TRUMPET AND FLUTE ENSEMBLES OF THE

_idiophones

Idiophones have a long-standing tradition in African music , and that tradition is an interesting one . Trumpets , flutes and other wind instruments provide an intriguing case study because of their existence in a host of sub-Saharan African cultures . They have always been a part of not only music in those areas , but also the culture of those areas This history dates back hundreds of years , and the instruments have seen some changes over the centuries . As the book indicates , the different variations of idiophones are inherently African in nature , and the

cultures that brought them about have given these wind instruments their characteristic sound that is now commonplace in many different societies

As African Musicology indicates , instruments like the trumpet and the flute are a part of a characteristic musical phenomenon arising in sub-Saharan nations dating back to the fifteenth century . Instead of having individual performers and instruments take entire parts of various works , the musical tradition during that time saw individual performers play their own notes , each of which was combined to create the musical production in whatever social setting might have taken place . The book reads , Musical ensembles of this kind or of a similar structure , in which the players may produce two to three notes on their flutes or trumpets , can be found in many African cultures south of the Sahara . The interlocking playing technique of this ensembles is characteristically African : the single parts individually cannot stand alone their composition , however , is ingenious . It is the group...