DOCTORAL SEMINAR IN THE MUSICS OF AFRICA (MUSC 7832)
Spring 2002

Meeting Time: Weds, 4:00-7 pm, Location: C191
Instructor: Kwasi Ampene, Phone: 2-6439, Email: ampene@stripe.colorado.edu

Course Description
The seminar interrogates, among others, the structures and procedures in traditional and contemporary musical expressions, compositional conventions in traditional music, theories of African Rhythm, social context of musical processes, the range of instrumental resources, and various aspects of performance practices.  Additionally, the course will examine contemporary musical expressions including Afro-Pop and African choral music.

Prerequisites
Doctoral students with pass in Prelims in Musicology and six credit hours in Musicology at the Graduate level.  All Master’s students with special permission from Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.

Course Requirements
You are required to participate in all class discussions and activities-this means completing any reading and/or writing assignments on time (in most cases by the following meeting) and to come to meetings with questions and comments related to your assignments and/or readings.  You will also be asked to propose, prepare, and complete a final research project related to one or more of the themes discussed in class or a topic of your own choice with my approval. The project will result in both an oral presentation and a professional quality manuscript, described in greater detail below.  Your final grade will be a combination of class participation (20%), class projects including reviews and oral presentations (40%), and research paper (40%).

Reviews
The quality of written communication is part of the evaluation for each writing assignment. Your essays must be carefully edited for typos and grammatical errors; they should appear clean and neat.  Reviews must be typed on white paper using standard typeface (please, no script or fancy typeface). Use one-inch margins around the text. If you cite published sources, you must include a bibliography.  If your paper does not conform to these specifications, it will be considered unfinished and returned to you without a grade.

Final Paper and Final Presentation
Your research project should result in an extended written essay as well as a twenty-minute oral presentation.  Both should be based on thoughtful, interpretive research that addresses some of the issues raised in class.  The essay should be well-written, as if it were being submitted to a professional journal (and perhaps it could be). You will give your oral presentation in a mock conference setting to be held during the last class meeting of the semester (during exam week).  You are free to choose any topic for your research project, although I reserve the right to reject any proposal I feel is inappropriate.  The project may either examine a particular music (event/performance/tradition/genre), musical analysis, or be theoretically/conceptually oriented.  Note in the course schedule below that you are required to submit a proposal on March 6th for approval before beginning your project.

You may also consult with me anytime during the semester.  If you wish, your project can also be directly or indirectly related to your thesis or dissertation work. You are also encouraged to consult with one another as you work on your exercises and final projects but I do expect your work to be your own.

Code of Conduct
I expect all of you to conduct yourself professionally during discussions and respect the views of your colleagues no matter how much you might disagree.  Further, you will be evaluated not on whether you agree with my own views but on how well you present and develop your thesis.  Needless to say, professional conduct also includes attending the class regularly, doing the work on time, and participating in discussions.

Week 1 Jan 16, 2002 Introduction: The Socio-Cultural Background
ß Africa Political, Physical, and Cultural
ß Diversity and Shared Characteristics of Musical Traditions in Africa
ß General Characteristics of traditional music

Arom, Simha. 1991. African Polyphony and Polyrhythm: Musical Structure and Methodology, New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 6-15.
Nketia, Kwabena. 1974. The Music of Africa, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., pp. 3-20.
Stone, Ruth. 1998.  "Introduction to African Music, in The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Vol 1, ed. Ruth Stone, New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., pp. 1-12
Also scan through: "Africa" in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Vol 1, ed. Stanley Sadie, London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd., pp. 190-210.

Week 2 Jan 23: MEANING AND THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF MUSIC
Review for 1/23:  Nketia, Kwabena. 1962. "The Problem of Meaning in African Music" in Ethnomusicology 8 (1), pp. 1-7.
Music and Spirit Possession
ß Historical Background of the Shona in Zimbabwe
ß Shona Mbira and Ancestral Spirits
Reading: Paul Berliner, 1981. "Music and Spirit Possession at a Shona Bira" in The Soul of Mbira, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, pp. 186-206.

Week 3 Jan 30th, Music in a Life-Cycle Ceremony: Akan Funeral Ceremony
Akan Nnwonkorø Songs: A Metaphor for Mediating the Continuity Between Life and Death
Review for Wed 1/30: Kwasi Ampene, "Funerary Celebration" in The Creative Process in Nnwonkorø: A Female Song Tradition of the Akan of Ghana, Work in Progress, Book Manuscript to be Published by Ashgate Publishers, pp. 187-219.
Reading: Nketia, Kwabena. 1969. "The Place of the Dirge in the Funeral Celebration, " "The Themes of the Dirge" in Funeral Dirges of the Akan People, New York: Negro University Press, 1969. Pp. 5-18, 19-50.

Week 4  Feb 6, Music and the Enactment of History
ß Historical Narrative and Praise Singing by Mande Jaliya (Griots): Guest Artist, Boubacar Diabete (Mandinka in Senegal)
ß The Dance Drama: Agbekor War Dance (Ewe, Ghana): Guest Artist: Nii Armah Sowah
ß Kete Dance in honor of Asante King (Akan, Ghana)
Knight, Roderic. 1984. "Music in Africa: The Manding Contexts, " in Gerard Behague, ed., Performance Practice, Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 59-77??

