CONTEMPORARY DIRECTIONS OF GAMBIAN

KORA PERFORMANCE PRACTICES

DEAN ANDREW DAMIAN CRONE

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Abstract

My goals for this study include a desire to expand upon the research put forth by other authors regarding Gambian performance practices. I explore the social and cultural dynamics that surround the patronage of kora music by the contemporary tourist industry in . Chapter One of this thesis, "Introduction," begins by articulating some of the main academic figures in the area of West African studies and an introduction to kora music. Chapter Two, "Tradition From the Early Twentieth Century," presents and discusses performance practices of traditional musicmaking, known a&jaliya, that is believed to have existed about a century ago. West African musical practices have undergone considerable change as a result of interaction with Western colonialism, independence-era governments in West , and the growth of . Chapter Three,

"Changes and Influence of Media," will address the impact of technological devices of musical reproduction and the effect that they appear to have on the cultural production of

West African . These changing cultural contexts have also affected the types of music that audiences in want to hear.

Chapter Four, "Contemporary Repertoire, Technique, and Structures", examines contemporary performance practices, repertoires, and performers in order to give an idea of what is currently happening in this artform. Other academic studies of instruments related to the kora, such as the balafon, will offer examples of changes to performance practices that are comparable to those of the kora. Some of the conclusions l have drawn are that West African music in general has beeji greatly affected by interaction with v

Western music and culture. Gambian kora music in particular has been affected as the main system of patronage, that was at the heart of the kora tradition, has been disrupted and altered by the mechanisms of colonial rule in The Gambia. Tourism has provided new and different patronage opportunities for Gambian musicians while also contributing to the creation of various social problems. vi

Acknowledgments

My koras have always been built by the family of Alieu Suso of Bakau Newtown,

The Gambia. Alieu and his family provided me great hospitality while I resided at their family compound in Bakau Newtown. Alieu had been crafting some of the finest koras for the past sixty years and had built untold numbers of koras as well as other instruments. I must also thank and acknowledge two of Alieu's sons Lamin Suso and

Mamudou Suso. Lamin and Mamudou both looked after me and were my friends. We shared many funny and dramatic moments, as well as a few card games and concerts.

These three individuals were involved in my attempts to learn to play and understand the kora.

After living in Alieu's compound and sharing too many early morning cigarettes with him, I had the sad misfortune of hearing that Alieu had suddenly passed away. It happened while sitting in his favourite chair at his workshop at the Bakau craftmarket about ten days after I had left The Gambia. Alieu Suso was well known and respected among Gambians and International travelers. He in fact appears on the cover of Charry's book, Mande Music (2000). Alieu Suso's kindness and encouragement of my efforts to learn about the kora is something I will not forget and I am often filled with sadness that a man who gave so much of what he had to his family, is now gone. Alieu was also greatly responsible for my safekeeping while in The Gambia and I will cherish the memories our many long conversations over morning tea, cigarettes, a meal, or attia

(green tea brewed Gambian style). I was pleased to hear that Lamin Suso took over vii

Alieu's business and continues to make high quality koras that are still being sold all over the world, including Canada.

I want to thank everyone else I can think of and if I missed a nåme, I still thank you. Mohammed Badjie, Lamin Kuyateh, M Badjie, Modou Boy, The Suso Family of

Bakau Newtown, Alieu Suso, Mamudou Suso, Lamin Suso, Manding Culture , The

Holy Family Band, Kaykuta (Kex Republic) Kouyate, Lamin (L Body) Drammen,

Jansaba (Baby J) Suso, Ablie Chorr, Jalex, Ramis Touray, Yankuba Suso, Alahji (Alah)

Najie, Doudou (Taty) Gaye, Lamin Njie, The Boys on The Border, Lamin Kinteh, The good people of Barry Kunda in Bakau Kachikaly, For those whom have already come and left, Hasan, Taylar, The People of The Gambia, , Ghana, The Cassamance,

My Morn, Dad, Gma, Josh, Paul, all my family and friends around the world. Everybody that had me as part of their life while I was in The Gambia, The Cassamance, Dakar,

Mbour, and Ghana. I extend a very heartfelt thanks to all the teachers and musicians with whom I have shared the experience of sound. Lamin Kuyateh, Cherno Suso, Mustapha

Jobateh, Lamin Kouyateh, Alieu Suso, Manding Culture Band, The Holy Family Band,

Mory Ba Jobateh, Tåta Dindin, and, Rob Simms.

My beautiful wife Maimuna and baby Isha. Vill

Table of Contents

Abstract iv

Acknowledgments vi

List of Figures x

Parti Chapter One: Introduction 1 Intro 1 Review Literature 3 Terminology 4 Pre-Colonial Performance Practices 6

Chapter Two: Tradition From the Early Twentieth Century 11 Colonialism 11 Post-Independence Era 15

Chapter Three: Changes and Influences of Media 22 Radio and West African Music 22 Tourism 26 The Work of Marshall McLuhan 30

Part II Chapter Four: Contemporary Repertoire, Technique, and Structures 37 The Gambia: An Overview 37 and the Balafon: The Gambia and the Kora 44 The Image of a Jåli 55

Chapter Five: On the Ground 61 Field Experience in The Gambia 61 Transcriptions 70 Tablature 74 La Ke 83 Kaira 86 Kelefaba 90 Masani Cisse 91 Kura Bissan 94 Bani Lay 96 IX

