Variation
Ewe drumming is very diverse and is played in many slightly different ways. For example, an Ewe musician from Togo may play a piece or instrument slightly differently from the way a Ewe from Ghana does. TheInstrumental performance
An Ewe drumming ensemble consists of several drums, aBell instruments
Gankogui
The '' gankogui'', also known as a ''gakpevi'', is a bell, or gong instrument played with a wooden stick. It is made out of forged iron and consists of a low-pitched bell (often referred as the parent bell) and a high-pitched bell (or the child bell, which is said to rest on the bosom of the protective parent), which are permanently bound together. The gankogui is the skeleton, backbone, and foundation of all traditional Ewe music. The gankogui player must play steadily and without error throughout the piece. The gankogui player must be a trustworthy person, and is considered blind if they do not have a concrete understanding of the instrument and its role in the drumming ensemble. In a drumming ensemble, a gankogui player uses no variation.Atoke
The ''atoke'' is a forged-iron bell instrument and is shaped somewhat like a boat or a banana. It is held in the palm of the player's weak hand and is played with a small forged-iron rod, held in the player's strong hand. You strike the rod against the outside of the bell to create a pitch. The atoke serves the same purpose as the gankogui and is sometimes used instead of or a substitute for the gankogui. The gankogui and atoke come in all various sizes.Rattle instrument
The next instrument used in traditional Ewe drumming is called ''axatse'' (pronounced ah-hah-chay). The axatse is a rattle-like instrument made from a hollowed-out gourd covered with a net of seeds or beads. The axatse is usually played sitting down. It is held at the handle and in the players strong hand and is shaken up hitting the hand and down hitting the thigh making two different sounds. The axatse usually plays the same thing that the bell plays but with some extra added notes in between the beats. It can be described as the eighth note version of what the gankogui plays. It has also been described as enriching or reinforcing what the gankogui plays. Overall it gives energy to the music and drives the music. The axatse produces a dry rattling but energetic sound.Standard bell pattern and accompanying axatse part
The most common gankogui part is the 12-pulse ''basic Ewe'', or ''Master drums
In almost all West African drumming ensembles, a ''lead drum'' or ''master drum'' leads the group. The master drummer tells the ensemble when to play and when to stop, he also plays signals telling the other players to change the tempo or the drumming pattern. In some West African drumming ensembles, the master drummer is to play the main theme of the piece and improvise. In Ewe drumming, the master drummer does drum dialogue with the kidi. It enriches the kidi phrase by filling in the empty spaces on the kidi’s part. The master drum can also improvise. In Ewe drumming, the term ''master drum'' is not limited to one particular type of drum. A master drum can be an ''atsimevu'', ''sogo'', ''kroboto'', ''totodzi'', or an ''agboba''; these are the only types of drums used as master drums, however. Different master drums are used in different pieces. For example, if a group is playing " Agbadza" (an old Ewe war dance), the master drummer plays the sogo. The master drum techniques and playing styles are generally the same regardless of which drum is used.Sogo
The basic master drum is called a ''sogo'' (pronounced "so-go)". Sogo is the drum that can always be a substitute for the master drum. It is also the actual "correct" master drum for some pieces. The sogo is a larger version of the kidi and is taller and fatter than the kidi. It can be played either with two wooden sticks, one hand and one stick, or both hands. This depends on the technique used in the piece being played. Depending on the piece, sometimes the sogo can play the same support role as the kidi. It produces a low tone and is usually played sitting down.or standing up.Atsimevu
Another master drum is called ''atsimevu'' (pronounced ah-chee-meh-voo). The atsimevu is the tallest of the Ewe drums. It is around 4½ feet tall. To play the atsimevu, the drummer must lean it over a stand called a ''vudetsi'', stand on one side of the drum—and play it with either two wooden sticks or one hand and one stick. The atsimevu makes a middle range sound with someIn the understanding of a drummer, a drumming stick is an extension of the hand. It remains under constant control in order to release only the desired frequency of vibration as it strikes the membrane. There are four types of stick drumming techniques in the art of master drumming, a basic technique and three variants of this technique. Each of these techniques produces a distinct pitch of the Atsimevu pitch series. . . In terms of a performance technique, the duration of resonance of a tone is normally controlled by damping the membrane at the periphery with a light but firm touch of the weak hand fingers. This technique is of prime importance in the articulation of the structure of a drum music or vugbe. It provides the means of indicating the basic motives, phrases and periods out of which the drum music is made—Ladzekpo (1995: web).
