musical instruments LESSON 17

MAKING MELODIES AND MESSAGES WITH AFRICAN INSTRUMENTS

usic is a key part of everyday life in many African societies. Musical instruments are used to summon, communicate, entertain, unite, rally and inform. This lesson studies the science of making sound and the art of making a musical instrument. After investigating the roles that music plays in African cultures, students produce musical instruments designed to imbue everyday occurrences with added significance.

standards
Ohio Learning Outcomes

Fourth Grade Learning Outcomes Science 7. Identify and/or discuss the selection of resources and tools used for exploring scientific phenomena. Sixth Grade Learning Outcomes Science 3. Make inferences from observations of phenomena and/or events. 6. Recognize the advantages and/or disadvantages to the user in the operation of simple technological devices.
Ohio Model for the Arts

Fourth Grade Goal I Historical, Cultural, and Social Contexts: Understanding the Role of the Arts in Peoples Lives c. Investigate how different cultural groups contribute or have contributed to existing arts forms. Sixth Grade Goal I Historical, Cultural, and Social Contexts: Understanding the Role of the Arts in Peoples Lives a. Identify the impact that scientific and social events have had on the ideas expressed through arts forms.

243

LESSON 17 musical instruments

And a One, Two, Three, Four Making Music

Possibly Mende, Sierra Leone Side-blown Trumpet mid-19th century ivory 21 x 3" Gift of William H. Doane Accession No. 1919.329
Title Date Medium Dimensions Credit

he chiefs trumpet was carved from elephant ivory and its shape is closely related to the animals tusk. The chiefs trumpet is called an oliphant, a term derived from the word elephant. Many similar sideblown horns were made from the horns of east African antelopes.

African trumpets differ from European ones in the placement of the mouthpieces: lateral for Africans (meaning the horn is placed to the side as when playing the flute) and apical for European ones (meaning the horn is placed in a forward position as when playing the trumpet). Although this horn functions as a natural trumpet and the length of its playing tube cannot be altered by telescoping slides or valves, it could still produce many notes or pitches through the process of over-blowing. The chiefs trumpet was a status symbol and was used to announce the arrival of a chief or an important visitor. It has a square carved mouth opening with a group of three plain carved bands at its center point. The remaining surface of the horn is smooth. Similar horns made of elephant ivory are sometimes decorated.

244

musical instruments LESSON 17

Group unidentified, Democratic Republic of the Congo Drum ca. 1878 wood, animal skin, rattan; incised decoration Dimensions 42 x 1112" Credit Gift of William H. Doane Accession No. 1914.315
Title Date Medium

he drum is wooden, shaped at one end like two four-legged stools, one below the other. The drum surface is skin tightly bound with vegetable fiber and held still tighter with wooden pegs. Patterns of lines, triangles and diamonds have been burnt into the wood. Its size and height suggest that the musician would have played this instrument while standing.

245

LESSON 17 musical instruments

Group unidentified, Democratic Republic of the Congo Zoomorphic Handbell 187585 wood, cord; burnt and incised decoration Dimensions 7 x 112" Credit Museum Purchase: Steckelmann Collection, Gift by special subscription Accession No. 1890.1549
Title Date Medium

Group unidentified, Democratic Republic of the Congo Double Handbells 187585 wood, cord; burnt and incised decoration Dimensions 6 x 138" Credit Museum Purchase: Steckelmann Collection, Gift by special subscription Accession No. 1890.1551
Title Date Medium

he zoomorphic handbell is carved from wood and has a handle that resembles the closed beaked bill of a bird figure. Two intricately carved geometric patterns decorate the dome. Inside the bell, there are three wooden clappers.

ery similar to the zoomorphic handbell, the double handbell is also carved from wood with a set of three wooden clappers. The double handbell would have been gripped at its center point and played by rotating or twisting the wrist.

246

musical instruments LESSON 17

Group unidentified, Central Africa Harp (pluiarc) 19th century wood, reed, white clay; incised decoration Dimensions 40 x 612 x 5" Credit Gift of William H. Doane Accession No. 1919.330
Title Date Medium

he harp is a five stringed wooden musical instrument similar to the guitar. It has a wooden, hollow body which helps the sound resonate. The soundboard is the flat wooden piece mounted to the front of the body responsible for making the vibrating sounds loud enough to hear. Attached to the soundboard is a curved wooden rod, known as a saddle, upon which the strings rest. The neck of the harp is made of five rods of varying lengths that create different pitches and are bound together by woven reeds. The tops of each rod have intricately carved, fluted tips that allow the strings to be tied and stretched. The strings were often made from fibers taken from creeping vines native to the area.

