Burkina Faso is home to some 60 different ethnic groups, each with their own variety of folk music. The country has produced very little popular music compared to its neighbors, which includes African musical giants like Nigeria and the Ivory Coast. Burkinabé traditional music, however, has continued to thrive in spite of the influx of popular styles, and the country's cultural, and musical, output remains quite diverse. Folk music can have a number of different meanings, including: Traditional music: The original meaning of the term folk music was synonymous with the term Traditional music, also often including World Music and Roots music; the term Traditional music was given its more specific meaning to distinguish it from the...

The national anthem of Burkina Faso is "Une Seule Nuit", written by Thomas Sankara. It has been the official anthem of the country since 1984, when Upper Volta became known as Burkina Faso. It remains even after Sankara was murdered in a coup, the leader of which remains in power. A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that is evoking and eulogising the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognised either by a countrys government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people. ... Le Dytanie (The Dytanie) is the national anthem of Burkina Faso. ... Thomas Sankara Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara (born December 21, 1949 in Yako – died October 15, 1987 in Ouagadougou) was the leader of Burkina Faso (formerly known as Upper Volta) from 1983 to 1987. ... This article is about the year. ... Map showing the Volta river in Upper Volta Upper Volta (French: ) was the name of the African country now called Burkina Faso. ...

There is a National Museum of Music in Ouagadougou. Its collection is a few years old, beginning in 1998, but already has several hundred unique musical instruments. The National Museum of Music is located in Ouagadougou, (Burkina Faso) in a two-story building on Oubritenga Avenue on the south side of the Phillipe Zinda Kabore School. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ...

Popular music

Unlike most African countries, Burkina Faso has not yet had a popular national style, and the most popular recordings are imported from Europe, the United States, Congo, Kenya, Jamaica, Tanzania, South Africa, Senegal or Côte d'Ivoire. One reason may be the poverty in the country, which is great even when compared with other poor nearby nations; with little resources to invest, large-scale concerts, advanced recording studios, electric instruments and amplification and widespread distribution are difficult. For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

The Semaine Nationale de la Culture, held every two years since 1983, is a music festival that has helped produce the country's few stars, including Jean-Claude Bamogo (reggae), Kaboré Oger, Amadou Balaké (later of Africando), Georges Ouedraogo, Mangue Konde & le Super Mandé, Simporé Maurice, Abdoulaye Cissé (Manding pop), George Ouédraogo (Afropop) and Black So Man (reggae). The country has also produced a minor star in expatriate Gabin Dabiré, who lives in Italy. Kaboré Moussa's Bazar Musique, a record label, has recorded more than one hundred artists representing various traditions from around the country, while Désiré Traoré of Dési et les Sympathiques and Nick Domby operate their own studios as well. The National Culture Week of Burkina Faso, better known by its French name La Semaine Nationale de la culture (SNC), is one of the most important cultural activities of Burkina Faso. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. ... Reggae is a music genre developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. ... Baloba album from 1998 Africando is a musical project formed in 1990 to unite New York-based salsa musicians with Senegalese vocalists. ... Abdoulaye Cissé (born December 24, 1983) is a Burkinan football player who, as of 2004, was playing for Montpellier. ... Afropop is a weekly radio program from Public Radio International (PRI). ... Gabin Dabiré ( Singer – Guitar Player – Composer) Gabin Dabirés music has universal appeal, it speaks beyond the narrow confines of Burkina Faso or even Africa. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

The most popular musician from the country is probably Tidiani Coulibaly, whose band Dafra Stars was well-known in the 1970s for a fusion of traditional and popular West African music with Cuban styles. Their music included balles de poussiéres (dust dances) but the band was unable to replace state-supplied equipment, and so disbanded when their instruments broke down. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... It has been suggested that Cuban folk music be merged into this article or section. ...

In the world music scene, Bobo-Dioulasso has produced a few internationally-known groups, such as Farafina, formed by Mahama Konaté in 1978, who relocated to Switzerland in the late 1990s, as well as the twin djembe superstars, Les Frères Coulibaly. Bobo is also home to djembe player Adama Dramé, who later moved to Côte d'Ivoire to build his recording career, and then later relocated to France with his family. Koudbi Koala's Saaba, who perform traditional Mossi music, come from the region around Ouagadougou, the nation's capital. World music is, most generally, all the music in the world. ... Bobo-Dioulasso is a city of about 400,000, mainly Dioula, after Ouagadougou the second biggest in Burkina Faso. ... Farafina is a music and dance group from Burkina Faso, established in 1978. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... A mass-produced djembe (Acousticon shell) A basic student djembe A Djembe (pronounced jem bay) also known as djimbe, jenbe, jembe, yembe or sanbanyi in Susu; is a skin covered hand drum, shaped like a large goblet, and meant to be played with bare hands. ... A mass-produced djembe (Acousticon shell) A basic student djembe A Djembe (pronounced jem bay) also known as djimbe, jenbe, jembe, yembe or sanbanyi in Susu; is a skin covered hand drum, shaped like a large goblet, and meant to be played with bare hands. ... Mossi is the name of a people living in central Burkina Faso. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ...

Traditional music

Djeli are a caste of praise-singers in Burkina Faso, their function related to the griots elsewhere in West Africa. At each ruler's funeral, djeli recite the names and histories of all the past rulers, and also intervene in personal affairs of common people, as well as performing at social gatherings. This page is about the West African poets. ...

