Musical Culture Part 2

The culture I choose to talk about is that of West Africa. This consist of the countries in the upper western part of Africa. It includes Mali, Niger, Chad, Benin, Burkina, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Guinea Bissau,  Mauritania, Cameroon, Sierra Leone,  Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Togo, Ghana, Liberia, Guinea, The Gambia, and Cabo Verde. West African Folk music originates from as far back as the 12th century in the Kingdom of Mali. The largest factor that contributed to the creation of West African Music was the mixing of music with in West Africa. The most distinct part of West African Music is its rhythm. The rhythm is most obvious in the use of drums. Originally war drums where what where used, but now the most common drums are the djembe and talking drum. Another important part in the creation of the complex rhythms common in West African Music is dance. It is very common for the music to also have a dance that consist of the stomping of feet and clapping of hands that adds to the rhythm. Different from traditional European music West African Music is largely polyrhythmic, meaning it consist of more than one rhythm. The most common structure for polyrhythm in West Africa is the Hemiola, three beats over two. The second distinct thing that makes up West African Music is melody. The music of West Africa puts little ficus on harmony but rather focuses more on the melody. Music plays a large part in West African society. The reason for it being played can be simple ones such as entertainment and celebration, but it is also played for religious ceremonies and for celebration of the cycles of life, birth, marriage, puberty, etc. Besides that music also had a political history as it was originally tradition for a royal court to have a musician called a jali. Where families would hold the position in the court and rase their children to take over the job when they got older.




Sources:

Music in West Africa by Ruth M. Stone

http://spotlightonmusic.macmillanmh.com/n/teachers/articles/folk-and-traditional-styles/west-african-folk-music

http://study.com/academy/lesson/music-of-west-africa-rhythms-dance-instruments-characteristics.html

http://www.brendansadventures.com/travel-guides/africa/west-africa/