What instruments were used in West Africa?

DISTINCTIVE INSTRUMENTS SPOTLIGHT COLLECTION: WEST AFRICA features percussion instruments including djembe, dunun and bells, which can be used in the ensemble. Additionally included are the calabash and krin, which can be used as solo instruments.

What was the most important West African musical instrument?

Rhythm is the foundation of West Africa’s traditional music, so percussion instruments play a major role in constructing its sounds. Traditional music of West Africa incorporates the use of a variety of percussive instruments, the most popular of which is the djembe.

What are Western musical instruments?

Western musical instruments are classified into four families, namely the string family, woodwind family, brass family and the percussion family. These instruments are widely used in the Western world.

What is a common style of music in West Africa?

The rhythm is generally the most important, and West African songs are polyrhythmic featuring two or more conflicting rhythms. The most common form of polyrhythm in West Africa is the cross-rhythm made from repeating hemiolas, or patterns of three beats played over two beats in the same space.

Instruments Used in West African Music. As well as the musical product, West Africa is also famous for it’s imaginative instruments, designed from materials close to hand. The djembe, tama and sabar are drums. The balafon is like a xylophone, and there are several stringed and wind instruments, such as the reed flute, thekora and the kontingo.

Which musical instruments are typical to Africa?

African musical instruments include a wide range of drums, slit gongs, rattles and double bells, different types of harps, and harp-like instruments such as the Kora and the ngoni, as well as fiddles, many kinds of xylophone and lamellophone such as the mbira, and different types of wind instrument like flutes and trumpets.

What are some traditional African instruments?

Most widely spread and played instruments in Africa are the drum, the xylophone, the mbira, rattles and shakers.

What is the most important instrument in Africa?

As the most important musical instrument in Africa, the drum in that section of the world is of staggering variance. Drums in Africa come in different forms and are used for a multitude of functions. Certain drums, however, are far more popular than others.