Most widely spread and played instruments in Africa are the drum, the xylophone, the mbira, rattles and shakers. The one-string musical bow, played all over the continent but now nearly abandoned, was once responsible for all the vocal scales that are used today in African music.
What instruments are used in African music?
List of Instruments Used in Traditional African Music
- Bougarabou. ...
- Ngoma. ...
- Shekere. ...
- Let's Yabara to the Beat! ...
- Djembe. ...
- Kora (Stringed Instrument) A true example of ingenuity, the kora is a sort of double-bridged harp-lute. ...
- Mbira (Thumb Piano) This particular instrument has a rich and fascinating history with origins that go back thousands of years to the Zambezi Valley.
What is a popular African musical instrument?
The Mbira is an African musical instrument, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe.It consists of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and plucking the tines with the thumbs (at minimum), the right forefinger (most mbira), and sometimes the left forefinger.
What are some traditional African instruments?
South African Musical Instruments
- Ramkie. The South African ramkie is a homemade guitar constructed from an empty oil can and pieces of thin bicycle wire attached to a wooden guitar neck.
- Mamokhorong. The mamokhorong is a single-string violin developed in South Africa. ...
- Chipendani. The chipendani is a mouth bow from South Africa and Zimbabwe. ...
- Penny whistle. ...
- Zulu Cocoon Rattles. ...
What musical instruments did Africans invent?
African musical instruments include a wide range of drums, slit gongs, rattles and double bells, different types of harps, and harp-like instruments such as the Kora and the ngoni, as well as fiddles, many kinds of xylophone and lamellophone such as the mbira, and different types of wind instrument like flutes and …
What is the sound box of a kora?
What is a Balafon made of?
What are African instruments made of?
What are some examples of rhythm instruments?
What is a kalimba?
What are the instruments used in African culture?
How old is the Kalimba?
See 4 more
About this website
What are the 3 musical instrument used in Africa?
Most widely spread and played instruments in Africa are the drum, the xylophone, the mbira, rattles and shakers. The one-string musical bow, played all over the continent but now nearly abandoned, was once responsible for all the vocal scales that are used today in African music.
What musical instruments are commonly used by African tribes?
Below are some of the musical instruments in Africa:Akoting. Found in Senegal, the Gambia and Guinea Bissau (all in West Africa), the akoting is believed to have given birth to the modern-day banjo. ... Algaita. ... Balafon. ... Kora. ... Ekwe. ... Marimba. ... Mbira. ... Talking drum (Gangan)More items...•
What are the 5 classifications of African musical instruments?
Instruments are classified using 5 different categories depending on the manner in which the instrument creates the sound: Idiophones, Membranophones, Chordophones, Aerophones, & Electrophones.
What is the most distinctive feature of African musical instruments?
Slit drums Falling between rhythmic and melodic instruments, the largest and most distinctive member of the African struck-idiophone family is the slit drum, made from a hollowed log. By careful thinning of the flanks at certain places, the instrument may be tuned so as to yield as many as four distinct pitches.
What instrument is originally from Africa?
Balafon. Played like the xylophone, the balafon is a percussion instrument and can be found in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, and Burkina Faso. It has been in recorded history since the 14th century and according to oral history (told by griots) the instrument originated from Mali.
What is the African instrument called?
The Mandinka balafon, also called the bala or the balphone, is a kind of idiophone (an instrument which creates sound by vibrating). In the West, instruments like this are called xylophones.
What are the 5 main types of musical instruments?
The principal types of musical instruments are percussion, stringed, keyboard, wind, and electronic.
What are the 4 traditional musical instruments?
In music, we divide instruments into different categories according to the way they play and the features they have. For Instance, there are four categories: percussion instruments, wind instruments, key instruments, and string instruments.
What are the four families of African instruments?
African musical instruments are organised into the following groups:aerophones - blown instruments;membranophones - instruments with a stretched skin which is struck;chordophones - instruments with strings;idiophones - instruments made using materials which produce the sound.
What are 3 characteristics of African music?
There are eight characteristics that define African music: Polyrhythms, ostinato, the use of percussion, background shimmer, close connection with the music and language, participatory nature of the arts, a close connection with the performing arts, responsorial form.
