Music of Africa
African music most closely adheres to Western tetratonic (four-note), pentatonic (five-note), hexatonic (six-note), and heptatonic (seven-note) scales.
North Africa was later conquered by the Arabs, who established the region as the Maghreb of the Ar Africa (sky-blue and dark green region on map),[8] its music has close ties with Middle Eastern music and utilizes similar melodic modes (maqamat).
[8] The music of the Ethiopian highlands uses a fundamental modal system called qenet, of which there are four main modes: tezeta, bati, ambassel, and anchihoy.
[10] The ethnomusicological pioneer Arthur Morris Jones (1889–1980) observed that the shared rhythmic principles of Bantu African music traditions constitute one main system.
[12] Similarly, master drummer and scholar C. K. Ladzekpo affirms the "profound homogeneity" of Bantu African rhythmic principles.
They also have several ancillary influences, from the Muslim regions of Africa, and in modern times, the Americas and Western Europe.
[15] According to Diouf, traditional Muslim West African Music incorporates elements of the Islamic call to prayer (originating from Bilal ibn Rabah, an Abyssinian African Muslim in the early 7th century), including lyrics praising God, melody, note changes, "words that seem to quiver and shake" in the vocal chords, dramatic changes in musical scales, and nasal intonation.
[15] Besides vocalisation, which uses various techniques such as complex hard melisma and yodel, a wide array of musical instruments are also used.
Additionally, string instruments are also used, with the lute-like oud and Ngoni serving as musical accompaniment in some areas.
There are five groups of Sub-Saharan African musical instruments: membranophones, chordophones, aerophones, idiophones, and percussion.
Several uniquely designed instruments have evolved there over time to facilitate the playing of simultaneous contrasting rhythms.
The mbira, kalimba, Kora, ngoni and dousn'gouni are examples of these instruments which organize notes not in the usual single linear order from bass to treble, but in two separated rank arrays which allows additional ease in playing cross rhythms.
The continuing influence of this principle can be seen in the 20th century American instruments the gravi-kora and gravikord which are new modern examples.
The music has been influenced by language, the environment, a variety of cultures, politics, and population movement, all of which are intermingled.
African music in Sub-Saharan Africa is mostly upbeat polyrhythmic and joyful, whereas the blues should be viewed as an aesthetic development resulting from the conditions of slavery in the new world.
On his album Graceland, the American folk musician Paul Simon employs South African bands, rhythms and melodies as a musical backdrop for his own lyrics; especially Miriam Makeba, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Ray Phiri.
Characters such as Simba, Kovu, and Zira are also Swahili words, meaning "lion", "scar", and "hate", respectively.
[24][25] Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela and Babatunde Olatunji were among the earliest African performing artists to develop sizable fan bases in the United States.
Non-commercial African-American radio stations promoted African music as part of their cultural and political missions in the 1960s and 1970s.
Solomon Linda's Original Evening Birds' most internationally acclaimed hit released in 1939, "Mbube" was the first African record to sell over 100,000 copies.
After she moved to the U.S., problems with Makeba's passport occurred and she had to stay in America, it was said that she put an American twist on most of her African music.
In 1972, Cameroonian songwriter and saxophonist Manu Dibango's, internationally innumerably sampled "Soul Makossa" was released.
[37][38] Kalpop is a music genre that originated in the Klassikan royal communities under Klassik Nation[39] record label.
[40] DON SANTO,[41][42] Badman Killa, Blessed Paul,[43] Cash B, Jay Nuclear, Rekless, G-Youts (Washu B and Nicki Mulla), Sleek Whizz, Chizei, are among the many artists playing Kalpop music in Kenya.
[44] Some African countries, including Kenya, Gambia and South Africa, have seen protest over perceived excessive airtime given to American music.
Traditionally services of western major international studios have not been available in Africa, the local demand for their music being met through piracy.
