Passi-Jo Warrako Musica - Essay Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Tutor :xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Title : Passi-Jo "Warrako Musica" Institution : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Date :xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx @ 2010 Introduction Music is one of the things that help us to build and strengthen our language skills by helping us to know how to socialize and function with people that we live with in the society. Most people who develop their interest in music are those who get introduced to music at very tender ages and this is what helps them to continue liking it and thus helping them in their music performing abilities (Graham 2009).This is one of the reasons that can be used in order to explain the impact of music performance, the culture being represented by a given genre of music in the world today. Lingala Music Performance Lingala music is one of the genres of music that has really captured the attention of many people in the world due to the fact that it is original in all aspects of its performance. This type of music is mainly performed in the Democratic Republic of Congo mainly in Kinshasa the capital city where almost everyone has the ability to sing (Graham 2009).Many myths have been given so as to explain why people from Congo-Kinshasa sing that good because this kind of talent does not seem to be genuine to many people especially to those who are strongly attached to some primitive African cultures. Some claim that the Congolese use mystical powers to obtain the kind of voice that they have, others claim that it is the palm oil that they use in cooking food that softens their voices and so on. Based on these beliefs, a reliable conclusion can not be made but the fact still remains that Lingala music is one of the best African genres of music. Lingala music is derived from the Lingala language which happens to be the second spoken national language in Congo-Kinshasa. This is a very easy language to compose a song with since it has musical intonations on its own and it is spoken mainly in Kinshasa which is the capital city, Kisangani and in the Ituri province the part of the country that is one of the richest in minerals such as gold and diamonds among others (Graham 2009). Lingala language is used together with Swahili language in the Ituri province because it is also considered to be an economical language which brings traders from different parts of the country together. It is easier for Congolese to do business negotiations in Lingala because almost everyone understands the language and that a bigger percentage of elites in the country are able to communicate both in French and Lingala (Anri 2005).Lingala music started in the early fifties in Congo-Kinshasa and to date it has turned up to be one of the greatest music styles among the genres of African music with great names to boast with such as Kofi Olomide, Franco and Zaiko Langa Langa among others. Lingala music performance has been able to produce other types of famous music styles such as Ndombolo which was brought to existence by Kofi Olomide in the mid-nineties and this type of music was also embraced warmly by many other West and Central African people. This genre of music involves vigorous movement of the body parts especially the waist that does not seem to be having bones. Most of the themes that are being focused on in most Lingala songs are such as Love, friendship, hate and death and these are the main themes that people want to hear about in life since it affects them in one way or another. Lingala music does not attract fans from African countries only but also the whole world finds it interesting because there are Congolese musicians who are based in Europe and their music is doing very well due to the fact that they also have European fans. Lingala music has gained popularity both in Congo and in other parts of the world and this has really helped the country to continue developing in many ways. With all the success that Lingala music has gained in the African music world, it is evident to say that it is the best genre of music alive in the modern Africa (Anri 2005). Meaning of Music in Africa Music is given very different approaches from different parts of the world and this is because they all have differed cultures. Africa is one of the continents that highly appreciate music in the world and this has been that way even before the colonial days. Most Africans find pleasure in singing because they are aware that their ancestors did a lot of invocations that involved a lot of singing and dancing and that most of traditional occasions such as sacrifices could not take place before there was a song to accompany it. Music was one of the elements that African elders in the traditional days used in order to impact knowledge to their children. They did this through telling children stories that entailed a lot of singing and this sounded very interesting to children thus making them more interested in hearing the stories and thus learning new concepts in life. During initiations such as circumcisions, teenagers used to be sung for so as to remove fear from their minds and making them brave enough to face greater challenges in life ahead of them. Music means a lot in most African countries in the world because it contributes a lot to the success of Africans. In everything that people do in Africa, music has to be part of it so as to make it interesting. Music is embraced at any place or time by people in most African communities because they do believe that music should part of each activity taking place in their society. Kwesi, Y (2004). African folklore: an encyclopedia of music and dance. Taylor & Francis In Congo-Kinshasa for example, women grind the cassava floor in the pestle in turns while singing some traditional songs and this makes grinding work easy to do, boys who are sent to take care of cattle in the forest also come together and start singing while grazing their cattle and this helps them to avoid boredom in the responsibility that they have been given and when men are digging in the gardens they also come up with a song to accompany their work (Kwesi 2004). Music is composed in order to accompany any activity taking place in African communities and this is also one of the things that bring unity among people in African societies. Through singing lullabies, children in most African countries become introduced to music when they are very young and this contributes a lot to their passion for music careers. During other rights of passage such as baptism, weddings and funerals music are one of the elements of initiative that is used in order to bring people together (Kwesi 2004). African music is also vey interesting in the sense that it uses natural African instruments such as drums and other instruments. Music is also used by many Africans in order to please their leaders as a mode of appreciation of what they have done for