Comparing Western Music to African Music

Music in Africa has its roots from the traditional cultures. Africa has a vast context in music and historically, music in Africa is ancient rich and in different styles. This is according different cultures and nations of Africa. Music in Africa relies on percussion instruments like the drums and the flutes and thus making it quite different from the western music today. In different countries the music and dance vary depending on music traditions4. It is passed down from one generation to the other orally and therefore does not need writing.

African music is different from western music because some parts of the music are not in harmony. African music does not need harmonization of voices unlike western music western music which requires different voices sang together to make music beautiful4. Therefore, understanding African music is quite difficult to understand because it does not have any written tradition. There is no notation, no melody, no harmonies.it has a call and response nature where one voice sings a phrase which is echoed by another voice or instrument and eventually a rhythm is formed.

Western music on the other hand has its origin from the folk songs and music traditions of the England Scotland and Ireland. It has all the flows of musical notations, rhythms and can be read. Western music seems to have a pattern arrangement and not merely rhythmical patterns Both western and African are different when actually compared. And therefore, necessitates the researcher to look into their comparisons to denote the similarities and differences in both music aspects.

Problem Statement

African music is different from western music because some parts of the music are not in harmony. African music does not need harmonization of voices unlike western music western music which requires different voices sang together to make music beautiful. Western music on the other hand has its origin from the folk songs and music traditions of the England Scotland and Ireland. It has all the flows of musical notations, rhythms and can be read. Western music seems to have a pattern arrangement and not merely rhythmical patterns. This is a case compares western music to African music.

Research Questions

1. How does the comparison between these two forms of music tell us about Western imaginings of ‘Africa’ as an idea or place?

2. What is the African history on music during, (anti-) colonialism, representation, Afro-centrism?

The purpose of this case study is to analyze the comparisons between western music and African music in the context of anti- colonialism, representation and Afro-centrism.  Music is the art of conveying meanings and feelings via sound and relationship qualities.1 Western type of music started from the Europeans and their colonies, encompassed by most of western classics country and pop styles while African music is music organized by a group of people and involves mostly their lifestyle and their communal relationships.

Comparing African Music to Western Music

The role of music in a society is very important but many people misunderstand. The music speaks about the African man as he goes about his day from morning to evening. Even through all the changes of life Africans and music are inseparable.3 This therefore entails that a comparison be made between the western music and African music in terms of rhythm, meter time and beat.

Rhythm reflects the continuous presence of music.1 The statement actually refers to the existence of music and rhythm together. This in simple language is the regulation and order of the tune. Western music and African music view rhythm in relation to patterns of tone of long and short notes.

However, when comparing between the two types of music in terms of rhythm, African rhythm is seen to be influenced by social events and specific functions/ ceremonies like planting and harvesting time, during weddings and so on and according to western people this is quite complicated because there is no pattern to it. 5Western rhythm is controlled by patterns, bars and beats. The African rhythm is independently expressed which maintains the music. while the western rhythm involves being on the beat, bar lines making it different from the African rhythm.

Time, beat and meter in both types of music are different because African music is pentatonic especially in West African countrie6. The western music however has tonality which now makes it different. Western kind of music is usually so much delved more into pulsation and the beats.2 Therefore, a time line is always repeated and grouping the pulses together. The meter depends by clapping and ululations made by dancers while in the western meter are represented by measures in time normally 10 to 16 times.

African types of music, in most cases, will have beats that are provided by the dancers because they are part of the music and clapping, ululating and involving the audience. In western music the beat is, usually, influenced by the musicians4. This is different because the musicians of the African music always add an additional beat. The complicated rhythm has made the western view African music and Africans in general as complicated music and people. Even so western music follows the African roots of music. Western music is a modification of the African music.

The western music is noted while African music is passed through oral tradition. Western music is limited in terms of arts and audience. African music is communal and the audience is part of the music or artists. Western music is created and owned by one person while the African music is created and used by all.

Western music is separated from the day to day activities of life. African music stresses are on activities and societal ceremonies. Western music involves orchestral instruments grouped together but with African music there is a variety of instruments grouped under different categories such as strings, winds drums and self sounds. Western music has one rhythm while the African music has a complicated rhythm such as polyrhythms.6

Western Imaginings of Africa

The western believed that music can only be defined along the lines of great composers.6 The western view African music as being complicated in terms of rhythm and pentatonic scales. The western considers African music as noise and most of the instruments which were used did not exist as compared to the western orchestras.

Conclusion

The African and western music emerged in middle of the 19th century especially when England was colonizing most countries. However western music follows African music and is seen as a modification of the African music. As a result, the major difference in these two music categories is the complicated rhythm in the African music. However, the major similarity is the use of time signature.

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