Музыка Западной Африки: История и Современность

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The music of West Africa has a significant history, and its varied sounds reflect the wide range of influences from the area's regions and historical periods. Traditional West African music varies due to the regional separation of West Africa, yet it can be distinguished by two distinct categories: Islamic music and indigenous secular music. The widespread influence of Islam on culture in West Africa dates back to at least the 9th century, facilitated by the introduction of camels to trade routes between the North of Africa and West Africa. Islam influenced West African music commonly includes the use of stringed instruments like the goje, while more secular traditional West African music incorporates greater use of drums such as the djembe. Contemporary styles of music in West Africa have been influenced by American music, African jazz and gospel music. The forced migration of Africans to the Americas as a result of the transatlantic slave trade gave rise to kaiso music, which has influenced the sounds of Calypso, a style with major popularity throughout West Africa. Griots, also known as 'wandering musicians', have traditionally been a major part in the distribution of music throughout West Africa, as their purpose is to spread oral tradition through musical storytelling. The role of griots remains significant in preserving smaller ethnolinguistic groups' cultures.

The sounds of popular music throughout West Africa are comparable to a combination of Western, Latin American and traditional African music. Genres such as Highlife, Afro Calypso and African Jazz reflect this fusion Highlife is rarely sung in English. Highlife is regularly played by big bands composed of a wide variety of instruments. The prevalence of modern, typically European instruments in large highlife bands dates back to the 19th century; when the Gold Coast was established, European missionaries and merchants brought with them accordions, brass instruments, guitars and harmonicas. The sounds of these instruments combined with the more traditional drum focused music of West Africa to create the fusion that is highlife. A major factor in highlife's increase in popularity during the mid 20th century was the desire to raise spirits after World War Two. Afrobeat is a music genre with major popularity throughout West Africa. Originating in Ghana in the early 20th century, Afrobeat grew in popularity in the 1960s. This growth was mainly due to the considerable fame of Fela Kuti, the ‘Father of Afrobeat’, and other pivotal artists such as Tony Allen and Ebo Taylor. Afrobeat is influenced by palm wine music and Ghanaian highlife, as well as jazz, funk and fuji. Fela Kuti devised the term 'Afrobeat' as early as 1968 in his home country of Nigeria. The earlier sounds of Afrobeat have influenced Western artists such as British producer Brian Eno and American rapper Talib Kweli, the latter being a more general term used to describe popular contemporary music throughout West Africa. A distinct trait of Afrobeats’ sound is its focus on drum rhythms, commonly made electronically. Davido, Wizkid, Burna Boy Tekno are highly popular West African Afrobeats artists.

Rhythm is the foundation of West Africa's traditional music, so percussion instruments play a major role in constructing its sounds. Traditional music of West Africa incorporates the use of a variety of percussive instruments, the most popular of which is the djembe. Known also as the 'magic drum' or the 'healing drum', the djembe is spiritually important to West African tradition as it is believed that three spirits reside within the drum. These spirits are those of the tree which provided the drum's wooden frame, the animal which gave its skin for the drumhead and the carver or drum assembler. The sounds of the djembe vary from low pitched bass sounds (achieved by beating the centre of the drumhead with a flat, outstretched hand) to tone and slap sounds, which have a higher pitch, created by striking the drumhead closer to its edge with only fingertips. The greater tension of the drumhead skin towards the edge of the drum causes this higher pitched note. The djembe plays an important role in traditional music as it is seen as a way to communicate emotional experiences in communal situations. Guinea's Susu and Mandinka peoples also regularly use the balafon in their traditional song and dance. To create a sound, wooden keys on a bamboo structure are struck with gum rubber mallets. A balafon typically has 17 to 21 keys, comprising three to four octaves in pentatonic or diatonic tuning. The number of keys on a balafon depends on their width and the desired pitch. Wide keys produce a sound with a low pitch, while narrower keys produce a higher pitched sound. An instrument of great cultural significance, the balafon has many complex stories behind it, however many regional narratives state that supernatural beings gifted the balafon and the skills to play it to a specific ancestor. This ancestor then passed the musical knowledge down to younger generations. Balafon music is considered to be very similar to speaking, as it produces tonalities which are similar to human voices. As a result, the balafon can be used for political or social commentary, Soninke oral traditions indicate that their use goes back further, to the days of the Ghana Empire. It usually has 21 strings, however much like other instruments, there are variations depending on the regional origins of the instrument – it is not uncommon for the kora to have 22 strings in southern Senegal and Guinea Bissau. With a body made from calabash and a neck that extends approximately one metre, the kora is stood upright and plucked by a seated player, commonly accompanying lyrics about a person or family. Papa Susso, Toumani Diabaté and Jaliba Kuyateh are renowned kora players famed for their instrumental proficiency.

The xalam is a lute which has two melody strings and between two and four additional octave strings. The xalam originated with the Wolof people and is often played in pairs, It has a long, wooden body, typically one that is rectangular or in the shape of an oval. A cowhide face is stretched over the body underneath the strings, and a circular hole is cut out towards the bottom of this membrane. The playing position and method are similar to the ways in which a player would use a guitar, however the left hand, which supports the instrument's neck, is only used to pluck the two melody strings.

The goje is a fiddle with one to two strings, played with a bowstring. Its origins are with the Hausa people, and the goje is culturally significant because of the belief that it is imbued with the ability to communicate with spirits. Secular performances of goje music take place to celebrate births, marriages and political inaugurations. This is a slow dance which has an emphasis on seduction; two rows of men and women face one another and dance with an emphasis on eye contact and 'touching each other's hands and heart region'. This develops into Makru, a faster paced element of this courting dance which is danced separate from one's partner. In many regions in West Africa, traditional dance is considered to be a part of language, a way to translate and communicate experiences. Dance is also a way by which different linguistic and cultural groups can represent and distinguish themselves. For example, the Mbalax dance is a significant cultural hallmark of Senegal, and the Bata dance is traditional to the Yoruba people of Southwest Nigeria. Most traditional dances throughout West Africa are designated to a specific gender, requiring careful practice and coordination in order for a dancer to fully express the meaning behind a given dance. For example, the Mbalax dance holds its origins as a part of ndut rite of passage ceremonies and is thus traditionally valued as a sacred process.