Studies in African Music

Studies in African Music is a 1959 book in two volumes by A.M. Jones. It is an in-depth analysis of the traditional music of the Ewe tribe.

Studies in African Music
AuthorA.M. Jones
LanguageEnglish
SubjectEthnomusicology
GenreNon-fiction
PublisherOxford University Press
Publication date
1959
Publication placeGreat Britain
Media typePrint
Pages295 (Volume I), 238 (Volume II)
ISBN0-19-713512-9
OCLC6977345

Summary

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The work is divided into two volumes,[1][2] with the first volume being an analysis of the music presented in Volume II, and the second being full-score reproductions of the pieces in question.

Volume I Contents

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  1. Introduction
  2. Play-Songs and Fishing Songs
  3. The Instruments of the Orchestra
  4. The Nyayito Dance
  5. Yeve Cult Music
  6. Club Dances - The Adzida Dance
  7. The Social Dance - Agbadza
  8. A Comparison of Drumming
  9. The Homogeneity of African Music
  10. Tone and Tune
  11. The Neo-Folk-Music

Volume II Contents

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  1. Play-Songs and Fishing Songs
  2. The Nyayito Dance
  3. Yeve Cult Music: (a) The Husago Dance, (b) The Sovu Dance, (c) The Sogba Dance
  4. The Adzida Dance
  5. The Agbadza Dance
  6. The Icila Dance

Influence

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Steve Reich has listed this work as an influence on his music, particularly his "fooling around with tape loops, which [he] began to envision as little mechanized Africans [laughs]."[3] It is also cited extensively in Volume I of Gunther Schuller's (who introduced Reich to the work) History of Jazz.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Jones, A.M. Studies in African Music: Volume I. London: Oxford University Press. 1959
  2. ^ Jones, A.M. Studies in African Music: Volume II. London: Oxford University Press. 1959
  3. ^ Strickland, Edward. American Composers: Dialogues on Contemporary Music (p. 40). Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 1991.
  4. ^ Schuller, Gunther. Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical Development. Oxford University Press. 1968
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