Jarabi
Toumani DiabatéLayered plucking lets repeating patterns and free ornament coexist.
KINSTRUMENT · KNOWLEDGE GUIDE
Kora
Clear, harp-like plucking can interweave bass, accompaniment and melody.
- Instrument family
- Strings
- Origin
- Mande cultural region of West Africa
- Related genres
- 2
ORIGIN
Where does it come from?
The kora combines a calabash resonator, long neck and many strings, often carried through griot or jeli lineages for history and praise singing.
ROLE IN ARRANGEMENT
What does it do in an arrangement?
In West African griot traditions it connects narrative, history and improvisation.
Interlocking patternsOstinatoImprovised ornament
COMMON USES
Where will you hear it?
Interlocking hands create bass, repeating accompaniment and melodic ornament at once.
LISTENING EXAMPLES
Recordings and repertoire to recognize
COMMON GENRES
Common in these genres
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