The Music of Africa

The purpose of music in Africa Music is used for many things such as… Rituals and Ceremonies Work songs Story Telling Communication Fun!

African Style Music is taught orally Call and response (let’s try it!) Layered patterns (polyrhythm) e.x 3 against 2 Syncopation: notes on unexpected beats Buzzy or raspy tone quality

Instruments of Africa Let’s read through the list in the packet of African instruments Do you recognize some of these instruments? Are there instruments that we have that look similar? Now let’s watch some documentaries about the music of Africa and see if we can identify some of the native instruments and also learn some other things along the way.

African Musical Instruments Write down five things you learned about African instruments in this video

Music is South Africa Between 1948 and 1991, South Africa was a nation of diverse people, however a strict series of laws and regulations – called apartheid - kept whites in positions of power, while black South Africans were denied voting rights, political activism, education, freedom of movement and association. Music played an important role in uniting Africans and the world against apartheid and inspiring hope that it could and would be overcome.

Africa and the Mbira

What did you see? What did you hear? Answer :Who, What, Where, When, and Why Compare and Contrast: How was the Mbira music different than the drum music?

Think about this: What makes African music unique? Why do African people play music? Who plays the music? What instruments are played?