Principles of Rhythm Integration in African Drumming

Abstract

Rhythm in African music has been a subject of much interest to ethnomusicologists (see Kauffman 1980). While it would be generally agreed that much has been accomplished in the common effort to explain exactly what is the African treatment of (Jones 1959), there is at present no consensus on how this should be done. Each individual has tried to interpret African rhythm from his or her background knowledge of Western music and theory as either a performer or an ethnographer (Kauffman 1980). Of all these studies, the works of David Locke (1982), John Chernoff (1979), A. M. Jones (1954), and James Koetting (1970) are directly relevant to this discussion. Locke and Jones have focused primarily on Ewe dance drumming, Chernoff observed the Dagomba and Ewe,(1) while Koetting worked on Akan drumming, mainly to devise a notation system aimed at interpreting its holistic perception. Locke's background as a performer is reflected in his somewhat precise musical references and an approach that emphasizes descriptive as well as analytical methods. As a social scientist, Chernoff combines his learning experience with the aesthetics of his acculturative experience in Ghana. His approach is descriptive rather than analytical. Jones' transcriptions and theories have generated much discussion over the years. His experience with Tey, a native Ewe master drummer, was limited. He worked in a foreign environment where the drum ensemble was not readily available to him. Moreover, the use of his transcription machine with his informant limited his observations to one isolated part of the ensemble at a time. As a result, the vertical organization of his material is not adequately dealt with as he could not properly perceive the interrelationship of the whole ensemble. Nevertheless, the expositions of all these scholars show growing awareness of the intricacies of African drumming, partly because of the systematic approach adopted and partly because of their practical experience in African drumming. The problem apparent in most of these studies stems from a general lack of a holistic approach. As Koetting points out: [T]o analyze the patterns of a drum ensemble piece individually is to miss the main characteristic of the music, which is the totality of sound produced by the interrelation of the various parts. This is particularly true in viewing the relation between the master drum and the rest of the ensemble.... What is needed is a comprehensive analysis that can encompass similarities and differences as components of the whole.... A deeper probe of the music--involving such detail as the precise beginnings of master drum patterns, possible verbal meanings in subgroup or individual supporting patterns, and dance associations--would have to be made before any trustworthy conclusions could be reached. (1970, 139) I endorse the formulation of the problem by Koetting, since it confirms my own experience as a native scholar (Anku 1986; 1988; 1992; 1993; 1995a; 1995b). This study seeks to probe deeper into the internal structures of drumming by taking into account ethnographic evidence of norms, which are often missed in analytical observations and in the formulation of theories on rhythm in African drumming. Musical examples for this study are based on extracts from an Akan adowa drumming transcription provided as an appendix to this paper. The adowa ensemble (Akan funeral music) is made up of the following instrumentation: two boat-shaped bells (dawuro), two hourglass drums (donno), one hand drum (apentemma), one stick drum (petia), and a pair of talking drums (atumpan). The most significant aspect of multirhythm perception in drumming is that the various composite patterns are heard in integration and not as isolated units. While in most other forms of music we have become accustomed to the tune concept (melody, voice leading) as distinct from harmonic and other accompanying elements (Seeger 1966), there appears to be no such clearly defined or comparable tune concept in drumming. …