them and one of the most common known African presidents who preferred being praised with songs was Mobutu Sese Seko of Congo-Kinshasa which was formerly known as Zaire. Picture of Mobutu.Graham, R (2009).The world of African music: Stern’s guide to contemporary African music. Pluto Press, Indiana University. Praising leaders in the African society was one of the ways of encouraging them to continue with their reproductive leadership and also encouraging them through flatters even when their leadership was not good. Without music, the African culture would not have meaning because Africans strongly believe in the power of singing and invoking mystic powers as they were taught by their ancestors in the traditional days (Kwesi 2004). Most people in the world have lost their culture but in most African countries it is evident that music has helped them maintain their culture repetitive songs are sung during different occasions and through this the same lessons are maintained in the African society. Most African communities highly appreciate music as compared to other societies in the world where music is just for pleasure (Kwesi 2004). For Africans, music is way beyond just pleasure but also creates a social platform for people to interact in peace love and unity. It harmonizes the manner in which people relate with each other in the society and this is one of the reasons as to why Africans include music in most of the things that they do in their daily activities. Passi Jo "Warrako Musica" Passi Jo "Warrako Musica .Gerhard, K (2010). Theory of African Music: Chicago studies in Ethnomusicology. University of Chicago press, New York In reference to (Gerhard 2010).One of the best examples of musicians in the world who can help in best description of music performance and the culture behind it is Passi Jo and his Warako Musica band. Passi Jo is one of the most outstanding African musicians born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo although his motherland was Congo Brazzaville. The type of music that is performed by Passi Jo is a very unique type of music since it is very interesting and attracts many fans. Passi Jo brings out the culture of his community through the kind of music that he sings. He is one of the musicians who started his music career in the village and due to his hard work he was able to release many albums that saw him to reach to international heights. Most musicians try very hard to get attention from great crowds of people but it is only the quality of the music that they produce that can make them move to greater heights of success in the musical world. African musicians have been trying their level best to attract international crowds but very few of them have made it through and this is all because of the reasons as to why they want to release their albums (Gerhard 2010). When a musician approaches a musical career from the aspect of fame and riches then chances are very slim that they will succeed and this is the reason as to why musicians who do music with a passion like Passi Jo make it through. In the early years of his musical career, Passi decided to make his music to be appreciated by people from his community by singing songs that they could identify themselves with. Passi made his type of music unique because he made it natural through using natural musical instruments from his community and some of the instruments that he used were such as the ntsakala which was a shaker that was filled with pebbles or stones in them and he also used Sanza and likembe at times. Gerhard, K (2010). Theory of African Music: Chicago studies in Ethnomusicology. University of Chicago press, New York Using different types of musical instruments is what spiced up the genre of music that Passi Jo was performing when he was getting into the music scene. There are very many types of music in Congo thus when choosing which type of music to use, the musician has to chose while putting in mind the community that they want to target most. Passi Jo used instruments that were mainly used by people in the southern part of the Congo since that is where the village of his mother was situated and according to their culture it is polite to entertain people from your own community before you start looking for fame elsewhere (Gerhard 2010). This musician will be remembered by many people in the community because he decided to appreciate the traditional music of his community and helped in improving it. Most musicians in other African countries tend to embrace western music styles and that is one of the reasons as to why some of them are already losing their culture. Congolese musicians strongly believe in maintaining their culture and improving it and one of the best ways of doing this is through the kind of music that they compose. Songs composed by Passi Jo tend to identify with African traditional culture of people from his community and that is why most people in the world tend to find Lingala music very interesting and valuable (Gerhard 2010).His songs do not only focus on his African community but it has also moved to improving on culture that exists on the African continent thus making most Africans proud of his type of music. Music Industry In conclusion Most of Congolese musicians tend to use music productions from their own countries as compared to other African musicians. They have been improving in their production of music and they have done this through using both African traditional musical instruments and western musical instruments in their albums and that are the reason as to why their music is appreciated by all groups of people (Gerhard 2010).In the modern world, Congolese musicians tend to incorporate both their own music industries with foreign industries since the foreign ones tend to have more advanced instruments and this also helps in boosting their music. By following this type of music model that entails both traditional and modern instruments; their music practice is improved with change in time. Finally, Lingala music is one of the types of music that is considered to be very rich in Africa and it has one of the most wonderful languages enriched with African traditions. References Anri, H (2005). Emerging solutions for musical arts education in Africa: Pan African Society for Musical Arts Education. Congo-Kinshasa Graham, R (2009).The world of African music: Stern’s guide to contemporary African music. Pluto Press, Indiana University.. Kwesi, Y (2004). African folklore: an encyclopedia of music and dance. Taylor & Francis publisher. Oxford Press, New York Jacqui, M (1996). Steppin' on the blues: the visible rhythms of African American dance Folklore and society Edition8, Publisher University of Illinois Press, New York Gerhard, K (2010). Theory of African Music: Chicago studies in Ethnomusicology. University of Chicago press, New York Graham, R (2009). The Da Capo guide to contemporary African music: Quality Paperbacks series. Da Capo Press, Indiana University Read More