Week 5 Feb 13, STRUCTURES AND PROCEDURES
Compositional Conventions of Nnwonkorø Songs
ß The Performance Unit
ß Abeƒ and Aho
ß The Basic Song Unit
ß Fixed Rhythmic Group & Variable Rhythmic Group in a Song Unit (or Vocal Ensembles)
ß The Macro and Micro Structures of a Song Unit
Review (Group A for 2/13): Ampene, Kwasi.  Work in Progress. "Compositional Conventions of Nnwonkorø Songs" in The Creative Process in Nnwonkorø: A Female Song Tradition of the Akan of Ghana, Book Manuscript to be Published by Ashgate Publisers, pp. 69-82

Week 6 Feb 20, ORAL COMPOSITION
ß Transformation of Texts Into Songs
ß Poetic Processes and the Phonological Configuration
ß Polyphonic Processes
Group Projects; Review For 2/20: Ampene, Kwasi. Work in Progress. The Creative Process in Nnwonkorø: A Female Song Tradition of the Akan of Ghana, Work in Progress, Book Manuscript to be Published by Ashgate Publishers. pp. 133-140, 140-146, 146-150.

Week 7 Feb 27,  INSTRUMENTAL RESOURCES
ß Idiophones, Chordophones, Aerophones, Membranophones and Their Functions
Readings: Nketia, Kwabena. 1974.  The Music of Africa, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, pp. 67-84, 98-107, 92-97, 85-91.
Nketia, Kwabena.  1963.  "Modes of Drumming," in Drumming in Akan Communities of Ghana, New York: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd.

Week 8 March 6, THEORIES OF AFRICAN RHYTHM
ß Concept of the Time Line
ß Relationship Between Rhythm and Movement
Guest Artist: Adjei Abankwa
Proposals for Term Papers Due
Transcription Projects: Transcribe and analyze a timeline of your choice from the Tape/CD on reserve and present in our next meeting (March 13th). You can use any form of notation.

Week 9 March 13, Oral Presentations of Transcription Projects

Week 10 March 20, Theories of African Rhythm: Special Topics
Review for 3/20: Anku, William. 1997. "Principles of Rhythm Integration in African Drumming" in Black Music Research Journal 17(2), pp. 211-238.
Kauffman, Robert. 1980. "African Rhythm: A Reassessment,’ in Ethnomusicology 24 (3), pp. 393-415.
Kubik, Gerhard. 1985"The Emics of African Musical Rhythm," in Cross Rhythms 2, Bloomington, Ind.: Trickstar Press
Group/Individual Projects: Locke, David. 187/88?Drum Gahu: A Systematic Method for an African Percussion Piece, Crown Point, Ind.: White Cliff Media.

Week 11 March 25-29, Spring Break, No Classes

Week 12 April 3, New Approaches to Understanding African Rhythm
ß Speech Rhythm and Verbal Basis of Drum Rhythms
ß Fixed & Variable Rhythm Groups in Drum Ensembles

Readings: Agawu, Kofi. 1995. African Rhythm: A Northern Ewe Perspective, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Chapters 3 & 4.
Nketia, Kwabena. 1963. "The Verbal Basis of Drumming," in Drumming in Akan Communities of Ghana, New York: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, pp. 32-50.
Review for 4/3: Ong, Walter. 1982. "Oral Noetics" in Interfaces of the Word: Studies in the Evolution of Consciousness and Culture, Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Week 13 April 13, MODERN AFRICAN MUSIC: AFRO-POP
ß The Historical, Cultural, and Stylistic Sources of Afro-Pop
ß West African Highlife

Reading Assignment: "The Guitar in Africa: The 1950s-1990s" in The Worlds of Music 36 (2)
Bender. Wolfgang. 1991,  Sweet Mother: Modern African Music, Chicago: The Univerisity of Chicago Press, 1991.  Chapter 3
John Collins, West African Pop Roots, Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992. Chapters 2 & 3.

Week 14 April 17, South Africa
Choose a Topic to Review for 4/17: Copland, David. 1985. In Township Tonight! South Africa’s Black City Music and Theatre, New York: Longman Group Limited, Chapters 3, 6, 7 ???
Erlmann, Veit. 1999.  Music, Modernity, and the Global Imagination: South Africa and the West, New York: Oxford University Press, Chapters 8, 10, 11, 12, & 13. ??
Erlmann, Veit. 1991. African Stars: Studies in Black South African Performance, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, Chapters 5 & 6.

Week 15 April 24,
ß Soukouss (Democratic Republic of Congo)
ß Juju (Yoruba, Nigeria), Baba Mal  and Salif Keita (the Mansa of Mali) Moury Kante
Waterman, Christopher. 1990. Juju: A Social History and Ethnography of an African Popular Music, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Chapter 6.
Bender,Wolfgang. 1991 Sweet Mother: Modern African Music, Chicago: The Univerisity of Chicago Press, 1991.  Chapter 2, 42-64.

Week 16 May 1, MODERN AFRICAN MUSIC: WRITTEN CHORAL MUSIC
ß Ephraim Amu and the Development of Choral Music in Ghana
Nketia, Kwabena. 1993. "Introduction" in Amu Choral Works, Accra: Waterville Pubishing House, pp. 7-23.
Agawu, Kofi.  1984. "The Impact of Language on Musical Composition in Ghana: An Introduction to the Musical Style of Ephraim Amu," Ethnomusicology 27 (1), pp. 37-73.

Week 1 May 8 Oral Presentation of Term Projects
ß 20 mins presentation and 10 mins questions
ß Written version due