Structures of African Music

Spring Break

Mid-Term Exams

Nketia: Section Three. 10-12. Structures of African Music. Diallo 9-13 Film:

Bebey: 119. The Human Voice. Nketia: 13-15. Organization of Vocal Music

Presentation of instruments and a class Jam session. Film:

The Black Diasporic Encounters: A study of The Music of Fela Sowande. Article By Bode Omojola Film: Repercussions: A Celebration of African-American Music

Study Questions: What elements of traditional African music and ritual are evident in the Caribbean! What role does music play in the persistence of these elements? Film: Repercussions: Legends of Rhythm and Blues

Nketia: 19-21Music and Related Arts

LAST DAY OF CLASS. Final Term Paper/Project due in this classroom on May 12, 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. No deadline extension.

Course Description and Rationale:

Introduction to Black Music surveys the traditional music of Africans and delineates elements utilized in Black music of the western hemisphere. The purpose of this course is to outline the musical heterogeneity of Africans and allow students to gain greater understanding of African music and culture, its impact on the development of Black music in the Americas, and its influence on international trends in music. In this way the humanist impulse at the center of African people's musical propensity will be revealed, and students' awareness will broaden and deepen in regards to the many genres, contexts, functions, and meanings of traditional African music.

General Objectives:

• To recognize certain elements which are characteristics of African music

• To identify and classify African instruments

• To identify the social, cultural, political, and religious Functions of music in Africa and the Americas

• To identify the African musical antecedents found in African music in the Caribbean and the Americas

• To recognize the contributions