#D CHOIR Vusi and The Mighty Singers captured live during the
Mighty Night Event featured alongside Isaac and The Mighty Messengers and
Mighty Oh Lord Singers
100% Clap and Tap
100% Indigenous Gospel Music
**** Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest update- July 21, 2024
This pancocojams post presents information about "Clap & Tap" singing, a form of South Africa's Gospel music.
This post also includes information about and six* YouTube videos of Vusi & The Mighty Singers performances of "Clap & Tap" music.
*After this pancocojams post was published I added a sixth video that was filmed in 2023.
The content of this post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Vusi & The Mighty Singers for their musical legacy. Thanks to all those that are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
**** INFORMATION ABOUT CLAP & TAP MUSIC Excerpt #1 From https://www.chosic.com/genre-chart/clap-and-tap/ "Clap and tap is a unique music genre that originated in South Africa and is characterized by a combination of hand clapping and foot stomping rhythms, often accompanied by traditional African instruments. This genre is typically associated with religious music and is commonly performed in churches. The music is upbeat and energetic, with lyrics that often center around themes of faith, hope, and redemption. The genre has gained popularity in recent years, with several notable artists and groups emerging from the South African music scene."
**** Excerpt #2
From https://brakpanherald.co.za/97689/come-and-clap-and-tap-along/ "Come and clap and tap along" [no author cited; June 27, 2015] "Come and clap and tap and sing along at the Mmino Wa Clap 'n
Tap (MWCNT) Awards 2015, which will be hosted at Emperors Palace today (June
27).
[...]
These will be the first national “clap ‘n tap” gospel music awards in the
industry’s existence, meant to acknowledge the art and vocal ability found in
traditional African gospel music.
Clap-and-Tap music has similarities to both
traditional gospel music and choral music, but does not rely on instruments.
It, instead relies on the melody of the vocals and the sound
of clapping hands in a way that creates a fine tune and tempo."... -snip- The words "does not rely on instruments" doesn't mean that "Clap & Tap" music is never accompanied by musical instruments. That music may be accompanied by traditional African instruments and/or by snare drums and brass band instruments.
Ke Jesu, ke mong’a tsela"
-snip- #clapandtap #brassband #classicconcert -snip-
Google translate from Sesotho to English: "In the field, where I walk,
Many are lost;
But I am the one who leads me
I am Jesus, I am the master of the way"
**** SHOWCASE VIDEO #6 - Vusi & The Mighty Singers - Bodibeng
Kevin Feron, June 19, 2023 -snip- Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/10/information-about-south-africas-urcsa.html for a pancocojams post entitled "Information About South Africa's URCSA Denomination & Information About uMpampampas (Hand Drums) Part III of a four part pancocojams series about the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA).
That post includes this quote about the hand held musical instrument that is shown at 1:37 in this video & at other times throughout this video:
"Umpampampa: An umpampampa is a Bible-sized cushion covered with leather. It is held in one hand and beaten with the other. This is done to produce more sound and to regulate the rhythm. -snip- Pancocojams Editor's Note (quoted from the pancocojams post whose link is given above): -snip- I've noticed in several discussion threads of South African music videos (where men and/or women are playing this hand drum) that some people (my guess is that they are not from South Africa) think that this hand held drum is either a pillow or the church members' Bible (inside the pillow or without the covering for the Bible although the actual Bible isn't in there". In the discussion threads I've happened upon, when people refer to these instruments that way, South Africans are quick to correct them and share other terms they use for uMpampampas such as iBeat. An example of such a discussion is found after Video Example #1 in Part IV of this pancocojams series. -snip-
"I beat" is another name for this musical instrument that I've come across in discussion threads of YouTube videos of South African Gospel music.
This pancocojams post showcases a clip from a Sesame Street "Elmo's World" episode.
In that episode Elmo performs an African dance in celebration of the African American originated "Kwanzaa" holiday. Special attention in this post is given to the African musical bow that is among the musical instruments that is played by the musical ensemble. The Brazilian (South America) berimbao that is based on African musical bows is probably the most widely known example worldwide of these types of musical instruments.
