The Balafon is believed to have been developed in the 12^th century in the Southern Africa region during the rise of the Mali Empire. It has entertained crowds throughout the history of Southern and West Africa, growing in popularity across the African continent.

Where was the balafon invented?

Introducing the Balafon

The balafon is associated with the Griot, an hereditary musicianship tradition of West Africa and in The Gambia this tends to be mostly found in Brikama (where there are also a lot of griot or 'jeli' families who play the kora or African harp).

What is the history of the balafon?

The African balafon is the traditional xylophone of the Mande people in West Africa. The original name of the percussion instrument is bala, while the term "balafon" actually means "playing the bala instrument". Every Mande balafon that exists today originates from one particular instrument, the Sosso Bala.

What are some fun facts about balafon?

The Balafon (Balafong, Balaphone) is a kind of wooden xylophone or percussion idiophone which plays melodic tunes and usually has between 16 to 27 keys which has been played in the region since the 1300s and originated in Mali according to the Manding history narrated by the griots.

What is under the balafon?

It is commonly referred to in the West as a Xylophone. The Balafon is made of a series of wooden bars, or keys, resting on a bamboo frame. Beneath the wooden bars and under the frame, small gourds of varying dimensions are suspended that serve as resonators.

The story of the balafon, an ancient West African musical instrument. culture, art and entertainment

41 related questions found

Who invented balafon?

Believed to have been developed independently of the Southern African and South American instrument now called the marimba, oral histories of the balafon date it to at least the rise of the Mali Empire in the 12th century CE.

What sound does a balafon make?

The balafon is amplified by small gourds underneath the keys, with small layers of film covering holes to create a unique buzzing sound. Some people say it sounds like an electric keyboard!

What are slit drums made of?

A slit drum or slit gong is a hollow percussion instrument. In spite of the name, it is not a true drum but an idiophone, usually carved or constructed from bamboo or wood into a box with one or more slits in the top.

What is the origin of Gong Ageng?

The gong ageng is a Javanese gamelan instrument. It may have originated in ancient Greece, and traveled to India and China, and then to Java. Idiophone: an instrument that produces its sound through the use of the material from which it is made, without needing strings or a stretched skin.

What is an African griot?

griot, Mande jeli or jali, Wolof gewel, West African troubadour-historian. The griot profession is hereditary and has long been a part of West African culture. ... In addition to serving as the primary storytellers of their people, griots have also served as advisers and diplomats.

How long has the balafon been around?

The Balafon is believed to have been developed in the 12^th century in the Southern Africa region during the rise of the Mali Empire. It has entertained crowds throughout the history of Southern and West Africa, growing in popularity across the African continent.

What are Jamaican drums called?

What are Jamaican Steel Drums? Also known as steel pans, Jamaican steel drums are percussion instruments that follow a chromatic pitch ranging from G1 toF6. The musician who plays it is called a pannist, and a group of pannists is referred to as a steel band.

Where is the mbira instrument from?

The Mbira or African thumb piano (other identifying names include: kalimba - contemporary term; the most popular term is either sansa, or mbira) is a percussive instrument originating from Africa. The instrument, also used in Cuban music, is generally held with both hands and played with the thumbs.

Where do the Mande live?

The Mande are located primarily on the savanna plateau of the western Sudan, although small groups of Mande origin, whose members no longer exhibit Mande cultural traits, are found scattered elsewhere, as in the tropical rain forests of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the Côte d'Ivoire.

What is the name of the popular thumb piano instrument from East Africa?

The thumb piano, or mbira – a name derived from Shona language of Zimbabwe - is uniquely African percussion instrument. In the distant past it was made entirely of wood or bamboo and could have been used for a few thousand years.

What are tongue drums?

The tongue drum is a percussion instrument in the idiophone family; this means that the material the instrument is made out of actually also produces the sound itself, without the need for strings, a membrane, or external resonator. Other names for it include tank drum, Hank drum or steel tongue drum.

What kind of drum is in Moana?

The recent Disney movie, Moana features a beautiful drum from the Pacific Islands, called a slit drum. Learn more about this unique isntrument here.

What is the primary use of African traditional music?

Traditional African music supplies appropriate music and dance for work and for religious ceremonies of birth, naming, rites of passage, marriage and funerals. The beats and sounds of the drum are used in communication as well as in cultural expression.

What are the gourds on a balafon used for?

The balafon is a West African xylophone with calabash (gourds) tied underneath, which are used as resonators.

What is an African instrument?

African musical instruments include a wide range of drums, slit gongs, rattles and double bells, different types of harps, and harp-like instruments such as the Kora and the ngoni, as well as fiddles, many kinds of xylophone and lamellophone such as the mbira, and different types of wind instrument like flutes and ...

What do you call a hand piano or thumb piano used by Africans?

Mbira, also called mbila sansa, kilembe, likembe, timbrh, or thumb piano, plucked idiophone (instrument whose sounding parts are resonant solids belonging to the body of the instrument itself)—or more specifically, a lamellaphone—that is unique to Africa and widely distributed throughout the continent.

What are Kumbengo and Birimintingo?

Birimintingo. The soloistic style of instrumental performance used on instruments like the kora, bala, and koni in Mande jeliya music. Only $47.88/year. Kumbengo. The accompaniment style of instrumental performance used on instruments like the kora, bala, and koni in Mande jeliya music.

Is a term used to describe the fusion of West African with black American music?

Afrobeat is a music genre which involves the combination of elements of West African musical styles such as fuji music and highlife with American jazz and later soul and funk influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecting rhythms, and percussion.

What is body percussion called?

Traditionally the four main body percussion sounds (in order from lowest pitch to highest in pitch) are: stomp (stamping), patsch (patting the thighs with hands), clapping, clicking.