The Rhythmic Medium in African Music

Abstract

the nature of the rhythmic medium in African music. I would initially note two distinguishing points about African rhythms in the general context of critical theory. First, this discussion is grounded in general features of musical contexts that can be observed. Although the use of rhythms in African music is theoretically suggestive, its critical or philosophical relevance is not the extension of a hypothetical construct or an aesthetic manifesto. Thus, we are considering the aesthetic effect of rhythm in an art that exists, not an art that can or should be. Second, the African approach to rhythm reflects a different cultural orientation from what we normally find in Western and other cultural zones. Specifically, in African musical idioms, several rhythmic tendencies are elevated as fundamental principles of musical organization. In discussing the rhythmic characteristics of African music as indicative of cultural orientation, one begins with an assumption that modes of participation and interaction in musical performance contexts can provide a model of sensibility that reflects broader patterns of perception and aesthetic purpose. This assumption of cultural analogy is plausible in African musical idioms for several reasons. In African societies, the extent of participation in music-making is comparatively high, and African musical activity is often described as participatory in nature. Instead of isolating performers and spectators, African musical contexts exhibit a high degree of integration of spectators into the music-making process. Many people who would merely listen within other cultural idioms are involved in African music-making through accompanying handclapping, singing, and the use of simple percussion instruments like wood blocks or rattles.' Also, despite some notable exceptions, African music is primarily performed as music for dancing; important parts of musical sound are frequently contributed by dancers This essay is a revised version of a paper presented at the Commonwealth Center seminar series Rhythm in Nature and Culture. New Literary History, 1991, 22: 1093-1102