Balafon from N.Ghana

TRAVELING NORTHWARD IN GHANA, one passes successively through the open coastal region, the tropical rain forest of Ashanti, the slightly sparser landscape of Brong Ahafo, and finally the much drier savanna of the Northern and Upper regions. This last area is the homeland of the Dagati tribe.

The music made by them is extremely diverse in regard to its form, its instrumentation and vocal techniques; the uses to which it is put and the meaning that it has for its performers.

The balafon is present in almost all of black Africa, and exists in various models, depending upon the area.

Balafon solo by Alya Dioubate Alya is a young musician from Guinee-Conakry. This video is an example of his fantastic ability with the Balafon. He plays with the most biggest ballets of Guinee, from Wofa and les Etoiles de Fareta to Les Bayfall de Guinee. He also play the djembe too with a very great maestry. If you want to study with him, you can find him at Conakry in Dixin ville. Recorded in March 2004.

The tuning of the keys is accomplished by thinning the center (underside) to lower the pitch and by thinning the ends (underside) to raise the pitch. The linear change in stave length has to do with setting the keys on the frame so that they rest on their nodal points (about 20% in from the ends). So the keys are cut to fit on the frame, which has a linear taper, then they are tuned to pitch by shaving off wood from either the center or ends. The gourds that are placed on the underside of the keys are attached with antelope skin, and the actual keys are made from native grown mahogony.

The wooden keys are set on a frame which has gourds underneath them to give the sound a most unique resonance. There is a combination of small and large gourds to accomplish this amazing texture of sound. The first use of the Balafon dates back to 800AD, and probably a lot earlier.