Terms
What is community?
A group of people.
Agogo Bell
A drum that is used to communicate. It changes pitch and is supposed to replicate speech.
The talking drum.
Explain the traditional purpose of songs and music in Africa.
To pass down stories form generation to generation, to celebrate events, warn others, for religious rituals, etc.
Name 3 countries in Africa.
Ghana, Zimbabwe, Mali, Madagascar, South Africa, Liberia, Niger, Kenya, etc.
What is improvisation?
Making up music on the spot.
An instrument with an animal skin head
A drum
What items are often put inside of a shaker?
Rice, beans, pebbles, or beads.
What kind of events is African music used for?
Marriages, Festivals, Birthdays, and Religious Rituals
What are some materials that traditional African instruments are made from? Name at least 3.
Wood, skin, plants, gourds, metals, cactus, etc.
What is a group of people performing together?
An ensemble.
How is a rainstick made?
From a dead cactus with the spikes hammered inside and filled with rice.
Instrument played by flicking small strips of metal.
The mbira or kalimba
Explain Call and Response
When a leader sings or plays a phrase and the chorus responds with something DIFFERENT from the leader.
This kind of instrument is found in most types of African music?
Percussion instruments or drums.
What family are most African instruments from?
Percussion
How many sounds can you make on the djembe?
Two. Low (middle) and High (edge).
An instrument made from a dried gourd with a beaded lattice around it.
Shekere
Explain an Ostinato
A short musical phrase that is repeated over and over.
Name a language spoken in Africa.
Afrikaans, Yoruba, Swahili, Twi, English, Arabic, Spanish, etc.
What is the common singing style in Africa in which there is a leader and followers?
Call and Response
What is the caxixi made out of?
It is a woven basket filled with beans or pebbles and has a hard bottom made from a shell.
Sometimes made from the skin of animals
Drums
Explain a polyrhythm
When multiple rhythms are played at the same time.
Name one kind of African art.
Textiles. Kente cloth, baskets, pottery, sculptures, weaving, etc.