Traditional sub-Saharan African harmony is a
music theory
Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
of
harmony
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
in
sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
n
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
based on the principles of
homophonic
In music, homophony (;, Greek: ὁμόφωνος, ''homóphōnos'', from ὁμός, ''homós'', "same" and φωνή, ''phōnē'', "sound, tone") is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that flesh ...
parallelism (chords based around a leading melody that follow its rhythm and contour), homophonic polyphony (independent parts moving together),
counter-melody
In music, a counter-melody (often countermelody) is a sequence of notes, perceived as a melody, written to be played simultaneously with a more prominent lead melody. In other words, it is a secondary melody played in counterpoint with the prima ...
(secondary
melody
A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...
) and
ostinato-
variation (variations based on a repeated theme).
Polyphony
Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...
(contrapuntal and ostinato variation) is common in African music and
heterophony
In music, heterophony is a type of texture characterized by the simultaneous variation of a single melodic line. Such a texture can be regarded as a kind of complex monophony in which there is only one basic melody, but realized at the same time ...
(the voices move at different times) is a common technique as well. Although these principles of traditional (
precolonial
Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...
and pre-Arab) African music are of Pan-African validity, the degree to which they are used in one area over another (or in the same community) varies. Specific techniques that used to generate
harmony
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
are the "span process", "
pedal notes
In music, a pedal point (also pedal note, organ point, pedal tone, or pedal) is a sustained tone, typically in the bass, during which at least one foreign (i.e. dissonant) harmony is sounded in the other parts. A pedal point sometimes function ...
" (a held note, typically in the bass, around which other parts move), "rhythmic harmony", "harmony by imitation", and "scalar clusters" (see below for explanation of these terms).
General overview
"By Western standards, African music is characteristically complex...Two or more events tend to occur simultaneously within a musical context. Even players of simple solo instruments (such as the musical bow or the flute) manage to manipulate the instrument in such a way to produce simultaneous sounds by playing overtones with the bow, by humming while bowing, and the like...Overlapping choral antiphony and responsorial singing are principal types of African polyphony. Various combinations of ostinato and drone-ostinato, polymelody (mainly two-part), and parallel intervals are additional polyphonic techniques frequently employed. Several types may intermingle within one vocal or instrumental piece, with the resulting choral or orchestral tendency being the stacking of parts or voices. Consequently three- or four-part density is not an uncommon African musical feature. Such densities are constantly fluctuating so that continuous triads throughout an entire piece are uncommon.
Canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
ic imitation may occur in
responsorial
A responsory or respond is a type of chant in western Christian liturgies.
Definition
The most general definition of a responsory is any psalm, canticle, or other sacred musical work sung responsorially, that is, with a cantor or small group sing ...
or antiphonal sections of African music as a result of the repetition of the first phrase or the introduction of new melodic material in the form of a refrain. The latter may involve a contrasting section or a completion of the original melody." —
Karlton E. Hester
Chordal relationships that occur as a result of the polyphony, homophonic parallelism and homophonic polyphony found in African music are not always 'functional' in the western musical sense. However, they accomplish the balance of tension-release and dissonance-consonance. In addition, they form varieties of chord combinations and clusters, as well as varying levels of harmonic patterning.
Scales
![A pentatonic scale in descending order](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/A_pentatonic_scale_in_descending_order.jpg)
Chords are constructed from scales.
Pentatonic
A pentatonic scale is a musical scale (music), scale with five Musical note, notes per octave, in contrast to the heptatonic scale, which has seven notes per octave (such as the major scale and minor scale).
Pentatonic scales were developed ...
and
hexatonic
In music and music theory, a hexatonic scale is a scale with six pitches or notes per octave. Famous examples include the whole-tone scale, C D E F G A C; the augmented scale, C D E G A B C; the Prometheus scale, C D E F A B C; and the blues sc ...
scales are very common scales across Africa. Nonetheless, heptatonic scales can be found in abundance.