The Mande people of the southwest are known for balafon (wooden xylophone) music, while the large, centrally-located Mossi and their griots retain ancient royal courts and courtly music. The Fulbe (Fula) of the north use complex vocal techniques with clapping percussion. Mande refers to: the Mandé people of western Africa the Mande or Mandinka people of western Africa any of the Mande languages the Mande or Mandinka language This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The balafon is a pentatonic or heptatonic resonated frame xylophone of West Africa. ... Kulintang a Kayo, a Philippine xylophone The xylophone (from the Greek meaning wooden sound) is a musical instrument in the percussion family which probably originated in Indonesia. ... Mossi is the name of a people living in central Burkina Faso. ... This page is about the West African poets. ... The Fulbhe (singular Pullo) or Fulani is an ethnic group of people spread over many countries in West Africa,Central Africa and as far as East Africa. ... A clap is the sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. ... “Percussion” redirects here. ...

There are some modern popular traditional groups in Burkina Faso, including balafon bands, such as Saramaya, Les Freres Coulibaly and Djeli-Kan, percussion ensembles (Adama Dramé and others, like le Troupe Saaba, Farafina and Djiguiya. The Italy-based Gabin Dabiré is a world musician who uses elements of traditional Burkinabé music in his work ^[1]. The balafon is a pentatonic or heptatonic resonated frame xylophone of West Africa. ... Percussion instruments are played by being struck, shaken, rubbed or scraped. ... Farafina is a music and dance group from Burkina Faso, established in 1978. ... Djiguiya is a musical group based on the traditional music of Burkina Faso There are eleven members, included singers, dancers, percussionists and balafon players. ... Gabin Dabiré ( Singer – Guitar Player – Composer) Gabin Dabirés music has universal appeal, it speaks beyond the narrow confines of Burkina Faso or even Africa. ... World music is, most generally, all the music in the world. ...

Instruments

Djembe drums and balafon are often manufactured in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso's second-largest city. The djembe is a vital part of Burkinabé traditional music. It is said to be of Malinké origin. The name may be an onomatopoeia, deriving from the sound the drum makes. It is usually made from a tanned goat skin attached to a cylindrical base made from the caïcedrat tree. A mass-produced djembe (Acousticon shell) A basic student djembe A Djembe (pronounced jem bay) also known as djimbe, jenbe, jembe, yembe or sanbanyi in Susu; is a skin covered hand drum, shaped like a large goblet, and meant to be played with bare hands. ... Bobo-Dioulasso is a city of about 600,000, the second biggest in Burkina Faso after Ouagadougou, the nations capital. ... The Malinké are an African Mandé ethnic group. ... Look up onomatopoeia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The balafon is a kind of wooden xylophone, the exact characteristics of which can vary depending on the maker. The Dagara, Bwa and Senufo peoples all have their own varieties. The Dagara are an African ethnic group. ... The Senufo languages comprise ca. ...

The bendré is a membranophone made from a gourd with the top cut off and covered with goat or sheep skin. The same instrument is called bara in Mali and dumaa among the Hausa in Ghana & Benin. The bendré is an ancient instrument, played at the royal courts of Moaga; it was probably introduced during the reign of Naaba Oubri, and has been much the same since. Bendré music is sacred, and is played by a head drummer (benaaba), who strikes the center or edges to makes varying sounds. A membranophone is any musical instrument which produces sound primarily by way of a vibrating stretched membrane. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Hausa are a Sahelian people chiefly located in the West African regions of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. ...

The kora is a stringed instrument played traditionally by the djeli in Burkina Faso. The same instrument is found throughout much of West Africa, and is especially known in Mali. It has features of both the lute (both are played with the right hand) and the harp (both have a resonator and perpendicular strings). The instrument has been popular since the Malian empire of the 1240s, but probably dates much farther back. It is made from half of a gourd covered in goat or calf skin, which is perforated by two handles. A stick runs through the gourd perpendicular to the handles and the bridge, and the strings are joined to the bridge. Though the instrument traditionally featured seven strings, the Gambian griot Madi Woulendi increased that number to twenty-one. The kora can be played in several scales including the hypolydian mode (saouta), silaba, sim'bi and mandéka. Master Kora maker Alieu Suso in the Gambia The kora (French: cora) is a 21 string harp-lute used extensively by Mandingo peoples in West Africa. ... A string instrument (also stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... A medieval era lute. ... For other uses, see Harp (disambiguation). ... Centuries: 12th century - 13th century - 14th century Decades: 1190s 1200s 1210s 1220s 1230s - 1240s - 1250s 1260s 1270s 1280s 1290s Years: 1240 1241 1242 1243 1244 1245 1246 1247 1248 1249 Events and Trends Hungary was partially demolished with a great loss of life in 1241–1242 by Mongol armies of... The Hypolydian mode, literally meaning below Lydian, is a musical mode or diatonic scale of ancient Greece that was based upon the Lydian tetrachord: a series of rising intervals of two whole tones followed by a semitone. ... In Haitian Vodun, Simbi (also Simbi) is a large and diverse family of serpent Loa from the West Central Africa / Kongo region. ...

Another stringed instrument is called the n'goni. Legend says it was invented by a Senufo hunter. The n'goni is also played in Niger, Senegal and Mali. The ngoni is a musical instrument which comes from West Africa. ... The Senufo languages comprise ca. ...

Two current CDs of traditional Burkinabe music are available through Nonesuch Records: 1. Savannah Rhythms and 2. Music of the Grasslands

Documentary films of traditional Burkinabe musicians and celebrations have been published by African Family Films.

References

• Bensignor, François. "Hidden Treasure". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 437-439. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0

1. ^ Music of Burkina Faso. Frank Bessem's Musiques d'Afrique. Retrieved on December 15, 2005.