Music of Sub-Saharan
Africa
MUSI 3721Y
University of Lethbridge, Calgary Campus
John Anderson
Interlocking
• Interlocking is the practice of fitting pitches into
spaces between other parts, alternating pitches
or phrases of one part with those of another to
create a whole part
• An example is the whole melody created by a
mbira player’s two hands
Call and Response, and Hockets
• Call and response is the
alternation or interlocking
of leader and chorus, or of a
vocal and instrumental
part
• Hocket is the interlocking
pitches between two or
more sound sources to
create a single melody or
part
• An example is Pygmy
vocal music
Textures and Timbres
• Dense, overlapping textures
and buzzy timbres
• A preference for overlapping
drum and percussion rhythms
• An example is Ewe
drumming
• Wind and string instruments
incorporate percussive
elements
• Strings are more often
plucked than bowed
• And wind instruments are
often played with a breathy
sound quality
• An example of a percussive
string sound is the kora.
Forms and Structures
• Cyclical and open-ended
forms involving one or
more repeated
melodies/rhythmic patterns
• These are called ostinatos
• basic foundation of a
performance
• Ostinato is a repeated
melodic or rhythmic
pattern that forms the
basic foundation of a piece
or musical section
• sometimes called
“melorhythm” or “ensemble
thematic cycle”
Participation
• Community participation
is central
• The participation of nonspecialists is facilitated
by long performances
with much repetition and
by the close association
of music with dance
Rhythm
• Rhythmic complexity can
occur at many levels
• Juxtaposition of duple and
triple patterns (hemiola)
• Multiple layering of
different rhythmic
patterns
• And interaction between
core foundation and
improvised parts
Interlocking Parts and Hemiola
• It is easy to demonstrate both
very simply
• Divide into pairs
• One partner claps eighth
notes while the other claps
triplets
• If you watch each others’
hands, you will see visually
how the parts interlock
Call and Response
• Choose a phrase for the
whole class
• This will be the response
• Say this at the end of each
sentence I speak
Hocket
• Three volunteers
• Choose a setting
• Tell the story one alternating
people one word at a time
BaMbuti vocal music:
Alima Girls’ Initiation Music
• This recording includes
snatches of solo and chorus
• But mainly demonstrates
hocket
• Each singer is responsible
for one note and hoots it at
the appropriate moment
• Ringing rhythm sticks,
softer split sticks, and
handclaps provide a
complex rhythmic
accompaniment
Kora music “Ala l’a ke”
• According to Roderic Knight’s
liner notes, this is one of the
best-known kora songs
• The title literally means, “God
has done it.”
• It commemorates the
settlement of a quarrel
between two brothers over the
right to the chieftainship of
Fuladu after their father died
in the early days of colonial
rule
Kora music “Ala l’a ke”
• The younger brother usurped
the throne and had his
brother punished when he
thought his life was
threatened
• This brought attention to the
usurper and the British
governor installed the rightful
heir
• Instead of punishing his
younger brother, the new chief
only asked for an apology,
saying that it was God’s deed
• Note especially the buzzing
metal jangles attached to the
instrument
Gadzo
• Again, general African
musical principles and
aesthetic values are well
demonstrated
• Call-and-response
• Interlocking parts
• Ostinato
• Improvised variations
• A dense, multi-layered
sound
Greetings and Praises
Performed on the Yoruba Dùndún Drum
• This excerpt illustrates
how the dùndún is used as
a “talking drum”
• The drummer first plays a
pattern
• Then another drummer
recites the corresponding
verbal phrase
• Included are common
greetings like “Good
morning” as well as brief
praises that would have
been played in honor of a
chief
Greetings and Praises
Performed on the Yoruba Dùndún Drum
• The dùndún is an hour-glass
shaped pressure drum
• When the player squeezes and
pulls the ropes that bind the
heads on both ends of the
drum, increased tension is
created so that the pitch is
raised
• When the cords are relaxed,
the tension lessens, and the
pitch drops
Musical Bow Played by a BaMbuti Pygmy
• Made from a bent sapling
• Thin section of vine used
for the string
• The player holds one end
with his toe against the
ground, and the other
against the edge of his
mouth, which serves as a
sound resonator
• By flexing the bow, he
shortens the string, and
raises the pitch
• So pleased was he with his
performance that he shouts
“Budah!” in the middle of
it, an expression of joy
I.K. Dairo and The Blue Spots, “Salome”
• After an accordion
introduction, Dairo sings the
text
• Followed by a brief accordion
solo (section A)
• The accordion then drops out
for a new section (B)
• This section involves a
percussion break in which the
talking drum takes the lead
playing verbal phrases that a
unison vocal chorus repeats
I.K. Dairo and The Blue Spots, “Salome”
• At approximately 1:39, the
talking drummer plays a
short vocal phrase
• Immediately repeated by
the chorus in call-andresponse (X2)
• Makes the melodic quality
of the talking drum
particularly apparent
• The B section ends with a
bongo solo
I.K. Dairo and The Blue Spots, “Salome”
• Shortened accordion
introduction and vocal
material from the A section
then comes back to conclude
the piece creating an overall A
B A’ structure
• In addition to the combination
of Yoruba and Cuban
instruments, the piece
incorporates the “clave”
rhythmic pattern of the
Cuban son
• played by the rhythm sticks
I.K. Dairo and The Blue Spots, “Salome”
• The text itself illustrates a
combination of Yoruba and
cosmopolitan elements
• Much of the text that Dairo
sings falls squarely within
the style of pop love songs
• The texts drummed and
sung in Section B, however,
include Yoruba proverbs
“Chitima Ndikature” (Excerpt)
Performed by Thomas Mapfumo and The Blacks Unlimited
• This track is an example of
Mapfumo’s mature style
• Features electrified mbira
(bottle caps removed)
• Electric guitar, keyboards,
bass, drums, hosho, and
congas along with two female
vocalists
• This piece is based in the
classical mbira repertory
• 48-beat cycle
• four 12-beat phrases
• Mapfumo uses indigenous
Shona vocal techniques
• singing of vocables with
the lower lines of the
mbira part
• The allusive imagery of the
sung poetry and its mosaic
quality are also typical of
indigenous Shona songs
Discussion Questions
• Is there an equivalent to African interlocking in
Western music, and how might it work?
• Is there an equivalent to African interlocking in
an Asian music studied thus far, and how does
• it work?
• Why would Pygmy communal living bear an
influence on vocal hocket?
Discussion Questions
• Why would Pygmy nomadic life prevent Pygmies
from using many musical instruments?
• Why do the words of the jali have as much
importance as writing?
• Are there equivalents to the jali in Western
music, and what do they say?
• What semblance to the kora is there among
Western string instruments, and is there a
common well-spring?
Discussion Questions
• Does anything like African ostinato exist in
Western musical performance, and how would it
work?
• Does North American popular music use
drumming in the same manner as African
drumming, or how is it different?
• What might befall an African court music
tradition in the event of political insurrection, and
how could it be guarded?
• How have traditional African musical
instruments and styles survived in the rapidly
changing world, and is this a good thing?