Music and Dance Traditions of Ghana

Music and Dance Traditions of Ghana
Author: Paschal Yao Younge
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 488
Release: 2011-09-26
Genre: Education
ISBN:

"The dance and musical traditions of Ghana's four main ethnic groups are covered comprehensively: general concepts of music, dance and performance; cultural perspectives; performance; and form and structure of musical types and dance-drumming ceremonies. Historical, geographical, cultural and social backgrounds of the groups are included. Provides curriculum development, teaching methods, photographs, maps, and musical scores"--Provided by publisher.

Female Voices from an Ewe Dance-drumming Community in Ghana

Female Voices from an Ewe Dance-drumming Community in Ghana
Author: James M. Burns
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2009
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9780754664956

James Burns provides a detailed ethnography of a group of female musicians from the Dzigbordi community dance-drumming club from the rural town of Dzodze, located in South-Eastern Ghana. Dzigbordi is part of a genre known as adekede, or female songs of redress, where women musicians critique gender relations in society. Burns uses audio and video interviews, recordings of rehearsals and performances and detailed collaborative analyses of song texts, dance routines and performance practice to address important methodological shifts in ethnomusicology that outline a more humanistic perspective of music cultures. The book will appeal to those interested in African Studies, Gender Studies and Oral Literature, as well as ethnomusicology and includes a DVD documentary.

Female Song Tradition and the Akan of Ghana

Female Song Tradition and the Akan of Ghana
Author: Kwasi Ampene
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2005
Genre: Art
ISBN:

Nnwonkoro is a genre of women's song found among the Akan-speaking peoples of Ghana. It has become a hybrid musical form, incorporating songs and dance movements based on traditional practices alongside others reflecting Christian influence. Nnwonkoro groups perform regularly at funerals, on state occasions, for entertainment, and even in church. In common with other Akan musical traditions, nnwonkoro is transmitted orally and aurally. Based on extensive fieldwork in the Asante and Bono Ahafo regions, and featuring many transcriptions of songs, this book investigates the nature of composition in oral culture, together with issues such as the scope of the poetic imagination and the transformation processes that accompany modernization. This study illuminates the musical style of nnwonkoro in a way which, it is hoped, will facilitate future comparative study of African songs. A CD recording is included.

Philosophical Foundations of the African Humanities through Postcolonial Perspectives

Philosophical Foundations of the African Humanities through Postcolonial Perspectives
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2019-03-19
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9004392947

These essays by scholars in postcolonial studies demonstrate that the humanities’ relevance lies, not in creating a “world culture” to address the world’s problems, but in critical analyses of alterity, difference, and how the Other is perceived, defined and subdued.

The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture

The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture
Author: Janet Sturman
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Total Pages: 5212
Release: 2019-02-26
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1506353371

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Music and Culture presents key concepts in the study of music in its cultural context and provides an introduction to the discipline of ethnomusicology, its methods, concerns, and its contributions to knowledge and understanding of the world′s musical cultures, styles, and practices. The diverse voices of contributors to this encyclopedia confirm ethnomusicology′s fundamental ethos of inclusion and respect for diversity. Combined, the multiplicity of topics and approaches are presented in an easy-to-search A-Z format and offer a fresh perspective on the field and the subject of music in culture. Key features include: Approximately 730 signed articles, authored by prominent scholars, are arranged A-to-Z and published in a choice of print or electronic editions Pedagogical elements include Further Readings and Cross References to conclude each article and a Reader’s Guide in the front matter organizing entries by broad topical or thematic areas Back matter includes an annotated Resource Guide to further research (journals, books, and associations), an appendix listing notable archives, libraries, and museums, and a detailed Index The Index, Reader’s Guide themes, and Cross References combine for thorough search-and-browse capabilities in the electronic edition

Female Voices from an Ewe Dance-drumming Community in Ghana

Female Voices from an Ewe Dance-drumming Community in Ghana
Author: James Burns
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2017-07-05
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1351567152

Ewe dance-drumming has been extensively studied throughout the history of ethnomusicology, but up to now there has not been a single study that addresses Ewe female musicians. James Burns redresses this deficiency through a detailed ethnography of a group of female musicians from the Dzigbordi community dance-drumming club from the rural town of Dzodze, located in South-Eastern Ghana. Dzigbordi was specifically chosen because of the author's long association with the group members, and because it is part of a genre known as adekede, or female songs of redress, where women musicians critique gender relations in society. Burns uses audio and video interviews, recordings of rehearsals and performances and detailed collaborative analyses of song texts, dance routines and performance practice to address important methodological shifts in ethnomusicology that outline a more humanistic perspective of music cultures. This perspective encompasses the inter-linkages between history, social processes and individual creative artists. The voices of Dzigbordi women provide us not only with a more complete picture of Ewe music-making, they further allow us to better understand the relationship between culture, social life and individual creativity. The book will therefore appeal to those interested in African Studies, Gender Studies and Oral Literature, as well as ethnomusicology. Includes a DVD documentary.

Highlife Saturday Night

Highlife Saturday Night
Author: Nate Plageman
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2013
Genre: History
ISBN: 0253007259

Highlife Saturday Night captures the vibrancy of Saturday nights in Ghana—when musicians took to the stage and dancers took to the floor—in this penetrating look at musical leisure during a time of social, political, and cultural change. Framing dance band "highlife" music as a central medium through which Ghanaians negotiated gendered and generational social relations, Nate Plageman shows how popular music was central to the rhythm of daily life in a West African nation. He traces the history of highlife in urban Ghana during much of the 20th century and documents a range of figures that fueled the music's emergence, evolution, and explosive popularity. This book is generously enhanced by audiovisual material on the Ethnomusicology Multimedia website.

Culture and Customs of Ghana

Culture and Customs of Ghana
Author: Steven J. Salm
Publisher: Greenwood
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2002-03-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN:

Provides an overview of the history and culture of Ghana, featuring discussion of the country's religion and thought, the arts, cuisine and traditional dress, gender roles, marriage and family, social customs, and lifestyle.