This instrument might have been used to communicate the oral history of a people or family or simply to entertain. Because of its rather soft sound production, it was usually played alone or in small instrument groups.

247

LESSON 17 musical instruments

INSIDE THE CULTURE: behind THE MUSIC MAKERS

The Life and Times of African Musicians
Music plays a very important role in many African cultures. It can be used to communicate, inform, entertain and celebrate. Traditionally, there is no separation between the sound that the instrument creates and the emotion that is felt as a result. Music is often combined with speech, drama and visual arts in community events and rituals. The ability of all individuals in the community to participate in musical events is crucial. Everyone is encouraged to sing, dance or simply clap along as part of the performance. Many African religions believe that deities and humans use sound to impose order on the universe. In the great African kingdoms, which developed from the 10th to the 20th century, professional musicians played a vital role as historians. Today, music is used to organize work activities, bringing the community together to complete tasks. The important stages of a persons life are often marked by specific types of music. There are lullabies, childrens game songs, music for initiation rites, weddings, funerals and ceremonies for ancestors.

The Message of the Instrument

African musical instruments are primarily valued for the sounds they produce but are also regarded as aesthetic objects. The artisans who make them use various materials to create pleasing and artistic pieces. The instruments appearance combines with its particular sound to create messages for the audience. The form and decoration of the instrument help communicate these messages. Knowing who made the instrument and what they thought about it can also provide clues as to what the form means. In making a musical instrument, the artist considers the role, function and context of the object. The instrument must be sized to suit the musician physically and he must decorate it with the appropriate symbolic imagery. Because music, dance and theatre are integral aspects of belief systems in African cultures, it is important for the instruments design and sound to match the intended symbolism.

248

musical instruments LESSON 17

Making Music: African Instruments

Horns
Wind instruments are fashioned from animal horns, tusks or wood. These instruments produce sound when the player blows air through the opening of the horn causing his lips to vibrate against the mouthpiece. This vibration causes the air column inside the instrument to vibrate. The longer the column of air, the lower the pitch. Horns have many different uses in Africa. Some people use them to talk to their gods, while others see them as the voices of their ancestors. Healers use them and hunters call animals with them. Leaders use wind instruments to let people know where they are and what is important to them. A musician can change the pitch of a wind instrument so that it mimics speech, allowing people to talk when they are far apart. Oliphants or ivory trumpets are made from elephant tusks, and when blown they sound like an elephant trumpeting. They announce the arrival of a chief or other important visitors and are viewed as objects of prestige. Some are used during dances that prepare soldiers for war. The sound helps them to be brave and strong like the elephant.

Drums
Drums are rhythmic instruments consisting of two parts: a hollowed out end and tightly woven membranes or animal skins tied to the hollow end with leather strips. The sound occurs as a result of the vibrations caused by striking the membrane. The sounds produced depend on the material from which the membrane is made, the size of the instrument and the part of the instrument struck. For example, larger drums produce lower pitches. The African people use drums as communication devices allowing them to talk to their gods, spirits, ancestors and other people. The sound of the drum carries one message, but there are also messages in its size, design and decoration. These messages are about politics, religion and entertainment, among many other things. The drummer must have knowledge of history and all it represents and must understand chanting, poetry and dance.

249

LESSON 17 musical instruments

Strings
String instruments are usually carved from wood and have strings that vibrate when plucked, struck or rubbed with a bow. A short string vibrates at a higher frequency and so it produces a high pitch, similarly a long string produces a low pitch. As they play, musicians place their fingers on different places along the string to vary the pitch. The material, thickness and tightness of a string also affect the pitch produced. African musicians use string instruments to accompany songs that pass on information to those who are listening. For example, a harp might be used for songs that tell the history of a people, town or family. Or it might be used for poems or stories that are sung. These instruments can also communicate with ancestors. They can be played alone or in small groups, but they are usually not combined with other types of instruments. The person playing the instrument often sings along as well.

