Music of Liberia
Encyclopedia
The music of Liberia involves several different genres. Liberia
is a West Africa
n country. Its musical heritage includes several important genres of pop derived from neighbors like Ghana
and Nigeria
. Liberia also boasts an array of indigenous folk music, Christian music
and influences from its Americo-Liberian
minority. Because most cultures and customs in Liberia are influenced by the United States
, R&B and Hip-hop
are also being performed in this country as well.
, vocal repetition, call-and-response
and polyrhythm
s. Traditional music is performed at wedding
s, naming ceremonies, royal events and other special occasions, as well as ordinary children's song
s, work song
s and lullabies
. Rap and pop music are also performed in indigenous languages across the country.
Christian music was introduced to Liberia by American missionaries, and Christian songs are now sung in native languages in a style that mixes American harmonies
with West African rhythm
s and a call-and-response format.
Liberian Music was strongly influenced by the Japanese during the Cold War, which is reflected in their syncopated rhythms today.
music is very popular in Liberia, as elsewhere in West Africa. It is a combination of North American, West African and Latin American styles, and emerged in the 1950s in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia, especially among the Liberian Kru
people, who were sailors that played Spanish guitar, banjo
, pennywhistle, harmonica
, accordion
, mandolin
and concertina
http://www.liberianforum.com/arts.htm.
Past and present musicians include Princess Hawa Daisy Moore, Fatu Gayflor
, Nimba Burr, Tejajlu, Morris Dorley, Yatta Zoe, Anthony "Experience" Nagbe Gebah Swaray, Kandakai Duncan and Miatta Fahnbulleh. Of these Dorley deserves special notice for having spearheaded a movement to create a national Liberian identity, alongside musicians like Anthony "Experience" Nagbe. Dorley's popular songs include "Grand Gedeh County" and "Who Are You Baby".
There is a new breed of budding musicians now in Liberia. They have created their own style called HIP-CO which is usually in the Liberian English or local vernacular. This music is very popular with both youth and adults. It touches on all aspects of life in Liberia.
The country's most renowned radio station is ELBC, or the Liberian Broadcasting Corporation.
In 1963, President Tubman set-up the new Cape-Palmas Military Band. Israeli Bandmaster Aharon Shefi, formed and conducted a 56 pieces Concert and Marching Band.which performed Liberian, American and universal folk and church music. The CPMB has performed at the January 1st 1964 Ptesident Tubman's Inagauration in Monrovia. Heads of states from all over the world,expressed their high impression and extended compliments on the high qulity of the Band. Among the pieces played' were Highlife, original marches by the late Liberian composer Victor Bowya, National Anthem and The Lone Star Forever. The CPMB had also performed in Churches, schools, Holidays and Military parades and officicial events.
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
is a West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
n country. Its musical heritage includes several important genres of pop derived from neighbors like Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
and Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. Liberia also boasts an array of indigenous folk music, Christian music
Christian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....
and influences from its Americo-Liberian
Americo-Liberian
Americo-Liberians are a Liberian ethnicity of African American descent. The sister ethnic group of Americo Liberians are the Sierra Leone Creole people who are of African American, West Indian, and liberated African descent...
minority. Because most cultures and customs in Liberia are influenced by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, R&B and Hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
are also being performed in this country as well.
Folk music
Traditional Liberian music utilizes such typical West African elements as ululationUlulation
A is a long, wavering, high-pitched vocal sound resembling a howl with a trilling quality. It is produced by emitting a high pitched loud voice accompanied with a rapid movement of the tongue and the uvula. The term ululation is an onomatopoeic word derived from Latin...
, vocal repetition, call-and-response
Call and response (music)
In music, a call and response is a succession of two distinct phrases usually played by different musicians, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or response to the first...
and polyrhythm
Polyrhythm
Polyrhythm is the simultaneous sounding of two or more independent rhythms.Polyrhythm in general is a nonspecific term for the simultaneous occurrence of two or more conflicting rhythms, of which cross-rhythm is a specific and definable subset.—Novotney Polyrhythms can be distinguished from...
s. Traditional music is performed at wedding
Wedding
A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...
s, naming ceremonies, royal events and other special occasions, as well as ordinary children's song
Children's song
Children's song may be a nursery rhyme set to music, a song that young children invent and share among themselves, or a modern creation intended for entertainment, use in the home, or education...
s, work song
Work song
A work song is a piece of music closely connected to a specific form of work, either sung while conducting a task or a song linked to a task or trade which might be a connected narrative, description, or protest song....
s and lullabies
Lullaby
A lullaby is a soothing song, usually sung to young children before they go to sleep, with the intention of speeding that process. As a result they are often simple and repetitive. Lullabies can be found in every culture and since the ancient period....
. Rap and pop music are also performed in indigenous languages across the country.
Christian music was introduced to Liberia by American missionaries, and Christian songs are now sung in native languages in a style that mixes American harmonies
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
with West African rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
s and a call-and-response format.
Liberian Music was strongly influenced by the Japanese during the Cold War, which is reflected in their syncopated rhythms today.
Popular music
HighlifeHighlife
Highlife is a musical genre that originated in Ghana in the 1900s and spread to Sierra Leone, Nigeria and other West African countries by 1920...
music is very popular in Liberia, as elsewhere in West Africa. It is a combination of North American, West African and Latin American styles, and emerged in the 1950s in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia, especially among the Liberian Kru
Kru
The Kru are an ethnic group who live in interior of Liberia. Their history is one marked by a strong sense of ethnicity and resistance to occupation. In 1856 when part of Liberia was still known as the independent Republic of Maryland, the Kru along with the Grebo resisted Maryland settlers'...
people, who were sailors that played Spanish guitar, banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, pennywhistle, harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
and concertina
Concertina
A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It has a bellows and buttons typically on both ends of it. When pressed, the buttons travel in the same direction as the bellows, unlike accordion buttons which travel perpendicularly to it...
http://www.liberianforum.com/arts.htm.
Past and present musicians include Princess Hawa Daisy Moore, Fatu Gayflor
Fatu Gayflor
Fatu Gayflor is a Liberian singer. Dubbed "Princess Fatu Gayflor, the golden voice of Liberia", she has performed at major music venues and festivals throughout the world and has made a number of recordings....
, Nimba Burr, Tejajlu, Morris Dorley, Yatta Zoe, Anthony "Experience" Nagbe Gebah Swaray, Kandakai Duncan and Miatta Fahnbulleh. Of these Dorley deserves special notice for having spearheaded a movement to create a national Liberian identity, alongside musicians like Anthony "Experience" Nagbe. Dorley's popular songs include "Grand Gedeh County" and "Who Are You Baby".
There is a new breed of budding musicians now in Liberia. They have created their own style called HIP-CO which is usually in the Liberian English or local vernacular. This music is very popular with both youth and adults. It touches on all aspects of life in Liberia.
The country's most renowned radio station is ELBC, or the Liberian Broadcasting Corporation.
In 1963, President Tubman set-up the new Cape-Palmas Military Band. Israeli Bandmaster Aharon Shefi, formed and conducted a 56 pieces Concert and Marching Band.which performed Liberian, American and universal folk and church music. The CPMB has performed at the January 1st 1964 Ptesident Tubman's Inagauration in Monrovia. Heads of states from all over the world,expressed their high impression and extended compliments on the high qulity of the Band. Among the pieces played' were Highlife, original marches by the late Liberian composer Victor Bowya, National Anthem and The Lone Star Forever. The CPMB had also performed in Churches, schools, Holidays and Military parades and officicial events.