Kora

Classification West African stringed instrument with 21 strings Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1080x720, 92 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Kora (instrument) Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... A string instrument (also stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ... Playing range Related instruments harp, lute The playing range of a musical instrument is the region of pitch in which it can play, i. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 582 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (630 × 649 pixel, file size: 57 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 582 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (630 × 649 pixel, file size: 57 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... For other uses, see Harp (disambiguation). ... A medieval era lute. ... Musicians Toumani Diabaté, Foday Musa Suso, Seckou Keita, Alhaji Bai Konte and sons Dembo and Sherrifo Toumani Diabaté (born August 10, 1965) is a Malian kora player who has gained international acclaim for his music. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Seckou Keitawas born in Ziguinchor, Senegal on 14 February 1978 in a griot family (hereditary musicians). ... Alhaji Bai Konte (d. ... More articles Cora Connection, Kumbengo Koras

The kora is a 21-string harp-lute used extensively by peoples in West Africa. A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ... For other uses, see Harp (disambiguation). ... A medieval era lute. ...  Western Africa (UN subregion)  Maghreb[1] West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. ...

Description

A kora is built from a large calabash cut in half and covered with cow skin to make a resonator, and has a notched bridge like a lute or guitar. The sound of a kora resembles that of a harp, though when played in the traditional style, it bears a closer resemblance to flamenco guitar techniques. The player uses only the thumb and index finger of both hands to pluck the strings in polyrhythmic patterns (using the remaining fingers to hold the sticks either side of the strings and secure the instrument). Ostinato riffs ("Kumbeng") and improvised solo runs ("Biriminting") are played at the same time by skilled players. Binomial name (Molina) Standl. ... A resonator is a device or part that vibrates (or oscillates) with waves. ... A Violin Bridge blank and finished bridge A bridge is a device for supporting the strings on a stringed instrument and transmitting the vibration of those strings to some other structural component of the instrument in order to transfer the sound to the surrounding air balls. ... A medieval era lute. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Harp (disambiguation). ... Flamenco is a Spanish musical genre with strong, rhythmic undertones and is often accompanied with a similarly impassioned style of dance involving vigorous movements, such as hand-clapping and foot-stamping. ... Look up Pluck on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Pluck is a software company based in Austin, Texas. ... Polyrhythm is the simultaneous sounding of two or more independent rhythms. ... In music, an ostinato (derived from Italian: stubborn, compare English: obstinate) is a motif or phrase which is persistently repeated at the same pitch. ... Riff is also an alternate spelling of Rif, a region of Morocco. ... In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer (solo is an Italian word literally meaning alone). ...

Master kora-maker Alieu Suso of The Gambia

Kora players have traditionally come from griot families (also from the mandinka tribes) who are traditional historians, genealogists and storytellers who pass their skills on to their descendants. The instrument is played in Mali, Guinea, Senegal, and The Gambia. A traditional kora player is called a Jali, similar to a 'bard' or oral historian. Image File history File links Gambia_kora_havard. ... Image File history File links Gambia_kora_havard. ... This page is about the West African poets. ...

Traditional koras feature 21 strings, eleven played by the left hand and ten by the right. Modern koras made in the Casamance region of southern Senegal sometimes feature additional bass strings, adding up to four strings to the traditional 21. Strings were traditionally made from thin strips of hide, for example antelope skin - now most strings are made from harp strings or nylon fishing line, sometimes plaited together to create thicker strings. The flag of the Democratic Forces Movement of Casamance was adopted in 1988. ...

By moving leather tuning rings up and down the neck, a kora player can retune the instrument into one of four seven-note scales. These scales are close in tuning to western Major, Minor and Lydian modes].^[1] In music theory, the major scale is one of the diatonic scales. ... A minor scale in musical theory is a diatonic scale whose third scale degree is an interval of a minor third above the tonic. ... Due to historical confusion, Lydian mode can refer to two very different musical modes or diatonic scales. ...