African Music: A People's Art

by Francis Bebey

Engaging and enlightening, this guide explores African music's forms, musicians, instruments, and place in the life of the people. A discography classified by country, theme, group, and instrument is also included.

Genres: Music, History, Africa

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing information. Even though it's an academic book, I found myself absorbed and reading it like a novel, then trying to find the music examples. As a vocalist I would have liked to had more info on voice, but that's a big subject and needs a book on its own. A great resource.

[Giacomo Gnecchi Ruscone · Rating 3 out of 5]

First published in 1969, this took me a couple of years to finish despite being "short". I have the sensation it hasn't aged great, also considering the (very valuable) references to (now mostly obsolete/not easily findable) album references but also the time/society it was written in (late 60s). Great introduction, maybe a little too scholarly. I think it would highly benefit from a new remake, modernized/multimedia version to be consumable by a larger, curious audience. It is a fascinating world Bebey introduces to in this essay.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is precisely what it sounds like, nothing more nothing less (well, maybe a bit of anti-colonialist rhetoric as icing on the social anthropology cake...) fun and full of interesting tidbits.

[Marco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very complete book for people interested in African Rhytmns and the Culture that feeds this beatifull music.

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Francis Bebey is a hero of mine. That said, there's not much reason to read this in 2025. Despite being one of the most adventurous composers and performers of his generation, this is a book that defines "African music" in a purely functionalist folkloric sense that was already out of date among non-Africanist musicologists in the late 60s when he was working with UNESCO. The discography is useful but outdated, and I was able to get some good guidance on where to find strong performances of specific instruments.

[Arcane_Candy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a good brief overview of the different kinds of African music with awesome photos on almost every page.