MELORHYTHMUS INTERACTUM. Book 2 - Uso Music AFRICAN MINDS

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1 African claical enemble m u i c (Theory and drum-baed concert erie) MELORHYTHMUS INTERACTUM Book 2 - Uo Muic (INTERMEDIATE) Meki Nzewi and Odyke Nzewi AFRICAN MINDS

2 Thi erie i dedicated to the Nzewi grandchildren: Crytal, Pearl, Enyinna, Ekechi, Brian, Tobenna, Denzel, Zikora, Jade and Koy future exponent of the African claical muic genre. African Claical Enemble Muic: Theory and Drum-baed Concert Serie, Book 2 Uo Muic Publihed in 2009 by African Mind 4 Eccleton Place, Someret Wet, Centre for Indigenou Intrumental African Muic and Dance (CIIMDA) All right reerved Book 2 ISBN Serie ISBN Author: Meki Nzewi and Odyke Nzewi Reviewer: Profeor Dan C.C. Agu Muic typeetting and illutration: Odyke Nzewi Book deign and typeetting: Simon van Gend and Ro Campbell Production management: COMPRESS.dl

3 Co n t e n t Fo r e w o r d 1 Preface 1 I Ba c k g r o u n d 2 II Th e i d e a o f a n enemble 4 The factor of an enemble 5 Enemble texture Role of intrument 7 The logic of enemble frame Cognitive level of texture formation 9 Enemble intrument 10 III Theoretical principle 11 The literacy imperative 11 Factor of muical art literacy 12 Notating melorhythmic tructure 20 V 51 Performance guideline for concert piece 52 Melorhythmu Uo 1 56 Melorhythmu Uo 2 61 Melorhythmu Uo 3 67 Melorhythmu Uo 4 74 Melorhythmu Uo 5 77 Melorhythmu Uo 6 82 Melorhythmu Uo 7 89 Melorhythmu Uo 8 97 Melorhythmu Uo Melorhythmu Uo IV Textural framework for performance compoition 22 Compoing the pule layer 22 Compoing the phraing reference layer 23 Compoing the action motivation layer 23 Compoing the mother intrument layer 30 Form in indigenou African enemble muical art 30 Harmony 37 Performance compoition 38 Ca d e n c e 43 Body muic enemble 43 Dance and mime 51

4 African claical enemble muic Book 2 Preface Fo r e w o r d African Claical Enemble Muic: Theory and Drum-baed Concert Serie offer a theoretical and practical approach to African claical muic. It ucceed in projecting thoe feature of African muic which often elude the Wetern ear and enibility. Conequently, it chart a coure that will guide the young tudent to grow into a cholar, reearcher and profeional intrumentalit. The principle et out in the book are abiding. The author experience ha provided them with a direct connection to the heart of the matter, culminating in a rich expreion of expertie that will benefit the contemporary African muic cholar. The erie will alo erve a a valuable reference to future reearcher. Profeor Dan C.C. Agu Nnamdi Azikiwe Univerity Awka Nigeria Preface African muical art i a cience of pychological and phyiological health. It doe not promote uperficial entertainment apiration. Performance i more a matter of engendering benevolent pirituality, and thereby humanizing connection, than puruing the fantay of technique. The ound that i conidered muical i a ibling of the other creative art (choreographic, dramatic, cotume/decorative) performed and expreed in indigenou Africa by the ymbiotic term of the muical art. That i becaue the onic component underpin the communicative potency of the other creative and performance component. Every part of the human body i by intinct muically intelligent, and can be automatically expreive in muical art production. Hence Irael Anyahuru (1976) explicate that the hand gain the creative intellect to compoe by heer reflex once a peron become adept on an intrument: Not every compoitional equence played by the hand i mentally calculated. 1 The brain, however, remain the intellectual hub that brew, format, enitize and conform creativity and execution. The tudy of African muic that make ene in African term mut be grounded in indigenou African knowledge ytem, thu making it truly repreentative of indigenou Africa intellectual hitory in any international academic dicuion. The three book in thi erie are intended to empower literacy-driven enemble creativity that advance the philoophical, theoretical, medical and humanizing imperative of African indigenou muical art lore. They further complement the CIIMDA book erie: Learning the muical art in contemporary Africa, Volume 1 & 2, and A contemporary tudy of muical art, Volume 1 to 5. 1 Irael Anyahuru wa the foremot, articulate Igbo traditional mother muician who mentored Meki Nzewi on the philoophy, theory and human meaning of the African indigenou muical art. The quote i from trancribed recording of hi inightful tetimonie on African indigenou muical art. Thi African enemble muical art erie dicue apect of the compoitional theory and creative philoophy that characterize African indigenou muical art. The book can be introduced at any level of education. They are intended to facilitate purpoeful work/play-hopping activitie, and alo provide for modern concert performance that are faithful advancement of African indigenou knowledge ytem. The book contain written compoition that cater for theoretical tudie and concert performance. The deign timulate interactive muical art activitie a well a kindle pontaneou creative dipoition aimed at inculcating inter-peronal concioune elf-expreivity in the context of the original contribution of other. The introductory information input i the ame in the firt part of the three book. Thi i becaue a common philoophy and common theoretical principle underpin creative framework, compoitional grammar and the functional concept of the muical art irrepective of the level of expertie. The main activity content of the book erie provide for the progreive development of competence. Uer of thi book erie who deire additional inight into the philoophical, theoretical and humanitic underpinning of the African indigenou muical art knowledge ytem hould further conult A contemporary tudy of muical art, Volume 5 (Nzewi M and Nzewi O, 2007). There are particular African rhythmic contruct that are performed intuitively with eae, but which need to be conciouly analyzed and interpreted to undertand the underlying humanizing intention. We aume that peron engaging in the written approach to African enemble muic practice already have baic literacy competence. The three book are, therefore, tructured to accommodate uch level of ability to interpret written melorhythmic formulation of ome complexity. It mut be tated that implicity or complexity in the African indigenou muical art i not fancifully contrived. It i rather precribed by the utilitarian and humanitic apiration of a muical art type or piece. The erie alo take into conideration the level of kill needed to competently play any written concert piece. A uch, the degree of tructural complexity in the muical illutration, the textural template and the olo layer progree from Foundation knowledge, through the Intermediate to the Advanced. The concert piece in Book 3 thu optimally challenge the kill of the mother drummer in particular. Neverthele, the book do not dictate the age or level of modern muic education and cholarhip of potential uer. Claroom and profeional uer are expected to progre at their own pace, and tart with any book depending on their background knowledge in the theory and tructural principle that ditinguih indigenou African muical art, with particular reference to intrumental muic practice and unique enemble production. The philoophical, theoretical and human iue dicued in the firt part of the erie are neceary foreground knowledge irrepective of the level of practical expertie required to tackle the interactive activitie and concert piece in each book. For intance, a performer competent enough to traight away tackle the compoition in Book 2 or Book 3 will till need to be guided by the theoretical and philoophical grounding that i common to the three book. The thematic illutration, interactive activitie, and the textural template for compoition in the theoretical ection are, however, telecoped uch that uer can tackle what they are capable of at their level of kill. 1