Jarabi 97

The Importance of the Sauta Tuning 99

Conclusion 106

Appendix I: My renditions of kora pieces using my tablature method 109 Kelefaba 109 Masani Cisse (in tomora ba/silaba tuning) 110 Masani Cisse (in sauta tuning) 111 KuraBissan 112 Jarabi 113 Allah La Ke 114 Kaira 115 BaniLay 116 Appendix II: My renditions of Kaira and Allah La Ke in 117 duple and triple Western notation

Appendix III: A representation of Charry's six transcription of 119 the kora kumbengo for Allah La Ke

Bibliography 121

Discography 125

Video Examples 127 List ofFigures

Figure 1. Map of West Africa. xii

Figure 2. Figure 2. Diagram of a kora. xiii

Figure 3. Picture of the hand positioning while playing the kora. xiv

Figure 4. Example of Knighfs triple-pulsed notation. 72

Figure 5. Example of the same transcription in duple-pulsed notation. 73

Figure 6. Example of combined kora notation and tablature. 75

Figure 7. Example of my tablature method. 77

Figure 8. Breakdown of my tablature method. 77

Figure 9. Charry's transcription of Amadu Bansang Jobarteh's version 84

of "Allah La Ke" in Western notation.

Figure 10. My rendition of "Allah la Ke" in tablature. 85

Figure 11. My rendition of "Kaira"in tablature. 86

Figure 12. Examples of the comparable lengths of my renditions of "Kaira" 87

and "Allah La Ke" in Western notation.

Figure 13. Birimintingo pattern that works for both "Kaira" and "Allah La Ke." 88

Figure 14. My rendition of "Kelefaba" in tablature. 90

Figure 15. My rendition of "Masani Cisse" in tablature using tomora ba/siliba 92

tuning.

Figure 16. My rendition of "Masani Cisse" in tablature using sauta tuning. 92

Figure 17. My rendition of "Kura Bissan" in tablature. 95 xi

Figure 18. My rendition of "Jarabi" in tablature. 96

Figure 19. My rendition of "Bani Lay" in tablature. 97 XII

Figure 1. Map of West Afirica1

1 LI6ERIA ^ .^kij-, - - • •T^r^J XIII

Figure 2. Diagram of a kora2

Hardwood Neck

Leather Tuning Rings

Playing Strings

Notched Bridge

Horizontal Brace Sound Hole

AnchorStrings

CalabashGourd XIV

Figure 3. Picture of the hand positioning while playing the kora. 1

Parti

Chapter One: Introduction

Intro

The kora, a West African stringed instrument similar to a harp with a large

calabash body and twenty-one strings, is played by Mandinkaya/w and other Mande jalis

who would have directly or indirectly picked it up from a Mandinka/a/7. Jåli is the

Mandinka word for a performer of a specific repertoire that is related to social and

historical knowledge and is comparable to bard. With a few exceptions, those who are not jalis do not play the kora (Charry 2000, 115). According to oral traditions it originated

with the Senegambian Mandinka of the Kabu (Gabu) empire, which encompassed parts

of present-day Guinea, southern Senegal, and The Gambia, with its seat in Kansala (in

present day Guinea-Bissau). Following the decline of the in the mid-

fifteenth century, several states joined into a confederation that became known as the

Kabu empire and lasted until its downfall in the mid-nineteenth century (Charry 2000,

43-44).

The area of The Gambia and Senegal is referred to as the Senegambian region.

The Mande people existed in the time of the legendary African king Sunjata, who was the

first ruler of the Mali empire that eventually stretched across much of West Africa nearly

eight hundred years ago (Knight 1973, 1—2). The Mali empire included parts of present-

day Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Niger, 2

and Ghana (Knight 1973, 2). The present-day Mandinka ethnic group that dominates the

cultural makeup of The Gambia, are descendants of the Mande people and migrated into the Senegambian region during the height of the Mali empire (Knight 1973, 4; Charry

2000, 43—44). Therefore, Mandinka are related to both the history of the

older Mali empire and the more recent history the Kabu empire. This history forms the

cultural and historie base from which much of the tradition is drawn.

I have had many interesting experiences both musical and nonmusical in The

Gambia. The information presented in this paper is drawn from two periods of musical

study in The Gambia. The first period of study was for five weeks from April to May,

2004. The second time period, from October 2006 to My 2007, was originally intended to be only six months of musical study on the kora. I spent the majority of my time in

Bakau, The Gambia, but also travelled to Dakar, and to the village of Kolomba in the

Casamance region of Senegal. There I studied with several different kora players and I

certainly learned something from each person, but I would only call a few my teachers.

Lamin Kuyateh was a capable kora player who had the skill and musicianship to teach

others and is someone I still call my teacher. The late master kora builder Alieu Suso of

Bakau Newtown and his family provided me with the quality koras that I have played

since 2003 and a home during several months of my second visit to The Gambia, beginning in October 2006.

The ethnic diversity in The Gambia of today can be accounted for by the political

and economic turmoil that befell many West African nations after the Independence era 3

(Counsel 2006), as many people fled conflict in their own countries and sought peace and refuge in The Gambia. Officially there are close to six thousand Sierra Leonean refugees

living in The Gambia.3 Given that Arab traders have been business in The

Gambia for over a century, there were many instances where Lebanese families purchased property in The Gambia after the most recent round of Israeli bombings in

Lebanon in the summer of 2006. As well, many Indians, Pakistani, Saudis, Chinese, and

other nationalities were visibly living, working, and, from my observations, prospering in

The Gambia. This accounts for some of the reasons behind the diversification of the

Gambian population and even some of the country's changing musical aesthetics.

