Tutorials

This section will introduce you to West African rhythms and arrangements. I will also introduce you to some of the beautiful instruments that are used to play the traditional musics of Guinea, Ghana, Mali, Senegal and Burkina Faso. There will also be explanations on the techniques used to play these insrtruments.

Each month traditional musical concepts will be explored and rhythms will broken down into their components so that you can learn some of the accompaniments, dundun, bell and shaker parts that make the music complete.

Aug 2003

Having just returned from my 4th West African tour has got me inspired to tell you all about the music of the Bambara people from Mali and East Senegal.
Their music is ancient and rich in texture. Traditional ensembles are based around Djembe, dundun and bell patterns with soaring vocal harmonies and flute.
In Mali Djembe is the principal instrument in such ensembles where as further south in Guinea ( Malinke country) the dundun has more of a principal focus. My expereience with Malian rhythms is that the djembe parts tend to incorporate more base within the accompanyments, whereas in Guinea - because there are usually so many dundun, sanban, and kenkenny ( base drums) parts- the djembe base is not utilised or heard as much.

YEBU is a 12/8 rhythm with two dundun parts . One played at a slower tempo for the vocal section, the other played during the faster driving section

BELLS - The Ghanain double bell known as the Gangokui is used prolifically in Ghana, Togo and other parts of west Africa. The bell provides part of the rhythms foundation. It drives the music and often leads the tempo. Ghanain music is both rhythmically complex and melodically rich . Gangokui bells are hand picked and tuned with each other so that when played in unison they create beautiful melodic structures that float through the music. Budding locals must always pay attention to the movement of the bell and train on the bell with all its claves before moving to the drums. An understanding of the bell patterns is imperative for a genuine comprehension of traditional music. It forms a reference from which all other parts stem . If you undertsand the bell pattern you can always find your way back into the music if you happen to fall out.

Kpalago Bells - These two bell parts go together to form the Kpalago bells.The first pattern is also known as the Son Clave or 3:2 clave. Try them one at a time and then together on different hands or play one whilst singing the other. Good luck.