Topmusicanswers
- What are the main features of African drumming music?
- What is African drum music called?
- What is African drumming?
- Do Africans play drums?
What are the main features of African drumming music?
Features of these elements include:
- polyrhythms are created by layering different rhythms together.
- dynamics are changed depending on the force with which the drum is hit.
- dynamics are not written down on a score - the leader signals changes in dynamics during the performance.
What is African drum music called?
Djembe
| Percussion instrument | |
|---|---|
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 211.261.1 (Directly struck membranophones, goblet drums, one membrane, open at one end) |
| Developed | c. 1200 AD |
| Playing range | |
| 65–1000 Hz. | |
What is African drumming?
Drums are the music instrument that African music relies heavily upon to create the fast-paced, upbeat, rhythmic beat that signifies most African music. The drums can be both musical instruments and works of art, sculptural forms that are often decorated in a resplendent manner suited to their ceremonial function.
Do Africans play drums?
African hand drums are played to communicate, celebrate, mourn and inspire. They're played in times of peace and war, planting and harvesting, birth and death. Drums have been such a large part of Africans' daily experience for so long that drumming pulses throughout their collective unconscious. It's in their genes.
