John Miller Chernoff: African Rhythm and African Sensibility - Essay Example

Chernoff delves on this both personal and universal dilemma by saying “How can we bring something of a different order into our world of understanding and at the same time recognize and appreciate it on its own terms (3).” The writer not only tries to communicate to its readers what West African music is but also tries to elaborately and in an interesting way explain to them why it is so. Chernoff successfully relates the varied and multifarious interactions and trends in African music to the essential multiplicity and diversity of the social forces pervading the African cultural landscape. The beauty of Chernoff’s approach is that it explains African music as it is, without trying to correlate or link it to the similar trends existing in Western music. Yet, Chernoff’s attempt to differentiate West African music from Western music in a way opens the way for a novel and benign discourse between civilizations.

In the book, Chernoff elaborates on many African musical instruments. Dundun happens to be one of them. Dundun is actually a generic label for a big family of the bass drums of West African origins. Dunduns come in a variety of big and small sizes. Depending on the varied aspects like size, technique, shape, and tuning, Dunduns came in varied types like konkoni, Dinuba, kenkeni, sangban, etc. There exist wide variations in the way Dundun is played throughout West Africa. In Mali many a time only one Dundun is played with a bell held in one hand. In many regions of West Africa, more than one Dundun is played at a time. Dundun adds depth to the music with their deep and spaced notes.

It goes without saying that Chernoff’s book well showcases the length and breadth of West African music with all its call and response forms, various cross-rhythms, multiple meters. No doubt this book is indeed a classic of African studies.