5 African claical enemble muic Book 2 B background Experience of life and nature counel that the mot imple in nature or tructure often harbour profound humanitic value. The humanitic philoophy of group muic-making recognize that a imple muic contruct can command deeper intellectual thought or humanitic purpoe than a complex tructure. Iue, experience and manifetation of nature and life that are taken for granted becaue they appear imple or ordinary, often implicate profound virtue, or, a the cae may be, generate more prodigiou pychical and humanitic, in fact alubriou, value. Thu the implet looking African enemble motif or tructure can encode prodigiou human or enemble meaning. In contrat the gorgeou or ophiticated i often an otentatiou or egotitic exaggeration of the ordinary and the commonly acceible. Thee are the widom of African indigenou knowledge ytem that guide living an uncomplicated and ublime life, and which are inculcated through muical art tructure and performance relationhip. For intance, a i the cae in traditional African orthopedic urgery and muico-medical cience, a imple one bar rhythmic topo played repeatedly in the right atmopheric ambience, erve a anetheia or leep therapy. A uch, a peron already capable of tackling the more advanced compoitional material and example i advied to humbly acquaint hi or her elf with the virtue innate in the impler model of muical and life tructure. Indigenou African muical art encode, interpret and enable worthy living. African intrumental enemble muic, including interactive clapping game, i uperlative for adminitering pychological therapy. It procee the mindconditioning potential of indigenou muical art cience. Modern human, the elite a much a the underprivileged, are increaingly obeed with the dehumanizing puruit of materialim and intemperate elf-interet. The intangible force of group muical art activitie grounded in indigenou humanizing model, ha the capacity to reform uch harmful dipoition. It engender temperance a well a other-concioune. Thee are the bedrock of the African philoophy of humanne I am becaue you are; my pychological wellbeing derive from my repecting and enabling your wellbeing a a fellow human. The primary miion driving the concept and content of thi book erie i to contribute to re-enitizing the indigenou African philoophy and principle of humanene which can mediate the global promotion of intemperate individualim only-the-elf-matter which i propagated in modern education and achievement philoophy. Engendering mental health and other-concioune i thu the primary objective of thi enemble book erie. I Ba c k g r o u n d Human are by nature imaginative imitator. Ritualized imitation become a replicable and thereby ytematic procedure that endure a cultural practice. The intinct for imitation ha yielded the poken language. Language enculturation and diemination are, after all, procee of imitating the other. The idea of the muical art i not the original invention of mankind by virtue of a capability for abtract imagination. It i rather the outcome of human imaginative imitation of the facinating onic and ritual activitie of other life form and environmental performance. Thee ritual of relating, communicating and olacing evident in nature have become ritualitically and ytematically re-invented by human, then creatively advanced and continuouly re-invented to ervice expanding human purpoe. The creative and experimental geniu of the traditional African ha been able to philoophize, harne, creatively adapt and functionally deploy the potent energie of natural ource of ound. The outcome ha been tructure and motion configured a cience of mind and body health a well a the theory and practice of healthy community living and the humane management of people. The Centre for Indigenou Intrumental Muic and Dance Practice of Africa (CIIMDA) publihe reearched learning and cholarhip literature and DVD. The publication decribe and explain indigenou African creative conceptualization and apiration, the human meaning of the theoretical conformation, a well a their educational principle. 2 CIIMDA alo motivate concert and community 3 muical art creativity that advance indigenou model. Indigenou African cultural civilization exhibit common ideological, philoophical, theoretical and formal underpinning. Human movement, re-location and the mutual integration involved invariably compel an inter-borrowing and modification of cultural lore. Thi mutual interaction had been occurring between African culture group for generation before any contact with trange human cultural practice from outide the continent. Hence a common human-purpoed rationalization of cultural practice underpin the manifetation of amene encountered among African group. The underlying common principle command that the pychological and phyiological wellbeing of the human collective mut override peronal idioyncraie. Thi prioritizing of a collective humanity i central to ocio-political ytem a well a inventive exploration. Hence a trong concioune of community wa the hallmark of African mental and material civilization, life ytem and diplomatic dealing. And the muical art wa the mytical organizing agency a well a the validating authority that monitored, compelled and anctioned compliance. 2 The content of the three book in thi erie i partly informed by the author reearch and re-orientation interaction with muical art educator and learner during the CIIMDA coure in the SADC countrie of outhern Africa ince The erie ha alo been informed by the experience of adopting an experimental and creativity-intenive approach to African muic tudie at the Univerity of Pretoria, South Africa. 3 Our ene of community include any congregation of peron that i partaking in a muical art workhop/playhopping experience. The idea and principle of making muical art with other convert a group into a piritually and practically bonded a well a communing aembly. 2

6 African claical enemble m u i c Bo o k 2 B ba c k g r o u n d The muical art in indigenou Africa wa thu an applied cience and art that wa conceived, conformed and deployed a an all-incluive communal activity. It mandate i to imperceptibly ocialize, humanize and promote the ideal of belonging to, and living in, a community. The cience of onic and choreographic tructure and interaction exorcize inhibition and individualim. It alo ober egotitic drive, ignite creative aptitude and build elf-confidence while at the ame time accommodating the natural aptitude and the particular creative capabilitie of other. Muical art performance in indigenou African culture are commonly organized according to age and gender: children, maiden, boy, married women and married men. There are alo mixed gender group, excluive occupational group a well a performance that include all age and gender categorie interactively. Performance a ma communion require all member of a group or community to participate actively in either playing intrument or dancing and acting and oberving interactively. Age-gender and aociated categorie give a ocio-cultural identity to common-interet group. The muical art enacted group olidarity and facilitated the performance of pecific extra-muical role in the affair of a ociety or community. Rehearal and performance occaion were opportunitie for member to come together and plan, dicu and tranact iue of common interet in the beyond-normal atmophere that a muical aemblage evoke. A muical art enemble give a ene of belonging and thereby accord pychological tability and emotional ecurity. In indigenou culture children autonomou muical art activitie are recognized but not necearily organized or controlled by adult. Indigenou African children creative geniu i recognized, and they are given opportunitie to independently explore a well a manage their inventive capabilitie. Thi enable children to contribute and participate competently, and with comparable kill, alongide adult in ome general muical art type that are not age-gender excluive. In community affair, children are not excluded from oberving adult tranaction of important ocial, political, religiou and artitic iue. A child perform ide by ide with the parent who i an acknowledged pecialit in a knowledge field uch a healing, pottery, intrumental muic, farming, viual art, etc. A uch, mot African children mature into tandard kill at an early age. Children take full reponibility for conceptualizing, theorizing, compoing, rehearing, equipping and performing a categorically children genre. Adult are however welcome to offer advice or criticim. A children muical art type can be a theoretically and tructurally complex a ome adult creation. Children muical art group can be ad hoc, uch a pontaneou play activitie. There are alo formally organized and communally recognized type, epecially group that perform tylized formation dance that adult can upervie and patronize. Only member who have learnt and reheared the muic and choreographic tructure and equence of the dance a a team can perform in tylized formation dance. In contemporary experience exogenou governmental, law and order, religiou, communication, economic, and chool education ytem have condemned, upplanted and rejected the ocial theory and practice that cohered traditional ocietie. The reult i that the humane and community conciou attribute that mark the original African mind have become diparaged and exorcized by modern religion, ocial theorie and educational philoophy. A uch children autonomou muical art creation have become diadvantaged by modern lifetyle, which negate and corrupt cultural cutodian of virtue, value and morality uch a the muical art. Neverthele, the genetic knowledge of indigenou muical art i till trong in many contemporary young African. We dicovered thi doing practical reearch into children muical art activitie in the pat fifteen year. Hence CIIMDA education theory and methodology trive to re-awaken the inherent muical art intinct of African children through the deign of cultureinformed educational literature, material and practical activitie. The indigenou education paradigm that inform thi erie recognize the teacher a an enthuiatic facilitator, and not necearily an expert. The teacherfacilitator doe not, therefore, need to already be grounded in the theory, philoophy and creative principle of African indigenou muical art ytem a a written procedure. She i not expected to already be a killed modern claical drummer or a performer on any other intrument in order to competently preide over the tudy and performance of African modern claical enemble muical art in the claroom or other forum. Participation in the muical art of any indigenou African orientation with or without previou expoure i the innate capability of every African, and indeed every human. The humanizing experience through practical participation i everybody fundamental right. Thi i the humanitic philoophy that informed the deign, technology and performance technique on mot African indigenou muic intrument. Hence the intrument were conceived and contructed to enable the eay acquiition of baic performance kill that could be developed to expert level without the need for extenive formal tutorhip. However, expertie grow with intuitive private exercize a well a playing contantly with other during creativity-enhancing rehearal and/or performance. The technique for modern claical drumming emphaized in thi book erie can be learnt at any age and tage of education or life. The baic technique and kill can be acquired in the firt few learning eion. Contant exercize on the written activitie and piece in thi erie a well a individual creative exploration will lead to gaining profeional expertie a a modern claical African drummer in a hort time. The primary human meaning and purpoe of the indigenou muical art are to anitize and regenerate communal and individual health pychological and phyiological. When the group pyche i polluted, dieaed and diabled, the human collective become piritually and communally dioriented, a in the contemporary African experience. The current experience of imported modern civilization all over Africa i the inculcation of individualim a well a the inhuman atrocitie that come with it. Where the group pyche i healthy and contantly cleaned of diabling experience, the godly group etho become recharged with concioune for eeking the common good, guarded by communal will. Performing in group-oriented muical art enure a healthy peronal and group pyche. It humanize and utain a communal etho a well a heal individual. Enemble muical art creation and performance that are informed by indigenou African creative authority are piritual communion that generate godly intinct and boot the ublime piritual dipoition of active participant. The metaphyical interaction of haring in tructural interplay enable an awarene of other human. It bond participant together and temper any elf-oriented attitude and worthle puruit. 3