Literature Review

Some of the major authors in the field of kora studies include Roderic Knight

(1973, 1984,1991), Eric Charry (2000), Joe Luther Williams, Jr. (2006), and Graeme

Counsel (2006). Knight almost exclusively examines the kora and the culture Gambian jalis, with the focus on the region of The Gambia and Senegal. Charry has written

extensively on West African music and has dealt with many intricate details of kora

performance practices. Williams deals with Guinean balafon performance styles and the work and life of Guinean jalis, who now include international travel as a means to

support their art. This is similar to the lives of contemporary Gambian kora players.

Counsel gives a fresh and contemporary examination of the political landscapes

of the modern nation states of the area that is claimed as the Mande peoples' homeland, 4 nations that are included in this study Mali, Guinea, Senegal, and The Gambia. The

Gambia is the focus of this study, although these four countries must also be periodically mentioned in order to articulate what is happening in The Gambia due to their shared cultural history. Counsel examines the cultural policies initiated by the governments of these nations, a study that begins with colonial occupation, then the independence-era governments, and finally the current political situations in West Africa at the turn of the millennium. These four authors help to illustrate some (though certainly not all) of the reasons for the changing musical culture that surrounds/a/w and has directly affected the ways in which jalis practice their art.

Terminology

It is important to emphasize that in academic literature, the French term has frequently been used in place of the Mandinka word jåli. But griot does not reflect everything that is implied by the word jåli (Jatta 1985, 16; Charry 2000, 111). The word does not appear in most English and French dictionaries and is a term created to reflect an outsider perspective of the West African music tradition. The word for female singer in

Mandinka is jåli muso and therefore the usage of the term jåli will be something that is hard to escape.

Furthermore, the legacy of Alex Haley's Roots is such that the term "griot" is now intertwined with a romanticized concept of "story teller," especially among the African diaspora. (Counsel 2006, 213) 5

By ignoring the local terminology to describe the professional class of musicians, it seems that in this case academic discourse has not tåken into account the depth of the musical tradition in which true understanding of the music and its culture only comes from knowledge of social and cultural history spanning many generations. This knowledge was collected and retained hy jalis as was expected as their place in society.

Nonetheless, the word griot has also fallen into use in scholarly writing and by some

Gambians.

The use of the word jåli by fourteenth-century traveller Ibu Battuta is significant because he establishes the artistic form of the jåli to exist as early as the fourteen century and he also associates the word jåli (jåli) with the practice of praise-singing accompanied by music. It can be argued that Battuta might have interpretedya// to mean poet instead of , but the reality is that a kora-playingya/z often occupies both roles during a performance (Charry 2000, 112). This gives further support to the notion that the continued use of the term griot is not as representative of this type of praise-singing as other African terms. In order to give the most accurate terminology in this discussion of

Gambian kora playing, the Gambian Mandinka term jåli will be used exclusively in this paper, except for when used in a direct quotation of other academics. In Guinea, jåli is frequently spelt asjeli and I would still consider it acceptable because it is simply a spelling variation of the same West African word.

Other terms that are important to this study and that will be used here because they are the terms that West African musicians use themselves. Kora players call 6

accompaniment-type playing kumbengo and solo-type playing birimintingo (Charry

2000, 14). Charry gives considerable time to the origins of the word kumbengo and

insight into the terms application to the kora and one of the otherya/z instruments, the

koni (Charry 2000, 313—325). Two kora tunings that will be discussed here are tomora

ba/siliba and sauta. Tomora ba and siliba are two names that refer to the same scale and

will be used in conjunction in this study (Charry 2000, 159). Tomora ba/siliba are the

Mandinka terms for the kora tuning that is comparable to a Western major scale (Charry

2000,158—159). The term sauta refers to the kora tuning that is comparable to a Western

Lydian mode and can also be thought of as a Western major scale with a raised fourth

(Charry 2000, 158—161). The final West African term that needs to be mentioned here is

, which is a widely popular contemporary Wolof music style that combines

Western and African musical elements (Williams 2006, 82).

Pre-Colonial Performance Practices

The following section of this study will attempt to outlines the music-making

practices of Gambiany'a//s who play ed the kora before the time of colonial

administration. The reason to focus on this aspect of Gambian musical culture is because jalis were the professional musicians (Knight 1984, 60) and the central figures of music

making in the community (Counsel 2006, 184). This position has changed to an extent

and will be further discussed later in this study. The kora is the most prominent

instrument played by GambianyaZ/s, and Gambians are known as being some of the 7

foremost players of the kora (Counsel 2006, 166). The earliest reference to a kora in

Western literature is made by Mungo Park (1799) in Travels in the Interior Districts of

Africa. The instrument is believed to have been invented in the Senegambia region by the

Mandinka people of the Gabu empire. The area known as the Senegambia region includes

modern-day parts of The Gambia, the Casamance region of southern Senegal, and parts

of Guinea Bissau. Use of the kora spread east into Mali and Guinea Conakry only in the

twentieth century (Hale 1998, 153). The rich cultural aesthetic of the kora tradition is

more than two hundred years old and drawn from these five West African countries.

Gambianya/w sang praise for the higher classes of society and for those

who's family Ohe jåli had knowledge and is called jaliya (Jatta 1985, 19). This type of

praise-singing can be described as a. jåli 's attempt to inspire their audiences through

evocations of the past. Jalis can induce heightened passions and emotional responses

from the audience by proclaiming the feats of their patron's ancestors in an eloquent and

poetic manner for all to hear. This instills a sense of pride in the audience and is a joyous

occasion for which the jåli is financially rewarded during a performance, for their artistry

(Counsel 2006,44). The quality of aya/fs recitation is demonstrated by the depth of their

genealogical knowledge.

