting-the-edge is a critical issue in music. When the performers employed it, entertainment music was dominant. Likewise, when the performers didn’t employ it, ritual was involved and continuity was an important emphasis in the expression. Another type of musical expression isShow MoreRelatedThe Apartheid of Music in South Africa Essay709 Words   |  3 PagesThe question presented, concerning the South African apartheid and the music that was involved with the movements, debates whether the music came from the people’s desire to over come apartheid or if the music was a catalyst to the movement. As explained in the movie, the people used music for different aspects of the music, fundamentally a different song for every part of the movement. 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