Part 2: Issues and
Processes in African Music
Notation and Oral Tradition
Notation and Oral Tradition
African music is primarily an oral
tradition, yet it is one of the most
frequently transcribed.
Constraints upon African transcription


Western notions of literacy
Geographical boundaries
*What geographic region of Africa is excluded
from the present study? Why?
Indigenous technologies - Ethiopia

Ethiopian zēmā chant



Ethiopian liturgy maintained close ties with the
Coptic church of Egypt
Invasion by Muslim forces - 1529 to 1541
melekket signs developed in mid 16th century
-roughly 650 signs that cue the melody associated with the
original source text
Melekket plus additional signs and markings
comprise the Ethiopian liturgical tradition
Indigenous technologies - Ethiopia



Transmitted orally
Requires years of study
Rhythm is not indicated in written notation,
causing problems when combined with drum
accompaniment

As a result, drumming patterns traced in air, not
written on paper, in moment of performance
Indigenous technologies - Others

Angolan sand ideographs

Composite systems


Beni ng’oma
Ethiopian folklore ensemble
Early outsiders’ transcriptions


Came from travel accounts (i.e., William
Burchell, Edward Bowdich)
Certain concepts highlighted



What portion should be transcribed?
Descriptive vs. prescriptive?
Nature of time, rhythm
Transcription process

Sources



Live performances
Sound recordings
Films
Transcription Process

Visual representation





Conventional staff notation
Modified staff notation
Graphs
Tablature
Other systems
African use of Western notation



Introduced with colonial and missionary presence
Established by late 20th century in urban centers
Highlights the place of musical transcription in
musical scholarship
“Scholarship on music in Africa has largely remained
‘music-centric’, even as theoretical concerns of the
discipline have elsewhere shifted to emphasize the
humanistic and social aspects of music making”.
Conceptions of Song:
Ownership, Rights, and African
Copyright Law
Copyright Law in Africa
Central tenet of copyright law is that a
composition, text, or other item is owned by a
creator
Copyright Law




Ownership means different things in different
contexts
Rules dictate appropriate use of material
Urban rules different than traditional rules
Nationalism influenced conception of rights
Copyright Law - Problems



TRIPS agreement – whose interested
protected?
Duration of protection not compatible with
traditional music
Authorship can depend on genre, location,
use of form

Many countries battle this by calling for cultural
administrators to collect/distribute royalties
Dance in Communal Life
Function of Dance in African Life



Not primarily for entertainment
Dance an integrated art
Many occasions for dance
 Births
 Installation of chiefs
 Death ceremonies
 Initiation rites
 Worship
 many others
*What are some specific local examples given in the text of the
above?
Social organization of dances
Two basic groups in a dance event:

1.
2.

Those with specific assigned roles (dancers,
musicians, participants)
Those who have no special status (observers)
Sometimes participation limited to specific
groups. Many examples of this all over
Africa.
Dance training



Specific skills often needed
Contexts provide good, informal opportunities
for learning
Camps and guilds are more intensive, formal
ways of learning
Dance – Other considerations



Roles of drummers, singers, and praise
singers
Interdependence of dancers and musicians
Dancers and musicians in communal life
Islam in Liberia
Islam in Liberia
Two types of Islam in West Africa:
1. Normative
2. Popular
Islam in Liberia


Islamic presence since 1750s
Town of Bulumi from 1977-1988
demonstrates change in Vai artistic
expression
Bulumi in the 1970s
Secret Societies
Poro
(for men)



Sande
(for women)
Ancestor veneration
Intermediary relationships with spirit world
Prominent Bulumi musicians/dancer participated
Bulumi in the 1970s




Most people considered themselves Muslims
One imam and one mosque
Major Islamic holidays seldom celebrated
Nobody in town read Arabic
Fortieth-day feast (d’aa)





Funerary celebration
Last in a series of 3 feasts (the other 2 are on
third and seventh day)
In the past, lasted about a month
Involves processions, food preparation, calls
to prayer, ceremonies, masked dancing
One non-Muslim element is sacrifices, often
by secret society specialists
Bulumi in 1984

Two significant changes in religious life


Friday mosque
Abolition of traditional versions of secret societies
(complete abolition of Poro, transformation of
Sande)
Bulumi in 1987, 1988: religious changes