Percussion
This group of instruments is the largest in Africa. There are many different kinds of instruments in this category with many different sounds and uses. Clappers reflect traditional African ideas of the use of the body as a percussion instrument. These carved wooden clappers are used to reproduce the clapping of the hands for ritualistic, ceremonial or social purposes. Rattles can be made from gourds. They are dried in the sun and covered with beads to create rattling sounds when the instrument is tapped or shaken. The patterns and colors used in the beadwork often have meaning. Dancers may wear rattles around their waists, necks or ankles. Bells are often carved from wood with clappers made of wooden rods suspended from the interior of the bells dome. They are gripped at the center point and played by rotating or twisting the wrist. They often are adorned with intricately carved geometric shapes. The zoomorphic bell handles are carved to represent birds or other animals.

250

musical instruments LESSON 17

Digging Deeper: The Cross-Curricular Experience

tudents explore the significance of music within African societies. They will then focus upon the diverse roles that music plays within everyday life. Various African musical instruments selected as a part of this lesson plan will be categorized according to instrument classification. A study of sound will enable them to look at those instruments with a new eye, focusing on the science of the sound produced by each. Students study the various ways that instruments are used by societies. The student creates a musical instrument designed to fit a need in his or her own life. A culminating activity allows students to play a simple tune or rhythm upon their instrument.

oliphant generally made of ivory, a horned instrument that draws its name from the elephant zoomorphic a term used to describe an object designed to suggest the form or attributes of an animal

Estimated Time for Completion

Eight to ten class periods

Subject Areas Covered

Science, Visual Arts, Music and Technology

Activity
1. Students examine the intrinsic significance of music within African societies reflected in the many uses of musical instruments in African cultures. For example, the chiefs trumpet was used to announce the arrival of a dignitary, to call others in the society to receive this person as someone of importance and to reflect the social status of the chief as owner of the horn. Beyond the information offered in this lesson, students may be encouraged to complete research using the Internet or reference materials in their library. 2. Students study the photos of various African musical instruments that are included with this Curriculum Guide. Using the background information gained in step one, students will conjecture as to what purpose these instruments served in their social settings.

Materials
tuning forks cups of water for small groups Slinkies for small groups recycled objects chosen by students for musical inventions

Vocabulary List
music a set of tones and rhythms combined in ways to produce an emotional response sound a form of energy that travels through matter as waves vibrations back and forth movements of matter that produce sound timbre the quality of a sound that separates one voice or instrument from another pitch the highness or lowness of a sound amplitude the loudness of sound waves

251

LESSON 17 musical instruments

3. Introduce the concepts of vibration and sound waves as the means by which all these instruments produce sound. 4. By experimenting with tuning forks students will see that sound produces vibrations and waves. Students can feel the vibrations by gently touching the fork while it is producing sound. They can see the waves by putting a vibrating tuning fork very close to water in a cup. The water will splash due to the sound waves. 5. Students can learn about waves by experimenting with a Slinky. Have students divide into pairs and hold a Slinky between each other. Challenge them to see how many different kinds of waves they can make with the Slinkies. Explain that sound moves through air or water in patterns similar to the waves created by the Slinkies. 6. Students visit The Soundry interactive website http://library.thinkquest.org/19537/ to create and manipulate their own sound waves and to learn basic properties of sound. 7. Students continue to investigate the properties of sound and learn how sound is produced by musical instruments. Using the Internet (sites listed in the Bibliography) or their science books, each student

will gather enough knowledge as to the scientific principles of sound to enable her/him to design a simple musical instrument, construct and modify it and play a simple tune. 8. Working in small groups, students discuss and list a variety of circumstances where a musical instrument could serve a particular need or provide a significant service. For example, the school football team needs to rally the support of its fans and to generate spirit among its players or a student may see that a teacher needs an instrument to call students in from lunch recess. Students will list them for future reference. 9. Students study the various classifications of classical musical instruments, such as wind, string, percussion and brass. Investigate how sounds are produced on instruments in each of the instrument families. Have students discuss the qualities of each instrument familys sound. The students will now take the list generated in step eight and match each need to a specific instrumental classification. For example, the football teams need could be met by creating an instrument capable of producing a sound with a high pitch and great amplitude. A stringed instrument would not be a viable choice due to its subtle sound.