Addendum #1 to this post provides information about Kwanzaa.
Addendum #2 provides information about African musical bows and Brazilian (South American) berimbaos.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those associated with this "Elmo's World" episode. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: Sesame Street: Kwanzaa Dancing With Elmo
Sesame Street, Uploaded on Dec 11, 2009
From the Sesame Street DVD "Elmo's World: Happy Holidays"
-snip-
While performing "African dances" is often part of Kwanzaa celebrations, in my experience, those dances that are usually performed are representative or imitative of traditional Nigerian or Senegalese dance styles. Based on the inclusion of the musical bow instrument and the dancer's clothing and maybe also his head gear, my guess is that the dance that is performed in this video is based on Angola (South Central Africa). In my experience, few African Americans are familiar with the costuming and musical bow instrument that are found in this video.
Here's one video example of an Angolan musical bow:
Roots of Capoeira 1, Balthazar Tchatoka plays M'bulumbumba and sings to Cobra Mansa
mirrordemocracy, Published on Dec 13, 2012
Balthazar Tchatoka plays M'bulumbumba and sings "Ove Katunga" to Cobra Mansa in southern Angola .....of interest to Berimbau players.
-snip-
Notice the criss-crossed beads that are traditionally worn by male musicians and dancers in Angola and other South African nations.
****
ADDENDUM #1
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa
"Kwanzaa (/ˈkwɑːn.zə/) is a week-long celebration held in the United States and in other nations of the Western African diaspora in the Americas. The celebration honors African heritage in African-American culture, and is observed from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a feast and gift-giving.[1] Kwanzaa has seven core principles (Nguzo Saba). It was created by Maulana Karenga and was first celebrated in 1966–67...
In 2004, BIG Research conducted a marketing survey in the United States for the National Retail Foundation, which found that 1.6% of those surveyed planned to celebrate Kwanzaa. If generalized to the US population as a whole, this would imply that around 4.7 million people planned to celebrate Kwanzaa in that year...
According to University of Minnesota Professor Keith Mayes, the author of Kwanzaa: Black Power and the Making of the African-American Holiday Tradition, the popularity within the US has "leveled off" as the black power movement there has declined, and now between half and two million people celebrate Kwanzaa in the US, or between one and five percent of African Americans. Mayes adds that white institutions now celebrate it.[11]
The holiday has also spread to Canada and is celebrated by Black Canadians in a similar fashion as in the United States.[20] According to the Language Portal of Canada, "this fairly new tradition has [also] gained in popularity in France, Great Britain, Jamaica and Brazil".[24]
In Brazil, in recent years the term Kwanzaa has been applied by a few institutions as a synonym for the festivities of the Black Awareness Day, commemorated on November 20 in honor of Zumbi dos Palmares,[25][26] having little to do with the celebration as it was originally conceived."...
****
ADDENDUM #2 AFRICAN MUSICAL BOWS
From http://music.africamuseum.be/determination/english/instruments/musical%20bow.html
A larger version of the mouth bow is the musical bow, which is also widely distributed around the Congo. The basis of this instrument is the hunting bow, which has here been converted into a musical instrument by adding two adaptations: a calabash attached to the bow serves as a sound box and the strings are pulled through a loop, tied and attached, dividing them into two unequal parts so that two underlying tones can be played. By moving the loop, the distance between the two tones can be changed at will. Both segments of the string are struck with a thin rod. More experienced players can control the back of the string with the index finger, enabling a third undertone to be played. The calabash is half open and in the convex upper side is a small hole through which the loop runs that is attached to the string. This direct contact with the string results in greater resonance. A piece of cloth is often inserted between the calabash and the bow to reduce unwanted vibrations. The musician can change the timbre of the instrument by pushing the half-open calabash against or away from his chest or stomach. An important difference with the mouth bow is that it is played vertically.
The musical bow too is played primarily to add music to everyday stories and events.