Anhemitonic scales, equal
heptatonic
A heptatonic scale is a musical scale that has seven pitches, or tones, per octave. Examples include the major scale or minor scale; e.g., in C major: C D E F G A B C—and in the relative minor, A minor, natural minor: A B C D E F G A; the m ...
scales, and scales based on the selected use of
partials are used in Africa as well. The same community that may use one set of instruments tuned to a certain scale (i.e. pentatonic), can use a different scale for a different set of instruments, or song type (i.e. heptatonic) (Gerhard Kubik
[Gerhard Kubik, Theory of African music, volume I, University of Chicago Press, Lid., London, published 1994][Gerhard Kubik, Theory of African music, volume II, University of Chicago Press, Lid., London, published 2010][Gerhard Kubik, Bebop: a case in point. The African Matrix in Jazz Harmonic Practices. Black Music Research Journal, published March 22, 2005])
In traditional African music, scales are practised and thought of as descending from top to bottom. African harmony is based on the scales being employed in a particular musical setting. Scales have a profound impact on the harmony because Africans modalize their music. Modalization is the process of applying modal concepts in a non-modal setting. African music uses recurring harmonic reference points as a means of musical organization. Therefore, African music is not modal or purely based on one
mode
Mode ( la, modus meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* '' MO''D''E (magazine)'', a defunct U.S. women's fashion magazine
* ''Mode'' magazine, a fictional fashion magazine which is ...
. Nonetheless modal concepts are employed in African music. This predates exposure to Western and Arab musics.
Principles
Homophonic parallelism and homophonic polyphony
Homophonic parallelism is the
harmonizing of a single melody, or subordinate melody and moving with it in parallel. This means the notes that harmonize the melody follow its characteristic shape and rhythm. This type of parallelism is common to all African peoples, but the degree to which it is employed varies. It is important to note that parallelism in thirds (inversely tenths), fourths, fifths, and octaves (inversely unison) are
Pan-African
Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement ext ...
methods of homophonic parallel harmonization. These intervals are interchanged depending on the melody they are accompanying and the scale source of the harmonization.
Homophonic polyphony occurs when two different melodies are harmonized in the style of homophonic parallelism, and either (1) occur simultaneously by means of overlapping
antiphony or (2) over at the simultaneously as a result of melodic counterpoint.
This parallelism is not to be confused with strict parallelism.
Gerhard Kubik
Gerhard Kubik (born 10 December 1934) is an Austrian music ethnologist from Vienna. He studied ethnology, musicology and African languages at the University of Vienna. He published his doctoral dissertation in 1971 and achieved habilitation in 1 ...
states that much variation and freedom is permitted in parallel parts, with the stipulation that words remain intelligible (or in the case of instruments the melody remains recognizable), and the scalar source is observed. The harmonic line harmonized normally moves by step rarely jumping beyond a fourth.
"
A.M. Jones states that 'generally speaking all over the continent south of the Sahara, African harmony is in organum and is sung either in parallel fourths, parallel fifths, parallel octaves or parallel thirds.' Parallelism, however, is not without limitations. Melodic and scale considerations, as has been shown, are of primary importance in deciding what notes are employed in harmonizing tunes and, consequently, what intervals are formed. The adaptation of parallelism to fit melodic requirements is much more apparent in the music of those areas of Africa where the pentatonic scale is the norm. Kirby has shown how the demands of a pentatonic scale result in the employment of sixths in Bantu polyphony, where parallelism in fifths is the principle. He points out that the limitations of the pentatonic scale make for the awareness of other intervals instead of what apparently was the strict duplication of the melody at the same
interval employed by early European musicians."—
Lazarus EkwemeLazarus Ekwueme
Lazarus Edward Nnanyelu Ekwueme (born 28 January 1936), popularly known as Laz Ekwueme, is a Nigerian musicologist, composer, scholar and actor. He is one of the pioneer lecturers of music in Nigeria and also a prolific writer. He is a scho ...
, Concepts of African musical theory, ''Journal of Black Studies'', Vol 5. no. 1, Sage publications, inc. published 1974.
Secondary melody
![Secondary melody](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Secondary_melody.jpg)
The harmonization of a subordinate melody – be it responsorial or with regular repetitions within the
cycle – is often based on a
counter melody or secondary melody. From this melody the span process, pedal notes and other techniques can be used to for the harmony supporting the main melody.
