MUSC 2270 Lecture 15: MUSC2270 Mar. 7
Document Summary
Chapter 8: sub-saharan africa: 4 main areas of study: shona of zimbabwe; pygmies of central african forest/congo; Mande and ewe of west africa (ranges from mali and senegal through to ivory coast; Mande = mostly from mali and ewe = mostly from ghana); and yoruba of nigeria: music retains cultural barriers despite political divisions (indigenous practices maintained, political barriers often do not equate to cultural barrier/borders these political borders. Instruments & tuning: the mbira ( thumb piano ) also a children"s toy; can signal colonial perspective that africans = childish/primitive idiophone (metal keys vibrate, resonator = bowl-like gourd amplifies the rather quiet instrument) 22-28 keys in 3 octaves (heptatonic scale 7 notes; unlike western scales) Beads/bottlecaps may be present on the instrument to create a buzzy timbre (common in sub-saharan african instruments) The mbira is tuned by adjusting length of keys (affects vibrations); longer keys produce deeper sounds.
