What is the tempo of African music?
approximately 600 notes per minute
This series of 24 notes, when played by expert musicians, is at a speed of approximately 600 notes per minute. But each musician, for himself, plays one-third that fast.
What rhythm is used in African music?
Like the music of Asia, India and the Middle East, it is a highly rhythmic music. African music consists of complex rhythmic patterns, often involving one rhythm played against another to create a polyrhythm. The most common polyrhythm plays three beats on top of two, like a triplet played against straight notes.
What is the melody of African music?
The rhythm is generally the most important, and West African songs are polyrhythmic featuring two or more conflicting rhythms. The most common form of polyrhythm in West Africa is the cross-rhythm made from repeating hemiolas, or patterns of three beats played over two beats in the same space.
How does the sound of the different African instruments being produced?
Sounds are made by bowing, plucking and striking the string. West Africa (specifically Mali and the Mande people) has many of these harp/lute type instruments but the most widely known and used is the Kora. Traditional koras have 21 strings, 11 played by the left hand and 10 from the right.
What are the main 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 important element in West 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 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 kind of music did people in West Africa listen to?
Pestles against mortars, axes against wood, the rattling of loom shuttles, and the gasps of billows all set the tempo, the cadenced backdrop, for traditional West African music.
How to learn West African song and chants?
1. Prepare 3 rhythm patterns on flash cards or on board. Practice reading and then clapping. 2. Split class into three groups. Assign one of the rhythm patterns to each group. Practice and rotate. 3. Clap patterns along with recording. Note – refer to companion book for pronunciation guide and rhythms. 4.
What is the average temperature in West Africa?
Temperatures in the lowlands of West Africa are high throughout the year, with annual means usually above 18°C. In the Sahel, maximum temperatures can reach above 40°C.
Where does the name of the lullaby come from?
The name Lullaby comes from the French: Berceuse, which translates to Lullaby or Cradle song. In modern music, The Beatles, The Cure and Billy Joel had several hits with Lullabies.