[Listening extract audio not available in printed QP] You hear a West African drum ensemble. (a) How does the master drummer direct the ensemble? [1] (b) Na...

(a) The master drummer directs the ensemble by playing rhythmic signals or patterns that cue changes. [1]

In a West African drum ensemble, the master drummer holds a leadership role. Rather than conducting with gestures, the master drummer communicates through the drum itself, using specific rhythmic patterns to signal changes in tempo, dynamics, or section. The master drummer improvises freely over the foundation laid by the supporting drummers, and particular rhythmic phrases serve as cues for the ensemble to transition, accelerate, or end. Other acceptable descriptions include: by improvising patterns that the other drummers follow; by varying the tempo and dynamics to direct the ensemble; by playing call phrases that prompt responses from the group.

(b) The African lamellophone (thumb piano) is the mbira (also accepted: kalimba). [1]

The mbira (or kalimba) is an instrument consisting of a series of thin metal tines (tongues) of varying lengths mounted on a wooden board or resonator. The player holds the instrument in both hands and plucks the free ends of the tines with the thumbs (and sometimes forefingers), producing a gentle, bell-like tone. Each tine is tuned to a specific pitch, and the tines are arranged so that melodies can be played with alternating thumbs. The mbira is particularly associated with the Shona people of Zimbabwe, where it has deep cultural and spiritual significance, though lamellophones in various forms are found across sub-Saharan Africa.

(c) One rhythmic feature other than polyrhythm is cross-rhythm (or any one of: syncopation, call and response, interlocking patterns, use of repetition, cyclic patterns). [1]

Cross-rhythm is a related but distinct concept where a rhythmic pattern implies a different grouping or metre from the prevailing one. For example, a pattern of three even notes played against a background of four beats creates a 3-against-4 cross-rhythm. Other valid features include syncopation (accenting weak beats or offbeats), interlocking patterns (complementary parts that fit together like a jigsaw), and cyclic patterns (short repeating phrases, called ostinatos, that loop continuously to build the rhythmic texture).