Type: musical bow open string
[Various African nations with their names for musical bows given in parenthesis]
Angola (Chihumba)
Congo DRC (Lunzenze, Nguem)
Gabon (Ngwomi (Tsambi), Nsambi)
Ghana (Jinjelin, Jinjeram)
Liberia (Gbon-kpala)
Madagascar (Dzeedzu, Jejolava)
Swaziland (Ligubu)
Folk republic of the Congo (Ngwomi, Nsambi, Nsâmbi, Nsambi kizonzolo)
Uganda (Egobore, Umunahi)
South Africa (Makhweyana)
****
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berimbau
From The berimbau (/bərɪmˈbaʊ/; Brazilian Portuguese: /beɾĩˈbaw/) is a single-string percussion instrument, a musical bow, from Brazil. Originally from Africa where it receives different names,[1] the berimbau was eventually incorporated into the practice of the Afro-Brazilian martial art capoeira, the berimbau (the soul of capoeira) leads the capoeiristas movement in the roda—the faster the berimbau is playing the faster the capoeirista moves in the game...
History
The berimbau's origins have not been fully researched, though it is most likely an adaptation of African gourde musical bows, as no Indigenous Brazilian or European people use musical bows.[1][2]
The way the berimbau and the m'bulumbumba of southwest Angola are made and played are very similar, as well as the tuning and basic patterns performed on these instruments. The assimilation of this African instrument into the Brazilian capoeira is evident also in other Bantu terms used for musical bows in Brazilian, including urucungo, and madimba lungungu.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/04/paranaue-videos-lyrics-meaning.html for a pancocojams post of the Capoeira song "Paranue" for examples of berimbao music.
Basically, a diddley bow consists of one string stretched tightly between two nails or screws. Musicians either pluck or strike this string to create rhythmic patterns. Because the instrument has no frets along its neck like a guitar, musicians change pitch by moving a slide—usually the neck of a glass bottle—up or down the string.
****
From http://cattailmusic.com/Blues/BluesNotes/Diddley.htm Scott Ainslie's BluesNotes: Diddley Bows
“The jumping off place for this BluesNotes on Diddley Bows is taken from Gerhard Kubik’s wonderful book, “Africa & the Blues” (University Press of Mississippi, 1999).
Writing about one-stringed instruments, Kubik cites David Evans wonderful “African-American One-Stringed Instruments” (Evans, 1970) and goes on to note that,
“Like many other African traditions and culture traits, the idea of the monochord zither seems to have smoldered on through the nineteenth century in an underground existence, perpetuated especially by children, and in the rare cases in which the instrument was perhaps observed by outsiders, it was not consider even worthy of report. Only when systematic research of the southern cultures began in the 1930s, does it become documented through photographs, and it was not recorded until the 1950s.”
This matches my experience with Diddley Bows and one-stringed instruments exactly. I first heard of these instruments from Romey Plum of the Lake Gaston area of eastern North Carolina, and subsequently from a variety of other Piedmont blues and gospel musicians. All these men spoke of the instruments with affection, as something from their childhood. Many of them made their first sounds on a stringed instrument fashioned from junk in the back yard or built on the sides of an out building, or in the case of Doug Quimby (of the Georgia Sea Island Singers), [attached to] the wall outside his mother’s kitchen!...
See below a picture of an unidentified player with a small bottle in his left hand, plucking the wire attached to the house. This photo is from the website Afro-American Folk Music from Tate and Panola Counties, Mississippi.)
[photo of man playing wire on the side of a barn]
As soon as other instruments became available, the one-strings were quickly abandoned by the players I knew, but their clear affection for the instruments drove me to begin building and playing them in the 1990s.
Kubik continues:
“In Africa, too, these instruments have been overlooked or not found worth reporting. For this reason we have notable gaps in our African distribution map. Monochord zithers are common in a relatively compact region of Africa including southeastern Nigeria, southern Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of Congo, and the southwestern tip of the Central African Republic....[the instruments] are played mostly by two (male) youngsters, one striking the string with two sticks, the other altering its pitch by stopping the string with a knife, bottle, or other object, often sliding along it.”