What kind of musical technique is used in African music?
In African music practice, the hocket is not merely a device but a technique of building up single or parallel linear structures in various types of interlocking patterns. The hockets are not arbitrary artistic devices; they are functional, in the sense that they arise out of melodic and polyphonic considerations.
Is the guitar an African instrument?
Maybe the guitar wasn't originally an African instrument, but it certainly has become one. For this New Sounds, take a listen to music from the late Cameroonian guitarist Francis Bebey, along with music from Gabonese guitarist singer and musician Pierre Akendengué.
What are tribal instruments?
The three most quintessential instruments in tribal music are two sorts of drums, one is called Tumda and the other Tamak, other than Tiriao or flute. The Tumda is a twofold drum looking like a frustum, the drum skins at left and right are made of animal skins.
What are the 4 traditional musical instruments?
In music, we divide instruments into different categories according to the way they play and the features they have. For Instance, there are four categories: percussion instruments, wind instruments, key instruments, and string instruments.
What is the most significant musical instrument of the African slaves?
This later development is the style of banjo playing most often heard today. Slaves also played non-African instruments, the most important of which was fiddle. Indeed, black fiddlers became as commonplace as black banjo players.
What are the four classes of African traditional musical instruments?
African musical instruments are classified into four groups namely; idiophones, chordophones, aerophones and membranophones.
9 Traditional African Music Instruments And Their Origin
Music is the food for the soul! In African, it is even more. It is a means of often a means of communication and a uniting force. Africa is rich in diverse musical sounds, and the instruments used in producing these sounds have traveled around the world. Some African music instruments only make a public […]
What are the different types of African instruments?
Classification of African musical instruments. African music instruments are divided into five main categories: aerophones, membranophones, idiophones, chordophones, and percussion. Aerophones refer to wind instruments; chordophones are all instruments with strings; idiophones are those that can be rattled or shaken ;
What is the Bolon instrument?
The Bolon is a traditional chordophone instrument native to various ethnic groups in West Africa. This African instrument is played by communities such as Senufo, Mandinka, Kissi in Guinea, Banbara, Susu, and Fulbe. It is played by plucking the strings distended between two points.
What is an ekwe drum?
Source: Instagram. The Ekwe refers to a special kind of drum featuring a rectangular cavity with holes created on its wooden interior. It is mostly constructed from a tree trunk, and the drum can be created into different sizes and shapes depending on the purpose of the instrument.
What is the oldest African instrument?
What is the oldest African instrument? It is believed that the bolon is among the oldest traditional musical instruments that were used by tribal groups during hunting and warrior rites.
What is the bafalon?
The bafalon is a percussion idiophone instruments closely linked to the Senoufo, Gur, and Mandé societies in West Africa. Besides, it is also common in other countries in West African such as Gambia, Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana, and Ivory Coast. The bafalon is also referred to as balani, bala, balaphong, balangi ,and balafo.
How many keys does a Mbira have?
It has several names in different countries such as sanza, agidigbo, Caribbean marimbula, ikembe, sansu, likimba, mbla and Kisanji.A conventional Mbira comprises at least 22 to 28 metal keys fixed on to a hardwood soundboard. However, some have as little as 6-8 keys, and others up to 36 keys.
What is the oldest instrument in the world?
The bafalon is also referred to as balani, bala, balaphong, balangi ,and balafo. It is one of the oldest musical instruments that dates as far back as the 14th century. 3. Bolon.
What is the Udu drum?
The Udu is one of the African music instruments with relaxing sounds. It is popular among the Igbo tribe that occupies a region in southeastern Nigeria. In Igbo, “udu” means pot, which is what these drums actually look like. This instrument is centuries-old.
What is an algaita?
The Algaita is a double-reed wind instrument widely in use by the Hausa/Kanuri tribe in Northern Nigeria. Its construction is similar to the oboe-like rhaita and the Zurna. However, the Algaita is different from these African music instruments by its larger, trumpet-like bell. The Algaita produces flute-like sounds when fingered on its open holes. This musical instrument has a leather-like body. Wondering what this African music instrument sounds like? Watch the video below.
What is the name of the drum used by the Sufi people?
