Traditional African Music Essays -- Musical Traditions Essays Papers

Traditional African MusicAn attempt to pin scratch off a single meaning for the word impostal, presents a problem in umteen ways. The implications of the word are many, and are withdrawd to various connotations. almost people, Westerners in particular, may actually shun the tralatitious, as they feel that it implies a resistance to modernity. This view is incorrect, and there exists an ethnocentric double standard when Westerners admit their tradition versus African tradition. Others focus on tradition as that which has always been done, for any(prenominal) reason, and that it must be continued to maintain the community, a universal balance, a family relationship with the gods, or some other goal. Africa and its people require see many hardships over the course of history, from colonization to current attempts at development. Oppression, pressure enslavement or other forms of brutality have been constant threats. These dangers have helped create a stronger African identit y in many senses. rugged times bring out in humans a entrust to cling to that which is known and familiar, as everything else seems to spiral out of control. As many slaves journeyed across the Middle Passage, for example, they disregarded language and ethnic barriers, and collaborated to make medicinal drug as an escape from the horrors of their circumstances, in order to create a tie to the homeland. Groups such as the Tumbuka and Dagbamba have also done this. They have managed to harbor a strong identity, partially due to the continued use of musical comedy comedy practices paradoxically, this has tied them to ancestral practices, but also made the transition to modernity easier. In dealing with societies where that which is modern is completely foreign and different from customary, holdin... ... Instead, it is mixed and complex. Contrary to what many believe, the retention of traditional practices and a transition to a modern state are not mutually exclusive. The role tha t tradition and customary behavior and practice play in society depends heavy on the situation and the individual reckoning of the importance of maintaining traditional musical practices, the value placed on time and its rationing, and the possible symbiotic relationship between the modern and the traditional. The analysis of how these three seemingly unrelated concepts interact with each other forms a basis for understanding the extent to which ?traditional? musical elements will be accepted or rejected by a particular society. ?Tradition? does not entail backwardness or inability to react to changes, but rather a continued compliancy for those who came before and their way of life.