African Idiophone Instruments
What Are They
(Good For)?
The idiophone naturally
fascinates us: Like all African percussion instruments, it has that
rootsy
sound, that
ancient look. There's an abuncance of fun hand percussion and shaker
percussion in Africa. You
can learn about it in the world's
music schools - Or by just
observing Africa:
What exactly is an idiophone?

African idiophones
The word means "self-sounding"
and explains it all: It's the instrument's whole body that resonates
without the need of attached membranes (that's a membranophone)
or strings (a
chordophone).
In Ghana, I often see
people play whatever they can find: sticks, tin
cans, pots...
Any object that sounds when being
struck, shaken, scraped or stamped is a self-sounding instrument. So
basically even
your clapping hands and stamping feet!
Examples Of Idiophones
There are so many of them that scientists started
to categorize. Probably the most
relevant categories for
Africa are these, each with a few examples:
|
untuned |
tuned |
primary |
maracas
clappers
kosikas
|
xylophone
thumb piano
|
secondary |
djembe shakers
ankle shakers
|
|
Primary / Secondary
Primary ones are
actively played by a
musician through striking, shaking, scraping or stamping. Many
of these
simple instruments need great skills and practice.
The musician doesn't really play the
secondary
ones.
He just attaches them to his primary instrument or wears them on arms
and ankles. Through his
movements,
they passively add sound to the music.
Tuned / Untuned
Most percussion instruments produce only rhythm (
untuned).
Some primary instruments though have several pitches and can be tuned
to
create melody.
Good to know. But what we are
really interested
in is:
What Are Idiophones Actually Used For?
First of all, they play a significant part in:
Everyday African Life
Can't imagine what that means? Here are some examples:
- Farmers keep
their herds together or chase away wild animals.
-
Street vendors play
specific
signals to get attention of potential customers.
- Fitness groups gather on
Sunday mornings for a run
through the city streets, motivated and paced by bell rhythms.
- Kings
and
priests dramatize their processions and
ceremonies with bells and rattles that mark each of their moves.
Apart from that, self-sounding instruments also make great:
Childrens Musical Instruments
Ghanaian kids' favorite toy is the
Kosikas
.
That's surprising, because
playing it is quite challenging even for an adult. For our non-African
kids,
colorful rattles like the
Caxixi
or a
small wooden xylophone
are far
more suitable.
But even these "toys" are serious instruments in the
hands of:
Professional Musicians
In traditional music ensembles, it is always present in one
form or another:
The
bells are considered the "backbone"
of traditional music.
Although they don't dictate the pace, they mark the time line
that every member of the group follows. It must therefore be
played very accurately.
(It's these distinctive sounds of the
Atoke
or
Gankogui etc. that
let you
immediately recognize a rhythm and it's ethnic origin.)
Secondary
rattles and shakers worn by
dancers or attached to
instruments are responsible for that typical spice and rootsy
feel of African music.
Various types of
calabash shakers
like the
Axatse
effectively
drive the music and turn up
the heat with their loud and quick rhythms.
Conclusion
As you see, this type of instrument shouldn't be underestimated. It is
an
extremely powerful and versatile type of
percussion instrument.

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