The Bendir is a drum synonymous with the Northern African people. It looks like a tambourine but with a wood frame. Unlike the tambourine, the Bendir has no jingles but a snare that stretches about the head that produces the sound when struck with the palm or fingers. This African musical instrument is about 14 to 16 inches in diameter and is used in special ceremonies of the Sufi whose traditions are famous for their music style, dance, and rhythm. The history of this instrument dates back to the ancient Mesopotamia and Egyptian civilizations.
How many strings does a kora have?
The Kora is a string instrument with a significant use in West Africa. Typically, the Kora instrument has 21 strings. You play it by plucking the strings with fingers, and it allows performers to display their creativity and virtuosity. It is made from the calabash and covered in cowskin.
What is an ekwe?
The Ekwe is also an idiophone. However, you can see variants of this African music instrument in Zaire (alimba), Igbo (ekwe), Congo (mukoku or lokole), and Guinea (krin or kolokos). It is one of Africa’s biggest musical instrument export. Ekwe is made from tree trunks, and it has rectangular cavity slits in the hollowed-out wooden interior, ...
How big is the Sufi instrument?
This African musical instrument is about 14 to 16 inches in diameter and is used in special ceremonies of the Sufi whose traditions are famous for their music style, dance, and rhythm. The history of this instrument dates back to the ancient Mesopotamia and Egyptian civilizations.
What is the legacy of African music?
The Legacy of African Music Instruments. Many people today use African musical instruments without knowing their origin. Looking at the various instruments we have in Africa; you can see that music is an integral part of the African culture. We believe it is the moral obligation of the young African generation to keep these musical instruments ...
What is the most common idiophone?
Among the vast array of nonmelodic, rhythmic idiophones, the most common and widespread are probably rattles, sounded by shaking. One type, the sistrum, which has small metal disks loosely suspended on rods, is important in the Coptic and Ethiopian churches (it is known in Ethiopia as tsenatsil) and is also used in Guinea. More widespread are hollow rattles, consisting of a gourd enveloped in a net of shells or beads or of a container such as a calabash with seeds or pebbles inside. Besides handheld varieties, there are many other kinds of rattles, often strung on cords, which may be attached to the limbs or other parts of the body and shaken while dancing or playing another instrument, or which may be fastened onto another instrument, such as the lamellaphone, to serve as a supplementary jingling device. In Zimbabwe, bottle tops, instead of the traditional snail shells, serve this purpose on the likembe dza vadzimu of the Shona.
What is a thumb piano?
These “thumb pianos” are plucked idiophones unique to Africa and widely distributed throughout the continent. In construction they consist basically of a set of tuned metal or bamboo tongues of varying length fitted to a board, box, or calabash resonator, their free ends being twanged by the player’s thumbs and fingers. Supplementary rattling or buzzing devices are often added, and board-mounted varieties are often played inside a half calabash or bowl to enhance the resonance. They serve mainly for song accompaniment. Some common names for regional varieties of the instrument are likembe, mbira, and timbrh.
How are idiophones sounded?
Some are sounded by striking, others by shaking, scraping, plucking, or friction. Idiophones are numerous and widely distributed throughout the continent. On musical grounds they may be divided into instruments used mainly for rhythm and several varieties tuned and used melodically.
What are some of the things that are used as temporary idiophones?
These include stone clappers and multiple rock gongs (in Nigeria); wooden clappers and percussion beams; and implements such as hoe blades, weapons, and shields (in fact, all kinds of domestic items serve as temporary idiophones when required).
How many players can play on the same instrument in Uganda?
In Uganda and Congo (Kinshasa), from two to six players may perform together on the same instrument. Fixed-key xylophones are more elaborate. Mounted below each key, there is usually an individually tuned calabash resonator, often with a mirliton (a vibrating membrane) attached to add a buzzing quality to the sound.
What instrument is used in Zulu?
Zulu solo songs, in earlier times, were often self-accompanied on the ugubhu gourd bow. In such bow songs, while the instrumental melody was influenced by the tone requirements of the song’s lyrics, the tuning of the bow determined the vocal scale to which the singer conformed. Today when Zulus use the modern Western guitar, precisely the same antiphonal relationship and mutual interdependence between voice and instrument is maintained.
