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African music also has a conversational quality, in which different voices, instrumental parts, or even the parts of a single player are brought into lively exchangeThere are many different modes of expression in African music. In West Africa, drum ensembles consisting of three to five musicians who play interlocking patterns are common. In the ensemble, each drummer uses a special method of striking the drumhead to produce varying pitches and timbres a distinctive sounds also known as tone colors to distinguish the drum from all the others. Such ensembles often include rattles and an iron bell, which is struck with a stick to produce a repeated pattern called a timeline. This pattern penetrates the dense texture of the ensemble and helps the drummers to play their patterns at the correct time.
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