A griofs command of Mande history and society extends into genealogy, and are able to recite a patron's ancestry for many generations. This aspect is essential to the performance of praise songs, whereby patrons from the noble class are entertained by the griofs references to important lineages and historical events pertinent to the patron's family. (Counsel 2006, 40) 8

The need for a jåli to have an extensive knowledge of genealogy extending back several

generations has been shown to be paramount in the traditional notion of a. jåli. This

system of patronage in which ya/w earned their livelihood from singing the praises of elite

members of Gambian society and families whom the jåli had a knowledge of their

lineage, will be shown below to have broken down as a result of colonial administration.

The patronage system became compromised as a result of colonial administrations

socially and economically displacing people from positions of power and redistributing

wealth in the society. This has in turn greatly contributed to creating the contemporary

musical environment of The Gambia.

Historically, gifts were given Xojalis to reward them for their services. Before the

onset of colonial administration, the social structure of the area known as "British West

Africa," which included The Gambia, was based on non-monetary, subsistence or semi-

subsistence administration (Little 1965, 90). Part of the traditional practice of gift-giving

Xojalis is a necessary reaffirmation of the patron's connection to their family's history and

traditions. By patronizing a. jåli for their performance, a patron was making a public

demonstration of their affiliation with the culture and traditions of their society. Charry

states that the act of giving gifts from a patron to a jåli should not be viewed simply as a payment for a jåli 's services, but as fulfillment of an obligation or the cementing of an

ancient historical interdependence (Charry 1992, 80; 2000, 98).

To further clarify, a jåli would earn his living from a single patron or a small

number of patrons by specializing in the narratives that pertained to the families to which 9

they formed and cemented good relations (Counsel 2006, 58). Jalis would seek patronage

from the families of those whose lineage they had knowledge. Jalis had everything provided for them and were expected to only focus on their art (Knight 1984, 62). A jåli was not expected to do any other work (Innes 1974, 4) besides that which was required of them at ceremonies such as weddings, naming days, and other important occasions

(Counsel 2006, 58). The loss of this role of reliance on wealthy families to patronize 7'a/z

art resulted in a mass alteration of the principals of their musical tradition.

One of the central elements of jalis playing the kora while praising a patron's

ancestors is the belief that jalis are associated with a special powerful force called nyama.

A jåli 's association with spiritual powers bears a closer connection to the time when

indigenous West African spiritual beliefs were widely practiced, before the influence of

Islamic music and culture (Charry 2000, 38). The jåli is in control of the special force

nyama and is a form of power available only to the jåli. The jåli then relies on the patron

for their livelihood and is reflected in the following statement:

The jelilu [plural ofjeli, Guinean spelling of jåli] also have the hereditary right to play specificy'e/7 instruments, such as the Mande balafon, and, like other nyamkala [artisan] groups, guard that right through both endogamy and extensive apprenticeships. Charry describes how the. jelilu, like members of other nyamakala groups, are understood to have "special spiritual powers, called dalilu, which enable them to work with the dangerous forces, called nyama, of their raw materials" (Charry 2000, 49-50). This ability to control the nyama released as a result of performing one's art gives the jeli a form of power unavailable to the horon [nobility]. Nonetheless, the jeli is still dependent upon his horon patron for subsistence and physical protection. (Williams 2006, 27) 10

This statement explicates the special and separate status that was bestowed upon jalis by the society as jalis have control over the nyama or special power. As jalis were associated with a spiritual force other than , it likely and understandably caused a certain amount of friction between Islamic and traditional spiritual practices. Given the amount of cultural change that Islam brought to the area of The Gambia, it is important that this element of the tradition survived because it survived a period of great social change in

The Gambia. The social mediation of the in The Gambia is an interesting example and deserves greater attention in future research. 11

Chapter Two: Tradition From the Early Twentieth Century

Colonialism

With the imposition of British adrninistrative control in The Gambia, traditional forms of Gambian social structure were disregarded and forcibly altered. Jalis had until that time relied upon the patronage of the ruling class of the region. As the influence of colonial adrninistrations progressively formulated new power structures,y'a//,s had to respond to changes in the traditional system of patronage that had formerly supplied them with a livelihood and been the base for their artform. The British colonial administration began in The Gambia in 1889 declaring it a crown colony (Counsel 2006, 184). This event created two main pressures on the jalis' musical tradition. The British removed leaders from their positions of power and during the same period of time, there was a migration of people to the urban centres around the Gambian capital of .

The removal of former Gambian leaders from power and the imposition of new colonial leaders quickly and drastically changed long-established positions of power and wealth in the country. Jalis had relied on former Gambian leaders for their livelihood and the quick demotions incurred by those who previously supported the art of jalis would result in an alteration to the structure of Gambian society. These demotions of Gambian would change the system of patronage that was the foundation of the musical tradition.

Gambian leaders were removed from power in a similar fashion to leaders in Senegal 12 through a method of indirect rule, as propagated by the French in Senegal, and was also incorporated into The Gambia under British rule (Crowder 1978,221).

In French-controlled Senegal, a system of indirect rule was established as a means of imposing control on the area without creating unmanageable discontent. This system of indirect rule was also adopted in British-controlled The Gambia. According to Michael

Crowder, the only difference was that the British tried to streamline, modify, and develop the traditional administration systems that were already in place (Crowder 1978, 221).