"Other nicknames for [the diddley bow] include "jitterbug" or "one-string", while an ethnomusicologist would formally call it a "monochord zither".
****
UPDATE: June 24, 2014 THE MEANING OF THE VERB "DIDDLE"
The musical instrument "Diddley Bow" probably got its name from the verb "diddle" combined with the noun "bow" (with its meaning of "a part of a stringed instrument").
1.1Deliberately falsify (something): ‘he diddled his income tax returns’
2 [no object] chiefly North American Pass time aimlessly or unproductively: ‘why diddle around with slow costly tests?’
More example sentences
2.1 (diddle with) Play or mess with: ‘he diddled with the graphics on his computer’
early 19th century: probably from the name of Jeremy Diddler, a character in the farce Raising the Wind (1803) by the Irish dramatist James Kenney (1780–1849). Diddler constantly borrowed and failed to repay small sums of money: the name may have been based on an earlier verb diddle 'walk unsteadily, swerve'.
with object] vulgar slang , chiefly North American Have sexual intercourse with (someone).
[originally in Scots dialect use in the sense 'jerk from side to side', apparently corresponding to dialect didder 'tremble']"
-snip-
Hat tip to Rita for sending me an email with information about the meaning of the verb "diddle".
****
FEATURED VIDEOS
These videos are posted in chronological order, based on their posting date on YouTube, with the oldest dated videos given first.
Example #1: Lonnie Pitchford - Diddley Bow - African Roots of the Blues Part 4
The Dinizulu Archives, March 23, 2009
This is an excerpt of some footage Nana Kimati Dinizulu shot when he was conducting some research in Mississippi. The late Lonnie Pitchford can be seen and heard playing the diddley bow, a one string instrument of African origin. This footage was shot by Cheryl Johnson who introduced me to Lonnie Pitchford a few years before his passing which occurred in 1998.
****
Example #2: The History of The Diddley Bow
.
fatheadluv, August 13, 2009
-snip-
This documentary excerpt features African American examples of the diddley bow and Malawi musicians & singers performing a Christian religious song 038- 2:49 “Ndidzayimbira Yehova" [ministryof hope.org] on a “diddley bow” like instrument using a shoe polish tin for his slide. One of the other musicians plays a guitar whose box is made out of a gasoline can.
A pancocojams post that features the video from which this clip was extracted will be published ASAP.
****
Example #3: Build a Diddley Bow in under 7 minutes ( one string guitar )!
fatheadluv August 13, 2009
How to make a diddley bow
****
Example #4: Simply Muta - Mutabaruka Interviews Nana Kimati Dinizulu - Part 2
-snip-
The Dinizulu Archives, July 6, 2010
Muta interviews Nana Kimati Dinizulu on CVM TV in Kingston, Jamaica [about] Kimati Dinizulu upcoming album "Ancestral Spirits", part 2
-snip-
The diddley bow segment in this interview between Jamaican Rastafari dub poet Mutabaruka and African American percussionist Nana Kimati Dinizulu is found at .052-1:15. Here's my transcription of Kimati Dinizulu's words during that brief segment:
"The diddley bow tradition in Mississippi and other parts of the South, you can use grandma’s snuff can or an old soup can. In West Africa the children would use an old coffee can or whatever can they could get a whole of…But it’s traced back to , the origins of the ancient forms of this instrument used a calabash…horse hair, and wood."
****
Example #5: WHAT IS A DIDDLEY BOW?
Justin Johnson, April 14, 2014
The Godfather of all stringed instruments - the one stringed diddley bow
This post presents various theories about how "Bo Diddley" got his stage name. Information about Bo Diddley and YouTube examples of Bo Diddley's recordings of the songs "Bo Diddley" and "Hey Bo Diddley" are also included in this post.
A video of Lonnie Pitchford playing a diddley bow is also featured in this post. are also found in this post along with another YouTube video.
The content of this post is provided for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Bo Diddley for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these YouTube videos that are featured in this post.
