User Manual
28 A User’s Guide to Garritan World Instruments
e Music and Instruments of Africa
Africa is the second most populous and second largest continent, and is believed to be the place where
mankind rst appeared. Anthropologists conjecture that it is also where music most likely originated.
As the ancient birthplace of mankind, Africa remains home to numerous cultures and peoples, and
its music reects its rich and varied heritage.
A characteristic of African music is that much of it is percussion-oriented. African music also often
uses polyrhythms, where dierent rhythmic patterns that are played together to create intricate met-
ric interactions. A master drummer often leads a group of drummers in a village.
Percussion instruments are also sometimes used to mimic words and to communicate. Most African
languages are tonal, so by producing dierent sounds at dierent pitches on the drum, the drummer
can imitate the tones of the language. is is heard in the various African “talking” drums. Call-
and-response is a popular form—with a leader calling, or playing a musical phrase, and the group
responding. In some cultures, percussion instruments carry actual messages from one village to an-
other. An entire community may join together to create rhythmic tapestries of sound – in Africa, it
takes a village to make music.
Musicologically, Africa can be categorized into ve regions: North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa,
East Africa, and Southern Africa. Within each region there may be many dierent styles and varia-
tions in music and instrumentation.