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I enjoy experimenting with African music, particularly since I live in the beautiful city of Cape Town, South Africa. Percussion instruments like the djembe drum and shekere shaker have a distinctive character to them, while melodic instruments include the kora (a harp-like instrument), the balafon (similar to a xylophone) and the mbira and kalima thumb pianos are really fun for sparking new creative ideas.

African music is incredibly diverse, reflecting the continent’s vast cultural and linguistic diversity. Each region and ethnic group has its unique musical traditions. If you’re creating an African travel video, visual piece or documentary, the type of music you choose can play a pivotal role in the project. Here’s why.

Why adding the right music can take your video to the next level:

1. Enhances Emotional Impact: Carefully chosen royalty-free music can amplify the emotional resonance of your scenes, making viewers feel more connected to the visuals and narrative.
2. Sets the Tone: Music helps set the overall tone of your video, whether it’s adventurous, serene, dramatic, or joyful, ensuring the mood aligns with your storytelling.
3. Creates Atmosphere: Background music can create an immersive atmosphere that reflects the diverse landscapes, cultures, and experiences showcased in your Africa travel documentary.
4. Supports Narrative Flow: The right music can guide viewers through the narrative, providing auditory cues that highlight transitions, key moments, or shifts in the storyline.
5. Boosts Production Value: High-quality royalty-free music adds a professional touch to your video, making it sound more polished and engaging, which enhances the overall production value.
6. Complements Visuals: Well-chosen music complements the visuals, making scenes more vivid and memorable. For example, traditional African rhythms can enhance footage of cultural festivals.
7. Consistent Theme: Using a curated selection of royalty-free music helps maintain a consistent auditory theme throughout your video, ensuring a cohesive viewing experience.
8. Paces the Editing: Music can influence the pacing of your edits, helping to create a dynamic flow that keeps viewers engaged, whether through upbeat tracks for fast scenes or mellow tunes for reflective moments.
9. Evokes Cultural Context: Incorporating traditional African music can evoke a sense of place and cultural context, enriching the authenticity and depth of your travel documentary.
10. Enhances Viewer Experience: High-quality music enhances the overall viewer experience by making the video more captivating and enjoyable, encouraging viewers to watch till the end and share with others.

Ten of my favourite African royalty-free music tracks:

These tracks are perfect for African travel, safari, documentary, TV series, film and video projects. Have a listen and see what you think.

Slower atmospheric feeling ideal for background / voiceover use:

• African Documentary (Traditional World Tribal Soundtrack)
• African Safari (Tribal Traditional Wildlife Documentary)
• Time To See Africa
• Africa Sunrise
• Sun Of Africa

With vocals:

• Africa
• Heart Of Africa
• Traditional South Africa

More upbeat:

• Africa Sun (Afrobeat)
• Africa Highlife

All these tracks are available with various licensing options and can be used for smaller online video projects or larger broadcasts for wider audiences. If you need a custom edit of one of my tracks, simply buy the appropriate license and contact me. I’ll gladly assist where I can.

Interesting African instruments and songs where you can hear them:

I touched on some traditional instruments earlier. They certainly are interesting to experiment with and listen to. Here are some examples of African instruments, their origins, and songs where they can be heard:

1. Djembe:
   • Origin: West Africa, particularly among the Mandinka people of Mali, Guinea, and Senegal.
   • Song: “Djolé” by Mamady Keïta, a renowned master drummer from Guinea.
2. Kora:
   • Origin: West Africa, primarily in the Mandé region (Mali, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea).
   • Song: “Kaira” by Toumani Diabaté, a famous kora player from Mali.
3. Mbira (also known as thumb piano):
   • Origin: Southern Africa, especially among the Shona people of Zimbabwe.
   • Song: “Nhemamusasa” by Stella Chiweshe, a well-known mbira player from Zimbabwe.
4. Balafon:
   • Origin: West Africa, particularly in Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso.
   • Song: “Bensogou” by Neba Solo, a prominent balafon player from Mali.
5. Talking Drum (also known as dundun or tama):
   • Origin: West Africa, especially among the Yoruba people of Nigeria and the Akan people of Ghana.
   • Song: “Ogidi Omo” by Ayinde Barrister, featuring the talking drum prominently.
6. Ngoni:
   • Origin: West Africa, especially among the Mandé people in Mali and Burkina Faso.
   • Song: “Allah Uya” by Bassekou Kouyaté, a celebrated ngoni player from Mali.
7. Uhadi:
   • Origin: South Africa, traditionally used by the Xhosa people.
   • Song: “Qongqothwane” by Miriam Makeba, also known as “The Click Song,” incorporates the sound of the uhadi.
8. Shekere:
   • Origin: West Africa, commonly used by the Yoruba people of Nigeria.
   • Song: “Ye Ye O” by King Sunny Adé, featuring the shekere as part of the percussion ensemble.
9. Krakebs:
   • Origin: North Africa, particularly among the Gnawa people of Morocco.
   • Song: “Baba Mimoun” by Maâlem Mahmoud Gania, showcasing the krakebs.
10. Algaita:
    • Origin: West Africa, especially among the Hausa people of Nigeria and Niger.
    • Song: “Zara Zamani” by the Hausa Music Group, highlighting the algaita.

These instruments bring unique sounds and cultural significance to African music, contributing to the rich and diverse musical landscape of the continent.

Go on, feel the spirit of Africa!