Saturday, July 26, 2014

The Different Origins Of Ghana Music

By Imelda Reid


Ghanian music comes from the North, South, East and West. The most popular of which generally comes from the Northern or Southern areas. Ghana music is very different in style based on on which area the music is born. Drummers and dancers often improvise at regular meetings and special events. So, while there may be sheet music for some material, other material is not created except for in the improvisations and paradigms which are part of the show.

North and South Ghana have very different musical taste. Northern traditions come from Sahelian traditions. Sahelian features a combination of melody and stringed instruments. Some common instruments in the North and South are the kologo lute and the gonjey fiddle, wind instruments, voice, drums and percussion.

Notes flow almost effortlessly thanks to the chromatic and pentatonic scales used in Northern and Southern Ghana. Chanting, praise-singing and story telling are all essential to the people and identity of these areas. Whereas, other areas are more prone to rhythmic beats surrounding by the softness of strings and at times, voice.

Northern styles are set to a minor pentatonic or chromatic scale and melisma plays an important part in melodic and vocal styles. There is a long history of northern styles also being inclusive of the griot and praise-singing traditions.

Social functions like funerals, graduations, weddings and the like are often met with coastal style music. This style requires complex patterns be played on a variety of percussion instruments. These instruments often include bells, cowbells, drums, gourds, sticks and other percussion based instruments.

Religion in the area is also associated with coastal tunes. With one exception, the music is of a chanting, storytelling or vocal accompanied by harp-lute which is a derivative of the stringed harp. The most well known drums in the region are of that of the adowa and kete with bells. While this music may be associated with different religions, it should be noted it is the religion that sought out the religion and not vice versa.

It was only in 1957 that Ghana won her independence. As a result, while always popular, music in the region has gone through several changes. For the most part, the two most popular forms of music are dance pop and Highlife. A newer version of HipLife has also now become quite popular as is the case with hip-hop in other areas of the world.

High-life combines elements of soukous, ska, rock, jazz and swing. Ghanian traditions found a pathway into the United States in the late 60s and early 70s. While successful, it was not the level of success some had expected. The music also became popular albeit only briefly in the U. K. One of the main success stories of Ghanian music is that Osibisa's Afro-rock which became quite well known in the 1970s.

Guitar bands and other genres were popular during the 70s. Prior to that time, music of the depression, 40s, 50s, and 60s was often more easy listening than rock and roll. Later, when German-Highlife took over the scene, a rendition of burger-highlife was also founded by Ghanian based Germans. George Darko has always been one of the best known musicians of Ghana, partly because he founded this new genre of polka like rock and roll.




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