West Africa as the cradle of pop
Modern pop songs are based on the musical principles of West African drum rhythms: An exhibition at the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich shows how drummers from Ghana and Nigeria make their instruments speak and thus make themselves heard worldwide.
"Speaking with drums", the title of the exhibition, is to be understood literally: Drummers in West Africa use their instruments to imitate the rhythm and melody of spoken language. For example, those of the Yorùbá in southwest Nigeria or those of the Ashanti in Ghana - tonal languages in which the pitch of a syllable determines the meaning of a word.
At political and religious events, the percussionists greet guests of honor with their talking drums and quote their biographies; they recite prayers or proverbs; they talk about past events, take a political stand and thus mediate between current events and history.
Even during the colonial era and at the time of the transatlantic slave trade, drummers raised their voices and combined their music with influences from other musical cultures. This ultimately gave rise to styles such as jazz, soul, reggae and hip hop.
More info:
http://talkingwithdrums.ch
Photo: Qniemiec / wikimedia commons CC 3.0