Gerhard Kubik
notes "In the Ijesha multipart singing style the basic chorus phrase, to which harmonically parallel lines may be added above and below, is the one in the middle, standing at the same pitch level with the leader's phrase...The basic chorus line is the one with which the chorus member singing alone would invariably link 'in unison' with the leader's phrase. as other chorus members join in, more voices are then added above and below in intervals perceived as consonant. These additional voices are essentially euphoric in concept; they are equivalent to a basic one, but are only collaterally dependent on the voice of the leader".
Lazarus Ekweme
quotes
J. H. Kwabena Nketia saying "In chorus response, there is primacy in the sense that one line is regarded as the basic melody. But the supporting line, by virtue of its running parallel to it, shares its characteristic progressions and is accordingly treated as a secondary melody. Indeed, when a cantor has to sing the chorus response, he may have the freedom of singing either of the two or of moving from one section to the other."
Secondary melody in this case refers to the voice harmonizing the
chorus
Chorus may refer to:
Music
* Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse
* Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound
* Chorus form, song in which all verse ...
response. However, the chorus response is the secondary melody, which is harmonized. The harmonizing parts can vary just as the chorus response (or secondary melody) may vary. The added harmony part embellishes its own line as an independent melody, instead of following rigidly the intervocalic distance from the main chorus line in parallel movement.
The underlying concept is to create a melody and then a responsoral secondary melody. This secondary melodic line or phrase is then harmonized in parallel motion. The harmonic line harmonized normally moves by step rarely jumping beyond a fourth.
Ostinato-variation
Musical instruments in traditional African music often serve as a modal and/or rhythmic support for vocal music. Instrumental Music can also be heard frequently without vocal music and to a lesser extent solo. Harmony produced through
ostinato produced on instruments is common place. These ostinati can be varied, or embellished, but otherwise provide modal support. Ostinato used in African music is a principal means of polyphony although other procedures for producing polyphony exist. Arom Simha states "music in the Central African Republic, regardless of the kind of polyphony or
polyrhythm
Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rhyth ...
that is practiced, always involves the principle of ostinato with variations."
[Simha Arom, African Polyphony and Polyrhythm. Structure and Methodology (Préface de Györgi Ligeti), Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, published 2004 991]
The principle of ostinato with variations is significant to African music and its polyphonic nature as most forms of traditional African polyphony are based on this principle. Simha continues "If one had to describe in a formula all the polyphonic and polyrhythmic procedures
used in the Central African Republic, one might define them as ostinato (ostinati) with variations." The ostinato is normally used to create a modal pattern or background.
Arom Simha continues "This definition does not conflict with Western musicological definitions of the term. Thus Riemann defines ostinato as 'a technical term that describes the continual return of a theme surrounded by ever changing
counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...
..The great masters of the age of polyphony loved to write a whole mass or long
motets
In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Marga ...
on a single phrase constantly repeated by the tenor. But the repetitions are not always identical, and the little theme would appear in all sorts of modified forms' (Riemann 1931:953)."
Many African musics correspond exactly to this definition and are musical pieces based on a phrase, which reappears in varied and modified forms. These
ostinato can be continuous or intermittent, vocal or instrumental, and may appear above or below the main line. Frequently in African music two or more ostinatos moving contrapuntally are employed, with or without a longer melodic line to create an orchestral texture (dense textures are desired and aimed for by both composers and performers alike). This type of polyphony is of the
contrapuntal
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...
or horizontal type. In practice each ostinato moves in independent melodic and
rhythm
Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...
ic patterns.
Cadences and chord structures
Chords are normally formed using one of two techniques: the span process or scalar clusters.
These chords can be embellished as a result of variation in which any combination of notes permitted by the scale can be used in a chord. However, in common practice, chords are formed by harmonizing in 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, etc. The type of chord formed depends on the scale system being used.
Recent research has shown that African music has chord progressions. Gerhard Kubik states "until recently, little attention has been paid to a further structuring element, namely, the tonal-harmonic segmentation of a cycle. In most African music, cycles are sub-divided into two, four or eight tonal-harmonic segments." (A theory of African music, Volume II, page 44, paragraph 5).
