Theory of African Music, Volume I

Gerhard Kubik

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9780226456928
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

Taken together, these comprehensive volumes offer an authoritative account of the music of Africa. One of the most prominent experts on the subject, Gerhard Kubik draws on his extensive travels and three decades of study in many parts of the continent to compare and contrast a wealth of musical traditions from a range of cultures.

In the first volume, Kubik describes and examines xylophone playing in southern Uganda and harp music from the Central African Republic; compares multi-part singing from across the continent; and explores movement and sound in eastern Angola. And in the second volume, he turns to the cognitive study of African rhythm, Yoruba chantefables, the musical Kachamba family of Mala?i, and African conceptions of space and time.

Each volume features an extensive number of photographs and is accompanied by a compact disc of Kubik's own recordings. Erudite and exhaustive, Theory of African Music will be an invaluable reference for years to come.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Preface to Volumes I and II
• Introduction
• I. Xylophone Playing in Southern Uganda
• II. Harp Music of the Azande and Related Peoples in the Central African Republic
• III. A Structural Examination of Multi-Part Singing in East, Central and Southern Africa
• IV. Composition Techniques in Kiganda Xylophone Music. With an Introduction into Some Kiganda Musical Concepts
• V. Concepts About Movement and Sound in the Eastern Angolan Culture Area
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Sound Examples of CD 1
• Contents of Volume II