AFRICAN MUSIC

 It has yodeling activity and an upbeat music with the accompaniment of a drum instrument.
 African Music celebrates and accompanies every activity: birth, christening, thanksgiving. harvesting
crops, wedding rites, death and mourning, and other gathering of religious and social activities.
 The functions and purposes of music are to communicate, to entertain, and to accompany worship
activity.
 Unique articulation of voice is one of the major characteristics of African singing.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AFRICAN MUSIC:

A. MELODY:
 Uses ostinato (a repeated pattern)
 Patterns may be short or long phrases depending on the choice of the musicians and the purpose in
the composition

B. TEXTURE:
 It results in a texture of heterophony, an independent part on a single melody by two or more
instruments or singers.

C. RHYTHM:
 Upbeat rhythm can be easily identified in African music through percussion instruments or use of
human body movements.

D. MARACATU:
 The maracatu, a dynamic rhythm, first appeared in the African state of Pernambuco. The maracatu
groups were called nação, which means nation, who paraded with a large drumming ensemble
accompanied by a singer, chorus, and dancers.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS:
 African musical instruments imitate the sounds from nature. Thus, they use animal horns and tusks as
their instruments.
 Traditional instruments are flute and whistle in the winds section; fiddle, lute, harp, and zither in the
strings section; and djembe, mbira, and sansa in the percussion.
 Among the sections of instruments, the percussion is the most important section in African music.
 Drums are the center of almost all music and dance performances. It is believed that drum makers
place charms within the drums and they contain the spirits that guide the player. There are various
types of drums: hand drum, stick drum, slit drum, water drum, and drums that are scraped. The human
body is sometimes used as a drum when the stomach and thigh are hit.
 Professional musicians in Africa are called griots (pronounced as gre"-0). The griot's profession is
inherited and has been part of the African culture.

AFRICAN VOCAL FORMS:

A. BLUES:
 It is an expressive and soulful style of singing The form incorporates many genres of African
American musical traditions, folk music, spiritual beliefs, and songs used for everyday living. It
also features chants, shouts, and ballads.

B. SOUL:
 Soul music refers to gospel-style music with secular lyrics. It combines genres of gospel
music, RnB, and jazz of the African American. Handclaps and body movements are important
features of soul.
 James Brown is known as the "Godfather of Soul”.

C. CALL & RESPONSE:

 African music allows the audience to be active participants of their music performances. This
call and response is a vocal form very common in most African performances. A lead singer
announces an opening phrase or call, and the chorus utters a short response. The lead singer
repeats and makes variation of the call while the chorus responds their simple part. The
instrumentalists may also be part of the call and response.
D. SPIRITUAL:
 Spiritual vocal form, also known as Negro spiritual, is a type of religious folk song. The texts
are mostly religious psalms from biblical passages. It is also used in call and response activity.

POPULAR MUSIC:
 Popular music is said to be the music of the majority, something appreciated or has appealed
to many.
 It is the "people's music." It is similar to folk music, which is enjoyed by many cultures.

GENRES OF POPULAR MUSIC:

A. BALLAD
 Ballad is a traditional folk music performed by a soloist that expresses a tale in a strophic form.
It is transferred from one generation to another by oral performances rather than written works

B. RHYTHM AND BLUES

 Rhythm and blues, also known as R&B or RnB, is a black popular music of the 1950s. It is a
combination of different popular music genres like jazz, gospel, and blues. It is in quadruple
meter with danceable speed.

C. ROCK AND ROLL

 Rock and roll, or rock 'n' roll, is a popular style that evolved in the 1950s from a combination of
rhythm and blues and country-western music characteristics. Famous performers of rock n' roll
were Elvis Presley and The Beatles.

 Elvis Presley- is known as the "King of Rock and Roll." His performance styles electrified the
audience especially when hearing his rich and wide-ranging baritone voice and witnessing his
energetic dance skills.

 The Beatles- The British rock group The Beatles was formed in 1960 in Liverpool. England.
The rock group was the most influential performers in the history of rock 'n' roll.

 Each member of The Beatles was a songwriter. They wrote lyrics and tunes that children and
parents could appreciate. They performed varied musical styles like rhythm and blues, gospel,
country blues, novelty songs, and Broadway music.

D. JAZZ:
 Jazz was developed in America and was predominantly created by the black American
musicians. It has blended elements from varied musical cultures of the west African, American,
and European Original Dixieland Jazz Band was among the groups who had early recordings
of jazz.
 Jazz has lively and energetic characteristics. It is rooted in improvisation and characterized by
syncopated rhythm, steady beat, drumming, percussive sounds, and distinctive tone colors
and articulations and techniques of performance.
ACTIVITY NO. 1
Complete the Venn Diagram below. Identify the differences and similarities between the Ballad and
Rock and Roll. Write your answers in your activity notebook. (20 points).
Ballad Rock and Roll

Similarities

ASSIGNMENT NO. 1
In each types of Popular Music, provide examples of modern songs today. Write 5 examples of songs
in Ballad, Rhythm and Blues, Rock and Roll, and Jazz, and provide also the singers of each song.
Write your answers in your activity notebook. (20 points)

Ballad Songs Singer Rhythm and Singer

1. Blues Songs
2. 1.
3. 2.
4. 3.
5. 4.
5.

Rock and Roll Singer Jazz Singer

Songs 1.
1. 2.
2. 3.
3. 4.
4. 5.
5.

ASSIGNMENT NO.2:
Choose one genre of popular music and choose one (1) song from that genre. Listen to your chosen
song and write an essay out of the questions below. Write it in your activity notebook, 100-200 words
only. (30 points)

1). What emotions or feelings does the music evoke in you?

2). How does the music make you feel? What images or thoughts come to mind as you listen?
3). What do you think the composer might have been trying to express through this song?