Prefectures or "chiefs" were appointed to leadership positions by colonial administrators without regard for traditional social hierarchy (Crowder 1978, 201). If indigenous power structures were not easily identified, the British would also appoint Gambians with the expectation that the individual would cede the province of local seif government

(Crowder 1978,221).

Prior to colonial administration, Gambian leaders collected taxes from their constituents. Colonial governance abolished this taxation system and Gambian leaders then became dependent on their colonial masters for a large portion of their income

(Counsel 2006, 56—57; Knight 1984, 63). As noble families lost their positions of power within the community and were replaced by newly empowered families, new urban environments formed as the new figures of authority established themselves in new cities that were created or reinforced by the colonial regime. The new leaders had a direct share in the colonizer's power, and as a result, looked looked iojalis to proclaim this power

(Diawara 1997,41). With the imposition of colonial administration, the Gambian nobility 13 had been demoted and forced into a position where they were unable to afford the services of thek jalis (Counsel 2006, 58-59; Knight 1984, 63; Innes 1974,4; King 1974,

21). The jalis family might have even been supported by a noble on a permanent basis.

Therefore, the loss of that source of income meant that the jåli would have to find new and multiple patrons, imposing less on the patrons that they already had (King 1974, 21).

The movement of people into the region of The Gambia, caused by colonial administration, contributed to jalis seeking patronage from a larger spectrum of society.

Urban areas such as Bakau and the capital, Banjul, were close to, or part of, the base of

British colonial administration in the country. Migration to these urban areas was due to the opportunities and situations created by colonial rule (Crowder 1978, 221; Diawara

1997, 41). For example, Gambians had to pay taxes to the colonial administration and this resulted in people moving from rural areas to urban centres in order to earn the wages needed to pay the taxes for themselves or for their families still living in the rural areas

(Crowder 1978,246). This accounts for much of the migration of jalis to urban centres.

The shift to a monetary-based existence created the desire or need to be connected to the economy of the colonial administration in the urban centres. This new connection with the colonial administrations was reflected in the relationships that jalis would have to forge with a larger spectrum of society to attain some form of patronage. Seeking patronage from a larger spectrum of society would inherently affect the music that jalis would produce for these new audiences. 14

Following the start of British administration,ya/w were facing the prospect that they could no longer maintain their traditional place in society, which was to be in direct

social contact with the upper and ruling classes of Gambian society. Traditionally,ya/M' had relied upon only a few patrons to earn their livelihood (Innes 1974,4). As a result of these changes in the practices and patronage of the musical tradition, jalis had to rely on larger social networks.

Broad knowledge of the historical repertoires receded, and griots, rather than aligning themselves to one particular family, became dependent on the generosity of a network of benefactors, hosts, and patrons. Griots grew increasingly reliant on performances at occasions such as naming days and weddings, where singing the praises of those present earned the musician additional income. There is good evidence that griots are concentrating on songs and praises at such gatherings, and it seems likely that younger griots will have much less opportunity for historical narration. Indeed it is doubtful if some of them would have the requisite knowledge even if they had the opportunity. (Counsel 2006, 61)

So the music of the jåli was forced to change in order to accommodate the new environments in which it was performed. The recitation of a family 's genealogy had been the most important element of good jaliya, but a different social environment resulted in the prerequisite knowledge of genealogy to become a less emphasized and steadily forgotten element of the musical tradition (Knight 1973, 58; Counsel 2006,40).

A musical element, that was greatly influenced by migration from rural to urban centres was the transmission of the music-making practices themselves. As young people andjalis gave up or altered their rural ways of life, the dissemination of the musical tradition was changed due to urbanization. As many young people and young musicians 15 moved to urban centres to seek employment, elder musicians were lefit at home to bear greater responsibility for the care of the compound, instead of concentrating on their art.

Jalis also took to traveling during seasons of slower agricultural work in search of support for their art. This movement would erode the transmission of the musical tradition since elder family members had less time to spend with the children and students; which would ultimately have an impact on the whole tradition (Counsel 2006,

60). The system of transmitting the musical culture was eroded by urban migration and accounted for the loss of previously known family heritages, cultural histories, and performance practices. Later in this paper, it will be shown that tourism has become a growing force and a new means to earn a living as hotels, restaurants, and bars in The

Gambia are now important venues for professional musicians.

Post-Independence Era

While the decline in the social position of the jalis began with the British colonial interaction, their social position was to erode further during the period of independence and the establishment of self-government. Performance practices were further altered as a result of outside forces such as foreign music and by the new Gambian government's own cultural policies that included government sponsored national ensembles. These related forces combined to have an effect of pushing jåli music towards more Westernized performance practices such as the use of equally tempered scales in kora tuning and performance practices. Also, jalis continued to seek new patrons for jåli music. At the 16 same time, the music and musicians moved away from traditional practices and towards music and musical practices that were more compatible with Western musical practices and a larger audience for jåli music.

Examples of influence from several imported musical styles are displayed in the music of bothya/is and non-jalis. Styles that have influenced Gambian music range from rock and roll, reggae, American rhythm and blues, and other African . In 1969 the group the Super Eagles of Banjul toured and recorded "Viva Super Eagles" which was one of the first international releases by a Gambian group (Counsel 2006,

184). The group disbanded in 1972 at the height of their popularity and some of the same members went on to form the group Ifang Bondi. Formed in 1973, Ifang Bondi went on to be the most popular group in The Gambia during the 1970s and are reputed to have pioneered the use of traditional melodies and instruments within an electric ensemble

(Counsel 2006,185).

