Choir singing in Subsaharan Africa: Acoustic factors of a regional style in southern Mozambique

Abstract

Choir singing is a most prominent form of expressive behavior in Subsaharan Africa. A vast majority of expressive modes involves multipart singing, both within the framework of European tonal system as well as other structured ways of combining vocal sounds of different frequencies. Vocal improvisation stands as an important process for the course of performance; individual voice ranges, as well as issues of social status and musical competence, determine the ways musicians participate in performance. Aesthetic validation is often expressed by the use of a nonverbal expressive mode, ‘‘kulungwani,’’ a vocal technique involving the action of the lower maxillae and tongue in order to produce a low-frequency interruption of sound emission. Choral singing intonation processes seem to rely on harmonic results, rather than melodic. A regional choral style in southern Africa seems to have developed, where a particular distribution of formant frequencies and an emphasis on low-frequency energy play a significant role.