In addition, the use of the
tritone
In music theory, the tritone is defined as a musical interval composed of three adjacent whole tones (six semitones). For instance, the interval from F up to the B above it (in short, F–B) is a tritone as it can be decomposed into the three a ...
interval for
tension
Tension may refer to:
Science
* Psychological stress
* Tension (physics), a force related to the stretching of an object (the opposite of compression)
* Tension (geology), a stress which stretches rocks in two opposite directions
* Voltage or el ...
is common in Africa. Oluwaseyi Kehinde notes "it is interesting that the interval of the tritone (
augmented fourth
Augment or augmentation may refer to:
Language
*Augment (Indo-European), a syllable added to the beginning of the word in certain Indo-European languages
*Augment (Bantu languages), a morpheme that is prefixed to the noun class prefix of nouns i ...
or
diminished fifth
Diminished may refer to:
*Diminution
In Western music and music theory, diminution (from Medieval Latin ''diminutio'', alteration of Latin ''deminutio'', decrease) has four distinct meanings. Diminution may be a form of embellishment in which ...
) is a salient feature in both vocal and instrumental music throughout Africa” (
Karlton E. Hester and
Francis Tovey use the same phrase to describe it). Gerhard Kubik in his article "bebop a case in point: the African matrix in Jazz harmonic practices"
and his book "Africa and the Blues"
[Gerhard Kubik, Africa and the Blues, University of Mississippi Press, published 2000] echoes this point. This is significant to chords used as reference points or
chord progressions
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...
in African musical structures.
Through the use of parallelism cadential patterns are inevitable. O.O. Bateye clarifies: "The
subdominant
In music, the subdominant is the fourth tonal degree () of the diatonic scale. It is so called because it is the same distance ''below'' the tonic as the dominant is ''above'' the tonicin other words, the tonic is the dominant of the subdomina ...
(
plagal)
cadence
In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (199 ...
is (resulting from the frequent tendency toward parallelism in African music) the favored cadence and not the
perfect cadence
In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (1999 ...
, which is the norm in classical western music...Cadential patterns are frequent in African music and invariably result as a consequence of melodic movement either by thirds, fourths, or fifths – that is as a consequence of what may be referred to as
shadow harmony ... A cadential descending minor third is frequently noted between the minor third step and the tonic (Reiser, 1982:122) in African music." These cadential movements are made using the melody and the scale as the guiding factor.
He continues "T.K. Philips objects to the
te-doh and fah-me cadences as being authentic for African music, but nevertheless, as has been pointed out, are a frequent occurrence in African music utilizing scales other than the pentatonic. The presence of
drone
Drone most commonly refers to:
* Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg
* Unmanned aerial vehicle
* Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft
* Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone
Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to:
...
s (see
pedal notes
In music, a pedal point (also pedal note, organ point, pedal tone, or pedal) is a sustained tone, typically in the bass, during which at least one foreign (i.e. dissonant) harmony is sounded in the other parts. A pedal point sometimes function ...
below) is a common feature of African music."
"Target chords"
African music whose scalar source for the harmony is based on anhemtonic (every note is consonant with every other note) pentatonic and hexatonic scalar sources, Targeting specific vertical structures in relation to the secondary melodic phrase being harmonized is not a concern although this does happen.
For scalar systems that are not anhemtonic, target chords or vertical structures that are targeted for resolution are common place. Although the arrangement of the notes may be altered and/or embellished notes viewed as dissonant traditionally will be omitted from that structure. In harp music and xylophone music with 2 beaters these structures are dyads and are targeted for resolution by means of suspensions, anticipations, and other techniques of variation.
The "target chord" concept is applied equally to homomphonic parallelism and its various iterations as it is to polyphony. These vertical combinations by means of their strict repetition serve as an organizing structure to the improvised nature of the harmonic motions.
Polyphony
Polyphonic techniques used in African music include:
*Melodic
counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...
– related to homophony, however there is no predominant melodic line or no hierarchy among the parts. Although it is not a general rule, all the parts frequently observe the same rhythmic values.
*
Polymelody – two different melodies with different start and end points occurring simultaneously.
*Ostinato-variation – variations on a theme with an onstinato or ostinati above or below the melody line.