What is the largest member of the African struck-idiophone family?
Slit drums. Falling between rhythmic and melodic instruments, the largest and most distinctive member of the African struck-idiophone family is the slit drum, made from a hollowed log. By careful thinning of the flanks at certain places, the instrument may be tuned so as to yield as many as four distinct pitches.
What is the difference between Xhosa Uhadi bows and Kudu Horns?
Xhosa Uhadi bows: The scale is made harmonic series that results from overtones of two notes that are played on single string. This African music instrument will encourage you to explore new horizons. Kudu Horns: It is a set of six horns that represent cross pollination of musical traditions.
What is the Kora instrument?
The total number of strings differs between regions going sometimes to 21 or 24. The Kora is built from a huge calabash cut in half and covered with cow skin. Shakers: This African music instrument adds the spice to African music.
What is a pan pipe?
Nyanga Pan Pipes: This African music instrument is a set of four instruments from Mozambique. The music played in this instrument is challenging and exciting that usually involves singing and blowing of rhythmic patterns.
What is the most common instrument used in African culture?
Sanza: This is usually used in Western culture. Rhythm Gourd: This is a percussion instrument that is made of Cowrie shells. Rattles: This African music instrument is commonly used during sacred ceremonies. This is one of the reasons why it plays a vital role in African religions.
What is the name of the African music instrument that is made of solid wood with skin heads?
Mini Ashikos: It is made of solid wood with skin heads that produce traditional sound. Bells: Just like rattles, this African music instrument is also used during ceremonial or ritual functions. Tanzania Whistle: It is considered as two tone wooden whistle.
What is the name of the percussion instrument derived from tribal language?
Balafon: They use this as their form of communication. Udu: The name of this percussion instrument derived from tribal language which means pottery . Zulu Hide Drum: It is a hand drum that is covered in Kudu hide. Boba: It is the richest and lowest sounding drum in Africa.
What are the most popular instruments in Africa?
Drums: This is one of the most popular African music instruments that are usually used in special ceremonies in the Greater of Africa. Kalimba: It appears in different continent with various names and features. Balafon: They use this as their form of communication.
Southern African Instruments
Including the Office (Im-if-ici), this instrument is a clatter tied freely to one’s lower legs and wrists. It’s produced using a particular moth animal type and in the wake of being reaped is loaded up with minuscule rocks and planted to a bit of creature cover-up.
Western African Instruments
Including the Djembe (articulated Jem-be’) which is a drum produced using a solitary bit of wood, cut looking like a cup and canvassed in goatskin. This sort of drum is as often as possible utilized by the Mandinka individuals who have been utilizing this instrument since the Mali Empire of the twelfth century A.D.
Focal African Instruments
I. The just Republic of Congo Instruments – Including the Kisanji which is comparative in structure to the S. African Mbira. The Kisanji is generally tuned to the Pentatonic scale and is regularly played using polyrhythms and as a backup to vocal entries. Another instrument from this district is known as the Slit Drum.
East African Instruments
I. Djiboutian Instruments – Including the Tanbura which is a Bowl Lyre, portrayed by having one to three strings extended over a wooden edge produced using three branches. What is intriguing about this specific instrument is that it has its starting points in Northern Africa however has advanced south and East to get indigenous to Eastern Africa.
How are balafons made?
However, fixed-key balafons have resonators made of calabash placed underneath them.
What are shakers made of?
♦ These shakers are made out of vine gourd or calabash, which is first dried and hollowed out, following which a woven net of shells is wrapped around it. Some of them are decorated with colorful beadwork.
What are the instruments used in African music?
Shakers. Auxiliary percussion instruments like shakers and rattles played quite a vital role in traditional African music. They were used to create the important background rhythm in any song. They have been seen in many forms (varying with local tradition) from handheld shakers to calf bracelets, anklets, necklaces, or belts.
What are cocoon rattles?
Cocoon Rattles. ♦ These percussion instruments were worn like anklets on the feet, by Zulu dancers in South Africa and Zimbabwe, to match the beat of the drums that they danced to, during sacred communal rituals. ♦ They are made by first carefully collecting cocoons over many months, drying them, filling them with sand or small stones, ...
