World Music
Study Guide: Sub-Saharan Africa
1. The mbira belongs to the class of instruments known as lamellaphone.
2. The Shona are a Bantu-speaking people of what country? Zimbabwe
3. Even simple mbira pieces contain many inner melodic lines, and involve an art of creative listening as
well as playing.
4. What is meant by “interlocking” or “hocketing?” “Interlocking” or “hocketing” is produced by
combined pitches between two or more sound sources to create a single melody or part.
5. What does “ostinato” mean? a short musical phrase that gets repeated
6. How many different countries are in Africa? 54 How many ethnolinguistic groups? 850
Why is it better to think about African music in terms of ethnolinguistic groups rather than nations?
