When Music Speaks
Talking drums? Xylophone praises? Flutes that seduce? All around the world, cultures have found ways to communicate using notes and rhythms of music, in what have been called "musical surrogate languages". This podcast explores these incredible traditions and what they can teach us about language, music, and the richness of human culture.
Podcasting since 2022 • 3 episodes
When Music Speaks
Latest Episodes
The Igbo oja past and future, with Gerald Eze
In our first ever interview on When Music Speaks, I talk with friend and collaborator Gerald Eze. Gerald is a master of the oja, a wind-blown Igbo instrument from Nigeria, whose poetry can praise, warn, and uplift those it addresses. This is a ...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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48:21
Around the world in five traditions
Just what kinds of musical surrogate languages are out there? What instruments are used? And what are people even saying? In this episode, I take you around the world in five traditions: Bora slit log drumming in the Amazon, Yoruba talkin...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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26:05