What is the name of the instrument that is associated with South African culture?
Balafon (Xylophone) This percussion idiophone which starkly resembles the marimba, another similar instrument that is associated with South African culture, is similar to a wooden xylophone. It has a long-standing history that goes back to the rise of the Mali Empire in the 12th century.
Why are Yabara instruments decorated?
These instruments were aesthetically decorated based on the belief that this would improve the quality of their sound.
How is a wooden key tuned?
Each wooden key is tuned by first drying the wood, and then, slowly, shaving off bits from its underside. In some parts of Africa, it was played as a standalone instrument, and in others, it was played along with other percussion instruments. Players sometimes wore belled bracelets to accentuate the sound.
What is African music?
Author of Theory of African Music ( 2 vol.) and others. African music, the musical sounds and practices of all indigenous peoples of Africa, including the Berber in the Sahara and the San (Bushmen) and Khoikhoin (Hottentot) in Southern Africa. The music of European settler communities and that of Arab North Africa are not included in ...
What were the buffer zones between the European slave traders?
Between the European slave traders established on the coast and the hinterland areas were buffer zones inhabited by African “merchant tribes, ” such as the Ovimbundu of Angola, who are still remembered by eastern Angolan peoples as vimbali, or collaborators of the Portuguese.
What was the Sahara's aquatic lifestyle?
During this period, human occupation of the Sahara greatly increased, and , along rivers and small lakes, Neolithic, or New Stone Age, cultures with a so-called aquatic lifestyle extended from the western Sahara into the Nile River valley.
Why is African music so puzzling?
As a result of migrations and the exchange of musical fashions both within Africa and with foreign cultures, specific traits of African music often show a puzzling distribution. Extremely distant areas in Africa may have similar, even identical, traits, while adjacent areas may have quite different styles.
How did African music shape the world?
African music as it is known today was also shaped by changes in the ecology of the continent, which drove people into other lands, thus producing changes in their art. With the drying of the Sahara, for example, populations tended to shift southward.
Why are some models smaller than others?
In the course of migration, some models became smaller, because they were used as travel instruments; others were modified and gave rise to the numerous types present in western Central Africa during the first half of the 20th century. (For a further description of the lamellaphone, see Idiophones .)
Where did likembe music originate?
At the beginning of the 20th century the likembe distribution area extended farther to the northeast into Uganda, where the Nilotic Alur, Acholi, and Lango adopted it.
What is the sound box of a kora?
The kora has a sound box made of a gourd covered in animal hide that's attached to a long wooden neck. Between the top of the neck and the sound box it has twenty-one strings that a musician plucks or strums to play music. This instrument also comes from West Africa and is mostly played by male musicians.
What is a Balafon made of?
The balafon is similar to a xylophone. It's made of wood, gourds, and vines. Wooden keys or planks are cut in several sizes and attached to gourds that sit beneath them, all of which are attached to a large frame. When a musician hits the keys with mallets, the sound echoes in the gourd.
What are African instruments made of?
Musicians blow into the hollowed forms to make a sound. Another African instrument is the kalimba, or thumb piano. This small, portable instrument is made of bamboo or metal strips of varying lengths attached to a shallow wood box or plank. The musician plucks the strips to make a sound.
What are some examples of rhythm instruments?
These instruments are portable and hand-held, and they effectively provide rhythm. One example is a shekere. Made of a dried and hollowed out gourd, it is covered with a net that has beads or small shells woven into it. When the gourd is hit or shaken, the beads or shells hit against the surface and make a sound.
What is a kalimba?
The kalimba, or thumb piano, is a small portable instrument made of metal or bamboo strips attached to a wooden box or block. Now you know something about several kinds of African instruments. Maybe you'll want to find a kalimba or djembe and play some music of your own. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
What are the instruments used in African culture?
Among the most important African instruments are drums and other percussion. They're used in almost all African cultures for ceremonies and rituals, some of which involve dancing.
How old is the Kalimba?
The kalimba is a very old instrument, dating back more than 1,000 years. It also has an interesting history. It developed independently in two very different parts of Africa, one along the western coast and one on the southeastern coast. Africa is a large, diverse continent, and many of its people make music.
