Ewe drumming

Ewe drumming refers to the drumming ensembles of the Ewe people of Ghana, Togo, and Benin. The Ewe are known for their experience in drumming throughout West Africa. The sophisticated cross rhythms and polyrhythms in Ewe drumming are similar to those in Afro-Caribbean music and late jazz.

Variation

Ewe drumming is very diverse and is played in many slightly different ways. For example, a Ewe musician from Togo may play a piece or instrument slightly differently from the way a Ewe from Ghana does. The Fon people of Benin are another example of this variation. They construct their villages, towns, and cities on water, and because of this, they do not play the same upright drums other Ewe play. Instead, they place large gourds on water as drums.

Instrumental performance

An Ewe drumming ensemble consists of several drums, a bell, and a rattle. Each ensemble usually has a master drum, a bell-like instrument called a gankogui, and a group of secondary drummers.

Bell instruments

Gankogui

Gankogui

The gankogui, also known as a gakpevi, is a bell-like instrument played with a wooden stick. It is made out of forged iron and consists of a low-pitched bell (often referred as the parent bell) and a high-pitched bell (or the child bell, which is said to rest on the bosom of the protective parent), which are permanently bound together. The gankogui is the skeleton, backbone, and foundation of all traditional Ewe music. The gankogui player must play steadily and without error throughout the piece. The gankogui player must be a trustworthy person, and is considered blind if they do not have a concrete understanding of the instrument and its role in the drumming ensemble. In a drumming ensemble, a gankogui player uses no variation.

Atoke

The atoke is a forged-iron bell instrument and is shaped somewhat like a boat or a banana. It is held in the palm of the player's weak hand and is played with a small forged-iron rod, held in the player's strong hand. The atoke serves the same purpose as the gankogui and is sometimes used instead of or a substitute for the gankogui. The gankogui and atoke come in all various sizes.

Rattle instrument

Axatse

The next instrument used in traditional Ewe drumming is called axatse (pronounced ah-hah-chay). The axatse is a rattle-like instrument which is basically a hollowed-out gourd covered with a net of seeds or beads. The axatse is usually played sitting down. It is held at the handle and in the players strong hand and is shaken up hitting the hand and down hitting the thigh making two different sounds. The axatse usually plays the same thing that the bell plays but with some extra added notes in between the beats. It can be described as the eighth note version of what the gankogui plays. It has also been described as enriching or reinforcing what the gankogui plays. Overall it gives energy to the music and drives the music. The axatse produces a dry ratting but energetic sound.

Standard bell pattern and accompanying axatse part

Standard bell pattern (top) with accompanying axatse part (bottom). The axatse begins on the second stroke (in parenthesis)

The most common gankogui part is the 12-pulse basic Ewe, or standard pattern. The axatse part which accompanies the standard pattern is: "pa ti pa pa ti pa ti pa ti pa pa." The "pa's" sound the standard pattern by striking the gourd against the knee. The "ti's" sound pulses in between the bell strokes, by raising the gourd in an upward motion and striking it with the free hand. As is common with many African rhythms, the axatse part begins (first "pa") on the second stroke of the bell (1a), and the last "pa" coincides with 1. By ending on the beginning of the cycle, the axatse part contributes to the cyclic nature of the overall rhythm. [See: standard bell with accompanying axatse part. Atsiagbekor.]

Master drums

In almost all West African drumming ensembles, there is a lead drum or master drum which leads the group. The master drummer tells the ensemble when to play and when to stop, he also plays signals telling the other players to change the tempo or the drumming pattern. In some West African drumming ensembles, the master drummer is to play the main theme of the piece and improvise. In Ewe drumming, the master drummer does drum dialogue with the kidi. It enriches the kidi phrase by filling in the empty spaces on the kidi’s part. The master drum can also improvise.

In Ewe drumming, the term master drum is not limited to one particular type of drum. A master drum can be an atsimevu, sogo, kroboto, totodzi, or an agboba; these are the only types of drums used as master drums, however. Different master drums are used in different pieces. For example, if a group is playing "Agbadza" (an old Ewe war dance), the master drummer will be playing the sogo. The master drum techniques and playing styles are generally the same regardless of which drum is used.

Sogo

The basic master drum is called a sogo (pronounced "so-go)". Sogo is the drum that can always be a substitute for the master drum. It is also the actual "correct" master drum for some pieces. The sogo is a larger version of the kidi and is taller and fatter than the kidi. It can be played either with two wooden sticks, one hand and one stick, or both hands. This depends on the technique used in the piece being played. Depending on the piece, sometimes the sogo can play the same support role as the kidi. It produces a low tone and is usually played sitting down.or standing up.

Atsimevu

Another master drum is called atsimevu (pronounced ah-chee-meh-voo). The atsimevu is the tallest of the Ewe drums. It is around 4½ feet tall. In order to be played, it must be leaned over a stand called a vudetsi. To play the drum, the master drummer stands by either side of the drum and either plays it with two wooden sticks or one hand and one stick. The atsimevu makes a middle range sound with some bass in the sound.

Agboba

A newer, lesser used master drum is called the agboba (pronounced ag-bo-bah or sometimes bo-bah). This drum was invented by the Ewe in the 1950s to play a newly invented piece called agahu. The agboba is the deepest sounding drum played by the Ewe. It has a fat body and is played leaning over on a stand similar to that for the atsimevu.

The Kloboto and Totodzi

The kloboto (pronounced klo-bo-toe) or totodzi (pronounced toe-toe-jee) are two more types of master drums, essentially the same, differing only in pitch. These are the smallest drums used by the Ewe. They measure lengthwise around eighteen inches. The two drums are not only used as master drums in some pieces but sometimes play the same role as the kidi. The kloboto and totodzi are always played with two wooden sticks, and their player is usually seated.

