Music is central to every aspect of traditional life in Africa, from rituals to entertainment. From TV or social media, outsiders may have the opportunity to watch the Djembe drumming and dancing performance. In fact, all drum music in Africa is to accompany dancing or singing. The most interesting part is that majority of the music in Africa is passed on through oral tradition rathan than written format. In West Africa, there are traditional musicians called griot who can trace their family heritage and tradition back to the 12th century(Shoup, 2007). The griot is widely respected among West African communities due to their extraordinary musical and drum performances. Apart from indigenous elements, African music is also subject to the influence of external factors. Even though Western Classic Music is only appreciated among a small faction of African societies, the birth of Western derived music demonstrates the successful marriage between African musical elements and the Western musical practices. Music pe se is a language which could be understood among African communities. It is true that music is often performed on tribal basis but it does transcend geographic barriers because musicians may travel outside their tribe and use their music as a means to communicate and interact with people elsewhere in Africa. Music is important in the life of African people. In America or other parts of the world, audiences tend to sit quietly and enjoy the musical performances. But it is not the case in Africa. Nearly everyone in Africa sings and plays musical instruments. African musical performers will play their music together with their audiences. Africans make music at the marketplace, at the social gatherings or at home. Music also plays an important in role in African’s political, social and religious life. It permeates all African’s daily activities. Some types of music or certain musical instruments might be only played in special events such Adabatram music of the Asogli of Ghana. Basically speaking, the organization of African music can be classified into three groups, including recreational, incidental and ceremonial.Africans have lived in distinct societies. Majority of people in West Africa live in tribes or clans. There are over seven hundreds of languages which are spoken among West African communities. Ghana, for instance, is a typical Western African country. It has over forty five ethical groups. Each group has their own language or dialects. The different cultural background contributes to the diversity of different kinds of musical instruments and performances. In this essay, different roles and functions of musical instruments in west Africa will be discussed in details.
First, Membranophone play a very important role for Africans to deliver a message to target audiences. Membranophone is a kind of musical instrument which produces a sound through the vibration of a stretched membrane or skin over a frame. Drum is a typical example of membranophone. In fact, drums are the basic musical instrument for most African Music. In Africa, drums can be made from gourds, turtle shells and even clay pots. Drums have many uses in West Africa. In Ghana, for instance, drums are used in Ghana to announce important events such as births and deaths(Price, 2013).. Some drums in West Africa can make sounds that can be heard miles away. African drums come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The djembe drum, for instance, has been called “the healing drum”(Price, 2013). It can be dated back to the Mali Empire of West Africa in the 12th century. The word “djembe” can be translated to “everyone gather together in peace” in English. It also defines the theme and leitmotiv of playing the djembe drum performances in Ghana. The djembe drum is shaped like a large goblet and played with bare hands. The body is carved from hollowed trunk of a Lenge tree and covered by goat skin. Djembe drums are tuned by evenly pulling the vertical ropes that a system of metal rings brings the skin down over the drum body. Besides, there is also a unique set of drums collective known as dunun which are also used in the djembe performances(Hull, 2007). There are mainly three types of dunum drums which are played in West Africa, namely, Dununba (bass drum), Sangban (mid drum) and Kenkeni (high drum). The three dunnun players each perform a different cyclic rhythm patterns combined to create a poly-rhythm which is particularly unique and inimitable from conventional drum performances. The dunum drums performance can be used to support solo drummers or the djembes drums and hold the whole piece of drum performance together. The djembes performance actually reflect West Africans’ wishes of living a peaceful life.
Besides, music in West Africa can also be used as a tool to imitate speeches. Talking drums, for instance, belong to the family of hourglass-shaped pressure drums(Brown, 1999). The gan gan perhaps is the smallest talking drum in West Africa. Pitch in African music is largely determined by the tuning of the drums. As such, it becomes feasible for talking drums to intimate many well-known or easily recognizable phases. According to historical fiction, people who lived in West Africa were the first who knew about the defeat of Napoleon in the battle of Waterloo, even before their French governors simply because the messages were drummed down the coast. It may be exaggerated but it also shows that one major function of talking drum is to intimate speeches or deliver messages through the different combination of pitch and poly-rhythm. In some West African countries such as Ghana, people can even communicate with each other through the talking drum.
Moreover, African music can play the role of connecting them to their ancestors. The Mbira, on the other hand, is considered to create an essential link between the world of the spirits and the world of living(Locke, 1980).. For instance, Gambia and some sub-Saharan residents believe that Mbira has the power to generate a sound which can be delivered into the heavens. Therefore, it can attract the attention of their ancestors. Mbria is played by the thumbs and forefingers in cyclic patterns. Mbria players improvise themselves over core ostinatos. It can further create poly-phonic and poly-rhythmic textures. The lead part of the Mbria performance is called Kushaura. The intertwining part is called Kutsinhira. However, even though Mbria performance demonstrate cyclic pattern, it does not mean that the players actually know the beginning or ending of the circle. It is more like an improvisational performance which naturally conveys their messages to their ancestors.
Last, Music can also be used as an effective tool for West Africans to narrate a story or history by storytellers. Kora, for instance, is a 21 string West African harp lute (Counsel, 2006). The instrument’s body is composed of a long hardwood neck which is passing through a resonator. The body of Kora is often made of bottle gourd. 21 nylon strings are attached to the top of the neck with leather tuning rings. Kora performers often keep seated when the instruments rest on the ground. The Kora obtains a range of just three octaves. The origin of this musical instrument is identified to be from Gambia in West Africa. It is now played in many other African countries such as Guniea, Mali, Senegal, etc. However, the Kora is commonly played by the Malinke people of West Africa. As the aforementioned, the griot people are hereditary musician performers. They often play kora to tell a story or share their knowledge with their children. The Kora is played by plucking fingers with the thumb and forefinger of each hand. 11 strings are played by the left hand and 10 strings are played by the right hand. Kora players make a music performance by alternatively plucking the left and right strings. By moving the leather rings up or down, it is possible for players to put the instrument into one of the four traditional tunings. Each tuning uses a 7-note scale. The sound and tune color depends on the pitch of the instrument. It can produce both soft and striking sounds. As such, it is also feasible for African storytellers to tell a historical legend or story. It is because the structure of a story has different stages such as rising action, climax, falling action. The music should also vary according to the different phrase of the story.
All in all, music plays a very critical part in African people’s daily life. It does not only serve the purpose a major theme such as “living peacefully together” to audiences but also has the function of intimating speeches to deliver messages. Besides, it is also viewed as a kind of spiritual tool for the world of living to communicate with the world of spirits. Last, it is also a way for storytellers or historians to narrate a story to children and other relevant audiences. There are thousands of different ethical groups and tribes in Africa. It contributes to the diversity of African music. Therefore, even modern musicians can still find their inspiration from indigenous African music and produce better pieces for the world.
Reference
Brown, C. (1999). Talking drum: A local area network music installation. Leonardo Music Journal, 23-28.
Hull, A. (2007). Drum circle facilitation: Building community through rhythm. Hal Leonard Corporation.
Counsel, G. (2006). Mande popular music and cultural policies in West Africa (Doctoral dissertation).
Locke, D. (1980). Improvisation in West African Musics. Music Educators Journal, 66(5), 125-133.
Price, T. Y. (2013). Rhythms of culture: Djembe and African memory in African-American cultural traditions. Black Music Research Journal, 33(2), 227-247.
Shoup, J. (2007). The griot tradition in Ḥassāniyya music: the" Īggāwen". Quaderni di Studi Arabi, 95-102.