Dundun workshop

Last weekend I visited Brussels, the European Medina of the African music again (as the European Mecca would probably be Paris). I finally managed to attend a course for dunduns. The course was part of a big, one week lasting course with prominent teachers (Mamady Keita, Babara Bangoura, N'faly Kouyate and others).
Babara Bangoura, the Guinean djembefola and dundunfola, made us work intensively for 5 hours per day. I must say that he has great didactic skills. We were only four and the course was for the advanced players so we progressed quite quickly. Babara took time to explain the songs in detail, sing the lyrics, etc.

I realized that once you're able to play the duns (concerning the technique), you soon get to the point where you just have to know how to play African music. You don't have to worry about rollers or hand swapping like when playing djembe. So this course was really more about the arrangements and the philosophy of each song. I guess that is just about what every djembe player needs as well.


On Saturday evening Babara had two concerts (one with the Italian Beman Kan and one with the Belgian Bolo Kan, the latter is in a short video).

Sumalen video

Check out this
video (M.Jakite, D.Kone and K.Kuyate). A typical Malian djembe setting: no extravagant solos, full palette of sounds (including closed slaps and other muffed sounds) making some very groovy music. Take note of the fullness of the song and take also in consideration that there are only three players playing.

The video is shown in the context of presenting this research project at the Bayreuth University in Germany.

Mamadou Diabate's balafon pages

Some time ago I noticed this recording "Kamalenya" and liked it very much, although I admit I haven't ever listened to the whole CD. I must order it one of this days.
This week I found the web page of the author and on the page I found an interesting collection of sheets for the balafon in different flavours (Tusia, Dioula, Sambla, one player, two players, three players, ...). The sheets are written in the notation for classic music but they're not too difficult to read - I would even say they're pretty simple, as I can't read well this notation myself.

And now the best of it: the guy has put on the web the whole recordings too! In many songs there's the singing as well.