Constructing Maskanda

Abstract

This article is concerned with two aspects of the South African popular music genre
maskanda: aspects that for the purpose of the article I call ‘internal' and ‘external'
construction. It draws on transcriptions of three pieces by my main informant in this
research, Bongani Nkwanyana. It also draws on my transcriptions of commercial
recordings of maskanda and my experience of the physical articulation of sounds on the guitar.1 In Part 1, segments of songs are analysed to offer an explanation of how Zulu
guitarists use the instrument to construct pieces ‘internally'. Part 2 considers the
repertoire of songs historically, briefly assessing a discography that spans more than sixty
years. Historical changes in maskanda construction ‘externally' are discussed here,
locating the genre in the broader picture of South African music.

South African Music Studies Vol. 26-27 2006/7: pp. 1-26