Traditional African amusement uses a wide variety of musical instruments, all made from substances found in nature. These instruments include bells, gongs, drums, harps, flutes and xylophones. In African culture music, dance and tune go hand in hand and to separate them into distinct classes is nearly impossible. Song, dance and music is also an inherent part of each culture and is so much greater than a just kind of amusement, it is not extrinsic to their own way of life and is part of the lifeblood. Now, even though a traditional life no more live but have entirely adopted western influences and western traditions, they still retain an inherent love for dance, music and tune.


Some traditional African dances which are still popular to this day include:


Agbaei, which is a flirtatious, social dance of the Krobo of Ghana. According to the oral history of the Krobo, the elders started the dance when they realised that the youth within their settlement were having trouble with the whole courtship process. They created the dance so that the young men and women of the village would need to participate in the dance and consequently learn some suggestions that would help them in real life scenarios.


Bamaaya means, "The river (or valley) is wet" and is typically the most popular dance of the Dagbamba people in Northern Ghana. It functions as a dance for a variety of social occasions for example national day celebrations, festivals as well as funerals these days,. It began, nevertheless, as a religious musical performance. The dance requires a great deal of flexibility and fitness as there's a lot of midsection movement and twisting. The women did the singing, praise yelling and motivated the dancers when it started it was a dance that only men could be a part of. Both genders can be a part of the dance.


Yeve is a Rock or Thunder God that falls from the skies during or after. The people that believe this belong to certainly one of the most secret and powerful cults in the South Eastern Ewe territories in West Africa. Yeve music has an unique construction that identifies it as separate from other Ewe music. Yeve music has a suite of seven to motions or nine dance forms and each motion is related to a particular phase of worship.


Kete is a dance form that's found in the royal courts of Akan communities. It's only performed if the chief's status is such that he has the right to be carried in a palanquin. The music is performed on state occasions and festivals. There are three parts to every performance: 1) drum music 2) pipe interludes 3) vocal counterpart of the pipe melodies. There are eight pieces to each performance. The pieces are identified by the name for the type of drumming and dancing done, by the commemorative name of function or by a name that is indicative of the participants.


The most popular and well know traditional musical instrument is the djembe drum. The drum comes from West Africa where it plays an integral part in culture and the places musical customs. The drum is covered with animal skin and goblet shaped and is intended to be played with your bare hands. The Bamana people in Mali say that the name djembe comes from the saying "Anke dje, anke, be" which translates to "everyone gather together" and consequently neatly identifies the drum's function.


The combination of the goblet shape, skin covering and density of the drum mean that it is effective at generating a broad variety of tones, from a high sharp sound produced from a smack to the full bass tone that is round. In order to achieve the right sound it is important to focus or disperse your hand's energy by positioning it in the correct spot. Striking on the drum with your fingers and palm towards the center of the drum will produce the bass note, while striking the drum near the rim will produce the smack and the tone.


The djembe drum is believed to contain three spirits: 1) the spirit of the tree where it was made 2) the spirit of the animal from whom the skin cover came from and 3) the spirit of the instrument maker. Legend has it that the tree that it was made and the djembe drum from was a gift from a Djinn or malevolent Demigod. If it is made from a single piece of hollowed out tree called Devil Wood or Dimba a djembe drum is properly crafted. It truly is believed that the soul of the tree does not reside there if it's been glued together from slat or segments subsequently.


The djembe drum has gained worldwide since the late 20th century. Drum circles are particularly popular as team building exercises for corporations or companies. As a way to get the experience that is whole, nevertheless, one needs the whole ensemble and never simply the djembe drums. Bells are included by the entire cast, and dunun drums with individuals playing different parts that all intertwine to form a whole that is beautiful. There's normally a lead djembe drum player who plays tempos and signals the start and end of a piece.