Islamic materials brought in (cassettes,
books, etc)
Assistant imam
More people read, spoke Arabic
Friday services regular, well-attended
Imams vocal about secrety society opposition
More Islamic holidays celebrated
Bulumi in 1987, 1988: musical changes




Knowledge of traditional secret society
musical repertoire diminished
Knowledge of Islamic song repertoire grew
Young men strove to learn Koranic chant
Less masquerading, masked dancing at
Fortieth-day feast, more focus on Islamic
elements
The Guitar in Africa
Guitar in Africa



Possibly introduced to Africa by Portuguese
in 1400s
No proof of European guitar until 1800s
Strong cultural impact from 1920s-30s on
Two-finger playing style



Influence from African instruments
Thumb and index finger
1928 Kumasi trio photo illustrates technique
Guitar in Africa – 1920s, 1930s

First extended series of commercial
recordings of African music (Zonophone
Catalogue of 1929)

References to guitar in The Gold Coast
Spectator

British Label His Master’s Voice published in
mid 1930s
Two groups of songs, 1920s and 1930s
1. Songs based on Western diatonic harmony
-Cyclical harmonic patterns, with functional
relationships
“Ampa Afful”, ca. 1930, by Sam
Two groups of songs, 1920s and 1930s
2. Songs based on indigenous harmony
-Western harmonies, but indigenous styles
“Agyanka Odede”, ca. 1939, by Kwesi Menu
Guitar in Africa – 1920s, 1930s

Two main ensemble prototypes w/guitar
1. Guitar bands
-used regional styles (palm wine, jùjú)
-reached a wider audience
2. Dance bands
-featured wind instruments
-Intl. ballroom music, highlife, American ragtime
Guitar in Africa – 1940s to 1960s



Increasing use of acoustic guitar
Amplified guitar appeared in urban centers
Appearance of other guitar varieties
Acoustic guitar - 1940s to 1960s

1952 African Music Society award for Best
African Music of the Year to “Masanga”, by
Mwenda-Jean Bosco
→ evidence of guitar’s importance and its
conception as an African instrument

Also evidence of African and AfricanAmerican influences (tunings, harmonic
patterns, etc.)
Electric guitar – 1940s to 1960s

Prominent in urban centers, especially in
Congolese region (Kinshasa and Brazzaville)
→ O. K. Jazz band
Guitar in Africa – 1960s to 1980s





Increasing prominence of guitar (sound and
image)
Urban rock bands modeled after Western
bands
Guitar replacing older indigenous instruments
Important guitar genres include chimurenga,
soukous, highlife
African musicians known on international
stage
1960s to 1980s

Nicolas Kasanda Wa Mikalayi (Docteur Nico)




Zaïrean guitarist
Lead guitarist in many ensembles
Expanded electric guitar sonorities
Helped in development of soukous
Guitar in Africa – 1960s to 1980s

King Sunny Ade



Nigerian guitarist, popularized jùjú
1982, Island Records (British) signed him
Became international star
Guitar in Africa – 1960s to 1980s

Ali Farka Toure and Boubacar Traoré



Malian guitarists
Blues influence
Going back to acoustic guitar styles
Kru Mariners and Migrants
of the West African Coast
Kru Mariners

Musical confluence = the merging of different
streams of music, in which old and new
elements combine to articulate an interethnic
experience.
The Kru of Liberia



Ethnic group originally from Liberia
Most widely employed in West African
maritime activities
Migrant laborers
Music of the Kru

Primarily vocal music in Liberian homeland
(i.e., si-o-lele women’s songs)

Single-instrument percussion accompaniment

During travels, acquired new instruments and
ideas. Guitar especially fascinating.
Palm wine guitar style





Kru introduced to Port towns through labor
Met w/local musicians under palm trees
Spread the 2-finger guitar style
Based on complex African patterns
Style influenced early jùjú music and
Ghanaian highlife
Multiethnic mixes of the 1940s and 1950s

Liberian highlife – involved wind instruments

Many local variants, mixed ethnicities
performing together
(i.e., Kroo Young Stars)
Late
th
20
century transitions

Independence for many African countries
brought many changes, more nationalistic
tendencies