252

musical instruments LESSON 17

10. Students visit the Virtual Museum of Musical Inventions website http://www.op97.k12.il.us/schools/ longfellow/lrexford/base/ to see musical inventions created by other students. This will help them develop ideas about how to create their own musical inventions. 11. Each student designs an instrument that meets a specific societal need and reflects an understanding of the scientific principles of sound. 12. Students create the instruments using recycled or scrap material found at home or at school and check their sound production and effectiveness, modifying them if needed. 13. Students return to the examples of African musical instruments, taking note of the visual and sculptural level of adornment found on each example. The students are reminded that in African societies the instrument is more than a simple sound producing tool. It is a ceremonial object that reflects its owner or the significance of its social setting. With this in mind, the students are asked to modify and adorn their instruments to be reflective of their owners and the significance of their uses in a specific social setting.

14. As a culminating activity students explain how their instruments produce sound and play simple tunes or rhythms using the instruments they have created. The students can also work together to form an orchestra. 15. A discussion could then be held within the class conjecturing as to the purpose of each tune or rhythm. 16. Submit the classes musical inventions to the Virtual Museum of Musical Inventions website. Have students write a paragraph about their instruments and use a digital camera or a regular camera to take a photo of each student with his or her instrument. Submission directions can be found at http://www.op97.k12.il.us/schools/ longfellow/lrexford/base/page2.html Be sure you have permission from parents before you post photos of students on any website.

253

LESSON 17 musical instruments

assessment
NAME _______________________________________________________DATE____________ MUSICAL INSTRUMENT ________________________________________________________

SKILL

IMPROVEMENT NEEDED 1 Comments:

COMPETENT 2

FLUENT 3

The student communicates an understanding of the significance of musical instruments used in African society. The student communicates an understanding of the scientific principles of sound production. The creation of the instrument reflects a correlation between the purpose and the design of the instrument. The creation of the instrument reflects an understanding of the scientific principles of sound production. The representation of the setting and the owner is reflected in the adornment of the musical instrument. The musical performance reflects an alignment between the stated purpose and the sound produced.

Comments:

Comments:

Comments:

Comments:

Comments:

Comments:

Comments:

Comments:

Comments:

Comments:

Comments:

Comments:

Comments:

Comments:

Comments:

Comments:

Comments:

254

musical instruments LESSON 17

Curriculum Connections and Extensions

Science and Social Studies
Students examine animal rights and conservation issues in relation to the production of musical instruments. For example, the chiefs trumpet is made from the tusks of an elephant.

Dance
Within the African culture no one is considered to be simply an observer of a musical performance. Everyone is expected to be a participant, fully engaged in the production of the music. Kinesthetic movements can be developed to enhance the rhythm of the musical sounds created by the instruments, allowing the listeners to become part of the rhythms and producers of sound.

Language Arts
A story could be developed around a societal setting that generates the need for musical instruments. The story could be fiction or nonfiction, allowing the students to be as whimsical or realistic as they desire.

visual arts and music

Select a variety of works of art styles, times, subject matter and cultures. Have a selection of CDs or taped music available and possibly a few borrowed percussion instruments from the music department. Working in small groups and given only five to eight minutes for rehearsal, have students interpret the works of art using music. Have each group perform their interpretation ending in a tableau to represent visually the work of art for the class. Encourage the students to include movement or dance as part of the musical interpretation to enhance this performance.

255

LESSON 17 musical instruments

bibliography
Print Resources
Bassani, Ezio and William B. Fagg. Africa and the Renaissance: Art in Ivory. New York: Neues Publishing, 1988. Brocket, Ray. Sound Experiments. Chicago: Childrens Press, 1983. Discovery Works. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. Pasachoff, Jay M. Science Explorer: Sound and Light. Needham, Massachusetts: Prentice Hall, 2000.

Electronic Resources
African Musical Instruments Representing Art and Life http://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~arj4g/ shell.html Music for the Eyes The Los Angeles County Museum of Art http://www.lacma.org/ (after entering the site, click on exhibitions then click on Music for the Eyes: The Fine Art of African Musical Instruments) Music of Africa African Culture http://www.arthur.k12.il.us/ddavis/ mic/music/default.html Explore Africas Music http://www.cama.org.za/music.htm The Soundry http://library.thinkquest.org/19537/ Sound and Noise Fatlion Kidscience http://www.fatlion.com/science/ sound.html Homemade Musical Instruments http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/ music_education/5804 Virtual Museum of Musical Inventions http://www.op97.k12.il.us/schools/l ongfellow/lrexford/base/ How Musical Instruments Make Sound http://library.thinkquest.org/11315/ instrum.htm

256