#African instruments

[kemetic-dreams]

Blues has evolved from the unaccompanied vocal music and oral traditions of slaves imported from West Africa and rural Africans into a wide variety of styles and subgenres, with regional variations across the United States. Although blues (as it is now known) can be seen as a musical style based on both European harmonic structure and the African call-and-response tradition that transformed into an interplay of voice and guitar, the blues form itself bears no resemblance to the melodic styles of the West African griots. Additionally, there are theories that the four-beats-per-measure structure of the blues might have its origins in the Native American tradition of pow wow drumming. Some scholars identify strong influences on the blues from the melodic structures of certain West African musical styles of the savanna and sahel. Lucy Durran finds similarities with the melodies of the Bambara people, and to a lesser degree, the Soninke people and Wolof people, but not as much of the Mandinka people. Gerard Kubik finds similarities to the melodic styles of both the west African savanna and central Africa, both of which were sources of enslaved people.

No specific African musical form can be identified as the single direct ancestor of the blues. However the call-and-response format can be traced back to the music of Africa. That blue notes predate their use in blues and have an African origin is attested to by "A Negro Love Song", by the English composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, from his African Suite for Piano, written in 1898, which contains blue third and seventh notes.

The Diddley bow (a homemade one-stringed instrument found in parts of the American South sometimes referred to as a jitterbug or a one-string in the early twentieth century) and the banjo are African-derived instruments that may have helped in the transfer of African performance techniques into the early blues instrumental vocabulary. The banjo seems to be directly imported from West African music. It is similar to the musical instrument that griots and other Africans such as the Igbo played (called halam or akonting by African peoples such as the Wolof, Fula and Mandinka). However, in the 1920s, when country blues began to be recorded, the use of the banjo in blues music was quite marginal and limited to individuals such as Papa Charlie Jackson and later Gus Cannon.

Blues music also adopted elements from the "Ethiopian airs", minstrel shows and Negro spirituals, including instrumental and harmonic accompaniment. The style also was closely related to ragtime, which developed at about the same time, though the blues better preserved "the original melodic patterns of African music"

[afrotumble]

Mamamuso

[life-imitates-art-far-more]

William Sidney Mount (1807-1868) "Right and Left" (1850) Oil on canvas

[detroitlib]

Group portrait of musicians in the Detroit City Band. Musicians pose with musical instruments. "Detroit City Band, J.W. Johnson, director" is printed on bass drum in foreground. Handwritten on back: "Detroit City Band, 1908."

E. Azalia Hackley Collection of African Americans in the Performing Arts, Detroit Public Library

[postcard-from-the-past]

A griot, West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and musician playing on Kora instrument

French vintage postcard

[soulmusicsongs]

African Bossa Nova - Ahmed Abdul-Malik (Sounds Of Africa, 1963)

[hazbintrashbin]

I made an exterminator OC!! Based on a fun little "Choose Your Adventure" TikTok by this user here! Go check it out, and perhaps make your own OC(s) based on it!

Her name is Kora, as y'all can see, basically a play on Lute's name being that of an instrument as well. In honor of African American History Month, I implore you to go research a kora! Anywho, I don't think I consider this OC a serious one, mostly made for the sake of the challenge alone. Nevertheless, she's here, she's fierce, and she was... very time-consuming to draw, much to my irritation!

[heritage-harmony-records]

NEW ALBUM STREAMING NOW!!!

Crumbs ​(ፍ​ር​ፋ​ሪ​) is the latest album from Ethiopian experimental world/hip hop/ethnojazz artist Kamlak Bmbo, released June 14, 2024.

Listen to the full album now:

[nimblermortal]

The ongoing rap discourse is really funny to me because like. Music is not a universal language. That's a stupid cliché. People like stuff that sounds kinda like stuff they've heard before because their brains already know how to process it. British people were super racist about it during the whole empire gambit. Now things spread more easily and people listen to a lot more variety of stuff than they used to, but there are still variables by language, region, platform, and, yes, class and race.

So you want to earn discourse points by listening to rap. Cool! Good, even! Expand your horizons! Start with some simple things. But also, you're making the assumption that all black or even non-white music is Black American music, maybe you'd like music from Saharan cell phones, or kalimba, or goto, or...

Maybe you want to earn discourse points by telling other people to listen to rap, and that they're bad people for not doing so. O-kay... but you're also losing discourse points by not considering neurodivergence, because the mental barrier to trying a new music can be significantly higher or even physically painful depending on your divergence.

You can't win the discourse war, guys. And you usually have more luck getting people to try things by being enthusiastic and providing links.

[kemetic-dreams]

🌍 Many modern instruments trace their roots back to ancient African traditions. From the pulsating rhythms of the djembe to the ethereal melodies of the kora, African music has influenced and laid the foundation for countless instruments we use.

Today, we explore the diverse sounds of Africa, from South to West, Central to East. 🥁🎸

📍Southern African Instruments


🎶 Uhadi: A traditional 🇿🇦Xhosa musical bow with a resonator, played with percussive strokes.

📍Western African Instruments


🥁 Djembe: A goblet-shaped drum from the Mandinka people, with roots in the 12th-century 🇲🇱Mali Empire.

📍Central African Instruments


🎶 Kisanji: A pentatonic-tuned instrument from the 🇨🇩DRC, often played with polyrhythms.

🎶 Adungu: A 9-stringed harp from 🇺🇬Uganda, played in nightclubs or as therapy.

📍East African Instruments


🎶 Washint: An 🇪🇹Ethiopian flute, known for its melismatic style.

🎶 Orutu: A single-stringed fiddle from 🇰🇪Kenya, popular among the Luo people.

#africa #africanmusic #amplifyafrica #kenyamusic #kenya #uganda #xhosa #congo #ethopian #mali

[mahgnib]

Edo bronze trumpet, called the “oko”

[afrotumble]

Balaphone Solo By Master Griot Famoro Dioubate

[daily-instruments]

Daily instrument - Djembe

The djembe is a drum originating in the Mandinke tribe (present day Mali). The Djembe has been an integral part of ritualistic life in west africa for generations including Senegal, Mali, Guinea etc. The djembe has a goblet-like structure made from a carved, hollow tree trunk (traditionally: Lenge trees) while the head is covered by skin (traditionally: Goat skin). Rope is woven horizontally, tightening the head to tune the instrument. The djembe produces 3 pitches: slap, tone, and bass (highest to lowest) and is played by the hand

[didierleclair]

Maman Barka, Niger musician.

[panafrocore]

The Kora: A Unique Stringed Instrument of West Africa

The kora is a fascinating and deeply resonant instrument that holds a special place in the musical culture of West Africa. With its origins rooted in tradition, the kora’s design and sound have captivated audiences around the world. Crafted from a gourd cut in half and covered with cow skin, the kora’s resonator produces a rich, warm tone that is characteristic of West African music. The long…