Paschal Yao Younge

reading this bok reminded me of an old gullah song that was sung in african and traveled to america by a slave child who tuaght it to her children. By the time the song reached several generations of descendants,they did ot know what the words meant or why the song was sung. the only they knew was that it was song of the thier land of origin. Today was use music and dance to express our feelings just the same the people in Ghana. Its just the documnetary called a language you cry in. We call pull music out of our souls when there is a crisis or joy!… (más)

The DVDs which accompany this book were not available at the time of review. This review is based on an Advanced Reader’s Copy.
This book focuses on details of a number of dances of Ghana. Who is the intended audience? A book for a course in World Music would have more information on the cohesive properties of Ghanian music, what makes them unique and different from other regional music—or, conversely, what are the similarities. Younge does have a brief summary for each song, describing structure and types of harmony, but this uses a specialized vocabulary and no glossary is provided. This, along with a number of other terms unique to the study of music, such as “intervallal”, ostinato, and hemiola, implies the book is for music education majors. Yet the detail given for each ceremony indicates the purpose of the book is to give the student enough knowledge to reproduce the ceremonies described.
Only the native names are used for the ceremonies, instruments, songs, and pieces of the costume, and a font of the local alphabet is used. Even though a pronunciation key is provided, it is easy for the casual reader to become lost in similar-looking words. This is a book for the serious student.
The book is organized into regional sections, with a chapter providing an overview of the culture and history of five tribal groups. The amount of detail and aspects described varies for the different groups, i.e. one group might have a detailed explanation of the political structure while another group has more detail about the religion. Each introductory chapter is followed by 3-7 chapters, focusing on different dance-drum ceremonies for that group. Additional facts about the cultures are tucked into the text, increasing our understanding. For example, in describing the structure of the Baamaaya ceremony, we learn that “The most important duty of a man is to look after his household by providing food and all the necessities of life” (p.215). Photos and text illustrate and explain the instruments used, costumes, and how the “stage” is set. Not all regions within Ghana are covered.

Chapter 28 contains transcriptions and translations of 41 songs which might be sung in some of those ceremonies, along with their cultural meaning and musical analysis. Chapter 29 contains notation for the drumming for 22 songs using traditional mnemonic syllables to indicate the type of beat. This chapter includes all of the ceremonies which were described in the first part of the book.
Chapter 30 purports to be on the components of an African Music curriculum, but I felt most of the presentation was so general it would not be useful. Only the sections on visual arts and drama were expanded with sufficient detail to be useful.
I consider Chapter 31 to be the most useful. It includes lesson plans for teaching activities, using Bebeebe music as a model. The plans include objectives, a list of resources, background information the teacher will present to the class, and procedure. There are five units of an overview, five units on drumming, two units on singing, and two units on dancing.
Some awkward sentences gave me pause. “…musical activities of the Dagbambe are very extensive and mostly unknown” (p. 208): obviously the Dagbambe must know them. And this warrior’s ceremony can’t seem to decide if it is still performed as in the past or if it has been adopted for other purposes: “Atsiagbeke is …perform[ed] in traditional contexts …It’s presentation was reserved for the warriors when they returned from the battlefield… it is performed today during funerals…festivals…and by professional and amateur cultural groups for entertainment” (p. 70).… (más)