Isaac Waswa Shitubi

Fuging African Songs: a Focus on Luhya Music Isaac Waswa Shitubi

This book discusses the suitability of using Western Fugal Techniques in arranging traditional Luhya folk songs/tunes. The author premises his discussion on the findings of a study that involved carrying out interviews with composers/arrangers to establish their background in music and their approach to arrangement of Luhya tunes. A total of twenty arrangers were interviewed. The researcher also recorded and transcribed eight short Luhya folk tunes and analysed seven arrangements of Luhya folk tunes by selected Kenyan musicians. Basing his postulations on the findings, the author observes that the use of Western techniques, in the case of the study, a fugue, on arrangement of African tunes distorted them. Consequently, he strongly argues for the need to establish original African Contrapuntal Techniques that can be used in arranging Luhya traditional folk tunes to help avert the miscontuitions brought about by entirely relying on Western Fugal Techniques. This book is highly useful for composers, arrangers, enthusiasts and scholars of African Traditional Music in Kenya and beyond.