World Music: Africa

In most music lessons, we tend to concentrate on music of the Western tradition, classical being the main one. I would like to take the time to introduce you to some instruments and music styles of other countries/continents that you may have never heard of before. In this article we will explore the instruments of Africa. Africa has a deep-rooted tradition of music, drawing from some of the most complex rhythms in the world. In fact, when Western music theorists came to Africa to learn about African rhythms, they found that the music was so complex and difficult to notate that a new form of writing had to be created! These rhythms are referred to as polyrhythms.

Here is a great explanation of polyrhythms; the actual performing is around the 5:30 mark.

1. Mbira: Pronounced “mm-beer-ah”, this instrument is used by flicking little metal tines, which produce a sound. They range in many shapes and sizes, but most are small enough to be held by your two hands. Here is an example. Notice again, the complex polyrhythms.

2. Djembe: Pronounced “jem-bay”, this drum is very loud and is used as both a solo and ensemble instrument. It can create deep bass tones by striking the middle with your palms, or can create many other sounds by hitting other parts of the drum-head with various parts of your hand. It is traditionally held together in between your legs, either sitting or standing up.

3. African Harp: While there are many types of African harps, in general, these harps harken back to Egyptian times. The base of many of these harps are made out a big gourd, in which the strings are connected. A lot of African harps sound very close in tone to those of the traditional European style harp.