*
Hocket
In music, hocket is the rhythmic linear technique using the alternation of notes, pitches, or chords. In medieval practice of hocket, a single melody is shared between two (or occasionally more) voices such that alternately one voice sounds wh ...
– interlocking, interweaving and overlapping rhythmic figures which are tiered on different pitches in a scalar system.
*Polyphony by
polyrhythmics – Polyphony normally does not occur unless the melodies are rhythmically independent. When two African melodies occur at the same time and are rhythmically independent it is polyphony.
*Polyphony by
inherent patterns – using auxiliary and passing note groups separated by
disjunct intervals gives the facade of two melodies occurring back to back. This technique is used often by solo instrumentalists to create a
pseudo
The prefix pseudo- (from Greek ψευδής, ''pseudes'', "false") is used to mark something that superficially appears to be (or behaves like) one thing, but is something else. Subject to context, ''pseudo'' may connote coincidence, imitation, ...
-polyphony.
(Definitions Arom Simha
)
Techniques
Traditional African music often employs the following techniques to create harmony:
Span process
![Sample chorus response span process example](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Sample_chorus_response_span_process_example.jpg)
Gerhard Kubik describes succinctly a process he attributes to the formation of chords used in parallelism throughout Africa. This process he calls the "span process". He states "The Span process or skipping process,(is) a structural principle implying that usually one note of a given scale is skipped by a second singer (or instrumental line) to obtain harmonic simultaneous sound in relation to the melodic line of a first vocalist (or instrumental line)".
The harmonic line harmonized normally moves by step rarely jumping beyond a fourth.
Pedal notes
A frequent technique employed in African music (either as a means of variation or as part of a harmonic reference point) in which notes are repeated (on a monotone) in a part while others move in parallel motion above it. When there are at least 3 singers, the two or more upper parts follow the shape of the tune, while maintaining the intonation of the words, in parallel or similar motion. The lowest part repeats a basic drone (pedal notes can equally be found in higher voices as well). The repetitions may be temporary or extended depending on the performers and the particular musical piece. The employment of pedal notes is often the sources that oblique motion and contrary motion in African choral music. This technique is also applied to instrumental music.—
Lazarus Ekweme
Rhythmic harmony
![Sample chorus response span process example](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Sample_chorus_response_span_process_example.jpg)
The use of harmony to enhance a rhythmic accent or to emphasize a note in the melody.
these normally occur at the end of melodic phrases, but may take place anywhere it is desirable to accentuate a note or text in the melody.
Harmony by imitation
![Harmony by imitation - traditional african music](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Harmony_by_imitation_-_traditional_african_music.jpg)
This occurs when an added part imitates the shape of a portion of the melody (or other portion of the song) at a higher or lower pitch and after the initial musical phrase but overlapping with it. Due to tonal inflections (in the regions using tonal languages), the shape of the new musical phrase is similar to, but not necessarily identical with, that of the previous one. The use of imitation accounts for a wide variety of interval combinations within the scale system being used in African musics.
Scalar clusters
![Scalar clusters - traditional African music theory](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Scalar_clusters_-_traditional_African_music_theory.jpg)
In parallel motion, rhythmic harmony or in harmonic patterns varying interval combinations can be found. However, all these intervals are limited to those permitted by the scale. The intervals of the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, octave, ninth and tenth can all be found. As African music and harmony is based on a cyclical structure with recurring reference points and harmonic reference points (or chords) some of these intervals are seen as color tones while others have structural significance. Generally the tones and intervals of structural significance are based on thirds, fourths, fifths, and octaves.
Simha states
"In Central African polyphony, one can in fact find clusters of all the combinations of intervals allowed by the scale. The number of sounds included in vertical combinations varies with the number and type of performing instruments: while there are no more than two in Sanza music, it is not unusual to find four in xylophone music. In the limiting case, it can happen that the 5 sounds of the scale are simultaneously emitted as a cluster. This particular
type of verticality can easily be explained by referring each sound comprising a 'chord'
or sound cluster to its own melodic axis. It then becomes clear that the vertical configurations are the (partly fortuitous) consequence of the horizontal conception of melodic counterpoint."