****
HOW BO DIDDLEY GOT THAT NAME
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American R&B vocalist, guitarist and songwriter (usually as Ellas McDaniel)... He introduced more insistent, driving rhythms and a hard-edged electric guitar sound on a wide-ranging catalog of songs, along with African rhythms and a signature beat (a simple five-accent clave rhythm) that remains a cornerstone of hip hop, rock and pop.[3][4][5] Accordingly, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation[4][6] and a Grammy Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He was known in particular for his technical innovations, including his trademark rectangular guitar.
Stage name
McDaniel adopted the stage name Bo Diddley. The origin of the name is somewhat unclear, as several differing stories and claims exist. Diddley claims that his peers gave him the nickname, which he first suspected to be an insult.[15] Bo Diddley himself said that the name first belonged to a singer his adoptive mother was familiar with, while harmonicist Billy Boy Arnold once said in an interview that it was originally the name of a local comedian that Leonard Chess borrowed for the song title and artist name for Bo Diddley's first single, and guitar craftsman Ed Roman reported that another (unspecified) source says it was his nickname as a Golden Gloves boxer".
-snip-
This Wikipedia article also includes information about the American colloquial phrase "diddley squat", but although the authors of that article cite two books about American slang as their references for that information, I'm not sure that everything that is written in that article about that phrase is actually true. I've used a similar phrase "doddley squat" which means "Of no significance, rank or importance" (as given in http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Doodly-squat, and I'm sure that it's possible that some people say "diddley squat" instead of "doodley squat". However. I'm not sure that I buy that "Diddley is a truncation of diddly-squat, retaining the same meaning[18] of "nothing"[19] and bo is an intensifier." [end of quote] In any event, I don't think that "doddley squat" (which I pronounce & have heard pronounced "DOO-lee squat") or "diddley squat" has anything to do with how Bo Diddley got that stage name.
I'm numbering these theories for referencing purposes and am including the complete quote for the information that it provides.
1. "McDaniel told one biography that the name was given to him by a grammar school friend and that he had no idea what it meant.
2. He has told music writers other versions: that the name came from his days as a boxer
3. that it came from his penchant for the strange-looking guitars that he built- “I guess that’s why they call me Bo Diddley ‘cause I always jump out of the bag with some new crap”- and that the nickname was a scat phrase to describe his unusual rhythm.
4. [Chicago harmonica player Billy Boy] Arnold remembers it differently. There was no “Bo Diddley” until the rehearsal sessions at 4750 [Chess record studios in 1955], when Leonard [Chess] wanted a new name for the group and different lyrics for McDaniel’s song “Uncle John”. The original began “Uncle John got corn ain’t never been shucked. Uncle John got daughters ain’t never…been to school.” “Older folks won’t like it” Leonard said. “DJs won’t play it”. Find some new lyrics.”
Arnold said “Bo Diddley” popped into his head when he recalled seeing a clown on the street who used that name. He joked with the band about its funny sound. “How about Bo Diddley?” he suggested in the studio.
Leonard wasn’t sure. He didn’t know what that phrase meant, and he worried that it might be something derogatory towards blacks. Assured that that was not the case, he let the band go ahead and play with the song, keeping the same rhythm- “Bo Diddley” fit the cadence of “Uncle John”, but changing the words. Now it started “Bo Diddley bought his baby a diamond ring”."
[end of quote]
The passage above begins with the sentences "“How the name “Bo Diddley” came into being has been the subject of much conjecture. There has been at least two other performers named “Bo Diddley”, one, according to a British magazine, performed in China in 1929, and another who performed in Chicago in July 1935, according to an announcement in the Chicago Defender." [end of quote>
I'm uncertain about the race of the first performer who was mentioned. However, given that the Chicago Defender is a "Chicago-based weekly newspaper founded in 1905 by an African American for primarily African-American readers" its most likely that the person who performed under the name "Bo Diddley" in Chicago in 1935 was Black. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Defender
With regard to Ellas McDaniel's song "Uncle John" which became the song "Bo Diddley", I wonder if "Uncle John" is the name of an old fictitious African American character similar to the highly risque African American folk character "Uncle Bud". "Uncle John" shows up in Little Richard's song "Long Tall Sally" which contain lyrics that obliquely refer to sex: "Well, long tall Sally, she's built for speed/ She got everything that Uncle John need" http://www.metrolyrics.com/long-tall-sally-lyrics-little-richard.html
Notice that according to the quote from Spinning Blues Into Gold: The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records the name "Bo Diddley" was selected as the name of the band and not as Ellas McDaniel's stage name.