7 African claical enemble muic Book 2 The idea of an enemble Apart from engendering mind and body health, the tructural and formal principle of enemble muical art of an indigenou African orientation intill the concioune that another human i a complement of me. There i a critical need to re-cultivate uch ocial attitude in modern ociety. Thi argue for adopting and advancing the indigenou African theory of tructure and form a curricula imperative at all level of the modern chool education ytem a much a at group muical art activity forum. Equally important for forming a broad-minded intellect i the need to integrate the tudie of muic, dance, drama, and motive viual art a a creative ynergy. The modern lifetyle doe not offer much opportunity for ening and correcting one abnormal attribute. The participation in humanly-ennobling live muical art enable the concioune of one body language and the therapeutic performance of negative dipoition. A hy body and an inhibited temperament can gain public confidence in freetyle ocial dance and mime activitie. An extroverted ego can be tamed in the group dicipline of enemble muical art relationhip. II The idea of an enemble Leaderhip that i conumed with ingular elf-interet inevitably compromie the common interet of the follower that he i a cutodian of. Thi i the current experience of leaderhip in every ector of African public and private life, and that indeed afflict global humanity. Leaderhip a modelled in, and monitored by, indigenou African muical art prioritize guarding the common interet of the collective. The idea of an enemble command the pooling of particular thematic potential to accomplih a ingular objective. And a theme can be hared between two or more participant. The taging of a muical art activity in traditional Africa invariably adhered to the mandatory enemble principle that a community of individual mut contribute and interact differentiated attribute to accomplih a common goal. Even a olo muic performance can be imaginatively tructured to convey enemble preence. The indigenou muical art i a holitic creative and production enterprie. It i poible to iolate and analyze the individual artitic merit of each creative component. It wa not common, however, in traditional Africa, to preent one artitic ub-field in iolation a a functional public performance. Thu a muical performance in olitude invariably implicate notional dance and drama; a dance being performed in public pace without any muic complement would then be regarded a the antic of a mentally deranged peron. A peron who exercize a rational intellect in varied dimenion of creativity and/or productivity nurture a broad-minded outlook on iue and life generally. Thi i in contrat to the mental health of modern aembly-line production logic or micro-diciplinary pecialization. A mind that i focued on one tream of intellectual activity develop a narrow-minded perception of life and iue, like a monomaniac. Thi truim i proven by the tenion generated by the micro-diciplinary orientation in contemporary education and the profeional practice of the muical art, more o by the emerging faction within the everely iolated muic ibling of the holitic dicipline. The human philoophy and creative mentality that inform enemble muical art tructure and relationhip are grounded in human and community-building imperative. Indigenou muical art education inculcate multiple creative aptitude while acknowledging pecialized capabilitie. A unknowledgeable analyt may not eaily recognize the multi-artitic in-put implicated in what may appear to be dicrete muical or dance or dramatic creation. Thu a muic piece could be appreciated a ound at the ame intant that it: Evoke imagination of dance movement Generate a tate of altered concioune dramatic emotion and geture that communicate metaphyical drama Include viual art creation and object with ignificant or ymbolic motion and text Elevate ordinary language to poetic level that conjure unordinary meaning. 4

8 African claical enemble m u i c Bo o k 2 Th e idea o f an enemble In traditional African culture the muical art are not conceived, created or performed a purpoele entertainment. A much a there were baic contemplative and aethetic ideal informing the experiencing of the artitic qualitie, entertainment i carcely ever the primary or ole reaon for creativity or performance. Thi i the reaon the concert hall type of paive audience, which neither participate actively nor timulate the pontaneou creative exploration of the performer, conflict with African enibility. The ideal i that everybody preent in a performance event contribute empathically to the artitic proce at variou level and to variou degree. A muical art experience then become a communally hared piritual communion in the proce of accomplihing the ocietal and/or humanitic purpoe of the performance event. At the interactive and piritual level of effect and affect, the indigenou muical art of Africa are therefore, conceptually and tructurally functional: Socializing and humanizing the individual a well a the collective pyche Activating and fotering creative thinking, and enabling creative emancipation in the context of group recognition/upport Healing pychical and phyiological indipoition Bonding peron and group Engendering and policing morality a well a humane virtue and value Marhalling the execution of purpoeful ocietal action and occupational indutry Facilitating aggreive or conciliatory geture Conducting diplomatic initiative and reconciliation at peronal and inter-community level Validating ocietal intitution, accomplihment and polity deciion a well a action Tempering mood, relieving tenion and uplifting doldrum Tranforming acquired obnoxiou attitude, and anctioning deviant action Exorciing inhibited dipoition, obering obnoxiou ego a well a containing other non-alutary attribute Critiquing, anctioning, anctifying and anitizing unacceptable trend in the conduct of political ytem, and other public affair Invoking and interacting intangible benevolent pirit force for pecific intervention in the affair of the living, and to facilitate relationhip, conduct communion a well a dicharge divine obligation Inpiring performance of pecific public and peronal tak in good pirit Providing recreation and phyical fitne activitie. The muical art altogether imbue humane and godly dipoition. Traditionally, it wa a ocio-religiou intitution, and it doctrine, injunction and action commanded mandatory compliance. The factor of an enemble Intention A performer in an indigenou African enemble play a recognizable theme on an intrument or voice. We refer to uch a ditinctive theme a a layer that fulfil a tructural role in the conformation of an enemble texture. Performer then interact with their repective theme in a pirit of play to produce a purpoeful muical art product. The pirit of play that mark an enemble demand recognizing fellow participant a enitive human, a well a valuing everybody individual contribution, irrepective of ize or role. A play i a piritually enriching omatic experience. In an enemble, more than one peron could play the ame type of intrument contributing the ame or different theme, or play the ame enemble theme in union on different intrument, or could combine to hare one enemble action or thematic layer. A peron contributing a pecific component of enemble wholene mut be acutely conciou of the other, whoe different contribution are eential for the atifactory outcome of the enemble objective. The concioune of haring input, time, effort and energy in dicharging a common objective i a bonding experience. Appropriate muical art activity enitize genuine other-concioune, thereby leading to collaborative intinct. Such quality of mind can endure through life and o humanize life and relationhip in ociety. The practical activitie in thi erie aim to intill the humanitic ideal that ground the tructure and texture of indigenou enemble theory. Leaderhip Commendable and endearing leaderhip thrive in the context of an affirmative and utained choru or community. A leader i the driving component of a holitic group tranacting an undertaking or product. An enemble muical art production require a leader. Two type of leaderhip role are recognized: The organizational leader and the artitic leader. Sometime the ame peron fulfill the two leaderhip capabilitie. Artitic leaderhip require an overall knowledge of the creative and performance apect of the muical art type. In claroom muical art production ituation, a teacher could be the organizational leader without necearily alo being the artitic leader. An able leader demontrate a pecial dipoition that command the trut, confidence and repect of the peer and colleague involved in accomplihing a community enterprie. The leaderhip attribute alo ugget a dipoition which repect and inpire follower. A leader in the indigenou African ocial, political and muical art practice i conciou of the interet of everybody, and echew favouritim. A enible leader recognize that the collective or choru i alway more important than the leader. For intance, in the indigenou African context of choral, intrumental or combined enemble, the hape and identity of a piece i ecure without the lead oloit, but become more enriching and communicative with the oloit role. Thi i o even in intance where the leader voice carrie the identity of a particular piece. A oloit performing her layer of an enemble piece in the abence of the choru (the community) will not make muical or human ene in a public etting. A uch a leader can only emerge, feel ecure a well a be credited in the context of a grounding choru or a community bae. 5

