African Music: The Rhythm of Life

Rhythm – essential to all life and all music. It is nestled in the beat of our hearts; it is the very thing that makes us tap our feet to a catchy tune. In fact, African music has had a strong influence on music everywhere, not only in terms of rhythm, but also in terms of melody and harmony.

African music, in fact, can be seen as one of the original influences present in modern day music. Our journey starts a couple of centuries back with the Atlantic Slave trade which saw many Africans taken from their homes to Europe, Brazil and America. While in itself it may have been a dark time in terms of human rights, it was indeed the golden era of refreshing influences in terms of art and African music. The African idea was adopted by many and fused with their respective local traditions and techniques.

In terms of art, we find that masters such as Pablo Picasso drew his inspiration from the Dan mask which originated from the Dan tribe.

In terms of music, we need only look at blues, jazz and pop to find the African influence in its rhythm and melody. These music styles all sprung from the slaves brought to America and have evolved in to many of the music forms we know to day. In addition it has been noted that North African music is closely related to Moslem Music as well as the folk music of Southern Spain.

And moving even close to the modern forms of music we know, we find that many jazz and pop musicians still draw their inspiration from African music. Where Marvin Gaye had a house in Senegal and commented on his love of the African influence, artists like David Byrne and even Stevie Wonder drew their inspiration from Black and Arab Africa. It was especially during the 1980's that Jazz and Pop artists started looking toward African music again for their inspiration.

Africa.com

So what has African music to do with a website like Africa.com? To be honest, quite a lot. Africa.com provides sources available for an in-depth look at African art and culture, as well as African music. Africa.com provides a virtual platform where all things African can be experienced. It is interesting to draw the similarities between modern music and the African music freely available on the website Africa.com.

So what is there to expect from a website like Africa.com in terms of African music? Well, ever heard of Soukous? It is a popular style of African music that originates from Congo and is similar to our modern versions of guitar band music. Its instruments feature modern electric guitars and drums mixed with traditional African instruments. Soukous is today not only found in Africa, but in parts of Europe as well. Africa.com is the perfect place if you are looking for more information on the Soukous or any other African music or African musical instrument.

Africa.com also lists another influential style of African music, called Highlife which has its roots in Ghana. This type of music has been divided into two forms: dance bands that predominantly play music similar to our western ballroom styles, and guitar bands, which use modern electric guitars to produce a unique musical style specific to the region.

These two African music styles and many more are available from Africa.com along with loads of information on everything African. For those with a love of music and an appreciation or interest in African life, Africa.com should be your next stop on the internet.