Overview

The study of African music is a study at once of unity and diversity. The range of indigenous musical resources and practices found on this vast continent is as wide and varies as its topography. In this informative and highly readable book, Professor Nketia provides an overview of the musical traditions of Africa with respect to their historical, cultural, and social background, their organization and practice, and delineates the most significant aspects of musical style.

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9780393092493

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A basic text on African music, its cultural functions and its manifold forms. African music is generally more integrated with the other arts (especially dance) and with social life, and it must be considered in that context. The author examines the selection, scope, and setting of music; the groups and cults; the training and recruitment of the musicians. Instruments are classified according to the schema of idiophone, membranophone, aerophone, and chordophone. Vocal music - stressed more than instrumental - can be very intricate in its polyphony, and its solo-chorus alternations; moreover, it is closely connected to the speech, since many languages are tone languages. Nketia analyzes the rhythms, cross rhythms, and polyrhythms according to combinations of duple and triple, linear and multilinear, free meter and strict time designs. Scales are based on four, five, six, and seven step tunings in equidistant or nonequidistant patterns. For those who understand the rudiments of music, this is a valuable course in a diverse, complex field. (Kirkus Reviews)

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