Africa by Toto: Harmonic Analysis

• The song "Africa" is analyzed, focusing on its musical structure and harmonic content

Introduction

• The intro spans bars 1-4, lasts 4 bars, and is in B major
• It uses only three chords: ♮VII (A), vi (G#m), and ii (C#m)
• The intro consists of two riffs, each lasting two bars
• Riff a (bars 1 & 2) features a syncopated rhythm and mainly repeats chord ♮VII before resolving to chords vi and ii
• Riff b (bars 3 & 4) includes an anacrusis and employs a five-note ostinato based on the E major pentatonic scale over a sustained chord ii

Riffs

• The first riff appears in every section except the Chorus
• The second riff gets developed in the instrumental section
• Both riffs are rooted in traditional African music, using syncopation, a pentatonic scale, and irregular ostinato patterns that go against the 2/2 time signature
• Xylophones and marimbas are included in the recording, suggesting pitched percussion instruments from Africa
• The recording starts with an eight-bar intro with unpitched percussion instruments
• This intro has African influences via layered rhythms and ostinatos, and happens before the vocal score

Verse 1

• Verse 1 spans bars 5-39, totals 35 bars, and is in B major
• Phrase 1 (bars 5-13): 9 bars - "I hear the drums echoing tonight. She hears only whispers of some quiet conversation."
• Phrase 2 (bars 14-22): 9 bars - "She’s coming in twelve thirty flight. Moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me t’ward salvation."
• Phrase 3 (bars 23-31): 9 bars - "I stopped an old man along the way, hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies."
• Phrase 4 (bars 32-39): 8 bars - "He turned to me as if to say, “Hurry boy, it’s waiting there for you.”"

Verse Structure and Harmony

• A nine-bar phrase is of unusual length, and Riff a begins as the vocal line ends in bar 8 each time
• The first three phrases have unusual melodies consisting of two vocal lines of three and five bars, ending with a silent bar
• The melody is fairly low, moves conjunctly, has a syncopated rhythm, and is mostly syllabic
• The first three phrases have a slow harmonic rhythm, with chord changes occurring once per bar, except the last bar where Riff a's chord pattern can be heard
• The chord pattern for the nine-bar phrases: Bar 5: I (B), Bar 6: iii (D#m), Bar 7: vi (G#m), Bar 8: Ic (B/F#), Bar 9: ♮VIIc (A/E), Bar 10: iv9d (E/F#), Bar 11: vi (G#m), Bars 12 & 13: Riff a
• The final eight-bar phrase starts the same as the prior three, but the melody rises an octave in the fourth bar, harmonized by a backing vocalist a 3rd below in parallel motion
• Harmonically, chord vi (G#m) sustains an extra bar to allow Riff a in the fifth and sixth bars, with chord ii sustaining until the phrase's end
• The chord pattern for the final eight-bar phrase is: Bar 32: I (B), Bar 33: iii (D#m), Bar 34: vi (G#m), Bar 35: vi (G#m), Bar 36 & 37: Riff a, Bar 38: ii (C#m), Bars 39: ii (C#m)

Chorus 1

• Chorus 1 spans bars 40–57, consists of 18 bars and is in A major
• Phrase 1 (bars 40–43): 4 bars - "It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you"
• Phrase 2 (bars 44–47): 4 bars - "There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do"
• Phrase 3 (bars 48–51): 4 bars - "I bless the rains down in Africa"
• Phrase 4 (bars 52–57): 6 bars - "Gonna take some time to do the things we never had"
• The first phrase is a solo, the second a duet, and the third and fourth in three parts
• The melody uses only two pitches (tonic and leading note), is high, syncopated, and syllabic
• The harmony has the same rhythm as the verse, using a typical pop song chord pattern
• Bar 40: vi (F#m), Bar 41: IV (D), Bar 42: I (A), Bar 43: V (E)
• The final six-bar phrase starts like the previous three, but the melody and chord pattern change in the fourth bar to transition to B major
• The melody ends with a melisma, using chords Bar 52: vi (F#m), Bar 53: IV (D), Bar 54: I (A), Bar 55: iii (C#m), Bar 56: V (E), Bar 57: vi (F#m) / Vb (E/G#)