9 African claical enemble muic Book 2 The idea of an enemble In claroom or other enemble workhop ituation every participant mut take a turn at playing a olo when the group or community upport i etablihed. Thi performance principle give everybody a chance to create or perform the elf (expre elf-confidence or individual human merit/peronality) in the context of upportive other. Intrument 4 A muical art enemble informed by indigenou practice hould rely on the intrument available in any chool or community environment. Thi i a leon from children muical art in African tradition. The health and other humanitic cience underpinning indigenou muical art entailed reearching the material and deign of intrument that produce healing timbre. Compoitional apiration produce tructural configuration that condition attitude and dipoition. The cience of human health and relationhip that characteried indigenou muical art hould undercore contemporary educational culture tudie and practical activitie. The choice of intrument and the rationalization of compoitional tructure are critical for attaining thi objective. However, the non-availability of health-imbuing intrument cannot be an excue for not prioritizing performance. The indigenou education paradigm demontrate that theory i bet aimilated in the context of practical experience. In the abence of intrument with healing potency, attention hould focu on tructural element that tranact the humanizing and health objective of enemble muic practice. Intrument made of ynthetic material produce lifele ound that are muical but can be harmful to enitive body tiue and organ. The human body and drum made of natural material are commonly available and are the veratile muical intrument of Africa. They are a uch central to the practical activitie contained in thi book erie. The body a a muical intrument: The baic intrument that i available everywhere for enemble play i the human body. Variou body part and organ of the people who have come together for a muical art activity already contitute adequate intrumental reource for muical art creativity and performance to take place. The vocal organ are ued for ong with or without text. The muical voice, which i every peaking peron natural gift, i alo capable of imulating the onic peculiarity and enemble role of many other material intrument. The hand are unique muical intrument and can produce variation of tone color. Well-tructured clapping activitie can contitute an enemble play, a will be demontrated in thi erie. The clap i harp when flat palm are clapped together, becoming ploive when the palm are cupped or when a flat palm trike the hollow hape of the other hand, formed by lightly folding the finger. Muical ound like drumming can be produced by hitting the chet with cupped palm or clenched fit. 4 Indigenou muical intrument have been dicued in numerou publication on African muic including the CIIMDA book erie. Another component of enemble tructure i the rhythmic tamping of the feet, which can be ued to mark the pule of an enemble play or to play other enemble role when a rattle i tied to any region of the intrumentalit or dancer leg. Muical ound produced by the body include whitling, mouth-drumming, lip-macking and other onic effect. The drum: The African concept of a drum i an intrument that can produce more than one level of tone. It i not an explicitly melody intrument, but the tonal ambience derive from ubtle fundamental pitche. It i thu a quinteentially melorhythm intrument that produce muical theme that can be ung. A melorhythm intrument produce logogenic or narrow-range tune. Any drum or other intrument capable of producing more than two ditinct level of tone that are not pure pitche, i conidered a melorhythm intrument. Thi implie that the theme played on uch an intrument i fundamentally melodic. Some drum functionally imulate the poken language, hence talking drum. A typical African drum ha a reonating chamber, and i not commonly conceived to play percuive muic, although it can, and i often ued purpoefully to play percuive tructure. A wide variety of type and pecie of drum are available throughout African culture beyond the avanna belt. The cience of material and the technological deign of drum enable a typical drum to generate raw harmonic potent onic vibration that maage brain and body tiue dicreetly, and therefore erve therapeutic objective. Some drum boot compoure and mind-body health in appropriate performance context when appropriate tructural configuration are played on them. Any categorically African drum mut then have a determinable fundamental note of meaurable pure pitch eence. The cluter or raw harmonic mak the fundamental pitch. Hence a non-pecialit litener cannot eaily detect the pitch eence of a tone. Mortar-haped, ingle membrane drum do, however, produce very vibrant definite pitche. The technology and deign of a kin drum inform how muical ound i produced on it. African drum type include: The ingle-headed kin drum, the hollow hell of which i open at the bottom Single-headed kin drum with the kin ecured to a mortar-framed hell Double membrane drum of any pecie that have kin membrane at either end of a hollow hell. The type of wood and animal kin for making drum depend on the community environmental reource (wood or animal). Drum cience, however, need pecific animal kin; the kin of every animal i not automatically uitable for building drum. The device for affixing the kin membrane to the wooden frame vary according to cultural ingenuity. Another type of drum found in ome foret region of Africa i the motly cylindrical lit wooden drum, which varie in ize from 30 cm to 3 metre long. The giant one can be up to1.5 metre high. The lit drum i the original talking (peech urrogate) drum. The very large one normally have metaphyical acrip- 6

10 African claical enemble m u i c Bo o k 2 Th e idea o f an enemble tion, and ymbolize a community etho a well a being ued in pecial muical art performance. There are two pecie of clay pot drum: the ordinary, large water-pot drum that i played a a ba pule intrument, and the muical pot with two hole that i ued to play melorhythmic tune. Other type of drum, which are not a common, include varietie of bamboo and calabah drum. Generally the drum i very central to African enemble muic. In thi publication the drum i the primary intrument of focu, but could be ubtituted with other melorhythm intrument, African or otherwie, available in any enemble location. Enemble texture Role of intrument Role-playing in indigenou enemble theory The precription of role in indigenou African enemble muic i modelled on the role ditinction that characterize a coherent nuclear human family. An indigenou enemble muic tyle or type i made up of individual layer of theme that contribute to it characteritic enemble identity. The title of a piece within a type or tyle identifie the outcome of the compoite enemble ound and/or the ocietal meaning communicated by that ound within a tyle of enemble muic. The thematic component of the enemble ound are conceived of a playing muical role, not muical part a in European claical muic theory. A muical part connote purely the muical rationalization of tructural dependency that i hierarchically ordered in a typical European claical orchetra. The ditinction of playing a role implie dicharging a pecialized function in the enemble texture. Thi implie that an extra-muical objective may inform the onic feature and tructural character of every layer of an enemble texture. A uch, every enemble role ha a particular tructural and formal character. All the role that combine to give identity to a muic type or piece interact to produce a compoite enemble theme that we have termed the Enemble Thematic Cycle (ETC). Ideally, it i thi baic textural content, the compoite enemble theme or the ETC, that i recycled a a recurring framework for compoing the performance outcome of a piece. And recycling implie that the ignificant textural framework of the ETC i not repeated exactly for the duration of a piece. Rather, the content of the block of ound known a the ETC i continually given internal variation (pontaneou re-compoition of a familiar hape and ound) in the coure of a performance. The idea that theme played by intrument of an enemble hould exhibit independent tructural and enemble identity characterize the human foundation of indigenou African muic theory. The differentiated tructure of enemble layer are not conceived in hierarchical term and a uch do not derive from the tructure of a principal enemble theme. The rationalization of enemble theme or texture layer i informed by extra-muical philoophy and principle. The principle of muical form, texture and performance are onic tranformation of ocietal living, and implicate the ideal of how a human family hould function. The metaphorical medium of ound, dance and drama then encode tangible ocial tructure a well a the model etho of a ociety. The enation of muic, dance and drama trancend the normal, and therefore affect the mind powerfully a the piritual experiencing of mundane life. Hence the muical art i in the African indigenou imagination an intangible pirit force that coerce compliance with what it command or communicate. Muical art communication, verbal or otherwie, are regarded and received a divine injunction. Hence the indigenou muical art in Africa wa effectively a divine intitution. It mandate wa to tranact and enure the ideal functioning of other ocial, political, religiou, medical and economic ytem and intitution. All finger are not equal, and the particular ize of every finger enable it to perform a particular function. All the finger then co-act a a unit to carry out the normal function of the hand. Similarly in a muic enemble, the component muical intrument play theme of differentiated tructure and qualitie while the combined role produce the required effect, affect and repone that characterize a coheive piece. All the role may not be concretely repreented in every enemble type. The eential feature that mark a role can be incorporated in the muical line/ aigned to available intrument. The enemble role which intrument play in typical indigenou African enemble muic are a follow: The pule intrument repeat a theme that erve a the heartbeat of an enemble. Thi give an earthy or grounded feeling to the muical mood. The regular beat of the pule theme focue the tructural identitie of the theme played in the other enemble layer. The pule theme i normally allocated to the deepet ounding intrument, and mark the main beat of the metre, often with minor embellihment. The tructure of a pule theme i normally reiterated without variation, internal or external, for the duration of a piece. A the pillar of an enemble texture, the pule theme pound the pace, which i followed by the other intrument a well a the dancer when preent. The feet tep to the baic beat (pule) of muic a a guide for the manipulation of the body part in the dance. In ma medley dance individual choreographic elaboration on a dance motif are created on the foundation of the feet, which firt regularly tep to the pule of the muic. The pule role can be compared to the role of a father, who maintain the pule of family life in the home without being too active or talkative. The phraing reference (PR) intrument play a topo 5 that act a a guide beacon for the other enemble member to determine the length and phraing of their repective theme. The phraing reference theme i ounded on a high, uually the harpet, muical object in an enemble. The intrument could be a imple a two piece of hard wood or any other hard, harp ounding object. The PR i perceived at the pychological level a the ignpot for phraing a well a reolving the pontaneou external development improviation or performance compoition of theme aigned to other enemble intrument. A uch it mut remain teady and unvaried for the duration of the piece, or a ignificant ection thereof. The PR role can be aigned to a newcomer in enemble muic becaue the dicipline of exactly repeating a hort muical tatement i good training in automatically performing a conitent action while litening attentively to what 5 A hort, ditinct, and often memorable rhythmic figure of modet duration, uually played by the bell or a high pitched intrument, and erve a a point of temporal reference for the theme and thematic development played by other enemble intrument 7

