African Music

music. The basic elements of music are sound and silence.

Music has many purposes within all societies. Most music

performed by Africans is part of a social activity and is

viewed as a sharing experience for everyone. African music

is generally classified into two main style areas, which are

Arab North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. There are many

unique regional music styles, including a immense influence

from the Islamic faith which extends across the savanna

Within African music, there are many types of

percussion instruments, including the drums, clap-sticks,

bells, rattles, slit gongs, struck gourds and clay pots,

stamping tubes, and xylophones. There are two basic types of

xylophone. The frame xylophones, in which the keys are

attached to a frame. The lamellaphone, which is also known

as the thumb piano, is found throughout the continent of

Africa. The mbira, kalimba, and likembe, are a series of

metal or bamboo strips mounted on a board or box. African

drums come in many shapes and sizes. Wood

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African music

communicates messages and feelings, ideas are extramusical. The peoples of Africa speak around one thousand

African languages, and there are more than fifty African

nations, each with its own history and unique mixture of

cultures and languages.

The Kru branch of the Niger-Congo subfamily consists of

about 30 languages that are spoken in southeastern Liberia

and southwestern Ivory Coast. The

single stringed goge fiddle is played by Hausa musicians in

northern Nigeria. Most of these languages are not widely spoken. Niger Kordofanian is

the language of which is spoken in nearly all the areas from

Senegal to Kenya, and to South Africa. Trumpets made

from animal horns or wood are found over a wide area. The musical

bow, which includes of a string stretched between two ends

of a flexible stave, performs an important role in the

traditional music of southern African peoples, such as the

San, Xhosa, and Zulu. African stringed

instruments range from musical bows, lutes, lyres, harps,

and zithers.

In Africa the twenty most widespread languages are

spoken by less than half of the people.

The languages and cultures of the people of North Africa are

closely related to those of the Arab world and the Middle

East.

It serves as the transferal of knowledge and values and for

celebrating important communal occasions. Mandekan is the

most at large spoken Mande language. These people

were known for raising cattle, hunting and gathering.

Common topics in this essay:
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Approximate Word count = 1463
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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