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African Music Terms
mus13af
29
Music
Undergraduate 1
04/20/2010

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Term
organology
Definition
The study of instruments' classification.
Term
Ewe
Definition
A minority ethnic group in West Africa (Ghana and Togo) with a reputation as warriors, extended family-based social order, and spiritual view of music that attributes fortune and talents to ancestral spirits. Creators of the Agbekor music.
Term
Agbekor
Definition
An Ewe form of war music, now adapted to non-war purposes, such as funerals. A style of drumming that was, according to legend, learned by Ewe hunters from monkeys; exciting, polyrhythmic, meant for prewar and postwar playing. Translates to "clear life;" makes use of language's tonality to "speak" with drums, recounting stories of battle and preparing for the fight.
Term
antiphony
Definition
Musical call-and-response.
Term
double bell
Definition
A central rhythmic instrument in Agbekor, with whose beat all other instruments in the ensemble interact. Includes two tones, form a larger and smaller bell.
Term
Agbekor ensemble
Definition
Consists of a "rectangle within a circle," traditionally composed of 10 male drummers, 15 male dancers, and 10 female singers, though the roles are now less gender-specific. Includes a double bell, gourd rattles, ad four single-headed drums. A typical full performance will include 3 slow songs, 1 free rhythm song, and 1 fast song.
Term
polyrhythm
Definition
A rhythmic feel common in African music that does not rely on a strict hierarchy of beats with a unified meter, but rather arises from the intertwining of multiple feels at once, generally based on simple individual rhythms, to create a dense sound.
Term
Mandinka
Definition
An ethnic group in Senegal and Gambia, part of the larger Mande group of peoples, who have a tradition of jalolu/griots.
Term
jali / griot
Definition
A class of poets, musicians, and oral historians in West Africa, translating to "blood" and "servant" respectively. Traditionally employed by nobility, but contemporarily play more freelance; sang the praises of kings and kept oral histories of heroic and political exploits, as well as reciting wise sayings. Transmission based on formal apprenticeship with a single master.
Term
kora
Definition
A harp-like stringed instrument of Guinea. Has 21 strings across a high bridge; plucked in left-right alternation; bass strings considered "high" and vice-versa; learned under a master, who teaches (difficult) tuning last. Historically male performers.
Term
bala
Definition
A xylophone-like instrument from Burkina Faso.
Term
ngoni
Definition
A lute-like instrument from Mali.
Term
dankilo
Definition
In kora music, tuneful singing, the "meat" of the vocals.
Term
sataro
Definition
In kora music, the extemporaneous, less melodic vocal passages.
Term
konkon
Definition
Ostinato played on the resonator of the kora.
Term
kumbango
Definition
Ostinato played on the strings of the kora.
Term
birimintingo
Definition
Instrumental passages in kora music.
Term
Dagbamba
Definition
The people of Dagbon, a centralized, hierarchical West African kingdom.
Term
lunsi
Definition
A hereditary clan of drummers in Dagbon.
Term
luna
Definition
"Talking drum," the instrument of choice of the lunsi - includes two pitches that can be modified by squeezing the leather cords on its side to mimic the tonal language.
Term
gungon
Definition
Bass drum used in lunsi music.
Term
atumpan
Definition
Double "talking drums" in lunsi music to mimic tonal language.
Term
muezzin
Definition
A Muslim vocalist who gives the call to prayer atop the minaret.
Term
Maghrib
Definition
The region of North Africa north of the Sahara and to the west of Egypt.
Term
Berbers
Definition
Indigenous people of North Africa.
Term
Tuareg
Definition
A Berber ethnic minority in the Sahara.
Term
Andalusia
Definition
Southern Spain, which was under Muslim rule for several hundred years, and whose music spread to North Africa following the Muslim emigrations.
Term
Gnawa
Definition
The black population of the Maghrib, composed of the descendants of slaves/immigrants.
Term
nuba
Definition
A classical Andalusian form of music - there are 24, each tied to an hour of the day as well as various body organs, temperaments, etc. Tied to court poetry.
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