African music is historic, ancient, rich, passionate and diverse. Many creative, distinct musical traditions. Music, songs, dance are used in traditional rituals and ceremonies.
Sub-Saharan African music relies on percussion instruments like xylophones, djembes, drums and tone-producing instruments like mbira or thumb piano. Instruments include a wide range of slit gongs, rattles, double bells, harps, fiddles, flutes, trumpets.
Some visible traits of American or Caribbean music like soca, calypso, zouk. Latin American music genres like rumba, conga, bomba, cumbia, salsa, samba, blues, jazz are based on music of enslaved Africans. Greatly influenced African music.
Like music of Asia, India, Middle East, it’s highly energetic, rhythmic. Complex styles, patterns involve one rhythm played against another, to create a poly-rhythm. Common poly-rhythms play three beats on top of two. A triplet played against straight notes.
Understanding African music is difficult. Mesmerising beautiful expressions of love and life. Don’t have a written tradition like India. Horn of Africa music (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia) is typically pentatonic. Uses five pitches per octave in contrast to a heptatonic (seven note) scale. Music of Ethiopia uses a fundamental modal system called qenet, with four main modes: tezeta, bati, ambassel and anchihoy.
West African music has special elements of Islamic or Sufi music. Enchanting!
African dancing is highly creative, passionate, graceful and energetic. Needs great levels of core strength, stamina, fitness, flexibility in movements, super co-ordination, balance.