11 African claical enemble muic Book 2 The idea of an enemble other are aying or playing. The mind tart focuing on and aborbing the pecific nature, a well a the inter-relationhip, of other enemble layer a the reflex action of repeating the imple PR theme tabilize and become automatic. The newcomer alo begin to perceive how the more mature player execute the pontaneou elaboration of the ignificant ound of variou enemble theme. By the time the newcomer i confident enough to tranfer to other enemble intrument, he intuitively know how to manipulate their particular enemble expreion in the coure of imultaneou enemble compoition. In indigenou muic performance it i the norm that more than one peron can be compoing pontaneou internal variation or external elaboration on their repective theme at the ame time. African indigenou creative ideology encourage enemble participant (muic or dance) to exercize variou degree and technique of pontaneou compoitional elaboration of a baic theme. The only exception i the PR role. The theme it play i not critical for the identity of a piece. It doe not determine the muicological or choreographic elaboration of the baic onic/choreographic motif of the other thematic layer that give an enemble piece it pecial identity. Hence the ame PR theme could erve numerou piece and enemble type. Experienced player intinctively feel it eence if it i abent in an enemble. The PR intrument could be compared to the baby in a family. The highpitched ound and repetitive action of a baby command the contant attention of other mature member of the family, irrepective of other intricate tak they may be performing in the home. The ame tandard framework, individual or combined, of the pule and phraing Reference intrument can erve unlimited enemble compoition/choreography in indigenou muical art ytem. However, the baic tructure of the theme, particularly the PR theme, i different for the quadruple common and quadruple compound metre. The quadruple compound metre i more prevalent in the African indigenou muical art ytem. There are internal variant of the tandard nature of the pule and PR theme in the two metric order of 4/4 and 12/8. However, it i normal practice that only one variant i elected to frame the compoition of a muic or dance piece. It mut be noted that the baic four beat theme without any internal elaboration of the Pule role i the ame for compoition in both quadruple common and compound metre. The pule and phraing reference role, independently or in combination, provide the common, foundational ub-tructural frame of reference for enemble muic texture in virtually all African culture. What then determine and ditinguihe cultural muical art diveritie, peculiaritie, tyle and type depend on how a culture hape the other uper-tructural enemble layer. The material and technology of intrument alo contribute to ditinguihing the muical art ound and tyle of African cultural group. In ome intance, any or both enemble role may not be independently featured or articulated in an enemble piece. The reaon could be primarily becaue any averagely competent African muical art creator/performer internalize, through enculturation, their combined enemble ene. Experienced enemble performer can alo incorporate the eential element of the pule and phraing reference tructure in the configuration of other enemble theme. In the phyical abence of the two role, an enemble muic texture could till make ene in term of thematic inter-relationhip. Sonically articulating any or both role harnee the tructural tability of a familier and complete enemble compoition, epecially performance that entail unreheared and context-enitive, pontaneou performance compoition. In indigenou African enemble muic, the two enemble role then ideally combine to erve a a baic orchetra/enemble framework. They could be decribed a erving the role of Conductor who organize, cue and pace the idioyncratic, creative contribution of other role-player. In the European claical enemble muic convention, for example, the human Conductor ha taken over the role of managing the performance of enemble muic. The human Conductor i redundant in a performance enemble informed by African culture and performance education. It i crucial to alway include the two enemble role in claroom tudy and concert performance of enemble muical art which enitize interperonal humanizing communion. In the contemporary milieu learner and enemble participant in enemble muic activitie generally lack the enculturated intinctive ene of the pule and phraing reference a regulator of performance compoition and enemble creative communion. Indigenou muical art inculcate the humanizing ideal of community concioune and the pontaneou elf, which are critical in the realization of human-oriented and culturally ecure contemporary education. The pontaneou, context-enitive nature of performance compoition lead to elf-dicovery. The action motivation (AM) role can be aigned to one or more intrument in an enemble. The combination of intrument can be of the ame or different intrument type and pecie. There can be more than one AM layer in an enemble. Each intrument type/pecie played by one or more peron can then have a eparate theme. Two or more intrument can alo hare one AM theme layer in any proportion. In a haring arrangement, the thematic fraction contributed by the collaborating intrument can overlap without obcuring the ignificant thematic ene. Ditinctive AM theme can alo be inter-tructured to bring about a ingular role theme. The combined onic character of any preferred tructural combination and arrangement of thematic layer contituting the AM role generate the energy impule that galvanize motive repone to a muic piece. The nature of uch repone activitie enable the accomplihment of the enemble muic tyle/type/piece purpoe. Competent performer on the AM intrument can undertake internal variation of aigned theme. Thi produce a cumulative effect that increae the energy or effectual potency of the enemble ound over performance time. AM intrument can be compared to the young ibling in a family who pool their repective dutie and individual capabilitie to accomplih the routine tak of family living. The active and interactive young people are normally allowed ome degree of creative freedom in dicharging aigned tak. They thereby acquire the dicipline of imaginative management of the aigned activity/theme a well a of reiting impule to be over-exuberant in a manner that ditort family coheivene. An obbligato intrument i an additional intrument in an enemble. The muical ene and functional apiration of the enemble i ordinarily complete in it abence. However, it preence enriche the aethetic richne of the enemble. An obbligato intrument i commonly a melody intrument. It can be compared to extended family member whoe viit enrich a nuclear family communion 8

