World Music: Africa

Front 1

African Diaspora

Back 1

- the dispersion of millions of people from Africa-especially western Africa-to other parts of the world, especially the Americas (the United States, Brazil, the Caribbean, etc.)
- largely a result of the Euro-American slave trade, at least initally.
- Today, the African diaspora is global in scope and its worldwide musical impact cannot be overestimated..

Front 2

Africanisms

Back 2

1. Complex polyphonic texture
2. Layered ostinatos with varied repetitions.
3. Conversational Element
4. Improvisation
5. Trimbral variety
6. Distictive pitch systems and scales

Front 3

Akan

Back 3

A tribe from Ghana (W. Africa).
Their quote: the path must meet the river to fulfill earthly purpose and the river must meet the path to fulfill divine purpose.
-Source of their creation: divine, ancestral, familial, natural (all important to them)
-community is important to meet needs of individual

Front 4

Angelique Kidjo

Back 4

- Fon, sings majority of songs in Fon language (this ties her artistry to her ancestry)
- sings in style of crossover approach.
- draws upon Fon language, vocal stylings, as well as american soul, rhythm and blues, funk and jazz.
- huge success globally. the diva from Benin.

Front 5

Antumpan

Back 5

-Smaller instrument in the Fontomfrom royal music ensemble.
- highest voice
- also used for drum speech

Front 6

bala

Back 6

-one of the designated jeli instruments
- xylophone-type idiophone that is constructed of between 17 and 21 keys or different lengths suspended over a wooden frame in ascending in pitch order

Front 7

birimintingo

Back 7

improvised solo runs on the Kora

Front 8

call and response

Back 8

the concept that can create a conversation between voices in an ensemble

Front 9

dawuro

Back 9

- a double metal bell used by the Ashanti
- it has two different pitches in an interval of an octave (sometimes 9th)
- played with a hard wooden stick or a metal rod, which are used to strike one of the bells.

Front 10

Diabate Family

Back 10

one of the hereditary jeli families that can trace its lineage back many generations (possibly to the first court musicians -Mande)

Front 11

djembe

Back 11

-skin-covered
-meant to be played with bare hands
-name comes from saying that means "everyone gather together"

Front 12

drum speech

Back 12

- because language of Twi is tonal (words are determined by pitch, rhythm, and inflection as well as sound of syllables)
-can be replicated through drums (like atumpan), enabling them to speak

Front 13

equankoba

Back 13

-thin, tall drums
- highest drums in the fontomfrom

Front 14

Fon

Back 14

One of the major ethnic groups in the West African nation of ---language of Benin
-Benin: Angelique Kidjo is of Fon heritage and many of her songs are in the Fon language (e.g., "Okan Bale").

Front 15

Fontomtrom

Back 15

-Akan royal drum ensemble, featuring several drums (from, atumpan, eguankoba) and the gongon iron bell.

Front 16

from

Back 16

-lowest drum
-tall
-played by leader or ensemble

Front 17

gongon

Back 17

-traditional two pronged bell held in one hand and played by striking with a straight stick

Front 18

gonkoqui

Back 18

-same as shekere
-a hollow gourd rattle with bamboo, wood, glass beads, or seeds woven around it on a net

Front 19

Griot

Back 19

Generic term (from French) covering a diverse range of African hereditary praise song/music traditions, including that of the Mande jeli.

Front 20

Jeli

Back 20

- A Made griot.
- Most of the leading jelilu are descended from a hereditary jeli family (Kouyate, Diabate, Sissoko).
-Those who are instrumentalists play specific jeli instruments such as kora, bala, and koni.

Front 21

Jeliya

Back 21

The artistic culture of the jeli
- including its praise songs and instrumental music traditions

Front 22

kumbengo

Back 22

- The accompaniment style of instrumental performance used on instruments like the kora, bala, and koni
- in Mande jeliya music

Front 23

koni

Back 23

- Banjo-like plucked chordophone of the Mande
- jeli instrument
- Bassekou Kouyate is one of its best-known exponents.

Front 24

kora

Back 24

- 21-string Mande spike harp chordophone
- jeli instrument
- Sidiki, Toumani, and Mamadou Diabate represent one of the great lineages of kora players

Front 25

Mande

Back 25

- Major ethnic group of western Africa, concentrated in areas of Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Gambia
- Principal subgroups are the Maninka (Mali, Guinea) and Mandinka (Senegal, Gambia)

Front 26

mbira

Back 26

-African Thumb Piano
- a musical instrument consisting of a wooden board to which staggered metal keys have been attached
- It is often fitted into a
resonator.
-lamellaphone

Front 27

polyvocality

Back 27

- Comprising "many voices"
- in the chapter, relates to the conversational dimension of much West African music, wherein many voices-vocal and/or instrumental-may speak and be heard all at once, expressing a unified diversity of views and perspectives

Front 28

praise songs

Back 28

- in the jeliya tradition of the Mande and in other African griot traditions
- a class of songs that were traditionally sung to honor royalty exclusively
- that are now often performed in honor of modern politicians or other wealthy partons who are not of royal lineage as well

Front 29

Salif Keita

Back 29

- "radica royal"-controversial figure, royal heritage but plays Jeli music

Front 30

sataro

Back 30

- Improvisatory, partially speech like style of singing
- in jeliya vocal art
- Kassemady Diabate is a master of sataro

Front 31

sauta

Back 31

- An important musical mode in Mande music, using a scale that is roughly equivalent to F G A B C D E (F) in Western music

Front 32

Seckou Keita

Back 32

- Kora player
- another "radical royal" who broke tradition to play jeli music

Front 33

shekere

Back 33

same as gonkoqui
-a hollow gourd rattle with bamboo, wood or glass beads, or seeds woven around it on a net

Front 34

tonal language

Back 34

- Languages in which the meaning of words is determinded not just by the actual sounds of their syllables, but also by the specific patterns of pitch, rhythm, and timbral inflection with which they are articulated. - Many West African languages (such as the Akan language Twi) are tonal; so too are other world languages, including Mandarin Chinese.

Front 35

Twi

Back 35

- tonal language of the Akan Tribe