Tuesday, 8 August 2017

Finding The Right Samoan Hymn Book

By Karen Barnes


Music from this country traditionally made use of instruments such as the fala. This particular device for making beautiful music provides great accompaniment for most any hymns in a Samoan hymn book. It resembles a mat that has been rolled up, and the players use sticks to beat on it to make the music.

Sometimes in this type of a setting, a person will take a solo by reading some verses of sacred poetry, which can be scary for the person if they are prone to getting nervous when in a public speaking type situation. This is a good time to break out the soundingboard. This is a type of traditional instrument that is often used to go with this type of a reading.

When it is time to signal something like a sacred time or moment or the arrival of a significant person, a conch shell is often called for. A lot of people already know what a conch is because of how it depicted a lot in movies and books. It is interesting to learn that these shells have also been used for a long time as instruments.

There are several smaller instruments that a person can use if the group they are playing for is rather small. It is true that good things sometimes do come in small packages, and you will be impressed with the sounds that can come out of these tiny traditional instruments. These musical instruments might include fun additions like the jaw harp, nose flute, and the panpipe. These not only add a lot of flavor, but they are inexpensive.

You will see what is called the pate drum a lot these days, and the reason for that is because it is a wonderful addition that adds a lot the sound of your group in a variety of different settings. It is a slit-type of a drum which has been hollowed out. It is sometimes good to have some percussion to help give the music a defined beat.

If you have a drum known as the fala but are discouraged because most people nowadays use the pate instead, fear not. You can still make use of this traditional instrument because it is still a quality drum and can add a unique flavor to your music. All you have to do is play it the same way you would a contemporary drum and you will be fine.

It was way back in 1830 when LMS missionaries first came to the islands of Samoa and started influencing their music. Both the popular music and the hymnodic music came into their culture this way. This had lead to countless songs filling up numerous books that are out there right now today just waiting for the right group of singers to pick it up and start singing them.

One of the best things about the times that we are living in is that boundaries are starting to fall away so that the old can merge with the new. Christianity's influence on Samoa put their traditional percussion instruments, which are beautiful and should not be forsaken, in the periphery because everyone wanted to sing in choirs instead. Contemporaries now like to add the traditional instruments back in for a more dynamic experience.




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