Beginning of Essay
When I hear people talking cheerfully of "Negro music" or the Africa roots of jazz; he often wonders what in the world they can be talking about. What Negro music? What part of Africa? What kind of jazz? Africa is groups than any comparable land mass. Not all Afri ....

Middle of Essay
.... based simultaneously on variation of pitch, timbre and timing. West African drum language was not a primitive sort Morse code but a phonetic reproduction of the sound of words; only languages dependent on pitch, vibrato and timing lend themselves to such treatment. The time element was the easiest to reproduce on a drum had, changes of vibrato were effected by vibrating the knees while holding the drum tightly clasped to the armpit, changes of pitch were effected by changes of pressure on the drum skin. Thus language and music were not strictly divided, and the average standard of musical talent was correspondingly high. Children learned to discern ....