12 African claical enemble m u i c Bo o k 2 Th e idea o f an enemble without necearily being tructural to the functioning of the routine activitie of a nuclear family. The mother intrument perform the ditinguihed role of the mother a the director of family living. It i the director of enemble purpoe and muical ene. It i, of coure, the mot creatively active member of an enemble. The mother intrumentalit marhal the muical and extra-muical action that tranpire in context-baed muical art performance. A uch he i the mot prominent performance compoer in an enemble, and engage in elaborate external development of her ignificant enemble theme. Sometime the theme played on the mother intrument repreent the ignificant theme by which a piece of muic i recognized. Since an indigenou muical art performance i not normally prefabricated or fixed in content and duration, the role include the reponibility for determining the duration a well a the end point of a piece. In performance time he alo regulate the change from one ection of a performance form to another in enemble compoition that have marked ection without break. The reponibility of the mother intrument for the general muical and contextual outcome of an enemble performance i comparable to the role of a mother in a normal African traditional family. The ame way a mother/woman ha the divine mandate to nurture life a well a organize a family, the muical art i divinely mandated to effectively organize and nurture human mind and live, including ocietal ytem. The original African widom accord feminine attribute and capabilitie to the muical art. Hence indigenou muical art terminology deignate the muician or intrument with the leaderhip reponibility to organize the muical a well a contextual buine of an enemble a the mother muician or intrument. It doe not matter if the mother muician i a man; he i till referred to metaphorically a a mother muician. The modern European mentality dicue and rationalize expertie in muic with the maculine attribute of the mater muician/intrument. Thi ha inevitably influenced the manner in which muic ha become re-conceptualized and re-formulated by the modern macho mind to contradict the original attribute and purpoe of muic: to nurture the mind and organize life in a humanity-conciou community. The logic of enemble frame Cognitive level of texture formation The normative texture of typical African enemble muic can be dicued a compriing three functional ector. A cognitive perception of the tructural ene and feature of the ector will explain how enemble muic i rationalized to impact on the mind. In the context thereof we can appreciate how muical art conception and creation realize it purpoe. Thi will inform a formula for undertanding and analyzing the morphology of functional muicology that inform and form indigenou African creative theory and procedure. The morphology alo procee the proactive capacity of the muical art a an applied cience of humanity and ociety management. Indigenou African muical art imagination i motly about harneing the tangible nature and intangible force active in the univere to manage alubriou mind and ocietal ytem. Thi i what contemporary creative apiration, academic tudie and public performance which are African in ene, meaning and purpoe hould alo trive to achieve. The ector of an enemble entity can be compared to the human form, a houe, or a tree that ha three functional ector. The creative and functional ideation characteritic of the muical art can be compared to the outline form of the human peron or a tree. Thi warrant reflecting on the creative logic and functional attribute. The creative morphology, or mould, of a muical art prototype ha three cognitive ector. Thee can be dicued a the Leg ector (ground level), the Toro ector (middle level) and the Head ector (top level). Each level can make ene in iolation a a enible muical art contruct. Ideally the three ideational level connect and mutually interact to define a holitic frame. The ector are tructurally inter-linked in the ame manner a an umbilical cord connect with the placenta and the fetu in the proce of nurturing a baby. The proce of inemination, nurturing and delivering the functional, fully formed muical art fetu inform thi analogy. We could a uch imagine the ground ector producing live muic a the placenta, the middle ector a the umbilical cord, and the top ector a the fetu: An enemble conceive, nurture and give birth to a live muical force a onic baby. The idea of producing another human life form in the head, take root in the placenta, and the umbilical cord ferrie utenance from the mother to the fetu. The new life entity attain it hape and identity a the baby whoe peronality i thereafter fahioned by it unique mind. Ground level or root ector The Leg factor The leg, ground or earth orientation of action prop up entitie or idea (body, houe, tree). An enemble frame hould have a olid ground upport a part of it morphology. The leg a uch i the factor of baic muicality. When the ground level of the idea i ecure in pace-time logic, the material and element that hape the identity of a muical art contruct can be uper-tructurally formulated. The foundational ground level i thu not an identifier of any pecific muical art tyle or type or item. Rather it provide a ecure and functional framework, an under-tructure for the realization of limitle onic creation, the repective identitie of which depend on the peculiaritie of the other two level. The thematic feature that mark the pule and phraing reference role combine to form the leg ector. Both have been dicued above a contituting the foundation for a muical art texture to take hape. When the two, or ometime only one in iolation, are etablihed the motor impule for muic and dance creativity and activity i timulated. The feet will lead to what and where and how the enemble muical art action can attain fulfillment uch that: elfchoreographed dance or geture or vocal tune will then begin to gain tructured enemble ene; and uper-tructural textural line will furnih the tylitic or typological identity and purpoe of a compoition. The ground ector i alo the piritual foundation of an enemble. The ordinary activitie of a community derive pychic balance and ethereal inpiration repectively from the pirit force of the Earth Deity (the fecund pule role) and the mytical force (baby nature) of the heavenly realm (the guiding phraing reference role). 9

13 African claical enemble muic Book 2 Theoretical principle A pule theme can incorporate element of other enemble role, and thereby erve an additional enemble role, uch a functioning a the action motivation in intance of inufficient intrument or player. Middle ector The Toro factor Thi i the activity-generating ector of the frame of the muical art, human peron or plant. The textural part that contitute thi middle level of compoition execute action that are grounded and propped up by the leg ector. The tructural formation of the toro provide the textural framework for identifying a muical art tyle or type, but not the pecific piece or title. The intrumental and age-gender pecification featured in thi ector of an enemble frame are equally identifier of tyle and type, but not the determinant of a pecific muic piece. Hence ome muic and/or dance tyle or type in a culture can take the name of the particular intrument/ or human category involved in their production. The layer of theme in thi ector ramify to recommend, a well a engineer, the character of bodily or purpoeful repone to a muic type or item. Thi i the ector that generate and utain the energy for carrying out the intention of a muical art production. The tructural relationhip between the theme played by the action motivation intrument in an enemble texture contitute the toro ector. It i the factor or level of the meaning, onic peronality, or umbilical cord of a typical African enemble. The collective muicality deriving from the nature of repective thematic contribution by the action motivation intrument can be compared to how the houlder, chet, hand, tomach, internal organ, wait, and buttock work together to accomplih a deired body movement or function. In other word, the pecific muical art type i already mobilized and poied to fulfill the purpoe of it creation a will be pecifically identified, directed and coordinated by the Head factor. Sometime, epecially when there i no mother intrument, the tructural ene of the action motivation intrument can provide the identity of a pecific piece, in the ame way a the nature of the toro can ugget the gender, age and action potential of a peron. Roof ector The Head factor Given that the leg factor carrie and prop action and the toro galvanize and execute a required activity or tate of being, the head i needed to identify the peron, the actor peronality, and the creative intention. The enemble head i the brain, the wellpring of creative apiration. Thi ector i the uperlative layer of a muical texture in term of the enemble factor commanding primary viual, aural and contemplative attention. The mother intrument role then contitute the head ector, which determine and communicate objective and enational onic contruction. The mother muician, who compoe thi top level, i the brain that direct the viible, functional and contemplative action, a well a the perception of the muical art intention in proce. It thereby communicate the ditinctive identity and purpoe of a piece of muic. She alo coordinate the function and action of the intrument operating at the middle ector. An obbligato intrument, when preent, i a upplement to thi layer. It doe not marhal action or direct the enemble. It provide a onic compliment that aethetically enhance the overall enemble ound. Enemble intrument The choice of intrument for an enemble will depend on the intrumental reource available to a group in a given enemble or claroom location. Where no material intrument at all are available, the human body provide a complete enemble intrument. The muical mouth could ue onomatopoeia to imulate the ound of all or ome of the enemble texture role, a i ome time a performance feature of indigenou African muic. The muical body could alo furnih a complete enemble of body ound a we have already indicated. An African adage intruct: The reource for making fire that are available in a people environment are adequate for cooking their meal. A much a thi book dicue African enemble theory and intrument reource, the muic intrument of any world culture could be ubtituted a appropriate, epecially given the contemporary imperative of inter-culturim and globalim. Pule intrument The pule intrument i any deep ounding intrument, commonly the deepet ounding, in an enemble. The ideal i generally a melorhythm intrument uch a a deep voiced membrane drum (ingle or double membrane), a giant-ized bell, the ba wooden lab/ of a xylophone, or a large water pot. The kin membrane of a pule-pounding drum i played with the hand or padded drum mallet. The wooden hell of a membrane drum played with a hard tick or ring provide a melorhythmic tone. The giant bell i played with a oft tick, and a felt i ued to play the water pot. Phraing reference intrument Any portable harp or ringing object that play monotone can erve a a phraing reference intrument. We recommend that the player hould tand, and perform retrained dance motion, at leat tep lightly to the enemble pule. The muic intrument and object that are uitable include the clapperle iron bell or a bamboo tem truck with a tick, alo a pair of tick or tone or metal object truck together. Shaker and rattle could alo erve although they are more uited to the action motivation role. Action motivation intrument Thee are a combination of different melorhythm and melody intrument type and/pecie available. Incluive are all type and pecie of membrane drum capable of producing two or more level of tone. Other intrument are the wooden lit drum, twin bell, flute, horn, haker, rattle, xylophone, muical pot, etc. In electing intrument from the range available in a cultural location, care mut be taken to blend the dynamic level of all available intrument uch that none i drowned out by the other. Any of the intrument identified above a uitable 10

