Africa is a highly musical continent, with genres spanning from Afrobeat, Ndombolo, Rhumba, Bongo, Benga, and Kwaito, to Reggae, Hip-hop, and R&B. From traditional and cultural events to modern concerts and bus rides, music is often a key feature of life in Africa.
What are the traditional music of Africa?
14 African musical styles for you to explore
- Soukous. Soukous is a form of music that stems from rumba. …
- JuJu. Juju style originally came from Nigeria, a country which has produced many styles that managed to spread all around West African countries, including juju, jaija, fuji, ozzidi, palm-wine, highlife and afrobeat. …
- Mbalax. …
- Zilin. …
- Gnawa. …
- Mbaqanga. …
- Chimurenga. …
- Majika.
5.04.2018
What are the 8 types of African music?
List of Music Genres in Africa
- Afrobeat. Fela Kuti created Afrobeat by fusing traditional Nigerian music, jazz and highlife. …
- Apala. Apala is a percussion-based style of the Muslim Yoruba people in Nigeria, West Africa.
- Assiko. Assiko is a rhythmic dance from Cameroon.
- Bikutsi. …
- Benga music. …
- Bongo Flava (Tanzania)
- Cabo-Love (Cape Verde)
- Chimurenga music.
What is Africa music like?
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 are the vocal music of Africa?
Vocal Forms of African Music 1. Maracatu Surfaced in the African state of Pernambuco, combining the strong rhythms of African percussion instruments with Portugese melodies. It uses mostly percussion instruments such as the alfaia, tarol, and caixa-de-Guerra, gongue, agbe, and miniero.
What are the 5 most important features of African music?
Aerophones (wind)
- Flutes (bamboo, horn)
- Ocarinas.
- Panpipes.
- Horns from animal tusks.
- Trumpets wood or metal.
- Pipes being single or double reeds.
- Whistle.
How did African music start?
Early attempts at notating African music were made by T.E. … The single and double iron bells, which probably originated in Kwa-speaking West Africa, spread to western Central Africa with Iron Age Bantu-speaking peoples and from there to Zimbabwe and the Zambezi River valley.
What is the most popular instrument in Africa?
Most widely spread and played instruments in Africa are the drum, the xylophone, the mbira, rattles and shakers.
What makes African music unique?
African singers use a wide variety of sounds. The melodies are short, repeated over and over, also include whistles and yodels which is peculiar to African style of music. Soloist often improvises new melodies while the chorus continuous with the original melody creating a polyphonic structure.
What is the oldest African instrument?
The bolon is one of the oldest of the West African stringed instruments and was originally associated with the hunting and warrior traditions.
Which country in Africa got the best sounds?
Nigeria has all contemporary equipment for the self-developing of young African artists that is why it is believed to be the most musical country in the world. In other words, Nigeria has the best musicians.
What are the three basic elements of music?
A working definition of music for our purposes might be as follows: music is an intentionally organized art form whose medium is sound and silence, with core elements of pitch (melody and harmony), rhythm (meter, tempo, and articulation), dynamics, and the qualities of timbre and texture.
What is special about Africa?
Africa is the world’s hottest continent with deserts and drylands covering 60% of land surface area (e.g. Kalahari, Sahara and Namib). Africa is the world’s second driest continent (after Australia). Africa has approximately 30% of the earth’s remaining mineral resources.
What is the most important element of African music?
Throughout Africa, there are four distinct categories of musical instruments: drums, wind, self-sounding and string instruments. The African drum (called the heart of the community) is the most significant instrument as it reflects people’s moods and emotions, and its rhythm holds dancers together.
What is West African music called?
Afrobeat is a music genre with major popularity throughout West Africa. Originating in Ghana in the early 20th century, Afrobeat grew in popularity in the 1960s.
What is the purpose of African music?
African music is a vital part of everyday life in Africa. It is a part of religious ceremonies, festivals, and social rituals. Songs are used for the important events in a person’s life (birth, coming of age, marriage, and death). They are used for curing the sick, bringing rain, and religious dances.