BMAM 120 MUSIC AND DANCES OF AFRICA

                                                         TOPIC OFASSIGNMENT

Explain characteristics of African Instruments.

 

Submitted by

NAME OF STUDENT: BERBRA MASAI CHEBET

REG NO: BMTC/MG/2451/09/19

KABARAK UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND PERFORMING ARTS

Submitted to

Full name of lecturer: PROFESSOR MELITTUS .N. WANYAMA

Due date:

Submission Date:

 

Student’s Signature:

Lecturer’s Signature:

Introduction

These instruments can be classified into; according to Hornbostel-Sachs instrument classification system, created by Erich Moritz von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs, idiophones, membranophones, chordophones and aerophones.

In this paper we are going to look at each one of them and their characteristics.

Idiophones

According to Traditional instruments of Kenya, a book by P.N Kavyu. Traditional idiophones may be classified in terms of terms of the material they are made from- metal or vegetable. Metallic instruments generally produce combination of harmonics, especially the hard metal bells with small harmers, whereas the pitch less sounds produced by vegetation rattles are similar, with differences in amplification depending on the size.

They can be divided into metal jingles, vegetation rattles, xylophones, slit Gongs and the thumb piano.

According to google an idiophone is an instrument the whole which vibrates to produce sound when struck, shaken, or scraped.

Examples of idiophones include kayamba, mbira, njoga etc.

           examples of idiophones.

Membranophones

Membranophones are simply instruments with a stretched membrane. Also known as drums. W. Omondi says that drums in African music have been exaggerated to the exclusion of other instruments. Membranophones are rhythmic instruments and they give the music, its rhythmic idea.

Some drums are double headed while others are single headed and every community has its own name for a specific drum.

example of a single headed membranophone, ngomba drums

 Example of a double headed drum from the Zulu community, ingungu drums.

Chordophones

Chordophones are stringed instruments and can be divided into three. Bows, lyres and fiddles.

A fiddle is a one or two stringed instrument common to have a gourd resonator or cylindrical metal tins covered at both ends with animal skin and with a hole at the back have been observed. P.N Kavyu.

An image of a fiddle from the Luhya community siriri.

Among the communities of Africa, hunting and gathering and war was  used by hunting bows and arrows, but these bows may also be used as instruments and were used for entertainment, the instrument may have a calabash resonator, or mouth resonator and is played with a stick baton as the musician stands or sits. P.N, Kavyu.

An example of a bow from the Kamba community.

Lyres are also known as harps and are multi stringed chordophones. The lyres vary in size and the number of strings all over Africa. The design of the resonator varies too,  from  arectangular wooden or tin box with semi parallel arms to a long wooden bowl (skin-covered) with relatively parallel arms and a circular-shaped instrument with triangular-shaped arms.

 An example of a lyre from the abagusii community, obokano.

Aerophones

Aerophones are blown instruments and they can also be divided into flutes, horns and whistles.    P.N Kavyu

Among the flutes the side blown flute is well known than the vertical flute. Nose flutes are entirely unknown. Most flutes are made from hollowed wood or grass. The flutes have o standard pitch due to lack of standard size nor do they have an equal number of holes. Most of them are blown from the upper tip.

 An example of a flute from The Giriama community.

Horns are made from straight or coiled animal horn. The mouth piece is usually at the side of the instrument towards the small end.

 A man playing a horn from the Maasai community. The Horn is known as Emouo.

Very little is written about the whistle but it is very widespread across the continent. It varies in size from six inches to a foot.

an example of a whistle known as Mukuta whistle.

References

Stone, R. M. (2007). The Garland Handbook of African Music 2nd edition. New York: Garland Publishing Inc.

Manyeneng M.( 2015) .Zulu indlamu dance; theatrical perspective.South Africa.Thwane University.

Dominic C. (2008). South Africa; the Culture. Cape Town. Crabtree publishing company.

Tamusuza N. and Solomon T. (2015).  Ethnomusicology in East Africa: Perspectives from Uganda and beyond. Fountain Publishers.

 Kariamu W. (2010). World of Dance: African Dance, Second Edition. Infobase publishing.

P.N Kavyu. (1980). Traditional music of Kenya. Kenya Literature Bureau.

Rodger B. (2009). A guide to musical instruments of Cameroun: classification, distribution, history and vernacular names. Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.

Andrew T. (2011). Chopi Timbila Music. International Library of African Music.

Catherine T. (1993). The Ugandan Lyre endongo and Its Music. British Forum for Ethnomusicology

Dave D. (1970). The Xhosa Umrhubhe Mouth bow: An exatraordinary musical instrument.