This not only occurs when using pentatonic scales. Gerhard Kubik
notes that the use of a partials derived system, or a Bordon system can also lead to the use of scalar clusters as consonance. In addition communities, and ethnic groups that use pentatonic systems many times also employ hexatonic and heptatonic scalar systems.
Variation principle
The variation principle describes the process of altering, embellishing, and modifying of melodic, rhythmic, harmonic, and/or other parts of a musical structure. These
variations
Variation or Variations may refer to:
Science and mathematics
* Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon
* Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individua ...
are made within and/or around the role of the part being varied. These variations rarely break the function of the part to be varied. In African music these variations are often improvised. Variation in African music are abundant and the musicians view them as necessary. Simha Arom
states, "All musical pieces are characterized by cyclic structure that generates numerous
improvised variations: repetition and variation is one of the most fundamental principles of all Central African musics,as indeed of many other musics in Black Africa." He continues, "Finally, improvisation, which I have described as the driving force behind melodic and rhythmic variations, plays an important part in every group. But there is no such thing as free improvisation, that is, improvisation that does not refer back to some precise and identifiable piece of music. It is always subordinate to the musical structure in which it appears..."
Variation is a very important aspect in African music (and the musics of the African diaspora). At every level of music variation is expected, with the stipulation that the structure of the part being played is not compromised. Harmony is no exception. He
explains: "Melodic and rhythmic variations can, however, affect the instrumental formula, just as they can appear in the song the formula supports and summarizes. These variations engender a large variety of vertical combinations, or consonances."
Vertical combinations in African music have two different yet complementary functions. One function is that of being a structural reference point. The other is that of being an embellishment, or "
color tone".
Arom Simha proceeds to note "We have already remarked that specific vertical combinations in each formula act as temporal reference points by virtue of their regular repetition at a given position in the periodic cycle. These combinations are the points at which several superposed melodic lines meet. They are usually based on octaves, fifths, and fourths, precisely the intervals which make up sections 1–4 of
Chailley's resonance table (i960: 35), and this is certainly no accident. We may therefore assume that they take on a structural function." These vertical combinations that constitute reference points are chords that, together, form a
chord progression
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...
. This is similar to the concepts of chords and progressions in cyclical forms in Jazz, Blues and other musics of the
African diaspora
The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the West and Central Africans who were e ...
.
Simha concludes "All other consonances can be viewed in the same way as the result of conjunctions of different melodies, but unlike the regularly repeated ones, their content (and at times even their position) is an arbitrary consequence of the numerous melodic and, particularly, rhythmic variations allowed in the various realizations of the formula. Consonances of this type seem intended to provide color, over and above the melodic nature of their constituent elements. This is a natural consequence of the fact that musicians tend to make full use of their available resources to enrich and variegate the texture of sound when performing cyclic music." These harmonic variations combined with rhythmic variations explain (in addition to the implementation of pedal notes) both "oblique" phenomena (anticipations and suspensions) and horizontal phenomena (drones and broken or ornamented pedal points).
David Locke in an article entitled "improvisation in west African music" states "...African musicians do improvise on various aspects of music, including melody, text, form, polyphony, rhythm, and timbre." These improvisations are based on preexisting musical structures and as such are variations and embellishments.
The Principles and techniques outlined above are all subject to variation not only by region, and the people, but also, by spontaneously improvised variations during performance. This creates complex harmonies. This is similar to the way Jazz musicians during a performance will alter a chord and embellish it with different "color tones", while still emphasizing principle chord tones so as not to disrupt the chord progression of the song.
Homophonic parallelism is also affected by this variation principle. With regards to improvised vocal parts within homophonic parallelism Gerhard Kubik
in his book "Theory of African music", volume I says, "Another implicit concept of this multi-part musical system is linearity, i.e. each voice exists in its own right, though at the same time there remains the perspective of simultaneous vertical sound. All participants sing the same text, but their melodic lines are not parallel throughout, as might be expected from the tonal inflections of the language. on the contrary, oblique and counter-movement is consciously employed in order to emphasize the individuality of each participating voice. contrary motion is not always perceptible in recordings because the voices merge with one another. In practice an individual singer in the group can change the direction of his melodic line whenever he likes...An individual singer can also string up several variants of his voice part successively along the time-line. In 'chiyongoyongo' for instance, there are dozens of simultaneous variants possible and each are perceived as correct. this leads to a very lively style of variation, in which each individual voice is conceived to be linear and independent while contributing to the euphoric whole."