Ifang Bondi also included the drum from the Wolof ethnic group among the band's instrumentation and is a revealing example of the advancement of Wolof culture into The Gambia. The growing influence of Wolof culture will be discussed in greater detail later in this study, but must be mentioned at this point to help to illustrate that popular groups in The Gambia in the 1970s were including Wolof and Western musical elements into there music. Until this time The Gambia had been dominated by Mandinka kora music and by the music of the jalis. Ifang Bondi is an example of the popularity of mbalæP music in Senegal and The Gambia. Mbalax was still one of the most widely 17 recognized and performed local musical styles that I experienced in The Gambia during my fieldwork periods. One of the band's more recent , Gis Gis (1998), combines mbalax rhythms, kora, and Western instruments. Later, I will retura to this topic by discussing an interesting example of mbalax influences and rhythms being mixed with traditional Gambian songs and the kora.

Following the declaration of Guinea's independence from in 1958, there was a well-funded effort on part of the government to construct a musical identity for the country. This process began when established Guinean "groups such as Harlem Jazz, La

Joviale Symphonie, L 'Excelsior Jazz de Kindia, La Douce Parisette, and Le Tropical Jazz were spilt up as part of a government decree aimed at removing Western musical influences" (Counsel 2006, 85). This was largely based on the initiative of Guinea's first president Sekou Touré, who, after disbanding Guinea's leading musical groups, created new ones (Counsel 2006, 85—86). The most popular and successful groups went on to become national ensembles of Guinea and were able to have international and national fans as well as successful recordings (Counsel 2006, 90). Joe Williams Jr. affirm this idea when stating "West African nations in particular, in their attempts to throw off the shackles of their colonial past, have created traditional performance ensembles to showcase their valuable contributions to world culture" (Williams 2006, 81). The success and popularity of these new groups embodied the changing musical tastes of the time.

The consolidation of different musical styles into national identities reflects how West 18

African governments like those of Guinea and The Gambia were responsible for much musical change.

The Gambia National Troupe all but removed the act of praising the family of the patron, and created stage-oriented performances for the formal events where the troupe would perform. With large ensembles replacing the traditional practice of a jåli visiting a patron, the personalization of the text to the individual being praised became impossible within this new performance context. The troupe would perform at state functions and events (Counsel 2006, 185). The musicians in The Gambia National Troupe were paid in a monthly salary and did not collect money from individual performances (Jatta 1985,

22). This is a departure from the way that musicians had previously received payment for their art (Charry 1992, 80; 2000, 98). This was an issue that created tension within the musicians in the ensemble. These structural problems resulted in the distortion of traditional performance practices and the removal of the art from its traditional setting

(Jatta 1985, 22). Musical practices changed to accommodate changing social environments of The Gambia and new performance mediums that were created through government sponsorship.

Aamadou Kanute states that there is a difference between so called "troupe music" and traditional jaliya. The major difference being that a tråe jåli should already be completely prepared to perform at any time in a traditional performance setting and, therefore, would have no need for rehearsal (Jatta 1985, 22). As well, multi-instrument of traditional songs was a practice that had not been common before 19

government-sponsored ensembles. Kanute also acknowledges that the government

officials in charge of promoting these troupes often had no background or substantial knowledge of jaliya (Jatta 1985, 22). These structural problems resulted in the distortion

of traditional performance practices and the removal of the art from its traditional setting.

Roderic Knight made the observation that as musicians were forced to seek out new means by which to support their art, instrumental music had a wider appeal than the historical elements of the profession. Therefore,ya/w began to give more attention to the

instrumental than the vocal techniques of their performances (Knight 1984, 63). This

observation reflects the diminishing importance of the historical elements of a jåli 's performance and further evidence of the departure of the jåli s music from the circumstances in which the tradition originated. At the same time, traumatic events such as colonial administration have been shown to have had an indubitable impact on

Gambian society. Responses to these experiences are evident in elements of the country's more recent music-making practices and to some extent, the ability to change has allowed the preservation of the jåli's musical tradition.

The patronage of jalis by Gambian politicians reflected the continued expansion and augmentation of the traditional music making practices of jalis as a result of the governmenfs actions following Gambian Independence in 1964. With Independence came political parties and politicians who were eager to patronize/a//s in order to attain their support in elections. Jalis were promoted as national icons and, at the same time, their roles were exploited by governments desperate to retain power. In praising political 20 leaders, jalis reneged on their traditional obligations to uphold the social values and morality of the community (Counsel 2006, 217). These actions by politicians perhaps had the intention to symbolize a connection with the cultural heritage of the country, but instead, were noted as håving the effect of marginalizing the position of jalis in the society.

People generally lost respect for jalis as they appeared to place their allegiance with the political party who offered the most money for the jalis endorsement. Another critical example articulates that political situations could change on the eve of elections due to the influence of jalis. They joined the staff of political parties and made themselves rich in a scandalous fashion (Leymarie-Ortiz 1979, 189-190). In other words, a jalis services of praise-singing have been called upon by political parties to assist in the promotion of a political candidate. This was detrimental to a jåli 's recognized position of influence among powerful members of Gambian society as jalis became political supporters that drew support to a particular politician. Praising politicians is different from more traditional practices of singing the praises of ruling families who the jåli would have had a longer and more substantial relationship. The legitimacy of relationships between politicians and jalis is questioned by Gambian society because the relationship is perceived to be based on money alone and not a historical interdependence.

