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A tale of two mbiras
Get PDFThis is the tale of two kinds of mbira from Zimbabwe: mbira dzavadzimu and mbira dzaVaNdau.1 Both began as narrowly localized instruments, but they\u27ve had very divergent fates over the past one hundred years. The mbira dzavadzimu has become widely known throughout Zimbabwe, a presence in popular music, and a potentially viable economic choice for some musicians. It is played throughout the world, and has become part of the ethnomusicological canon, a literal textbook example of world music (Locke 2009; Turino 2011). During the same period, the mbira dzaVaNdau has quietly faded into near anonymity and virtual disappearance in Zimbabwe.2 In this article, I explore the reasons for this divergence and the role ethnomusicology has played in this history and I ask, what is ethnomusicology\u27s responsibility when it becomes part of the tale it hopes to tell
The system of the mbira
Get PDFThe existence of a harmonically-based system of the mbira in Africa should be of great interest in itself, in comparison with modern African musical preferences, and for Afro-American music studies, where the blues sequence is another highly generative harmonic system. It demonstrates a unique method of getting harmonically "from here to there”, and offers an almost endless potential for Shona composers. In fact, the special tinge, the appeal, of modern Shona popular, church and school music comes in large part from the principles of the system which fortunately persist even when composers are working in Western harmony.This is a re-edited and updated version of the paper presented at the 7th Symposium on Ethnomusicology (Venda University) in 1988, published by ILAM in "Papers presented at the 7th and 8th Symposiums in Ethnomusicology” (1989). It is reproduced here because of the worldwide interest which has developed in mbira and its system in recent decades
Uargueziz
No full textThe song Uargueziz reflects the message of many other Saharawi nationalist songs of bravery and fighting. Uargueziz is meant to unite and to reinforce the nationalist struggle of the Saharawis. Through songs such as Uargueziz, performers and local audiences are drawn to the same cultural values and national ideology. Thus, political homogeneity between the PF, music makers and their audience in the camps is the main pillar for Saharawi musical expression. Equally noteworthy, is the role of musicians and poets to serve the RASD in this refugee context. For that reason, Uargueziz reaches out to the three different social structures of communicational reciprocity between the PF, Saharawi musicians and the local audience
"Ma la ma wie Ga" ("I will sing and speak of Ga"): Wulomei and the articulation of Ga identity in stylized form
Get PDFIn 2001 Dan Kermah, a documentary film maker based in Ghana\u27s capital Accra, succeeded in arranging a video-taped performance of the pioneering Ga folk group1 Wulomei at their founder Nii Tei Ashitey\u27s house, located in the Accra suburb of Mamprobi and in anticipation of Ghana\u27s 50th anniversary celebration as an independent nation. What made this particular recording unique were the individuals assembled that day, consisting of Wulomei\u27s foundational members who began performing together in the early 1970s. Despite some reunion concerts scattered over the years, Wulomei in its original form started to splinter with the exodus of their lead vocalist Naa Amanua and guitarist Nene Acquah around 1975 when they left to form their own ensemble Suku Troupe
Women\u27s Voices from West Africa: An Anthology of Songs from the Sahel. Thomas A. Hale and Aissata G. Sidikou, eds. 2012. Bloomington: Indiana University Press . index, 143pp. Women\u27s Songs from West Africa. Thomas A. Hale and Aissata G. Sidikou, eds. 2014. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. index, 341pp.
Get PDFFrom Paul to Penny: the emergence and development of Tsonga disco 1985-1990s
Get PDFIn this article I trace the emergence of Tsonga disco, a Tsonga music subgenre which, at its emergence, could be differentiated from the other mentioned township styles such as township soul/jive only by its progenitor, Paul Ndlovu, who was Tsonga and his of predominantly Tsonga lyrics. Further, I discuss the musical techniques employed by producer Peter Moticoce who produced Paul Ndlovu\u27s music and the techniques used by singer, songwriter and producer Joe Shirimani. It is important to point out here that Shirimani not only produces his own music, but he also writes and produces music for other artists such as of singer and songwriter Eric Nkovane, who is known by his stage name Penny Penny
Thomas Mapfumo and the polularization of Shona Mbira
Get PDFThe music of Thomas Mapfumo is frequently described as a pop adaptation of traditional mbira music, the ancient ceremonial performance art of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. While this is an oversimplification of Mapfumo\u27s varied repertoire, mbira is an important, perhaps the most important, aspect of the artist\u27s work. My book, Lion Songs: Thomas Mapfumo and the Music That Made Zimbabwe (2015) interweaves Zimbabwean history with the biography and music of this under-recognized African innovator, composer, and bandleader.1 This article, adapted from the Lion Songs manuscript, attempts to clarify Thomas\u27s role first in helping to revive the status of mbira music in his own country, and then in developing an audience for it internationally