ABSTRACT

Embodied music interactions form part of idioms, or modes of expression. This chapter focuses on the region of Dagbon in Northern Ghana, West Africa, where a traditional rural music-dance idiom is being affected by rapid globalization and urban development. Key elements of embodied music interaction, belonging to this traditional music-dance idiom, seem to play an important role in ongoing idiomatic transformation processes. The chapter aims to substantiate this claim with concrete examples taken from the Dagbon culture. It describes the traditional music idiom in relation to the urban "Hiplife Zone" idiom. The chapter presents a few examples of how the lyrical use of proverbs structures the embodiment of music within the traditional idiom. It shows the respect in which the musical idiom is changing under the influence of globalism. The chapter deals with a model, to show how idiomatic transformations of music can be understood from the perspective of cultural change and embodiment.