How Do I
African Music
African music can be very difficult to find in the library because it is not generally listed in the Catalog under "African music." It is usually listed by the type of music first, such as "folk songs" or "popular music," then divided by country. It can also be listed under a particular ethnic group, such as "yoruba" or "baka," or by the specific type of music, such as "juju music" or "balo music." The following is a guide to searching for African music the library catalog. At the bottom of this page is a selection of African music CDs including both traditional music and pop that might be of interest to you.
New! Almost 2000 tracks of music from Africa can be found on Smithsonian Global Sound. This streaming audio website includes recordings from the Smithsonian Folkways label and the International Library of African Music. Access is available in the library or remotely with a valid Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh card.
Searching the Catalog for African Music
The best way to find CDs of African music is to use the ADVANCED KEYWORD search, which lets you get a large number of CDs in one broad search. Or, if you are looking for something more specific but don't know the name of a specific performer, you can also use the ADVANCED KEYWORD search to specify what you want with words or phrases.
To make sure you get CDs only, choose "Music CDs" from the Material Type drop down menu.
Examples:African music
Type: music and africa*music from Ghana
Type: music and ghanaWest African pop music
Type: popular music and west and africa*African drumming
Type: africa* and (drum* or percussion)
(NOTE: In the Catalog, the asterisk * is used as a wildcard. A search for drum* would return hits for drum, drums, drumming, etc. or Africa* retrieves both Africa and African.)
Another way to find African music CDs is to browse the catalog with a general SUBJECT SEARCH. That will get you a list of subjects, where you can click on the one that interests you. From there you can either look for the CD icon on the right side of the list, or choose the "Limit/Sort Search" button from the menu at the top of the screen.
| You can start with one of the following subjects: | This will allow you to browse, looking for subjects such as: |
| folk music |
Folk music --Africa, West Folk music --Zululand (South Africa) |
| folk dance music |
Folk dance music --Cameroon |
| folk songs | Folk songs, Akan --Ghana |
| popular music | Popular music --Africa, West |
|
popular instrumental music | Popular instrumental music --South Africa |
|
music
(this is very broad, try the other subjects first) | Music -- Ethiopia |
Always keep in mind while you are searching that Africa is made up of many countries and numerous ethnic groups, so if you can, be specific. The following lists may help in reminding you of some of the countries and ethnic groups you can search:
Selected Countries
(for a nice map use The Africa Guide Map of Africa)
|
Algeria Angola Benin Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde |
Central African Republic Congo Egypt Ethiopia Gambia Ghana Guinea |
Kenya Madagascar Mali Morocco Niger Nigeria Senegal |
South Africa Sudan Tanzania Togo Uganda Zimbabwe |
Selected Ethnic Groups
(There are over 800 ethnic groups in Africa; use The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, v.1-Africa or The Garland Handbook of African Music for background information on the music of Africa to help with more specific searching.)
The following African peoples are represented in the CD collection of the music department and can be found by keyword searching in the Catalog:
|
Aka Akan Amhara Baka Dagaaba |
Ewe Gade Lobi Mandingo |
Mbuti Shona Yoruba Zulu |
Selected African Music CDs
The following lists are a selection of CDs that you can find in the Music, Film & Audio collection. We have divided them into 2 lists.
The first is more traditional or folk music (for lack of better terms) and includes field recordings. For more music of this type be sure to also check the streaming audio database Smithsonian Global Sound.
The second list showcases African music with more of a Western influence (including electric instruments, drumsets, funk beats, etc.) that we're calling popular music (also for lack of better terms).
Please click on the individual titles to check for availability.
Traditional, Folk and Field Recordings
More Traditional, Folk and Field Recordings:
Nonesuch Explorer Series
| ARTIST / TITLE | CALL NUMBER |
| Africa: drum, chant & instrumental music | If Afr #2442 |
| Burkina Faso: rhythms of the grasslands | If Bur #28308 |
| Burkina Faso: savannah rhythms | If Bur #27839 |
| Burundi: music from the heart of Africa | If Bur #27851 |
| East Africa: ceremonial & folk music | If Eas #27430 |
| East Africa: witchcraft & ritual music | If Eas #27835 |
| El Din, Hamza Escalay - The water wheel: oud music | If El #26869 |
| Ghana: ancient ceremonies, songs & dance music | If Gha #5505 |
| Zimbabwe: Shona mbira music | If Zim #26870 |
| Zimbabwe: the African mbira: music of the Shona people | If Zim #27883 |
| Zimbabwe: the soul of mbira: traditions of the Shona people | If Zim #27882 |
Electrified Pop Music and More
| ARTIST / TITLE | CALL NUMBER |
| Acquaye, Saka Ghana: voices of Africa: high-life and other popular music | If Acq #27865 |
| Amadaduzo Siyabamukela | If Ama #7878 |
| Amadou & Mariam Dimanche a Bamako | If Ama #24546 |
| Amafou & Mariam Tje ni mousso | If Ama #24554 |
| Boyoyo Boys Back in town | If Boy #4206 |
| Boyoyo Boys TJ today | If Boy #1391 |
| Buthelezi, Mzikayifani Fashion maswedi | If But #4627 |
| Buzz 'n' rumble from the urb 'n' jungle | If Buz #25514 |
| Diabate, Toumani Djelika | If Dia #25331 |
| Electric highlife: sessions from the Bokoor Studios | If Ele #28476 |
| (Ethiopiques 1) Golden years of modern Ethiopian music, 1969-1975 | If Eth #25306 |
| (Ethiopiques 3) Golden years of modern Ethiopian music, 1969-1975 | If Age #25958 |
| (Ethiopiques 4) Ethio jazz & musique instrumentale, 1969-1974 | Jz Eth #26084 |
| Fela Best of Fela Kuti | If Fel #25220 |
| Franco Franco | If Fra #26272 |
| Ghana Soundz: Afro-beat, funk, and fusion in 70's Ghana | If Gha #26661 |
| Golden Afrique. Vol. 1 | If Gol #26023 |
| Highlife | If Hig #20601 |
| Homeland | If Hom #4639 |
| Kante, Mory Akwaba Beach | If Kan #2375 |
| Keita, Salif Papa | If Kei #20716 |
| Ladysmith Black Mambazo Best of Ladysmith Black Mambazo | If Lad #11194 |
| Mali lolo! Stars of Mali | If Mal #23226 |
| N'Dour, Youssou Youssou N'Dour & Etoile de Dakar | If NDo #27532 |
| Olatunji, Babatunde Drums of passion: the beat | If Ola #10138 |
| Olatunji, Babatunde Drums of passion: the invocation | If Ola #9372 |
| Orchestra Baobab Pirates choice | If Orc #19344 |
| Orchestra Baobab Specialist in all styles | If Orc #19666 |
| Putumayo presents South African legends | If Put #17680 |
| Radio Algeria | If Rad #32227 |
| Roots of Rumba Rock: Congo Classics 1953-1955 | If Roo #32226 |
| Toure, Ali Farka In the heart of the moon | If Tou #25518 |
| Tout Puissant Likembe Konono no 1 de Mingiedi Konono No. 1 | If Tou #25334 |
| Tout Puissant Likembe Konono no 1 de Mingiedi Live at Coeleur Café | If Tou #32094 |
| Tout Puissant Likembe Konono no 1 de Mingiedi Lubuaku | If Tou #32093 |
Want to know more? Ask a librarian.