He continues "Where the precepts of
tonal languages
Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning – that is, to distinguish or to inflect words. All verbal languages use pitch to express emotional and other paralinguistic information and to convey empha ...
permit it (and this is the case in eastern Angola) we can thus find a kind of multi-part singing which transcends the "parallel harmony," so often described by authors as typical of one or the other African style. The multi-part singing style of the peoples of eastern Angola, including the Mbwela, Luchazi, Chokwe, Luvale and others is only parallel in theory. the creation of harmonic sound is accomplished within a relatively loose combination of individual voices, fluctuating between triads, bichords and more or less dense accumulations of notes. the exact shape of the chords, the duplication and omissions of individual notes in the total pattern may change with every repetition."
Traditional African harmony as the basis for jazz and blues harmony
See:
*Gerhard Kubik's ''A case in point: Bebop: the African matrix in Jazz harmonic practices''
*Gerhard Kubik's ''Africa and the Blues''
*Gerhard Kubiks's ''Theory of African Music'' volumes I and II
*David Locke's ''Improvisation in West Africa''
*Karlton E. Hester's ''Bigotry and the Afrocentric “Jazz” Evolution''
*Gunther Schuller ''
Early Jazz, Its Roots and Musical Development''
See also
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Parallel harmony
In music, parallel harmony, also known as harmonic parallelism, harmonic planing or parallel voice leading, is the parallel movement of two or more melodies (see voice leading).
Illustrative example
Lines with parallel harmony can be viewed as ...
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Polyphony
Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...
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Homophony
In music, homophony (;, Greek: ὁμόφωνος, ''homóphōnos'', from ὁμός, ''homós'', "same" and φωνή, ''phōnē'', "sound, tone") is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that flesh ou ...
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Harmony
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
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Chords
Chord may refer to:
* Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously
** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning
* Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve
* Chord ( ...
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Chord progression
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...
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Heterophony
In music, heterophony is a type of texture characterized by the simultaneous variation of a single melodic line. Such a texture can be regarded as a kind of complex monophony in which there is only one basic melody, but realized at the same time ...
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Countermelody
In music, a counter-melody (often countermelody) is a sequence of notes, perceived as a melody, written to be played simultaneously with a more prominent lead melody. In other words, it is a secondary melody played in counterpoint with the prima ...
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Harmonization
In music, harmonization is the chordal accompaniment to a line or melody: "Using chords and melodies together, making harmony by stacking scale tones as triads".
A harmonized scale can be created by using each note of a musical scale as a root ...
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Improvisation
Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...
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Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
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Quartal and quintal harmony
In music, quartal harmony is the building of harmonic structures built from the intervals of the perfect fourth, the augmented fourth and the diminished fourth. For instance, a three-note quartal chord on C can be built by stacking perfect fourths ...
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Tertian
In music theory, ''tertian'' ( la, tertianus, "of or concerning thirds") describes any piece, chord, counterpoint etc. constructed from the intervals of (major and minor) thirds. An interval such as that between the notes A and C encompasses ...
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Secundal
In music or music theory, secundal is the quality of a chord made from seconds, and anything related to things constructed from seconds such as counterpoint. Secundal chords are often called tone clusters more generally, especially when non-di ...
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Extended chord
In music, extended chords are certain chords (built from thirds) or triads with notes ''extended'', or added, beyond the seventh. Ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth chords are extended chords. The thirteenth is the farthest extension diatonical ...
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Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
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Mbube
References
{{reflist
Sources
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Joseph Hanson Kwabena Nketia
Joseph Hanson Kwabena Nketia (22 June 1921 – 13 March 2019) was a Ghanaian ethnomusicologist and composer. Considered Africa's premier musicologist, during his lifetime, he was called a "living legend" and "easily the most published and bes ...
, ''The Music of Africa'', W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., published 1974.
External links
* http://www.tinotenda.org/improvisation.htm
* http://www.tinotenda.org/aspects.htm
* https://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-57093
* https://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-57094
* https://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-57095
Harmony
African traditional music