Agboba
A newer, lesser used master drum is called the ''agboba'' (pronounced ag-bo-bah or sometimes bo-bah). This drum was invented by the Ewe in the 1950s to play a newly invented piece called ''agahu''. The agboba is the deepest sounding drum played by the Ewe. It has a fat body and is played leaning over on a stand similar to that for the atsimevu.The Kloboto and Totodzi
The ''kloboto'' (pronounced klo-bo-toe) or ''totodzi'' (pronounced toe-toe-jee) are two more types of master drums, essentially the same, differing only in pitch. These are the smallest drums used by the Ewe. They measure lengthwise around eighteen inches. The two drums are not only used as master drums in some pieces but sometimes play the same role as the kidi. The kloboto and totodzi are always played with two wooden sticks, and their player is usually seated.Other drums
Kidi
The kidi is a mid-sized drum played with two wooden sticks. Like other Ewe drums, the drumhead is made of the skin of aKaganu
The kaganu is the smallest and highest pitched drum used by the Ewe, but its sound does incorporate some bass as well. It is around 20 inches tall. Like all Ewe drums, the kaganu has a drumhead made of antelope or deer skin. The body of the drum is made of wood and is often decorated with carvings. The kaganu is played with two long skinny wooden sticks, usually with the drummer sitting down. Like the gankokui and axatse, its pattern does not change for the duration of the piece. In Agahu, for example, the rhythm it plays are two notes on the upbeats. Because Agahu is played was in theTonal drumming
Like many West African drums, the master drum and sometimes the kidi have the ability to speak the language. Most African languages are tonal, so by producing different sounds at different pitches on the drum, the drummer can imitate the tones of the language. Some African drums can even imitate consonants by hitting the drum with a stick or hand at different angles and with different parts of the stick or hand. The Ewe also play a pair of two drums called ''atumpan'' (pronounced ah-toom-pahn), which are used all over Ghana asIn Anlo-Ewe cultural understanding, a drum is a super projection of the human voice. In this view, the role and power of the drum in play embodies the Sub-Saharan concept of combining natural forces of the universe in forming the supernaturals. In the composition of this conscious experience, human force is combined with other natural forces - skin of animal, hollowed solid tree-trunk, etc. - as a medium for arousing the attention and reaction of mankind. In a variety of tonal properties - pitch, timbre, intensity, and intricate rhythms - the drum and the drummer, in mutual cooperation, create patterns of consciousness that give a moment of inspiration to those they touch. Among the Anlo-Ewe, a legendary metaphor, ''ela kuku dea 'gbe wu la gbagbe'' means, "a dead animal cries louder than a live one," to explain the human experience that inspired the origins of the drum. A human being tendens to attract more attention when dead than when alive. So when the need came to communicate louder, a super voice surrogate was built out of a skin of a dead animal that could deliver the message louder and clearer—Ladzekpo (1995: web).
Cross-rhythmic structure
The ethnomusicologist David Locke states: "At the center of a core of rhythmic traditions within which the composer conveys his ideas is the technique of cross rhythm. The technique of cross rhythm is a simultaneous use of contrasting rhythmic patterns within the same scheme of accents or meter. In Anlo-Ewe cultural understanding, the technique of cross rhythm is a highly developed systematic interplay of varying rhythmic motions simulating the dynamics of contrasting moments or emotional stress phenomena likely to occur in actual human existence. As a preventive prescription for extreme uneasiness of mind or self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with impending or anticipated problems, these simulated stress phenomena or cross-rhythmic figures are embodied in the art of dance-drumming as mind-nurturing exercises to modify the expression of the inherent potential of the human thought in meeting the challenges of life. The premise is that by rightly instituting the mind in coping with these simulated emotional stress phenomena, intrepidity is achieved. Intrepidness, or resolute fearlessness, in Anlo-Ewe view, is an extraordinary strength of mind. It raises the mind above the troubles, disorders, and emotions the anticipation or sight of great perils strives to excite. By this strength, ordinary people become heroes by maintaining themselves in a tranquil state of mind and preserving the free use of their reason under most surprising and terrible circumstances—Ladzekpo (1995: Web).
3:2 (hemiola)
The most fundamental cross-rhythm in Ewe music, andWe have to grasp the fact that if from childhood you are brought up to regard beating 3 against 2 as being just as normal as beating in synchrony, then you develop a two dimensional attitude to rhythm… This bi-podal conception is… part of the African's nature—Jones (1959: 102)Novotney observes: "The 3:2 relationship (and tspermutations) is the foundation of most typical polyrhythmic textures found in West African musics." 3:2 is the ''generative'' or ''theoretic form'' of sub-Saharan rhythmic principles. Agawu succinctly states: " heresultant :2rhythm holds the key to understanding . . . there is no independence here, because 2 and 3 belong to a single Gestalt."
3:8
The followingSee also
* Ewe music *References
{{reflist, 2Other References
* Robert Ayitee, Kwashi Amevuvor, Ewe Master Drummers from Ghana, West Africa. * Ladzekpo, CK. https://web.archive.org/web/20090415164952/http://bmrc.berkeley.edu/people/ladzekpo/Foundation.html Foundation Course in African-Dance Drumming. Drums and Drumming. 1995.