Link 1

• Link 1 occurs in bars 58-65, lasts 8 bars and is in B major
• This section repeats the music from the Introduction but the original four-bar section is repeated once instead of three times

Verse 2

• Verse 2 occurs in bars 14–39, spans 26 bars and is in B major
• Phrase 1 (bars 14–22): 9 bars - "The wild dogs cry out in the night as they grow restless, longing for some solitary company"
• Phrase 2 (bars 23–31): 9 bars - "I know that I must do what’s right, sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti"
• Phrase 3 (bars 32–39): 8 bars - "I seek to cure what’s deep inside, frightened of this thing that I’ve become"
• The music repeats from Verse 1 with new lyrics, consisting of two nine-bar phrases and a final eight-bar phrase
• There is a melody change in bar 33, where the singer leaps to pitches D# and C# on "deep in"
• The verse is accompanied by a conjunct flute-like countermelody that moves at the same speed as the harmonic rhythm
• Backing vocals enter in the fifth bar, harmonizing on "Ooo", before joining the lead singer on the last word of each phrase
• The second nine-bar phrase begins with a backing vocalist harmonizing a 4th higher than the melody and then continues a 3rd higher

Chorus 2 and Link 2

• Chorus 2 occurs in bars 40–57, spans 18 bars and is in A major and repeats the music from Chorus 1
• Link 2 occurs in bars 58–65, spans 8 bars and is in B major and repeats the music from Link 1

Instrumental Section

• The instrumental section occurs in bars 66–82, spans 17 bars and is in B major
• It is based on the accompaniment, with the vocal melody replaced by a Riff b-based instrumental melody
• It presents a shortened version of the verse with one nine-bar phrase and a final eight-bar phrase
• Bars 66–69: 4 bars, first half of the nine-bar phrase has a descending B major pentatonic scale melody, notes in groups of three, ends with a triplet
• Bars 70–74: 5 bars, second half of the nine-bar phrase has ascending/descending E major scale melody with more rhythmic variety
• Bars 75–77: 3 bars, first half of the eight-bar phrase has an ascending B major pentatonic scale melody, notes in groups of three, ends in a 'pop' style with grace notes and syncopation
• Bars 78–82: 5 bars, second half of the eight-bar phrase includes the vocal line “Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you.”

Chorus 3

• Chorus 3 occurs in bars 40–92, spans 22 bars and is in A major
• This section repeats the music from Chorus 1 with three changes:
  • A new electric guitar riff is heard in the last bar of each phrase (bars 43, 47, 51 etc)
  • Phrase 3 - "I bless the rains down in Africa" is repeated five times, extending the section
  • A solo vocal improvisation is heard at the end of the first, second, and fourth repeats of phrase 3. The first two use "I bless the rain", while the final uses "I’m gonna take some time"

Outro

• The outro occurs in bars 93–96, spans 4 bars and is in B major
• It repeats the music from the Introduction, and the texture is gradually reduced over time
• By the end, only the rhythm track and bass line of Riff a remain

Musical Glossary

• Grace notes: Additional, non-essential notes for decoration
• Harmonic rhythm: The rate of chord changes in a piece of music
• NME: New Musical Express; British music journalism website/magazine
• Pentatonic scale: A five-note musical scale per octave, using notes 1, 2, 3, 5, & 6 of the major scale
• Riff: A short, repeated phrase in popular music/jazz, used as an intro or refrain

Appendix

• The analysis places the content in B major, the key is ambiguous, and could be interpreted as B major, E major or A lydian
• The Chorus, is decidedly in A major
• Centres are able to deliver any of these keys and exam questions will allow access for all candidates, irrespective of the key that is taught