Other drums

Kidi

The kidi is a mid-sized drum played with two wooden sticks. Like other Ewe drums, the drumhead is made of the skin of a deer or antelope. Its body is made out of wood and is sometimes decorated by elaborate carvings. It normally plays an eighth note pattern with some variation (eg. a roll played instead of the first note of the phrase). The kidi does what is described by the Ewe as talking or conversing with lead drum. This is often called drum dialogue. The kidi often improvises a little bit at the appropriate times.

Kaganu

The kaganu is the smallest and highest pitched drum used by the Ewe, but its sound does incorporate some bass as well. It is around 20 inches tall. Like all Ewe drums, the kaganu has a drumhead made of antelope or deer skin. The body of the drum is made of wood and is often decorated with carvings. The kaganu is played with two long skinny wooden sticks, usually with the drummer sitting down. Like the gankokui and axatse, its pattern does not change for the duration of the piece. In Agahu, for example, the rhythm it plays are two notes on the upbeats. Because Agahu is played was in the 4/4 time, then the kaganu would play two notes on the "ands" of beats 1, 2, 3, and 4. The kaganu also gives energy and drive to the music.

Tonal drumming

Like many West African drums, the master drum and sometimes the kidi have the ability to speak the language. Most African languages are tonal, so by producing different sounds at different pitches on the drum, the drummer can imitate the tones of the language. Some African drums can even imitate consonants by hitting the drum with a stick or hand at different angles and with different parts of the stick or hand. The Ewe also play a pair of two drums called atumpan (pronounced ah-toom-pahn) which are used all over Ghana as talking drums. The atumpan player stands up and plays the drum with two sticks shaped like an L.

Cross-rhythmic structure

The ethnomusicologist David Locke states: "Cross-rhythm pervades Ewe drumming." In fact, the overall rhythmic structure is generated through cross-rhythm. Cross-rhythm was first identified as the basis of sub-Saharan rhythm in the early writings of A.M. Jones, and was later explained in great detail in lectures by the Ewe master drummer and scholar C.K. Ladzekpo, and in the writings of Locke.

At the center of a core of rhythmic traditions within which the composer conveys his ideas is the technique of cross rhythm. The technique of cross rhythm is a simultaneous use of contrasting rhythmic patterns within the same scheme of accents or meter.

In Anlo-Ewe cultural understanding, the technique of cross rhythm is a highly developed systematic interplay of varying rhythmic motions simulating the dynamics of contrasting moments or emotional stress phenomena likely to occur in actual human existence.

As a preventive prescription for extreme uneasiness of mind or self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with impending or anticipated problems, these simulated stress phenomena or cross-rhythmic figures are embodied in the art of dance-drumming as mind-nurturing exercises to modify the expression of the inherent potential of the human thought in meeting the challenges of life. The premise is that by rightly instituting the mind in coping with these simulated emotional stress phenomena, intrepidity is achieved.

Intrepidness, or resolute fearlessness, in Anlo-Ewe view, is an extraordinary strength of mind. It raises the mind above the troubles, disorders and emotions which the anticipation or sight of great perils is calculated to excite. It is by this strength that ordinary people become heroes, by maintaining themselves in a tranquil state of mind and preserving the free use of their reason under most surprising and terrible circumstances—Ladzekpo (1995: Web).

3:2 (hemiola)

The most fundamental cross-rhythm in Ewe music, and Sub-Saharan African music traditions in general, is three-against-two (3:2), or six-against-four (6:4), also known as a vertical hemiola. The cycle of two or four beats are the main beat scheme, while the triple beat scheme is secondary. Ladzekpo states: "The term secondary beat scheme refers to a component beat scheme of a cross rhythm other than the main beat scheme. In a similar manner as a main beat, each secondary beat is distinguished by measuring off a distinct number of pulsations. A recurrent grouping of a number of these beats in a musical period forms a distinct secondary beat scheme."

We have to grasp the fact that if from childhood you are brought up to regard beating 3 against 2 as being just as normal as beating in synchrony, then you develop a two dimensional attitude to rhythm… This bi-podal conception is… part of the African's nature—Jones (1959: 102)

Novotney observes: "The 3:2 relationship (and [its] permutations) is the foundation of most typical polyrhythmic textures found in West African musics." 3:2 is the generative or theoretic form of sub-Saharan rhythmic principles. Agawu succinctly states: "[The] resultant [3:2] rhythm holds the key to understanding . . . there is no independence here, because 2 and 3 belong to a single Gestalt."

Three-over-two cross-rhythm.

3:8

The following bell pattern is used in the Ewe rhythm kadodo. The 24-pulse pattern crosses the barline, contradicting the meter with three sets of five strokes, across eight main beats (two measures of four main beats each). The three single strokes are muted. The kadodo bell pattern is an embellishment of three "slow" cross-beats spanning two measures, or three-over-eight (3:8). Within the context of a single four-beat cycle (single measure), the cross-rhythmic ratio is 1.5:4.

kadodo bell pattern

3:8 or 1.5:4

Other References

• Robert Ayitee, Kwashi Amevuvor, Ewe Master Drummers from Ghana, West Africa.
• Ladzekpo, CK. http://bmrc.berkeley.edu/people/ladzekpo/Foundation.html Foundation Course in African-Dance Drumming. Drums and Drumming. 1995.

See also

• Ewe music
• King Mensah Ewe musician