musical intrument of africa edited summarized

musical instruments of africa

1. MUSICAL INSTRUMENT OF AFRICA

2. CLASSIFICATION OF TRADITIONAL AFRICAN MUSIC IDIOPHONES MEMBRANOPHONES LAMELLAPHONE CHORDOPHONES AEROPHONE

3. IDIOPHONES These are percussion instruments that are either struck with a mallet or against one another.

4. BALAFON a West African xylophone. It is a pitched percussion instrument with bars made from logs or bamboo.

5. AGOGO a single bell or multiple bells that had its origins in traditional Yoruba music and also in the samba baterias (percussion) ensembles. The agogo may be called “the oldest samba instrument based on West African Yoruba single or double bells.” Ithas the highest pitch of any of the bateria instruments.

6. ATINGTING KON These are slit gongs used to communicate between villages. They were carved out of wood to resemble ancestors and had a “slit opening” at the bottom. In certain cases, their sound could carry for miles through the forest and even across water to neighboring islands.

7. SLIT DRUM a hollow percussion instrument. Although known as a drum, it is not a true drum but is an idiophone. It is usually carved or constructed from bamboo or wood into a box with one or more slits in the top. Most slit drums have one slit, though two and three slits (cut into the shape of an “H”) occur.

8. DJEMBE The West African djembe (pronounced zhem -bay) is one of the best-known African drums is. It is shaped like a large goblet and played with bare hands. The body is carved from a hollowed trunk and is covered in goat skin.

9. SHEKERE a type of gourd and shell megaphone from West Africa, consisting of a dried gourd with beads woven into a net covering the gourd. The agbe is another gourd drum with cowrie shells usually strung with white cotton thread. The axatse is a small gourd, held by the neck and placed between hand and leg.

10. MEMBRANOPHONES instruments which have vibrating animal membranes used in drums. Their shapes may be conical, cylindrical, barrel, hour-glass, globular, or kettle, and are played with sticks, hands, or a combination of both.

11. MEMBRANOPHONES African drums are usually carved from a single wooden log, and may also be made from ceramics, gourds, tin cans, and oil drums. Examples of these are found in the different localities – entenga ( Ganda ), dundun (Yoruba), atumpan ( Akan ), and ngoma ( Shona ), while some are constructed with wooden staves and hoops.

12. BODY PERCUSSION Africans frequently use their bodies as musical instruments. Aside from their voices, where many of them are superb singers, the body also serves as a drum as people clap their hands, slap their thighs, pound their upper arms or chests, or shuffle their feet.

13. BODY PERCUSSION This body percussion creates exciting rhythms which also stir them to action. Moreover, the wearing of rattles or bells on their wrists, ankles, arms, and waists enhances their emotional response.

14. TALKING DRUM The talking drum is used to send messages to announce births, deaths, marriages, sporting events, dances, initiation, or war. Sometimes it may also contain gossip or jokes. It is believed that the drums can carry direct messages to the spirits after the death of a loved one.

15. TALKING DRUM However, learning to play messages on drums is extremely difficult, resulting in its waning popularity. An example of the talking drum is the dundun .

16. LAMELLAPHONE One of the most popular African percussion instruments is the lamellaphone, which is a set of plucked tongues or keys mounted on a sound board. It is known by different names according to the regions such as mbira, karimba , kisaanj , and likembe .

17. MBIRA (hand piano or thumb piano) The thumb piano or finger xylophone is of African origin and is used throughout the continent.

18. ARRAY MBIRA It consists of a wooden board with attached staggered metal tines (a series of wooden, metal, or rattan tongues), plus an additional resonator to increase its volume. It is played by holding the instrument in the hands and plucking the tines with the thumbs, producing a soft plucked sound.

19. CHORDOPHONES are instruments which produce sounds from the vibration of strings. These include bows, harps, lutes, zithers, and lyres of various sizes.

20. MUSICAL BOW is the ancestor of all string instruments. It is the oldest and one of the most widely-used string instruments of Africa.

21. MUSICAL BOW It consists of a single string attached to each end of a curved stick, similar to a bow and arrow. The string is either plucked or struck with another stick, producing a percussive yet delicate sound. The earth bow, the mouth bow, and the resonator-bow are the principal types of musical bows.

22. KORA The kora is Africa's most sophisticated harp, while also having features similar to a lute. Its body is made from a gourd or calabash. A support for the bridge is set across the opening and covered with a skin that is held in place with studs.

23. ZEZE The zeze is an African fiddle played with a bow, a small wooden stick, or plucked with the fingers. It has one or two strings, made of steel or bicycle brake wire. It is from Sub-Saharan Africa. It is also known by the names tzetze and dzendze , izeze and endingidi ; and on Madagascar is called lokanga (or lokango ) voatavo .

24. AEROPHONES are instruments which are produced initially by trapped vibrating air columns or which enclose a body of vibrating air. Flutes in various sizes and shapes, horns, panpipes, whistle types, gourd and shell megaphones, oboe, clarinet, animal horn and wooden trumpets fall under this category.

25. FULANI Flutes are widely used throughout Africa and either vertical or side-blown. They are usually fashioned from a single tube closed at one end and blown like a bottle.

26. KUDU HORN This is one type of horn made from the horn of the kudu antelope. It releases a mellow and warm sound that adds a unique African accent to the music. This instrument, which comes in a set of six horns, reflects the cross of musical traditions in Africa. Today, the kudu horn can also be seen in football matches, where fans blow it to cheer for their favourite teams.

27. Agogo Shekere Slit/Log drum Atingting Kon Balafon Talking drum Musical Bow Djembe Dundun Zeze Array Mbira Mbira Kudu Horn Fulani