The harmonic style of Sub-Saharan Folk music has a large range of variation. The scale styles used in this kind of music could be typically composed of diatonic or pentatonic scales, but that was not always the case. It was not too uncommon to use different styles of scales throughout the music.Polyphony was also very common, and this occurred usually in the chorus, after the first verse had been sung by a male soloist.[5] It was common to use parallel intervals within this polyphony, to shape the story the song creates. The parallel intervals that were used the most were III, IV, and V. Counter melodies would sometimes occur in these pieces, at the same type of parallel interval.
Another interesting part of this type of Folk music was the influence language had on the tonal quality and tone colors found in of the music. They considered these two to be closely intertwined, which is why most folk music you find from this era has many voice parts. The tone colors changed severely when colonization began, because of the new instruments brought in. [5] Because of this cultural change, you can find many pieces with new types of tone colors, heavily influenced by Western sound.
In "Ompeh", these harmonic qualities are demonstrated. When the first vocalist comes in at 0:25, he begins with a diatonic scale, and the piece doesn't deter from this style for the duration of the song. A small call and response system begins, and when the chorus fully comes in at 0:46, you can hear the polyphony within the choir. Then generally throughout the piece, you can hear the influence of their language on the piece. Based on how they enunciate their words, or what influence they choose to put on each syllable, It changes the tonal color of the entire piece.
Signing Off,
Brianna Jones
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