Cool Stuff no. 3 Africa- Grace Montgomery

 One of the things that caught my eye the most about the music in Africa was the thumb piano also known as the Mbria. The Mbira not only a beautiful looking instrument but also a beautiful sounding one as well. One thing that I really enjoy about this instrument is that as it sounds as though it is telling a story, it is said that the Mbria is "the sound that evokes the spirits". We all know that artist get to tell their stories through their words and they do this as well, but the way that the musicians play the Mbira makes it look as though the love for the music is pulsing through their bodies. The video below is about a man named Anand Prahlad. Prahlad give a lot of good information about the Mbria including where it is played, why it is played, where it came from and more. He also is a teacher of the Mbira, to one student. 

As I was doing research about Africa and their culture, I came across a genre of music called, congolese dance music or rumba. This type of music is very upbeat and honestly makes me feel like getting up and dancing along with it. It is so fun and there are so many different types sounds going on it just makes for so much energy. In the video below it shows a popular band for this genre of music; not only is the music lively in it, but there is also a lot of different types of dancing through out it as well which really ads to the video I think. 

In African tradition music plays a tremendous role on society by having certain songs for special occasions like at a marriage, for a birth, a right of passage, hunting and even during political activities. They believe that playing music helps to ward off evil spirits and also helps to pay respect to the spirits that are good like the individuals ancestors or dead friends. One of the most important instruments that they use through all of Africa's cultures is the African drum. It is said that this drum is the "heart of the community" and shows emotion throughout the and makes people feel a particular way. Most songs in the African Culture are sung in the "call-and-response" form, not all are but most. The video below shows how call and response has evolved through out time in the African Culture as well as ours (end of video.)

Works Cited

https://www.victoriafalls-guide.net/african-traditions.html#:~:text=Music%20is%20a%20form%20of,spirits%2C%20the%20dead%20and%20ancestors.

https://www.britannica.com/art/African-music