Throughout the class, I have learned so much about African Music and where music has originated. Music is a symbol of culture and this is evident with the Bahamian culture within the Bahamas. The Bahamians were highly influenced by the slaves that were brought over by the Europeans. There were approximately 15,500 slaves taken from Africa to the Bahamas. Since there were a lot of slaves taken to the Bahamas the culture was affected by both the Europeans and the Africans with a heavier influence from the Africans. The blending of cultures created the Bahamian culture which created such an interesting genre of music. The song that I selected for this analysis is titled, Liar. There are many musical traits within the song that support the Afrocentric Theory of Music. The music traits of my song Liar connect to the theory Afrocentric due to the fact that many Bahamian artists use traits that were originated in Africa. The Africans brought over many different styles of music as well as the many different instruments that are used throughout the different cultures in the Bahamas. Today, the Bahamians still use the different styles as well as incorporate the instruments that the Africans brought over, but they add a more tropical feel by adding their cultural instruments to those who were brought over. The musical traits such as repetition, timbres (instruments), and the application of a faster tempo allow the song to create a story about Bahamian culture as well as connect to different African traits.
The musical trait I’m choosing to focus on is the rake and scrape style used in the Bahamas. Rake-and-scrape is a genre of music native to the Bahamas. Its main instruments are associated with the Goombay drum, Accordion also known as a Concertina, and a Hand saw (Collins p. 179). The rake and scrape are typically played when the black Bahamians are celebrating. The term scrape comes from the scraping of a stick against a carpenter’s saw. With these instruments, they would mimic sounds that they were originated from their homeland. The saw creates sounds that can be compared to like instruments such as the Nigerian woodblock guiro and the cabasa without the differences in pitch. Not only does it produce the scraping sound that can be done on many other percussion instruments in the Caribbean cultures the wobbly sound created by the bending, hitting, and scraping of the saw introduces unique harmonic textures. The saw is a very important element in the making of rake and scrapes music since it keeps the rhythm together as it wobbles up and down in pitch (Rake ’n’ Scrape music of the Bahamas, 2004). The unique pitch makes the genre very powerful and popular in the Bahamas. The genre of music was also created by the slaves who were brought to the Bahamas due to the fact that they were only able to make music with the objects that they had or found. The discovered the noise when using a washboard and a wood stick since those were the objects that applied to them. This genre of music was very popular back in the day in the Bahamas but is still used today by many artists and bands. Along with the importance, there is a festival that occurs that is revolved around the rake and scrape in the Bahamas which is held on labor day weekend where they celebrate the beautiful instrument and how much it has shaped their culture.
The musical trait that I chose to connect use was the use of the goombay drum/ music in the Bahamian culture. Goombay is a Neo-African drum and dance that was created by Black Caribbeans during the late 18th century as a response to the oppression of slavery (Collins p. 179). Goombay music normally has one singer with instruments in the background consisting of the goombay drum banjos, guitars, and a piano. The drum plays a major role in the culture due to the fact that it was brought over from the slaves. The slaves played a huge role because they brought their music and their instruments over to the Bahamas. The drum is very significant in the culture and is shown off due to its unique sound and how it was made. In The Bahamas, its most famous practitioner in modern times was Alphonso ‘Blind Blake’ Higgs, who performed at the Nassau International Airport for many years. The drum is a membranophone made with goatskin and played with the hands. The goombay name has also evolved to become synonymous with local Afro-Caribbean music related to calypso. With just one drum, the goombay drummer can play many different timbres and incorporate a wide range of dynamics, thus making it almost impossible to notate with the current European notation symbols. The music of goombay is similar to that of the calypso from Trinidad, where song lyricists tell stories of the everyday and extraordinary events in the local community, and the music is simple in its chord progression (Collins p. 179). In listening to the various styles of Bahamian music, the music of goombay lends itself to a wider variety of rhythmic nuances, tempos, and meter variations. The goombay drum is unique in many ways and is very important in the culture back then and still today.
The last musical trait that I will be focusing on is the fast tempo that occurs when making Bahamian music. Most music in the Bahamas is played using a fast tempo to have the audience dance along to the beat of the music. The Goombay style of music is played at a faster pace because it plays a major factor in the festival Junkanoo. Goombay singers tend to sing about local or foreign events, social problems, and cultural practices with a fast and upbeat tempo (Goombay, 2019). The music of Goombay gained a wider variety of rhythmic ideas, tempos, and meter variations by listening to other styles of Bahamian music. The instruments that were used by the slaves were created to incorporate dance into their pieces of music. For example, the rake and scrape style of music, which originated from Africa, has a louder and screeching sound to it which works great for a faster tempo song (Goombay, 2019). Along with the fast tempo of the instruments, the songs are also sung at a fast pace which keeps the rhythm and the tempo at a fast steady pace. The voices speed up a bit creating a much faster tempo. The tempo plays a huge role when it comes to the Bahamian style of music which connects to the musical traits that the African slaves brought over to the Bahamas.
Many traits connect Bahamian music to African music because the slaves brought over many traits. The Africans play a major role when it came to creating music in the Bahamas. Their many genres, instruments, and fast-paced tempo helped the Bahamians create their unique songs. Overall, the traits repetition (call and response), timbres (instruments), and the application of a fast-paced tempo are a few traits that connect Bahamian music to the Afrocentric theory.
Works Cited:
Collins, John. “Pan African Goombay Drum-Dance Music: Its Ramifications and Development in Ghana.” Legon Journal of the Humanities, vol. 18, Sept. 2007, p. 179. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edo&AN=32008307&site=eds-live
2004, bahamasentertainers.com/Paper/rkeNscr.html.Music of The Bahamas — Rake ’n’ Scrape“Music Of The Bahamas.”
“The Music — Goombay!” Google Sites, sites.google.com/site/goombaybyjenny/the-music