Gordon Innes states that the jåli 's public had in fact changed because they no longer addressed themselves to mainly an audience of elderly aristocrats but instead to 21 social garnerings of ordinary citizens. The new audience demanded a råtner different musical product (Innes 1974, 5). Even in 1974, an attitude existed in The Gambia regarding the need for a different musical product to satisfy changing musical aesthetics.

It explains why there was a progressive shift to reliance on non-traditional means of musical patronage for jalis to earn their living. New means of patronage were manifested in performances, first, at wedding and naming ceremonies, and then, included performances in tourist venues such as bars, hotels, restaurants, and night clubs.

In summary, the loss of the traditional interdependent relationship that existed between jalis and the ruling powers in The Gambia altered the ways ihatjalis performed their art. The musical relationship between performer and patron was first disrupted by interference from colonial administrations and then later by initiatives of the

Independence-era government, as in the formation of musical troupes. By creating ensemble music intended for a stage, a situation was created that did not correspond to the practices ihatjalis had previously known. Politicians patronizedya/is as a means to promote their own greatness, but Gambian society deemed that jalis praising these politicians was something not entirely welcomed. Therefore,yafe were still without a strong base of patronage. But these new practices had gradually become more compatible with a new potential source of patronage for jåli kora music, tourism. 22

Chapter Three - Changes and Influence of Media

Radio and West African Music

The transmission of European and North American musical values to West Africa has influenced African musicians' and audiences' perceptions of themselves and their own musical cultures. Eric Charry admits that it is unclear if European colonial encroachments affected the social status ofjalis along the Senegambian coast and elsewhere (Charry 2000, 97). Yet certain musical practices that were adopted by African musicians following the independence of many West African countries in the 1960s, speak to changes that were inspired by outside influences. Examples of changing musical practices include the efforts of the governments of Guinea and The Gambia to create national musical styles. Ensembles that were formed through government sponsorship, which represent a change in the way that West African artists presented themselves to an audience.

It is important to state that this study does not allow for a deeply investigative examination of the larger discussion of the cultural transmission of musical practices between the West and West Africa. I will restrict the focus here to the experiences of

Guinea and The Gambia. It is relevant to include Guinea in a discussion of Gambian kora playing because the kora is played in Guinea, Guinea and The Gambia share relative geographical proximity and a cultural history. Many Gambian families have relations or some sort of distant family connection to Guinea. The ideas that will be shaped in the 23 following pages will attempt to draw some connections and similarities between the experiences of these two countries and their musical cultures.

The radio played an important part in the development and dissemination of

Guinean and Gambian in the post-independence years. The dissemination of new musical styles was due in great part to the Guinean national radio station that broadcast the recordings of the new music. The LP record format was the standard in the

Western world at the time and discs themselves have not survived the West African climate or the difficult economic situations of many West Africans. In the following statement, Counsel offers clear contextual insight into this topic.

With regards to the rarity of many of the recordings, this is not due to the obscurity of the groups, rather it is largely the result of the economic conditions which prevail in West Africa. LP records require record players, and these are now extremely rare and are no longer commonly found (if, in fact, they ever were). The cost of the manufacture of the LPs would have been substantial, which resulted in low production runs and a relatively short lifespan for the 78rpm, 45rpm, or 33.3rpm discs. The costs of the discs were also prohibitive to a person on a basic wage. Vinyl discs in West Africa have been completely replaced by the audio cassette since the early 1980s, with ubiquitous pirated copies of cassettes retailing for approximately US$1. In West Africa, where many incomes are in the region of less than US$1 per day, the cost of a recording is still very expensive. How then do people in West Africa actually hear the music if LPs are unplayable and rare, and pirated cassette copies too expensive to purchase? The answer lies in the radio, for it is through this medium that most West Africans gain access to recorded music. (Counsel 2006, 7)

Radio stations were a logical base to have record players, since they functioned as storehouses for music recordings. The importance of the radio in West Africa can not be underestimated; as in many places, radio is still the only access that many people have to recorded music. This reality is reflected by Counsel when he states: 24

The spread of these new styles throughout West Africa was facilitated by the mass media, and in particular by radio broadcasts. Radio was, and remains, the prime medium through which music is accessed. Each West African nation created its own national broadcaster, and in some countries, such as Guinea, it was, and remains, the only station permitted. (Counsel 2006, 75)

It is difficult to articulate the exact rate of Gambians access to radios. From my experience, the technological access by the average Gambian living outside of the main towns is limited by their access to electricity. Otherwise, people are confined to relying on generators, battery operated radios, or perhaps a tape player powered by a car battery.

The access to these technological devices in many ways dictates a person's access to recorded music, and this should inherently have an impact on the type of music that a society will produce.

The difficult economic environment in Guinea and The Gambia attests to the significance of radio, as it was one of the only mediums for which to listen to recorded music. Most people would listen to their music either through live performance or from recorded music on the radio. Their situation is similar to circumstances in the United

States during the Great Depression and the role of the radio at that time (Holt 2007). The capacity to play LP records was a privilege that was afforded only the most wealthy

Africans and the power of the radio is inherent in a situation where media sources were and still are in limited quantity. In Guinea and The Gambia, the radio was able to deliver a product that was in demand by audiences of the 1970s and 1980s and the ability to manipulate this force could easily be abused. 25

The power of the media was recognized by some of the leaders of the newly independent West African countries and Guinea was no exception. Guinea's first president Sekou Touré has been documented to have made extensive use of the radio to help propagate his nationalist cultural policies, of which he believed that music play ed a vital role.

