Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
African music instruments are a part of a rich musical tradition that spans the continent. Music used to be a way for people to communicate, organise, and celebrate. People today use music to express themselves and connect with others. Musical instruments are one of the most efficient methods to do this. It has the ability to evoke emotions, transport us to another location and time, and give us a sense of belonging. However, drums are the most widely heard African music instruments, and they are employed in a wide range of musical forms. In this article we’ll learn about two of the most prevalent African instruments. We’ll begin with the talking drum and work our way up to the ugubhu gourd bow.
Talking Drum: Mother of African Musical Instruments
East and West Africa are home to the hourglass-shaped talking drum. The Yoruba talking drums, for example, exist in five different varieties: gangan, dundun, bata, omele, and sakara, with the Akan’s atumpan and donno standing out. This highly stylized African musical instrument was used to carry communication signals in the olden days, where they were relayed by other drummers, quickly disseminating tribe news. The head is usually covered in a membrane made of dried animal skins, such as sheep, cow, or goatskin, depending on the usefulness, and multiple leather tension strings are tied to the head, cascading down the sides and attaching to the bottom region.
Bring Voice out of Talking Drum
In order for this peculiar African musical instrument to speak, the drummer inserts the drum between their arm and torso while holding the stick implement in the other hand . His fingers are slightly positioned around the crown, while one arm is clutching the drum. The tension cables are then expertly squeezed, adjusting the strain on the drum head to generate the rising and falling tone of a spoken language. Because of its capacity to replicate pitch, volume phrases, and pauses, as well as adjust to the tone of any musical instrument, the talking drum is a remarkably flexible instrument. This may be seen in the various ways it has been used into Afropop and other genres to contribute its alluring vibe.
Kore: The wooden beauty of African music instrument
Kore is a musical instrument from West Africa particularly Mali and the Mande people. A Traditional Kora features 21 strings, 11 of which are played with the left hand and 10 with the right. Wonder what it’s made from? A big calabash is chopped in half and wrapped with cow hide to create a resonator with a long wooden neck for the kora. For support, two handles go below the skin and provide support. When playing, the strings of this African musical instrument face the player and are played upright. A kora’s tone is similar to that of a harp, but when performed in the traditional method, it sounds like a guitar.
In future blogs we will explore further about music instruments from the African continent and their very intricate utility back in those days up till now.
Get our app, stay in touch and lets help you develop your ideas
Still with the intention to provide more tools for you, we created our tailored all-in-one app to offer up-to-date knowledge, provide exposure for social entrepreneurs and offer coaching services. Get the app (Android version) here and for IOS users, a webapp version and IOS version is on it’s way, sign up for our newsletter here to know when it’s out and get the consistent ressources via email. If you need templates to develop your ideas, you can check our Joadre Tools. If you want to contact us, use our contact form or consult us through the app.
Thank you for reading to the end.
Cheers
Samuel
