Culture of Djibouti - Music

Music

See also: Music of Djibouti

Djibouti's various ethnic groups each have their own different styles of music and accompanying dances. A common instrument used by many of the communities is the drum, tanbura and oud. Somali and Afar have a rich musical heritage centered on traditional Somali and Afar folklore. Most Somali songs are pentatonic; that is, they only use five pitches per octave in contrast to a heptatonic (seven note) scale such as the major scale. At first listen, Somali music might be mistaken for the sounds of nearby regions such as Ethiopia, Sudan or Arabia, but it is ultimately recognizable by its own unique tunes and styles. Somali songs are usually the product of collaboration between lyricists (midho), songwriters (lahan) and singers ('odka or "voice").

Read more about this topic:  Culture Of Djibouti

Famous quotes containing the word music:

    For the introduction of a new kind of music must be shunned as imperiling the whole state; since styles of music are never disturbed without affecting the most important political institutions.
    Plato (c. 427–347 B.C.)

    It was a poetic recreation to watch those distant sails steering for half-fabulous ports, whose very names are a mysterious music to our ears.... It is remarkable that men do not sail the sea with more expectation. Nothing was ever accomplished in a prosaic mood.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    The manner in which Americans “consume” music has a lot to do with leaving it on their coffee tables, or using it as wallpaper for their lifestyles, like the score of a movie—it’s consumed that way without any regard for how and why it’s made.
    Frank Zappa (1940–1994)