Traditional music in most of the continent is passed down orally (or aurally) and is not written. … Beyond the rhythmic nature of the music, African music differs from Western music in that the various parts of the music do not necessarily combine in a harmonious fashion.
What makes 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.
What are the 5 most important features of African music?
Aerophones (wind)
- Flutes (bamboo, horn)
- Ocarinas.
- Panpipes.
- Horns from animal tusks.
- Trumpets wood or metal.
- Pipes being single or double reeds.
- Whistle.
Why did African music encounter a lot of changes?
African music as it is known today was also shaped by changes in the ecology of the continent, which drove people into other lands, thus producing changes in their art. With the drying of the Sahara, for example, populations tended to shift southward.
What made music of Africa different from the earlier styles of music in the 20th century?
The most important influence on 20th century music? African Americans and the musical culture they brought to this country – developed within the bonds of slavery. Even before the 20th century began, blues music was evolving across the country out of the traditional African slave spirituals, work calls and chants.
What is the most important element of African music?
The music of West Africa is characterized by two main aspects: rhythm and melody. The rhythm is generally the most important, and West African songs are polyrhythmic featuring two or more conflicting rhythms.
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. Juju style originally came from Nigeria, a country which has produced many styles that managed to spread all around West African countries, including juju, jaija, fuji, ozzidi, palm-wine, highlife and afrobeat. …
- Mbalax. …
- Zilin. …
- Gnawa. …
- Mbaqanga. …
- Chimurenga. …
- Majika.
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What are the main features of African music?
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 is the characteristics of African music?
Among the qualities of African music which may be considered characteristic, then, we may include the following: an emphasis on rhythmic and metric complexity expressed throughout the musical system; the use of extended syncopation, or off- beat phrasing of melodic accents, as a melodic device; the antiphonal call and …
What is the most distinctive feature of all African musical instrument?
Slit drums
Falling between rhythmic and melodic instruments, the largest and most distinctive member of the African struck-idiophone family is the slit drum, made from a hollowed log. By careful thinning of the flanks at certain places, the instrument may be tuned so as to yield as many as four distinct pitches.
Why is African music important?
Music in Africa is very important when it comes to religion. Songs and music are used in rituals and religious ceremonies, to pass down stories from generation to generation, as well as to sing and dance to. … Like the music of Asia, India and the Middle East, it is a highly rhythmic music.
What are the 8 types of African music?
List of Music Genres in Africa
- Afrobeat. Fela Kuti created Afrobeat by fusing traditional Nigerian music, jazz and highlife. …
- Apala. Apala is a percussion-based style of the Muslim Yoruba people in Nigeria, West Africa.
- Assiko. Assiko is a rhythmic dance from Cameroon.
- Bikutsi. …
- Benga music. …
- Bongo Flava (Tanzania)
- Cabo-Love (Cape Verde)
- Chimurenga music.
What is West African music called?
Afrobeat is a music genre with major popularity throughout West Africa. … Afrobeat is influenced by palm-wine music and Ghanaian highlife, as well as jazz, funk and fuji. Fela Kuti devised the term ‘Afrobeat’ as early as 1968 in his home country of Nigeria.
Did all music come from black culture?
“Every genre that is born from America has Black roots associated with it, from rock ‘n’ roll to blues to disco,” Madden said. “The fingerprints of Black creators are all over what makes American music so unique.”
What did you learn about the 20th century music?
Answer. 20th-century classical music describes art music that was written nominally from 1901 to 2000, inclusive. Musical style diverged during the 20th century as it never had previously. … Aleatory, atonality, serialism, musique concrète, electronic music, and concept music were all developed during this century.
What music period is the 20th century?
Modernism, impressionism, and post-romanticism can all be traced to the decades before the turn of the century, but can be included because they evolved beyond the musical boundaries of the 19th-century styles that were part of the earlier common practice period.
…
20th-century classical music.
| Modernism | c. 1890–1975 |
|---|---|
| • Postminimalism | from c. 1980 |