14 African claical enemble m u i c Bo o k 2 Theoretical principle for fulfilling the action motivation intention can alo be deployed a a mother intrument depending on the nature and purpoe of the enemble. Mother intrument The mother intrument i the mot outtanding olo intrument in an indigenou enemble ound, and could be either a melorhythm or melody intrument, including any keyboard intrument uch a the xylophone, pot chime, tuned drum row and finger piano. The voice i, of coure, included. Apart from delineating choreographed dance or marhalling drama (particularly pirit-manifet drama), the contemporary mother role i not expected to conduct a utilitarian ocietal objective. However, the mother drummer can conduct emotion and audience participation that humanize and heal piritual or attitudinal indipoition during contemporary concert hall performance that derive from the intellectual authority of African muical art. Performer in the action motivation group can take turn in the performance compoition ection of modern enemble arrangement to play pontaneou olo paage a appropriate to a concert performance context. Such olo activity in a concert hall performance could a well be a dance, pre-learned or improvied and poibly getting the audience to join in. If the dance i pre-choreographed, a mother intrument could play the rhythm-ofdance role, which onically outline the choreographic tructure. The dicuion above have guided the written compoition in thi book erie, which are intended for concert, claroom or other purpoeful enemble muic activitie. III Theoretical principle The literacy imperative Authoritative theoretical logic and ytematic performance framework undercore indigenou African muical art. An indigenou muicological/choreographic intellect manifet functional and cientific uniquene. There are alo unique humanizing principle which pervade creativity and practice. Thee hould be cognitively dicerned, tudied and advanced. The realization of the advancement of the inherited tate of knowledge i imperative. However, it mut not compromie the abiding pragmatic philoophy, proactive theory and humanizing ideology which impregnate the African indigenou creative geniu in the muical art. Indigenou Africa ha a legacy of viual and ymbolic writing that doe not neceary rely on the alphabet. Thi doe not imply that indigenou Africa ha no legacy of viual and ymbolic repreentation, often cryptic, for knowledge preervation. Contemporary advancement require that African indigenou muic and dance hould be written in appropriate conventional ytem, without prejudicing creativity and performance. Furthermore, contemporary African muical art reearch, dicoure, creativity, performance practice and cholarhip mut be marked by unique indigenou intellectual formulation in order to be authoritatively African in perpective. In indigenou African culture there wa eentially no need for writing muic or performing muic from written core, with it advantage and diadvantage. Oral performance have immene creativity and humanizing value. Thee include being pontaneouly reponive to the fellow human pirit of other a well a being enitive to contextual contingencie. The communality principle, humane ocietal imperative a well a the all-incluive and all-empowering educational philoophy and methodology of tradition can be tranacted in cognitively formulated literacy procedure. Indigenou muical art creator and performer rely on memory to retain and reproduce the ignificance and identity of a known piece of muic and/or dance. An indigenou creative performer ha the capability to tate the formal framework of a familiar muic and dance item, and thereafter pontaneouly develop it on every re-performance occaion. The philoophy i that no knowledge product i finihed and cat in granite; in addition, every human peronality mut be allowed to exercize it own particular creative capabilitie. Thi endow a feeling of enduring elf-worth. The African indigenou creative ideology claim that the familiar mut be continually regenerated and advanced, and every genuine creative effort or capability mut be accorded recognition. The indigenou performance code teache that mot life experience are variation of a model, in the ame way that nothing in the natural world i replicated preciely. The pontaneou proce of re-negotiating the tructural-formal framework of a familiar muic, dance or drama piece i then a mode of knowledge preervation and advancement that kindle originality and harpen pontaneou creative aptitude. Thi doe not prevent original creation from being welcomed into the traditional repertory. Re- 11

15 African claical enemble muic Book 2 Theoretical principle creating without obcuring the baic identity intill the intellectual capability for tackling challenge in any other life circumtance outide the muical art. In the indigenou culture of Africa, member of a cultural group join actively and all-incluively in acquiring the cultural knowledge ytem. There are opportunitie for oral knowledge dicoure and ytematic education in creativity and criticim. And if you judge that it not happening right, demontrate the acceptable verion i a critical expectation. In a homogenou group the need for a written mode of education, knowledge conervation and diemination wa not an iue. Symbolic viual art object were loaded with commonly undertood text. Dance were poetic and metaphoric expreion. Intenive formal education in the ocial, political, religiou, artitic and communication knowledge practice of a homogenou group were tranacted onically, ymbolically, choreologically, dramatically a well a orally. The trong participatory approach to creative and performance art diemination thu made each normal member of a ociety competently knowledgeable and productive. The literary mode of knowledge dicoure facilitate the communication and exchange of knowledge beyond homogenou boundarie. Neverthele, the human virtue and intellectual merit of the oral ytem remain crucial within homogenou cultural area. Literacy characterize modern education, reearch and cultural interaction. It ha enabled the written documentation of the cultural pecific of a common creative philoophy, theory and practice of African indigenou knowledge ytem. It i important that learner, a much a literacy compoer and performer, hould alo acquire the oral compoitional and performance kill becaue of the trong human value entrenched therein. In thi book erie we encourage and integrate both oral and written compoitional, a well a performance, kill. We have devied pecific notation ymbol that capture the unique apect of the indigenou African muical onic cope, including onic ambience and tructure conceived to heal piritually diabled mind and oul. The retention of the healing imperative of muic, dance and the dramatic art i dictated by the need to proactively deploy the meta-cience of the muical act in order to check and heal the current pandemic of pychopath whoe deleteriou geniu devatate human live, lifetyle and relationhip globally. Factor of muical art literacy Rhythm Rhythm i a primary element that tructure the ound univerally regarded a muical, or the characteritic of movement executed and perceived a dance. Rhythm in muic and dance i the mathematical configuration of energy impule that have different duration. The natural pycho-phyical impule in a human i to walk. The normal movement in pace while walking i to tep regularly in a given direction at one time. The ound of heavy walking or walking on a reonant urface i perceived a audible pule or beat. When the regular motion of walking become piritually imbued, the comportment of the body trancend the ordinary, and normal movement become tranformed into what i regarded a baic dancing. Hence baic dancing i a trancendental experiencing of the ordinary activity of walking. It generate pycho-phyical wellne. The regular beat or pule i the tandard reference for perceiving and tructuring motion in muic and dance. The regular pule i the functional impule that get broken up (fiion) and combined (accretion) when computing muic or dance figure, choreographic equence and compoition. The traditional African worldview perceive the natural and upernatural univere in dualitic relationhip. Hence the indigenou African maxim: Nothing tand in iolation; every thing ha a compliment or upplement or oppoite. The expreion capture the philoophy and perception of interface or duality. The idea of a muical beat or pule i central to the emotional perception or phyical diplay of onic energy and body motion. The pule could alo be referred to a the regularly recurring duration of a beat propelling muic that i not played rubato. Thi fundamental mathematical unit of muical motion, the pule or beat, can be broken up into internal mathematical fraction that are functional (fiion). The pule or it fraction can be combined into longer duration. Such internal re-combination or the fraction of the pule, or external combination of adjacent beat and their fraction, can be expreed a functional rhythmic accretion. When the pule i ubdivided in even factor of two or four, we feel the duple/quadruple impreion in mundane/maculine emotion. The interface of the duple/quadruple i the triple functional ubdiviion of the pule, which i felt a piritual/feminine emotion of the ame pule ene. Any human muic that i configured rhythmically ha the pule a the baic durational value that ha other functional mathematical factor. The functional factor of rhythm are conventionally expreed and notated a follow, tarting with the baic functional unit the pule. Figure 1 Notation ymbol for the duration of functional rhythmic value The pule a nucleu of rhythm formulation ha the written value of a Quarter note/crotchet ( ) or dotted quarter note ( ) Functional accretion: Full note/semibreve ( ), or dotted emibreve ( ) Half note/minim ( ), or dotted half note ( ) Functional fiion: Eight note/quaver ( ), or dotted quaver ( ) Sixteenth note/semiquaver ( ) The mathematical relationhip between the functional rhythmic value repreented above i a follow in Figure 2. Figure 2 Relationhip between duration of note value ; ; ; ; ; ; 12

