Gcse music analysis yiri-koko

YIRI- KOKO STYLE: West African Music Features of West African Music: * Call and Response * Musical knowledge is passed down through oral tradition * Improvised melodies * Repetition (ostinato) * Layered, polyrhythmic textures.

* Cyclic structures CONTEXT * The country from which this piece comes from is Burkina Faso, West Africa. * Koko is a group composing of 6 musicians, led by Madou Kone, the singer and balafon player. * Yiri is the 4th track of Burkina Faso: Balafons et Tambours d’Afriquereleased by Koko in 2002. ‘ Yiri’ means wood in the local dialect, referring to the wood used in the making of drums. METRE * Main metre of the piece is 4/4/, although a few bars are in different metres (eg.

* Djembe- A goblet-shaped drum played with the hands * Talking drum- played with a hooked stick. This drum can imitate speech, creating different pitches and slides. * Members also sing, split into a soloist and chorus There are clearly defined roles for instruments/voices.