The Organization of Melodies in Ebibindwom: A Case of Jehovah Nissi Awoyow Garden, Winneba
Publication Date: 27/03/2021
Author(s): Emmanuel Obed Acquah, Godfred Sackey.
Volume/Issue: Volume 3 , Issue 1 (2021)
Abstract:
Some centuries ago, the contact that was established between Ghanaians and the Europeans aided the creation of some hybridized musical types using the existing traditional tunes such as Asafo, Adenkum, Adzewa, Ͻmpɛ and others as the main source materials for such creations. Ebibindwom, an example of such hybridized musical types has evolved over the years due to the melodies that drive the music. Using a case study as a design, this paper sought to examine the melodies in Ebibindwom, focusing on how they are organized with texts. With the Donald F. Tovey’s descriptive communicative type of formal analysis as the analytical stance, the paper sought to analyse the Ebibindwom melodies under specific boundaries of analysis for academic purposes. Interview and observation are the main instruments for data collection. Indeed, while some melodies of Ebibindwom are dependent on the speech surrogate and the rhythmic inflections of the spoken language of the indigenous people, some are not. Due to the simplistic nature of the Ebibindwom melodies, children play songs and simple instructional materials can be composed out of the compositional elements for educational purposes.
Keywords:
Ebibindwom, Jehovah Nissi Awoyow Garden, Hybridized Musical Types, Creative Ethnomusicology.