Maritime industry sharply declined
Latin American Musical
Influences in Zaïre
Latin American Influences in Zaïre
Assimilation is the final phase in cultural
exchange
1.
2.
3.
Listing of cultural materials
Evaluation of common denominators
Reinterpretation of compatible features
Contact between Latin America and Africa

began to flourish in 30s, 40s until the 60s

impact of Latin music on urban expressions
stronger in Zaïre

3 main forms:



Radio
Recording
Concerts
Radio

Two stations in Kinshasa
1. Radio-Léo: 1937-1967, Jesuit-owned
2. Radio Congolia: 1939-1948, for black
population. Became national radio later
Recordings



78-rpm recordings of Afro-Cuban and
American jazz becomes source material for
local bands
(i.e., “El Manisero”)
Recording studios provided European and
Latin American instruments to local musicians
Marketing of Zaïrean popular music retained
Cuban name
Concerts




Corporation contracts created detribalized
centers
Led to creation of brass bands, ensembles
Urban ensembles became popular at the
same time Latin American music introduced
Band performers took on Latin names,
instruments
Popular Music of Africa
Commercialization




From approx. 1900, foreign corporate
network in Africa
Imported records brought new styles
Radio broadcasts
CD technology currently not widely used
(exception is South Africa)
African Pop and International Market

WOMAD festival, started by Peter Gabriel

“World music” a controversial term, started as
a marketing tag for African music in
international markets
Major Regional Trends – West Africa


Traditional sources with predominately Cuban,
Latin-American, African-American influences
Cyclical, two-way pattern
other local forms
)→Jamaican →
Africa
→
Freetown,
Gome, Gombay
gumbay drum
Sierra Leone
(brought by freed slaves)
basis of Ghanaian highlife
West Africa – Cote d’Ivoire

Abidjan is important center of musical
exchange

MASA trade fair
West Africa - Mali

Ancient kingdom of Mansa Musa

Griot, jaliya = caste of musicians

Female musicians of Wassoulou

Salif Keita
West Africa - Senegal

Dakar is center of francophone Africa

griot music basis for mbalax
mbalax = Cuban rhythms, kora-based
melodies, high-pitched vocals

Youssou N’Dour, sang in native tongue
West Africa - Benin

Soundscape is Cameroonian music, rumba,
and African Arabic rai

Angelique Kidjo
West Africa - Ghana

highlife = British-derived entertainment style

Popularity replaced in 1970s by jùjú
Major Regional Trends –
Central and East Africa

Musically interconnected by guitar

Overwhelming influence of Zaïrean music on
East African pop
Central and East Africa – Congo/Zaïre

Zaïrean style known as rumba very popular

Radio Congo Belge helped popularize

Women also contributed

Soukous was a streamlined, later version

Papa Wemba
Central and East Africa - Kenya

Guitar styles adapted and developed from
other regions

benga = developed by Luo people

D. O. Misiani and Shirati Jazz
Central and East Africa - Tanzania

Remmy Ongala

Zanzibar genre is taarab = lyric poetry sung
in Swahili, often at weddings
Major Regional Trends – Southern Africa

SADC = cooperative forum connects
countries of Southern Africa

First SADC music festival in 1995
Southern Africa – South Africa

Oldest and most sophisticated music industry
in Southern Africa

kwela, popular form → mbaqanga


Mahotella Queens
Jazz became linked with apartheid struggle

Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela,
Southern Africa – South Africa

Johnny Clegg + Sipho Mchunu created a
mixed ethnic musical collaboration

1986 – Paul Simon, Graceland album
Southern Africa - Zimbabwe

Music used during fight for independence
was chimurenga



Thomas Mapfumo
Oliver Mtukudzi
Mbira music

Stella Chiwese
Southern Africa –
Angola and Mozambique

Mozambique


Timbila and marrabenta
Angola



Gourd resonated-bow that went to Brazil with
slaves now known in Brazil as berimbau
Poor country, no recording industry
National dance troupes
Music and HIV/AIDS in Africa
Successful AIDS prevention campaigns

Uganda



Senegal


Local, community based groups
Radio broadcasts
Targeting of sex workers
Botswana

Plays, dramas
The Culture of AIDS




Localized terminologies
NGO’s, health-based groups use dance
drama and music to spread messages
Work with local religious practitioners
Educational, govt’ groups
AIDS in Africa and the International
Arena



Major African recording stars draw attention
International AIDS conferences
Mega-concerts, organizations


46664
Live Aid
Products tied in to these

Spirit of Africa DVD and CD set