African Music
Main articles: Middle Eastern and North African music traditions, Arabic music, and Middle Eastern music
North Africa (red region on map below) is the seat of ancient Egypt and Carthage, civilizations with strong ties to the ancient Near East and which influenced the ancient Greek and Roman cultures. Eventually, Egypt fell under Persian rule followed by Greek and Roman rule, while Carthage was later ruled by Romans and Vandals. North Africa was later conquered by the Arabs, who established the region as the Maghreb of the Arab world.
Like the musical genres of the Nile Valley and the Horn of Africa (sky-blue and dark green region on map),[2] its music has close ties with Middle Eastern music and utilizes similar melodic modes (maqamat).[3] North African music has a considerable range, from the music of ancient Egypt to the Berber and the Tuareg music of the desert nomads. The region's art music has for centuries followed the outline of Arabic and Andalusian classical music: its popular contemporary genres include the Algerian Raï.
With these may be grouped the music of Sudan and of the Horn of Africa, including the music of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia.
Sub-Saharan Africa[edit source | editbeta]
Main articles: Sub-Saharan African music traditions and Rhythm in Sub-Saharan African music
Geo-political map of Africa divided for ethnomusicological purposes, after Alan P. Merriam, 1959.
The ethnomusicological pioneer Arthur Morris Jones (1889–1980) observed that the shared rhythmic principles of Sub-Saharan African music traditions constitute one main system.[4] Similarly, master drummer and scholar C.K. Ladzekpo affirms the profound homogeneity of sub-Saharan African rhythmic principles.[5]
African traditional music is frequently functional in nature. Performances may be long and often involve the participation of the audience.[6] There are, for example, little different kinds of work songs, songs accompanying childbirth, marriage, hunting and
North Africa (red region on map below) is the seat of ancient Egypt and Carthage, civilizations with strong ties to the ancient Near East and which influenced the ancient Greek and Roman cultures. Eventually, Egypt fell under Persian rule followed by Greek and Roman rule, while Carthage was later ruled by Romans and Vandals. North Africa was later conquered by the Arabs, who established the region as the Maghreb of the Arab world.
Like the musical genres of the Nile Valley and the Horn of Africa (sky-blue and dark green region on map),[2] its music has close ties with Middle Eastern music and utilizes similar melodic modes (maqamat).[3] North African music has a considerable range, from the music of ancient Egypt to the Berber and the Tuareg music of the desert nomads. The region's art music has for centuries followed the outline of Arabic and Andalusian classical music: its popular contemporary genres include the Algerian Raï.
With these may be grouped the music of Sudan and of the Horn of Africa, including the music of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia.
Sub-Saharan Africa[edit source | editbeta]
Main articles: Sub-Saharan African music traditions and Rhythm in Sub-Saharan African music
Geo-political map of Africa divided for ethnomusicological purposes, after Alan P. Merriam, 1959.
The ethnomusicological pioneer Arthur Morris Jones (1889–1980) observed that the shared rhythmic principles of Sub-Saharan African music traditions constitute one main system.[4] Similarly, master drummer and scholar C.K. Ladzekpo affirms the profound homogeneity of sub-Saharan African rhythmic principles.[5]
African traditional music is frequently functional in nature. Performances may be long and often involve the participation of the audience.[6] There are, for example, little different kinds of work songs, songs accompanying childbirth, marriage, hunting and