Baganda music

The amadinda is a xylophone of the type called log xylophone. It consists of 12 wooden bars placed on two fresh banana stems. Sticks are inserted into the stems as separators between the bars. The bars are normally made from the wood of the Lusamba tree (Markhamia plarycalyx).

The amadinda (or madinda) is played by three musicians called omunazi, omwawuzi and omukoonezi, respectively. One of these sits on one side of the Xylophone, the other two on the other. Different seating arrangements are possible.

The music is always started by the omunazi. The omwawuzi then comes in, putting his notes exactly between those of the omunazi. The part of the omunazi is called okunaga, the part of the omwawuzi is called okwawula.

The following example shows the parts of the piece "Olutalo olw'e Nsinsi" (The battle of Nsinsi), a piece where the okwawula part is relatively simple. The form number of this piece is 24, i.e., one cycle has a total length of two times 12. Both musicians play parallel octaves on the first ten bars or the Amadinda, so in the following numerical notation, "1" means hitting the first (deepest) bar plus the sixth one together, and so on.

Okunaga 4.3.4.3.3.3.4.3.4.4.2^2.

Okwawula 5.2.1.5.2.1.5.2.1.5.2.1

The "^" denotes the place where the okwawula part starts—this entry point may be elsewhere in other compositions. The resulting sequence is 413542313532413542412522. This sequence is repeated, possibly many times.

The third musician, the omukoonezi, repeats the pattern occurring on the lowest two bars (the amatengezzi) two octaves higher on the highest two bars (the amakoonezi). The omukoonezi starts on the "2" of the okwawula. So, in this case, this pattern, called okukoonera is:

2.1...2.1...2.12.22..1...

The okukoonera is what would be heard on these two plates if the amadinda was extended by additional octaves played by another pair of omunazi and omwawuzi. So, one could also think of the omukoonezi of "simulating" the actions of two additional musicians. When listening to the music, one can perceive the okukoonera as a separate pattern, but it might also combine with notes played on the adjacent bars to form other audible patterns.

The amadinda, like other types of south Ugandan Xylophones, is played by hitting the bars at the end with a stick. The tip of the bar is hit with the middle of the stick in an angle of about 45 degrees. The hands are moved in parallel. The movement should come from the wrist, and the arms should be moved as little as possible. The correct way of playing the amadinda is called Okusengejja, literally "to strain, to filter, to clarify, to sort things out". There are special techniques are used only by master players.

• Okudaliza (literally "to stitch a cloth together, to embroider") is a strongly accentuated way of playing. Certain tones are accentuated, bringing certain inherent patterns to the foreground. It is usually used to let the music culminate just before piece is finished.
• The term okusita ebiyondo oba ebisenge ("to erect corners or walls"—okusita meaning "to plait, to interweave (reed, fence etc.)" is an advanced playing technique in which certain notes are dropped out, resulting in a sudden change of the patterns one can hear.

There are several ways of playing Amadinda which are considered mistakes:

• In Okubwatula, the plates are hit on the top with the tip of the sticks. This is a common beginner's mistake. Literally, the word means a strong pain, especially in the bones.
• Okugugumula (literally "cause panic", "to rouse a flock of birds") is another beginner's mistake in which the hands are held stiffly and clumsily.
• Okuyiwa (literally "to put down", "to let down", "to disappoint") is an irregular way of playing in which the bars are not hit at the right moment.
• Okwokya (literally "to burn", "to roast") is a similar mistake in which the bars are hit too hastily.

Miko (singular Muko) are transpositions of a piece by one step of the scale (up or down). The whole melody is shifted up or down one xylophone bar: 1 is replaced by 2, 2 by 3, 3 by 4, 4 by 5 and 5 by 1. Although in the middle of the xylophone, the structure of the piece remains the same, the movement patterns of the musicians are changed, and the okukoonera part may become completely different. In fact, this way, from each piece of the total repertoire of 50 different compositions, 4 more pieces can be derived, giving a total of 250 pieces.

There are 50 different Amadinda pieces, not counting the miko transpositions. Their names are:

Form number 24 (2 x 12):

* Banno bakkola ng'osiga 
* Ndyegulira ekkadde 
* Ekyuma ekya Bora 
* Abaana ba Kalemba besibye bulungi 
* Segomba ngoye Mwanga alimpa 
* Ennyana ekutudde 
* Olutalo olw'e Nsisi 
* Wavvangaya 
* Omunyoro atunda nandere 
* Title unknown

Form number 36 (2 x 18):

* Ssematimba ne Kikwabanga 
* Naagenda kasana nga bulaba 
* Omusango gwa'abelere 
* Omuwabutwa wakyeejo 
* Mawasansa 
* Alifuledi 
* Omutamanya n'gamba 
* Katulye ku bye pesa 
* Ganga alula 
* Balangana  enkonge 
* Byasi byabuna olugudo 
* Ab'e Busoga begaala ngabo 
* Nanjobe 
* Mugowa Iwatakiise 
* Gulemye Mpagala 
* Mawanda segwanga 
* Ebigambo ebibulire bitta enyumba 
* Walugembe eyava oKunywa 
* Omujooni: Balinserekerera balinsala ekyambe 
* Lutaaya yesse yekka 
* Kawumpuli 
* Abalung'ana be baleta engoye 

Form number 48 (2 x 24):

* Atalabanga mudnu agende Buleega 
* Ezali embikke kasagazi kawunga 
* Kalagala e Bembwe 
* Semakookiro ne Jjunju 
* Agawuluguma ennyanja 
* Akaalo kekamu 
* Afa talamusa 
* Okuzanyira ku nyanja kutunda mwooyo 
* Ngabo Maanya eziriwangula Mugerere 
* Ensiriba ya munange Katego 
* Atakulubere 
* Nkejje namuwanula 
* Kansimbe omuggo awali Kibuka 
* Omukazi omunafu ngayigga na ngabo 

Other form numbers (these form numbers are very unusual in African music):

* Bakebezi bali e Kitende form number 50 (2 x 25) 
* Ab'e Bukerere balaagira mwanyi form number 54 (2 x 27) 
* Akawologoma form number 54 (2 x 27) 
* Agenda n'omulungi azaawa form number 70 (2 x 35)

Numerical scores of all of these compositions have been published by Gerhard Kubik (s. References).

The Embaire is the Xylophone played in Busoga sub-region.[1][2] The Embaire was described by Mark Stone, a lecturer at Oakland University and a former Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar at Makerere University during the 1996–1997 school year in these words: The Embaire is the most communal and most powerful xylophone tradition I know, a tradition that I am fortunate to teach regularly to my students at Oakland University in a number of classes[3][4]

Embaire keys are made from ensambiya wood (Bignoniaceae: Markhamia platycalyx),[5] and played by beating the ends of the keys with sticks from a heavier wood called enzo (Rutaceae: Teclea nobilis[6]). The keys are laid on felled banana stems, making an instrument which spans about 2.5m from end to end. The bass keys are large and broad but relatively thin. Wherever the instrument is played, a hole about 2 metres long and half a metre deep is first dug in the ground under the area where the bass keys will lie (the bottom ten keys of the Nakibembe instrument), to provide resonance: this chamber is sealed at the bottom end of the instrument with the base of a banana frond packed around with some of the excavated earth. In contrast to other parts of Uganda, Several impressive music groups with embaire xylophones are located relatively easily in Iganga district, Busoga.[7]

Like the Amadinda music, the Timbrh (timbili) lamellophone music of the Vute of central Cameroon is based on playing parallel Octaves, resulting in inherent patterns. This striking similarity provides some evidence that the principles underlying both forms of music might go back to ancient times.