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‘Yiri’
by Koko
Sub-Saharan
African Music
Edexcel Music GCSE
Area of Study 4
KOKO: ‘YIRI’
In the study of this set work you will learn about:
•The rich and diverse cultures of sub-Saharan Africa
•The social importance of African music
•How music is learnt and passed on through the oral tradition
•The key common techniques used in African music
•Rhythmic and melodic patterns and procedures in African
drumming, balaphone music and choral singing
•How the set work ‘Yiri’ is constructed
AFRICAN MUSIC IN SOCIETY
• Sub-Saharan African music = rich, diverse and colourful
• Covers a range of 50 different nations
• Each nation has its own musical traditions and languages
• Music plays an important role in African society
• Music used to communicate different feelings and
emotions
• Music important in social gatherings: weddings, harvest,
birthday, funeral.
AFRICAN MUSIC IN SOCIETY
• Music combined with speech, dance and vibrant
costumes = exciting and dramatic performances
• ‘Yiri’ = strong emphasis on dance
• Dancers = vivid costumes, body painting and
elaborate masks
• Stories told through body actions and mime
BURKINO FASO: MASKS & DANCE
AFRICAN MUSIC
• 3 main areas:
•Drumming
•Choral Song (tribal music)
•Instrumental music
AFRICAN MUSIC: COMMON FEATURES
Repetition:
Repeating a section of music. Just a few notes or a whole section.
Improvisation:
Music is made up spontaneously (on-the-spot) without written
notation.
Polyphony:
2 or more independent parts playing different things at the same
time. Multi-layered texture
Call and Response:
Solo (call) followed by a group answering (response) a phrase.
AFRICAN DRUMMING
• Drum considered to be most important of all
instruments
• Drum = form of communication
• Different rhythms mean different things
• Hundreds of drums, different in every region
AFRICAN DRUMMING: DJEMBE
• DJEMBE is the most common African drum
(single-headed)
• Goblet shaped
• West Africa
AFRICAN DRUMMING: DUNDUN
• Double Headed Drum
• Played using sticks
AFRICAN DRUMMING: DONNO
• Known as the Talking Drum
• Held under the arm
• Played with the hand
AFRICAN DRUMMING: DIFFERENT
SOUNDS
• Playing hands on skin of drum – different
sounds when fingers open/closed
• Playing hands on wooden edge of drum
• Using sticks = sharp, staccato sound
• Stretching drum membrane to produce
different pitches (mainly donno)
AFRICAN MUSIC: PERFORMANCE
• Oral tradition: no musical notation.
• Master drummer directs whole performance
(signals to start often with a vocal cry)
• Performs a rhythmic solo to set mood and
tempo – called a cue.
• Cueing happens throughout the performance –
creates structure and contrasting sections
AFRICAN MUSIC: PERFORMANCE
• Players then come in together and play a response
• Response could be the same or different to the
Master Drummer’s rhythm.
• Call and response = main feature of tribal music
• Other players perform solos when Master Drummer
signals to them
• Solos = variations/development of original rhythmic
pattern
AFRICAN MUSIC: PERFORMANCE
• Steady continuous beat performed by Master
Drummer = ‘timeline’
• Performance can also include percussion
rattle or bells – most common are agogo
bells.
AFRICAN MUSIC: PERFORMANCE
• Music increases in tension as the piece
progresses
• Tempo and dynamics vary from section to
section
• Master drummer controls change - music must
not become monotonous
• Performances can take up to 5 hours
AFRICAN MUSIC: PERFORMANCE
TEXTURE
• Complex rhythms played by drummers
create polyrhtyhms
• Stresses conflict with each other and the
‘timeline’ creating cross-rhythms
• Polyrhthmic texture
AFRICAN DRUMMING & PERFORMANCE:
KEYWORDS
IMPROVISATION
POLYPHONIC
CALL & RESPONSE
OSTINATO
CROSS-RHYTHMS
ORAL TRADITION
PLENARY: KEYWORDS RECAP
•
What is the master drummer responsible for in an African drumming
performance?
•
What is the most common African drum called?
•
What is another name for the donno drum?
•
What are the three main strands of African music?
•
From which African nation does ‘Yiri’ originate from?
•
What texture is associated with African drumming?
•
When stresses conflict with each other and the steady constant beat, what type
of rhythms are created?
•
What 2 main elements vary from section to section in African drumming music?