African Yoruba Drumming

African Yoruba Drumming Free Online Research Papers There are many things that set Yoruba drumming and Shona mbira music apart from one another. Most plainly of which is the sound that each produces. Typically, Yoruba drumming consists of a section of drummers playing various sizes, shapes and styles of drums, and is usually accompanied by vocalists. The mbira is a pitch and tone producing instrument that is plucked, rather than a percussive instrument that is struck or beat. Therefore, Mbira music is almost never accompanied by anything other than another mbria. However, the dundun drum itself is widely known for it’s ability to produce a wide range of pitches, also known as the â€Å"talking drum†. The use of dundun drums in African culture plays an important role, due to its close relationship with the African language of the Yoruba people. Because the African language is tonal, the dundun drum imitates the speech patterns of the language when it is played, hence the nickname â€Å"talking drum†. In the Eegun oje, a Yoruba masquarade, the dance is usually accompanied by bata, an ensemble of conically-shaped, double-headed membrane drums, and one of Yoruba’s most ancient instrumental ensembles. A bata ensemble consists of four drums: the iyaalu (the mother drum), and three supporting drums (the omele abo, the omele ako, and the kudi). The omele ako and the kudi often play very repetitive patterns and rhythms, while the omele abo often engages in dialogue with the iyaalu. The iyaalu is played by a master drummer, whose text-based improvisations are accompanied by the ostinato patterns of the supporting drums (Omojola, 2005, par. 2). Yoruba drumming is most often performed during rituals, or masquerade dances, in which a number of dancers dance to rhythmic cues given to them by the master drummer, and those not dancing often partake in a call-and-response style of vocal singing. However, vocals are perceived to be more of an accompaniment to the more dominant drumming. The texts of the songs were often sung as self-praise to motivate the dancers into action. Although many masquerades are used to represent the ancestor spirits of the Yoruba people, the Eegun oje is not. It is used plainly for entertainment. The representation or worship of ancestor spirits in song is one of the few things that Shona mbira music shares as a similarity. The Shona people have strong beliefs in life after death, in the sense that when death occurs, the spirit of the loved one transitions to another plane of existence. It is important to the Shona people that when this occurs, they stay in close communication with the deceased, in order to guide the spirits away from danger. They believe that the music of the mbira provides the most important means of communication to these spirits. The mbira consists of three rows of different sized metal strips, attached to a wooden resonator that are plucked to create different pitches. Cowry shells or bottle caps are also attached to the box, causing them to vibrate when a metal strip is plucked. One of the most important types of mbiras is the mbira davadzimu. It is an instrument closely associated with spirit possession ceremonies, known as the bira. In a bira ceremony, the mbria is played to create an open line of communication between the living and the dead. Although both the Yoruba and the Shona have affiliations with the spirit world, the difference is that the Shona use music to actively communicate with the dead, whereas the Yoruba typically just use music to worship spirits and gods in rituals and masquerades. Mbiras are typically played by themselves, indoors, but can also be played outdoors with the addition of a deze, a calabash resonator used for amplification. It is also not uncommon for Mbria players to play along with other Mbira players, or with the help of shakers and light percussion sections. In comparison to the four different drums sections used in the Eegun oje, there are typically two parts in mbria music: a leader (kushaura) and a follower (kutsinhera). Typically these parts are played by two different players, but they can also be played by a single, virtuoso mbira player. References: Omojola, B. (2005). Exploring the landscape of african music. OnMusic of the World. Retrieved January 26, 2009, from connect4education.org/Serf/ Default.aspx?(aa0unv55grguqz55zizmyd55) (bhnbf545znprvprbp0c0aj45)Event16. Research Papers on African Yoruba DrummingHip-Hop is ArtWhere Wild and West MeetComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoBringing Democracy to AfricaAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementThe Spring and AutumnThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andThree Concepts of PsychodynamicAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 Europe

History of the Nature Conservancy

History of the Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy joins forces with governments, non-profit organizations, local stakeholders, indigenous communities, corporate partners, and international organizations to find solutions to conservation challenges. Their conservation tactics include the protection of private lands, the creation of conservation-minded public policies, and the funding of conservation projects around the world. Among The Nature Conservancys more innovative conservation approaches is the debt-for-nature swaps. Such transactions ensure biodiversity conservation in exchange for debt owed by a developing country. Such debt-for-nature programs have been successful in many countries including Panama, Peru, and Guatemala. History The Nature Conservancy was formed in 1951 by a group of scientists who wanted to take direct action to save threatened natural areas around the world. In 1955, The Nature Conservancy acquired its first parcel of land, a 60-acre tract along the Mianus River Gorge which lies on the border of New York and Connecticut. That same year, the organization established the Land Preservation Fund, a conservation tool that is still used today by The Nature Conservancy to help provide funding for worldwide conservation efforts. In 1961, The Nature Conservancy formed a partnership with the Bureau of Land Management that was aimed at protecting old-growth forests in California. A gift from the Ford Foundation in 1965 made it possible for The Nature Conservancy to bring on its first full-time president. From that point on, The Nature Conservancy was in full swing. During the 1970s and 1980s, The Nature Conservancy setup key programs such as the Natural Heritage Network and the International Conservation Program. The Natural Heritage Network collects information about species distributions and natural communities throughout the United States. The International Conservation Program identifies key natural regions and conservation groups in Latin America. The Conservancy completed their first debt-for-nature swap to fund conservation work in Braulio Carillo National Park in 1988. During that same year, the Conservancy joined forces with the US Department of Defense to help manage 25 million acres of military land. In 1990, The Nature Conservancy launched a large-scale project called the Last Great Places Alliance, an effort aimed at saving entire ecosystems by protecting core reserves and establishing buffer zones around them. In 2001, The Nature Conservancy celebrated its 50th year anniversary. Also in 2001, they acquired Zumwalt Prairie Preserve, a protected area on the edge of Hells Canyon in Oregon. In 2001 through 2005, they purchased land in Colorado that would later form the Great Sand Dunes National Park and the Baca National Wildlife Refuge, as well as expand the Rio Grande National Forest. Most recently, the Conservancy organized the protection of 161,000 acres of forest in the Adirondacks of New York. They also recently negotiated a debt-for-nature swap to protect the tropical forest in Costa Rica.