Improvisation in West African Musics Author(s): David Locke Source: Music Educators Journal, Vol. 66, No. 5, (Jan., 1980), pp. 125-133 Published by: MENC: The National Association for Music Education Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3395790 Accessed: 23/07/2008 16:21 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=menc. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1995 to build trusted digital archives for scholarship. We work with the scholarly community to preserve their work and the materials they rely upon, and to build a common research platform that promotes the discovery and use of these resources. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. http://www.jstor.org an ensemble are the surdo (large, which are played in 4 meter. The in various countries. Bibliographical bass, double-headed drum played basic patterns and some variations information on these is available in with a mallet), the caixa (snare performed by each instrument are Gilbert Chase's A Guide to the Mu- drum), the pandeiro (a tambour- given in Figure 18. Students can im- sic of Latin America, 2d ed. (Wash- ine), the cu'ca (a friction drum provise syncopated alterations of ington, D.C.: Pan American Union, with a wailing sound that is obtained these patterns, but the downbeat al- 1962). For items published since by rubbing a wet cloth on the ways should be stressed. 1960, consult the music and folk- rigid rod attached to the drum- lore sections of the Handbook of head), the tamborim (a small hand A bibliographical note Latin American Studies series pub- drum played with a wooden stick), Studies focusing specifically on lished by the University Presses of the reco-reco (a guiro-type of the use and practice of improvisa- Florida. The most comprehensive scraper), the frigideira (small frying tion in LatinAmerican music have description of Latin American in- pan played with a metal stick), and never been published. A few de- struments, folk songs, and dances the agogo (cowbell). The music as- scriptions are available, however, in will be available in the forthcoming sociated with Brazilian carnivals general music histories or general New Grove'sDictionary of Music consists of marches and sambas, studies of folk and popular music and Musicians. Ai David Locke in vocal style; instrumentation; me- widespread use of melodic in- lodic, rhythmic, and formal struc- struments and well-developed in- Anthropologists traditionally have tures; and the place of music in so- strumental musics such as the distinguished between several ciety. Because the influence of Shona mbira and Chopi marimba broad culture areas in Africa.Mel- Islamic/Arabic music is so per- traditions. ville Herskovits delineated eight cat- vasive, North African music is usual- CentralAfrica has been influ- egories: North Coast, Sudan Desert, ly considered separately from black enced by both Arabic and African East Horn, East Africa, CentralAf- African music. This article's dis- music, but is otherwise similar to rica, West Africa, the Bushmen, and cussion thus is limited to sub-Saha- West Africa in its music styles, al- the Pygmies.1The traditional music ran musics. though Central African music tends of each of these categories has dis- In the Sudan Desert, a fusion has to be rhythmically less intense. tinctive characteristics. evolved between the Islamic styles West Africa'sarchetypal music in- Along the North Coast, a strong of the North Coast and the black Af- cludes percussion ensembles with Islamic influence can be perceived rican styles of Central and West Af- antiphonal choral singing. rican regions. The Bushmen and Pygmies prac- 'Melville J. Herskovits, "A Preliminary On the East Horn, music shows tice contrapuntal yodeling in a Consideration of the Culture Areas of Africa," both marked Islamic influence and hocket but use few American Anthropologist 26 (1924): 50-63. style relatively unique indigenous styles, such as musical instruments. The author is a lecturer in ethnomusicology the ancient music of the Ethiopian Despite such diversity, certain and African music at Tufts Universityin Coptic Church. general statements can be made Medford, Massachusetts. East Africa is characterized by about the musics of sub-SaharanAf- mej/jan '80 125 Photo by Godwin Agbeli Photo by Godwin Agbeli 126 mej/jan '80 Photo by Godwin Agbeli Photo by Godwin Agbeli me/jan '80 127 rican peoples. First, rhythm oc- composition at the moment of per- milieu of nonliterate, oral culture, cupies a preeminent position in the formance. It involves acts of