This genre of music involves vigorous movement of the body parts especially the waist that does not seem to be having bones. Most of the themes that are being focused on in most Lingala songs are such as Love, friendship, hate and death and these are the main themes that people want to hear about in life since it affects them in one way or another. Lingala music does not attract fans from African countries only but also the whole world finds it interesting because there are Congolese musicians who are based in Europe and their music is doing very well due to the fact that they also have European fans.

Lingala music has gained popularity both in Congo and in other parts of the world and this has really helped the country to continue developing in many ways. With all the success that Lingala music has gained in the African music world, it is evident to say that it is the best genre of music alive in the modern Africa (Anri 2005). Meaning of Music in Africa Music is given very different approaches from different parts of the world and this is because they all have differed cultures. Africa is one of the continents that highly appreciate music in the world and this has been that way even before the colonial days.

Most Africans find pleasure in singing because they are aware that their ancestors did a lot of invocations that involved a lot of singing and dancing and that most of traditional occasions such as sacrifices could not take place before there was a song to accompany it. Music was one of the elements that African elders in the traditional days used in order to impact knowledge to their children. They did this through telling children stories that entailed a lot of singing and this sounded very interesting to children thus making them more interested in hearing the stories and thus learning new concepts in life.

During initiations such as circumcisions, teenagers used to be sung for so as to remove fear from their minds and making them brave enough to face greater challenges in life ahead of them. Music means a lot in most African countries in the world because it contributes a lot to the success of Africans. In everything that people do in Africa, music has to be part of it so as to make it interesting. Music is embraced at any place or time by people in most African communities because they do believe that music should part of each activity taking place in their society.

Kwesi, Y (2004). African folklore: an encyclopedia of music and dance. Taylor & Francis In Congo-Kinshasa for example, women grind the cassava floor in the pestle in turns while singing some traditional songs and this makes grinding work easy to do, boys who are sent to take care of cattle in the forest also come together and start singing while grazing their cattle and this helps them to avoid boredom in the responsibility that they have been given and when men are digging in the gardens they also come up with a song to accompany their work (Kwesi 2004).

Music is composed in order to accompany any activity taking place in African communities and this is also one of the things that bring unity among people in African societies. Through singing lullabies, children in most African countries become introduced to music when they are very young and this contributes a lot to their passion for music careers. During other rights of passage such as baptism, weddings and funerals music are one of the elements of initiative that is used in order to bring people together (Kwesi 2004).

African music is also vey interesting in the sense that it uses natural African instruments such as drums and other instruments. Music is also used by many Africans in order to please their leaders as a mode of appreciation of what they have done for them and one of the most common known African presidents who preferred being praised with songs was Mobutu Sese Seko of Congo-Kinshasa which was formerly known as Zaire. Picture of Mobutu.Graham, R (2009).

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