The theory presented as #3 mentioned Ellas McDaniel's "penchant for the strange-looking guitars that he built" may have referred to "Bo Diddley's rectangular shaped guitar. It may have also been an oblique reference to "diddley bows". Here's more information about diddley bows:
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diddley_bow
"The diddley bow is a single-stringed American instrument which influenced the development of the Blues sound. It consists of a single string of baling wire tensioned between two nails on a board over a glass bottle, which is used both as a bridge and as a means to magnify the instrument's sound....
The diddley bow derives from instruments used in West Africa. There, they were often played by children, one beating the string with sticks and the other changing the pitch by moving a slide up and down. The instrument was then developed as a children's toy by slaves in the United States. They were first documented in the rural South by researchers in the 1930s.[2][3]...
One notable performer of the instrument was the Mississippi blues musician Lonnie Pitchford, who used to demonstrate the instrument by stretching a wire between two nails hammered into the wood of a vertical beam making up part of the front porch of his home. Pitchford's headstone, placed on his grave in 2000 by the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund, is actually designed with a playable diddley bow on the side as requested by Pitchford's family."
Here's a video of Lonnie Pitchford:
Lonnie Pitchford - Diddley Bow - African Roots of the Blues Part 4
The Dinizulu Archives, March 23, 2009
This is an excerpt of some footage Nana Kimati Dinizulu shot when he was conducting some research in Mississippi. The late Lonnie Pitchford can be seen and heard playing the diddley bow, a one string instrument of African origin. This footage was shot by Cheryl Johnson who introduced me to Lonnie Pitchford a few years before his passing which occurred in 1998.
****
EDITORIAL COMMENT
I'm uncertain which theory is correct, but I lean towards the theory that Bo Diddley got his stage name from the diddley bow musical instrument.
William Stewart, Published on Aug 27, 2015
****
Bo Diddley Hey! Bo Diddley - 1964
Jorge Michelini, uploaded September 14, 2010
[from an appearance on The Tami Show]
****
ADDITION 9/26/2016
INFORMATION ABOUT THE BO DIDDLEY BEAT
Here's some information about that beat from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Diddley_beat:
"The "Bo Diddley Beat" (1955) is perhaps the first true fusion of 3-2 clave and R&B/rock 'n' roll.
The Bo Diddley beat is essentially a 3-2 clave rhythm, one of the most common bell patterns found in Afro-Cuban music, and its origin goes back to the sub-Saharan African music traditions.[5] The Latin connection was so strong that Bo Diddley used maracas as a basic component of his sound.[6] Bo Diddley has given different accounts regarding how he began to use this rhythm. In an interview with Rolling Stones magazine, Diddley said he came up with the beat after listening to Gospel music in church when he was 12 years old.[7]
...The Bo Diddley beat is also akin to the age-old rhythmic pattern best known as "shave and a haircut, two bits." And it's been linked to Yoruba drumming from West Africa.[6]
In its simplest form, the Bo Diddley beat can be counted out as either a one-bar, or a two-bar phrase. Here is the count as a one-bar phrase: One e and ah, two e and ah, three e and ah, four e and ah. The bolded counts are the clave rhythm.
Songs using the Bo Diddley Beat.[prior to 1955]
Three years before Bo's "Bo Diddley" (1955), a song similar syncopation "Hambone", was cut by Red Saunders' Orchestra with The Hambone Kids. In 1944, "Rum and Coca Cola", containing the Bo Diddley beat, was recorded by The Andrews Sisters ... This rhythm occurs in 13 rhythm and blues recordings made in the years 1944–55, including two by Johnny Otis from 1948.[13]"...
