African Balafon Fun! - HD PRO Login

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Frequently Asked Questions

• How does a balafon work on a keyboard?

  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! One hand typically plays the lower half, and the other hand plays the upper half.

• Who is an example of a modern balafon player?

  A fine example of a modern Gambian balafon player, Sefo Kanuteh, currently lives in Norwich. He plays both the balafon and the kora and his music is a good example of the modern influences on West African music. Artist: Various. Album: Burkina-Faso, Balafons and African Drums.

• Where can you find balafon in the world?

  That was the foundation of a long line of Griots: the Kouyates, who are still the guardians of this balafon known as the Sosso-Balafon that can be found at Niagassolo, in the north of Guinea. In 2004, UNESCO added the balafon to the world heritage list. Listen to 3 different types of balafon in different groups and tribes in West Africa.

• When did African Americans start playing the balafon?

  The Atlantic Slave Trade brought some balafon players to the Americas. The Virginia Gazette records African-Americans playing a barrafoo in 1776, which appears to be a balafon. Other North American references to these instruments die out by the mid-19th century.

• What kind of musical instrument is the balafon?

  In the West, instruments like this are called xylophones. 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).

• Where is the balafon found in West Africa?

  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).

• How many keys are there in a balafon?

  The keys are then tied to the frame with a single piece of cord each side, this means that if a key comes loose they all have to be taken off and retied. Generally there are 21 keys but balafons, like koras and other hand-made traditional instruments, vary slightly and sometimes they have 22.

• Who was the first person to play the balafon?

  Stories of the first balafon, given by a spirit to Sunjata, and the first balafon, player seem to date from this time. One version of the story of ‘bala konte’ (or Kante, spelling is hard to pin down here and tends to depend on whether sources are English or French in origin) has him losing his name, to be given the name of his instrument instead.