16 African claical enemble m u i c Bo o k 2 Theoretical principle Indigenou African muic i trongly marked by pule (beat) enitivity. The baic unit of a pule that can be expreed a the heartbeat of a muic or dance piece i felt and written a the durational value of a quarter note in common time, or a dotted quarter note in compound time, a above. We reiterate that the crotchet and dotted crotchet interface with each other a the unit of pule, and generate the ame motional ound and feeling. The phyical marking or pounding of the baic pule on a pule intrument or the foot i, therefore, the ame in African indigenou muic performance irrepective of the metre (compound or common) or the internal tructure. Range of functional rhythmic fiion and accretion The baic unit of rhythmic duration that have been identified above are conidered functional becaue they are ued to contruct rhythmic framework that carry or contitute muical figure, theme, phrae and tatement. 6 When further fragmented, rhythmic impule, if utained, begin to give the impreion of a roll. The manipulation of rhythmic impule affect the mental and motional perception of muical compoition. The perception of rhythmic idiom that are uniquely African often contitute a bogey, if not a terror, that can dimay unknowledgeable people performing indigenou African muical art configuration. Thi i epecially o when encountered in written form. Viual impreion a well a the practical experiencing of the particular rhythmic idiom in iolation might make coping with them eaier when they are encountered in compoition. We will continue to emphaize that the primary key to interpreting rhythmic idiom that are uniquely African, oral or written, i to mark and bodily feel the pule independently with the feet. African muic, although trongly grounded in mathematical computation, i perceived a feeling or emotion. Rhythmic contruct in muic or dance mut be felt and interpreted a compoite impreion, not counted a tatitical impule. We alo alway emphaize the concioune of dance impreion when muic i dicued or encountered, no matter how notionally the dance i expreed in performance ite. Figure 3 i a range of compoite rhythmic tructure in the tandard metric frame of 4/4 and 12/8, which are baic to a ene of pule. The working range that we have provided i blocked into three progreive configuration that can inform cognitive enemble compoition a a peron advance in kill through the three book. It i poible that a learner/performer could ue or play all the configuration while at the foundation or intermediate level of developing competence. Hence, our diviion of the book into level of competence i flexible, and done for the convenience of developing muical literacy. Indigenou compoition theory regard the given poibilitie of rhythmic fiion and accretion a the creative tranformation of tandard motif framework. We have repreented them a the interface of common quadruple and compound quadruple time ignature. Thi conform with the duality underlying African comology and metaphyic (heaven and earth, day and night, moon and un, 6 A figure i any brief ignificant muical or dance motif; a phrae i a rhythmic/melodic muical contruct that i idiomatically unique but i not complete in iolation; and a tatement i a compoite thematic entity that may be made up of idiom/figure and phrae. Thee contitute the tructural identitie that are ued in compoing a piece of muic or choreographing a dance. mountain and valley, woman and man, wet and dry, left and right, etc.). It hould be noted that the underpinning principle of artitic and utilitarian creativity in indigenou muical art are mot of the time ingeniou tranformation of the perceived law of nature a well a reflection of life in a community. The range of fiion and fuion in Figure 3 derive from a common African metric enibility and rhythmic geniu, and hould inform literary compoition to ound authoritatively African. In written muic, the quarter note or crotchet ha been dicued a the unit of pule, which i the baic durational value for calculating the mathematical equation of the other functional rhythmic note. The principle of the pule ha alo been dicued a the teady and regular heartbeat or pace in human locomotion, living and muic/dance. The indigenou metric frame, baic to a ecure ene of pule, take account of the mytical force of number uch a two and four, which enure a balanced pyche. Certain number have mytical potency. When the potency i activated in a ritual or a pycho-phyical enactment, it can engender or diorient balanced mental perception or trigger the upernormal experiencing of life. The number four ha immene mytical ignificance and pycho-piritual potency in the worldview of ome African ocietie. It generate and accord equilibrium in indigenou mental perception a well a in the ordering of both ordinary living and comic force. For intance, the traditional week in ome African countrie i reckoned a a mytical-mythical cycle of four day, which connect with a mental orientation and piritual life. The magic of four i central to enabling or evoking the myticalpiritual equilibrium in the perception of muical art tructure. It i the bai of balance in pychoactive enation a well a the alubriou experiencing of the muical art. Four pule thu contitute the natural, pychically conducive metric frame in indigenou African muical art theory. A uch, the baic tructural format of the metre, that i, the baic metric motif in indigenou African muic, i encountered a four crotchet beat, traight or dotted. Thi baic metric motif i then variouly re-tructured to provide many metric theme. The primary fiion of the muical pule i mentally experienced in interfacing energy enation duplet (ordinary) or triplet (trancendent/inpiriting). Structural permutation of the baic quadruple metric motif in the contruction of theme have dual perception reulting from the interfacing duple and triple fraction of the pule, a in Figure 3. The nature of the trancendent enation further command two or more permutation of a metric theme in 12/8. Each permutation generate a different mental enation. We have provided a wide range of permutation of metric theme deriving from the functional fraction of the pule. Figure 3 doe not necearily exhaut what i poible. The range of permutation poible in the functional fiion and accretion of the 12/8 metric frame largely account for the famed complexity of ome indigenou African muical configuration. A minimal variation in the permutation of the durational value of rhythmic impule can trigger profound effect in the human mind. An accumulation of mental impule i reponible for the incidence of ubtle piritual trancendence the altered tate of concioune induced by ome indigenou enemble muic performance. We have taken uch minimal impule into functional account in the permutation provided. We mut note that when ret of any durational value occur in thee calculation, they repreent unounded eential fraction. The ret, impule which are 13

17 AfricAn claical enemble muic book 2 TheoreTicAl PrinciPle not ounded contribute to the mental a well a motive-emotive function of the rhythmic fragment, uch a the hock rhythm effect. The example that follow in Figure 3 (page 15 19) hould be clapped or tapped ucceively at a comfortable pace while marking the pule with the feet. The phyical movement enable the internalizing of the nature of different rhythmic value and phrae ene within the compoite feeling for quadruple metre. We have not exhauted the range of fiion and accretion poible. Uer of thee book hould explore more poibilitie. 14

18 African claical enemble m u i c Bo o k 2 Theoretical principle Figure 3 Compoite rhythmic tructure: Same thematic ene in 4/4 and 12/8 15