Songs include accompanied and unaccompanied solos, duets and choruses. Unaccompanied choruses are an example of a cappella singing. Songs are usually either strophic (split up into verses) or are in call-and-response form. In call-and-response form the leader sings a line (the call) and is answered by a chorus (the response). The chorus usually stays the same while the soloist improvises. There is often overlapping between the leader and the chorus. The chorus part is usually homophonic (in block chords). African singing often includes glissandos (slides which are sometimes known as portamento) and slurs, whistles, yodels and swoops and types of sound such as a raspy or buzzy quality. Melodies are usually organised within a scale of four, five, six, or seven notes. They tend to use small melodic intervals (lots of 2nds and 3rds) and often use recurring patterns and descending phrases. Common Features of African Songs
Instruments of Africa There are many different instruments in African music and they vary from region to region. The many different types of drum are called membranophones (because they have a skin). The other main types of instruments can be categorises as shown below: Idiophones (resonant/solid)
Aerophones (wind)
Chordophones (strings)
In Yiri, the instruments used are the balaphone which is similar to a xylophone and is made up of wooden bars, the djembe which is a drum shaped like a goblet and played with the hands and the talking drum that is played with a hooked stick and can be used to imitate speech by creating different pitches and slides. |