ANTH 195 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Ewe Music, Ewe People, Pantheism
Music Exam 2 Notes
Africa
• 1 billion people in Africa – over 56 countries
• 2nd largest continent
• Over 1,000 languages spoken and 1,000 ethnic groups
Ethnic group – people with the same history, culture, and language
2 Regions of Africa:
• Saharan
• Sub-Saharan
Generalizations about African Music-Culture:
• Music-Making Events
o Social situations where people’s primary goals are not artistic
o Many media (drama, poetry, dance)
• Style
o Melodies based on western scales and are related to harmony
o African stylistic features
▪ Polyrhythm, repetition, improvisation
• History
o Influenced by the music-cultures of Europe, Asia
• Participation + Training
o Enculturation: process of learning one’s culture
• Beliefs + Values
o Music as a necessary/normal part of life fuses with other life
processes
o Intercultural misunderstanding
▪ Music not separated from daily life
Ghana:
• Ewe People
o Southern Ghana, Togo, and Benin
o Social Organization
▪ Extended family
▪ Importance of lineage
▪ Recognize value/wisdom of ancestors
o Religion
▪ All things in nature are worshipped as divine
▪ Pantheism
find more resources at oneclass.com
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▪ Ancestral spirits – important forces in lives of Ewe
▪ Music: channel to connect with kin, ancestors, and others
o Could be denied a proper burial if you do not participate
o Degree of participation shows hierarchy
▪ Elders (M/F)
▪ Composer
▪ Lead drummer
▪ Ring-leaders
▪ Supporting song leaders
▪ Whips of musical community
▪ Supporting drummers
▪ Ensemble
Agbekor:
• Type of singing, drumming, and dancing featuring percussion,
ensemble, dancers, and singing choruses
• Inspired by observations of monkeys in forest
o Legend: hunters taught monkeys’ songs
• War drumming/dancing; preparation for war
• Learning: special training
o Practice in secluded area
o Learned through simulated performance contexts
Features of Agbekor:
• Double bell – how rhythm is set
• Gourd rattle
• Single-headed drums
o Drum language is not “translatable”
• Text subjects
o About war
• Call and response
• Intonations
o Not aimed at a particular pitch, but rather pitch areas
• Combination of instruments = complex sound
• Syncopations – stress on a beat not expected w/ metric displacements
• Polyrhythms and polymeter
• Performance involves several sections
Dagbamba Drummers:
• Ghana – Southern Savanna
• Chiefdom (king)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Africa: 1 billion people in africa over 56 countries, 2nd largest continent, over 1,000 languages spoken and 1,000 ethnic groups. Ethnic group people with the same history, culture, and language. Dagbamba drummers: ghana southern savanna, chiefdom (king, lunsi, clan of drummers, fulfill many vital duties, drums, gungong (double-headed) cylindrical, lunga (talking drum) hourglass; strings to change pitch. Shona mbira: zimbabwe, bantu-speaking, mbira thumb piano instrument, like a telephone to communicate with ancestors, various sizes of tuned metal keys, vibrate upon plucking, timbre: intimate sound, participatory: interlocking melodies. Baaka: forest of central africa, known as forest people (pygmies, one of the most remote ethnic groups on earth, only speak native language and are nomadic, music, complex yodeling, polyphony, and drumming, participation. Music of african america: forged in america by africans and their descendants, music of worship, work, and play (blues, music is something that can transcend, most influential to other music.
