Dissertation Index
Author: Xue, Bai Title: Form and Structure in African Music: Four Case Studies in San, Por Por, Ewe, and Aka Music Institution: CUNY Graduate Center Begun: September 2023 Completed: July 2025 Abstract: This dissertation examines the organizational principles in African music through the analysis of four distinct musical traditions: the San music of Southern Africa, Por Por honk-horn music of urban Accra (Ghana), the Northern and Southern Ewe music of Ghana, and the Aka music of the Central African Republic. While the study of African music has often emphasized its sociocultural and rhythmic aspects, structural principles have remained a relatively underexplored subject. This study argues that African music is highly structural yet should not be analyzed as fixed blueprints. Instead, it introduces a “block-based method” for analyzing oral music, the first step of which is to identify the fundamental building blocks of a piece while recognizing that the performance is a fluid, real-time assembly of these blocks. Based on the author’s original transcriptions and analysis of 88 complete recordings from these four traditions, this study identifies several recurring forms across cultures, including the single-block form, two-block form, three-block form, medley form, and strophic form. Meanwhile, certain forms remain unique to specific traditions, such as the layered single-block form found in Aka music. Each chapter presents a case study on the formal structures of a different musical tradition. Chapter 1 examines the music of the San people of the Kalahari Desert. Chapter 2 focuses on Por Por honk-horn music in Accra, Ghana. Chapter 3 features both Northern and Southern Ewe music, ending with a comparative analysis. Chapter 4 explores Aka music from the Central African rainforest. In conclusion, this dissertation suggests the existence of pan-African organizational principles while acknowledging that each culture shapes and applies these forms in distinctive ways. Keywords: African music, form, structure, musical block, San music, Por Por music, Ewe music, Aka music, Africa TOC: Introduction Chapter 1. Form and Structure in Music of the San Chapter 2. Form and Structure in Por Por Music Chapter 3. Form and Structure in Ewe Music Chapter 4. Form and Structure in Aka Music Chapter 5. Conclusion Contact: bxue@gradcenter.cuny.edu |