Sakara music is a form of popular Nigerian music based in the traditions of Yoruba music. It mostly in the form of praise songs, that uses only traditional Yoruba instruments such as the solemn-sounding goje violin, and the small round sakara drum, which is similar to a tambourine and is beaten with a stick. Sakara music overlays the nasalized, melismatic vocals of Eastern Africa and Arabic on the traditional percussion instruments. The music is often brooding and philosophical in mood.