sponta- improvisation is present to some African aesthetic and, in most cases, neous creation, unique and im- degree in most styles. the music has an infectious, propul- permanent, but it is not completely Western explorers and mission- sive quality. Second, song is the free. It is bounded by strictures of aries developed the incorrect no- heart of an African music perform- style and by the training, technique, tion that African music consists of ance. Accompanied song is the experience, and habits of a given free, collective improvisation. Even most prevalent music genre, and performer. In this sense, jazz and today both lay and trained Western pure instrumental music is uncom- African music are quite similar.2Or- musicians may still overestimate the mon. Because most African lan- namentation and embellishment extent and the freedom with which guages are tonal, a melody typically constitute rudimentary improvisa- improvisation is employed. Much conforms to the rise and fall of tion whereas variation upon an African music is composed prior to speech tones. Third, music is in- existing theme is more sophisti- performance and must be precisely tegrated into the matrix of African cated. But African improvisation is recreated. For example, throughout social life. Communal music events realized in its fullest capacity when Africa court musicians serve as their accompany major phases of the life new melodies, song texts, and society's historians by recalling, cycle-birth, puberty, marriage, rhythms are invented in the heat of through vocal and instrumental rec- death-and various community ac- performance. Since African musics itation, the illustrious deeds of the tivities-work, recreation, worship, are created and transmitted in the royal lineage and the legendary ori- politics, medicine, and so on. 'Ronald Byrside, "The Performer as Creator: gins of an entire nation. To an out- Jazz Improvisation" in Contemporary Music and sider, historical recitations on a creation Music Cultures, eds. Ronald Byrnside, Charles drum sound like free Spontaneous Hamm, and Bruno Nettl, (Englewood Cliffs, New talking may In African musics improvisation is Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1974), pp. 223-251. improvisation, but in fact each J.=approx. 176 n Leader Group U E^-^rrr ^~r -r ijr ?. 4 De mie - kpe mia - nya wo, 'fla-wuawo, De mie - kpe mia - nya wo hee, oo ^4 1JL&j. Leader : 11 X^j. JLJ j> i ISJj>^_j. r hee, De mie - kpe mia - nya wo. De mie - kpe mia- Variation 1 Leader Group Variation2 Leader Group Variation3 Leader Group Variation 4 Leader Group $ S :'r 14 S 9r a >J. ^^- Variation5 Leader Group L Fi r 1 A \kro a IJ J. Figure 1. Agbekor vocal variations 128 mej/jan '80 stroke is predetermined by rigor- meter: simultaneous 8 and i ous rules of language. pace: variable But African musicians do impro- left thumb vise on various of in- J: aspects music, : rightthumb cluding melody, text, form, polyph- ony, rhythm, and timbre. As a rule, a . I I I I do not scales. 1 I I they improvise upon 1 4 I Al- i- 21 I I- J.I Let us examine each of these by us- ing examples from traditional Afri- n can musics. Cr r-r- !-- r ir 11 Most Africanvocal music is an- r?-r tiphonal; a song leader's call is an- swered by a singing group's re- sponse. In this type of singing, it is common for the song leader to im- provise melodic variations on the basic call while the group repeats Variation begins the call with little change. Figure 1 $i + rr Ir A shows the basic call and response r^ of a Ewe (West Africa) song and five variations on the leader's part. The is of a fast section of a song part Variationbegins war dance called Agbekor, dating from the late eighteenth century.3 In performance this song is repeat- ed at the discretion of the song leader before another song is be- gun. Songs are sung over complex rhythms created by a large per- cussion ensemble. In discussing the attributes of e. rl JFVariation beginsJ- good singers in West African so- - ciety, J. H. Kwabena Nketia has Za za za za za za za za za za stated that a musician "must be able Figure 2. Nyunga-nyungambirapatterns to improvise texts, to fit tunes to new words, to set tunes to words nyunga mbira has fifteen keys works for five marimbas of graded extemporaneously, and to remem- tuned to a hexatonic scale (do, re, pitch.6 First, the music leader writes ber texts, so that he can recall mi, sol, la, ti), and it covers a range a poem about a local event, and verses of songs or the leading of two octaves, usually from G to then he or she creates a melody for .