BGCSE Music (0617) cheat sheet

History and Context (including Botswana and African music)

• Botswana traditional music is functional: it marks weddings, initiations, harvests, funerals and royal occasions; performance context shapes tempo, text and instrumentation.

• Setswana praise poetry (maboko) is chanted or sung with rhythmic speech; it is performed at kgotla gatherings and honours chiefs and notable people.

• Kwaito and jazz scenes: Botswana's modern popular music blends kwaito, hip-hop, jazz and traditional rhythms; festivals and radio drive local styles.

• Colonial and missionary influence introduced hymnody, four-part choral singing and Western notation into southern African church and school music.

• Baroque traits: basso continuo, ornamentation, terraced dynamics, polyphony; composers Bach, Handel, Vivaldi. Classical: balanced phrases, sonata form; Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven.

• Romantic traits: expanded orchestra, expressive chromatic harmony, programme music; Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Brahms. 20th century: Stravinsky's irregular rhythm, Debussy's colour, jazz and popular styles.

• African music's global influence: syncopation and polyrhythm fed into jazz, blues and rock; instruments such as the mbira and djembe appear in world-music ensembles.

• Copyright and ownership: traditional songs are often communally owned; composers hold rights to original works; performance and recording require permission.