Like that of itsantecedents, the harmonic base of mbaqanga is the cyclical repetition of four primary chords. Shortmelodies, usually the length of the harmonic cycle, are repeated and alternated with slight variations, andcall-and-response generally occurs between solo and chorus parts. The characteristics that differentiatembaqanga from previous styles are a driving, straight beat, rather than swung rhythms; melodicindependence between instrumental parts, the bass and lead guitars providing particularly strongcontrapuntal lines; and electric rather than acoustic guitars and bass guitar

s the name suggests, mbaqanga is viewed as a morecommercially appealing style than African Jazz and has been popularised in South Africa byartists such as Simon ‘Mahlatini’ Nkabinde and internationally by Paul Simon’s heavilymbaqanga influenced Graceland album. The roots of mbaqanga lie in traditional Zulu musicmixed with influences of marabi and kwela. Rhythmically, mbaqanga is, like tsaba tsaba,generally based on a straight-eighth note feel with a driving bass drum on all four downbeatsof the bar. This quarter note bass drum pattern, commonly referred to as “four on the floor”,is complemented by the hands performing various orchestrations of the rhythm below. Thisuniversal rhythm is known as the Charleston in American jazz, the Habanera in Cuban Latinmusic, and the Ghoema in South Africa

MbaqangaAllen suggests that the term “mbaqanga”, which refers to the staple maize-meal diet of manyof the working-class musicians who played the music to earn a living wage, stems from “theneed to define and express an independent and valuable black South African urban identity”by renaming what had become generally referred to as African Jazz (Allen 1993, 26).Although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably by musicians and musicologists,Allen arguest that the style of mbaqanga developed in the 1960s is markedly different fromAfrican Jazz (Allen 1993, 26). As the name suggests, mbaqanga is viewed as a morecommercially appealing style than African Jazz and has been popularised in South Africa byartists such as Simon ‘Mahlatini’ Nkabinde and internationally by Paul Simon’s heavilymbaqanga influenced Graceland album. The roots of mbaqanga lie in traditional Zulu musicmixed with influences of marabi and kwela. Rhythmically, mbaqanga is, like tsaba tsaba,generally based on a straight-eighth note feel with a driving bass drum on all four downbeatsof the bar. This quarter note bass drum pattern, commonly referred to as “four on the floor”,is complemented by the hands performing various orchestrations of the rhythm below. Thisuniversal rhythm is known as the Charleston in American jazz, the Habanera in Cuban Latinmusic, and the Ghoema in South Africa.Figure 1.2 Charleston/ Habanera/ Ghoema rhythm

The underlying harmonic structure inmarabitypically uses the major (I), the subdominant major (IV), and the dominant (V) in aperpetually repeating structure suited to dance. In its advanced form inmbaqanga(African jazz), the simple three-chordmarabi harmonic structure was consolidated in alengthened cyclic form in which the (V) root was preceded with the tonic major in itssecond inversion (I 6/4 ). In comparing themarabi harmonic structure and its seminalposition in vernacular jazz improvisatory practice in South Africa to that of the AfricanAmerican blues in its relationship to jazz, Ballantine explained its basis ‘on a cyclicpattern’ as ‘stretch[ing] over four measures, with one measure for each of the followingchords: I – IV - I 6/4 - V’ (Ballantine 1993:26)

use a cyclic structure

the popular South African big-band swing styleofmbaqanga orAfrican jazz (Musical Excerpts 2.14 to 2.19).

The underlying harmonic structure inmarabitypically uses the major (I), the subdominant major (IV), and the dominant (V) in aperpetually repeating structure suited to dance. In its advanced form inmbaqanga(African jazz), the simple three-chordmarabi harmonic structure was consolidated in alengthened cyclic form in which the (V) root was preceded with the tonic major in itssecond inversion (I 6/4 ). In comparing themarabi harmonic structure and its seminalposition in vernacular jazz improvisatory practice in South Africa to that of the AfricanAmerican blues in its relationship to jazz, Ballantine explained its basis ‘on a cyclicpattern’ as ‘stretch[ing] over four measures, with one measure for each of the followingchords: I – IV - I 6/4 - V’ (Ballantine 1993:26)

Chris McGregor’s ‘first real experiences of building things from riffs’ weregleaned from jam sessions with black South African musicians whose improvisationalmusical practices, relying on a stable harmonic cyclicity ofmbaqanga chords (providedby piano or guitar), would proceed as follows:[T]he lead trumpeter or sax player would improvise a melody, and then in the next eight-bar sectionout it would come, voiced and all - that was magic to me. Out of this would emerge the most amazingcomplexity of texture, instrumental colour, melodic interactions, the melodic interactions of three orfour riffs going together, and a soloist in front, improvising. (McGregor 1994:14)

Harmonically, bothhighlife (Musical Excerpt 7.3) andmbaqanga (MusicalExcerpt 7.4) use a cyclic structure based on I – IV – (I6/4 or I) – V roots of the Europeandiatonic major scale.

mbaqanga(MusicalExcerpt7.4)useacyclicstructurebasedonI–IV–(I6/4orI)–V

‘stretch[ing]overfourmeasures,withonemeasureforeachofthefollowingchords:I–IV-I6/4-V’(Ballantine1993:26).

Theunderlyingharmonicstructureinmarabitypicallyusesthemajor(I),thesubdominantmajor(IV),andthedominant(V)inaperpetuallyrepeatingstructuresuitedtodance.Initsadvancedforminmbaqanga(Africanjazz),thesimplethree-chordmarabiharmonicstructurewasconsolidatedinalengthenedcyclicforminwhichthe(V)rootwasprecededwiththetonicmajorinitssecondinversion(I6/4).

This rhythm is typically played with brushes on the snare drum. The first of the three notes is omitted on the snare drum as it is played by the bass drum in the four-note note “four-on-the-floor” pattern. This creates the feel of the groove as a heavyemphasis is placed on the eighth note after beat two and beat four of the bar. An additional snare accent is consistently placed on the last sixteenth note before beat two and beat four of the bar to set up the anticipations before beat three and beat one of each bar. The bass guitar generally phrases around this same three-note rhythmic pattern and plays an important role in defining many of the stylistic features of the music. This will be elaboratedon in the following chapter.

Rhythmically, mbaqanga is, like tsaba tsaba, generally based on a straight-eighth note feel with a driving bass drum on all four downbeats of the bar. This quarter note bass drum pattern, commonly referred to as “four on the floor”, is complemented bythe hands performingvarious orchestrationsof the rhythm below. This universal rhythm is known as the Charleston in American jazz, the Habanerain Cuban Latin music, and the Ghoema in South Africa.Figure 1.2 Charleston/Habanera/Ghoema rhythm