Guinea's President Sékou Touré, who knew full well its power of reach, stated that: "Our radio, it is our heavy artillery, a kind of ideological deterrent force" (Mandel 1986: 36). The importance of in the region cannot be understated, and some scholars have recently turned their attention to this aspect of West African popular culture. (Counsel 2006, 7)

There was political incentive for the government of the newly independent country to find culture that the population could relate to as it would be used to draw popular support to political ideology. Manthia Diawara contributes to the discussion of the use of the radio by stating that "Radio was the mouthpiece of a cultural policy deliberately geared to the valorization of the historical heritage" (Diawara 1997,42). By presenting a modern rendition of Guinean music, Touré believed that political support could be garnered through the heavy funding of Guinea's cultural policies and these policies were embodied in the possibility of full government patronage (Counsel 2006, 91). It is not the goal of this study to examine the intricacies of the political maneuvering Touré's government practiced through the manipulation of music, but rather to show that the governmenfs manipulation of music was in part projected through the radio. It was the radio that facilitated the dissemination and patronage of the new musical styles. 26

Radio Gambia was of similar importance to the radio in Guinea as the sole radio

provider for the country and as a media source from which to transmit news and music.

Famous jalis performing on the radio would in some ways diminish the desire or

necessity of witnessing a live performance. While in The Gambia, I was told by several

Westerners, who were music enthusiasts, that Radio Gambia had a cache of old kora recordings and personnel who would make copies of those recordings. An offer to assist

in the preservation of the radio station's archives would be beneficial to the musical culture of The Gambia as those recording sessions would have been paid for by the government or the radio station. Publication of the material would be beneficial to

Gambian and non-Gambian alike. To date nothing has been done on this issue.

Tourism

Tourists have been going to The Gambia since 1965 (Steffen 1986, 52). The economic impact of tourism has received much attention and will not be featured in this relatively brief analysis. It is examined in greater detail in such studies as Ebron (2002) and Nowicka (2007). Venues like nightclubs, bars, restaurants, and hotels offer jalis and other Gambian musicians opportunities to perform and exist because of tourism. As already stated in this paper, when a jåli 's audience changes a jåli is then forced to adapt their musical product to that new audience in order to earn a livelihood. In this way, tourism has contributed to changes in musical practices. 27

Originally promoted as a cure for the economic difiiculties of The Gambia, tourism is also perceived as a cause of growing social problems such as prostitution, crime, alcohol abuse, and changing social values as a result of exposure to the rest of the world, to new life styles, and to the belief systems of other cultures (Steffen 1986, 84).

These social issues can be considered a byproduct of the creation of a welcoming tourist environment for alcohol-consuming Western tourists in a country that is dominantly

Muslim in religion. The lifestyle and culture that surrounds the entertainment of tourists is an industry that runs in opposition to the Muslim values that most children have been taught growing up in The Gambia. The Gambia is not governed by Islamic law and can be considered a liberal Islamic society in comparison to Saudi Arabia. Yet, the contrary nature of both liberal and Western tourist culture is an important part of this discussion.

Tourism can be considered an extension of colonial influence. With the failure of independence to bring the economic stability and opportunities thaty'a/is had hoped for in the following decades, tourism created new opportunities for patronage and, at the same time, contributed to further distancing Gambian jalis from their traditional musical culture. This distancing is reflected in music-making practices. There have been two main influences that tourism has had on the music-making practices of jalis in The Gambia.

First, tourism has further removed the music of the jåli from the circumstances in which it was created and, second, tourism has created additional incentive for jalis to utilize

Western musical concepts. 28

Tourists, who are comparatively more wealthy than the average Gambian, offer lucrative performance opportunities. Tourists can also offer unexpected opportunities of travel and promotion for musicians that can lead to opportunities in other countries. In many ways, contemporaryyafe are doing what they have always done by seeking patronage from the upper classes of society. At the same that opportunities can be positive, the act of engaging offers of travel and greater contact with tourist culture can also create negative outcomes. These opportunities explain a progressive shift to reliance on nontraditional means of musical patronage for jalis to earn their living. It first manifested in performances at weddings and naming ceremonies and then progressed to include performances in tourist venues such as bars, hotels, restaurants, night clubs, and the radio. Yet, tourism may lead to the accentuation of existing problems and, possibly, to the creation of new ones (Steffen 1986,41).

In the following passage, Knight creates an interesting moment in the 1970s in which optimism prevails for the future of jaliya, but perhaps in hindsight it was misplaced.

If modern forms of patronage such as the national ensemble, the dance troupe, the radio station, and the concert hall provide sufficient support for numerous musicians, the breakdown of old social patterns on which the jåli relied in the past will not be so serious as it could be. (Knight 1973, 354)

Knight does preface this statement with the word "if," but he does not appear to consider the altering effects of the cultural interaction that these media would facilitate between

West Africa and the rest of the world. These so-called modern forms of patronage are not mediums that are the exclusive domain of Mande music. They are mediums of Western 29 creation. Therefore, it can be no surprise that music from other countries and cultural backgrounds permeated West African musical culture as a result of the inclusion of these new mediums for music-making into the postcolonial mass culture of The Gambia and elsewhere in West Africa. The economic control of these media, is an important factor in determining what information and sounds are actually being transmitted. Cultural domination is therefore an issue that seems difficult to avoid.

As already stated, the value of a jåli s traditional role in society has been lost due to colonial contact and their reputation has been eroded by servicing patrons from political parties since the time of independence. With this loss of traditional function, tourists appear to be some of the last people who can potentially patronize a jåli s music.

It is now the tourists who are the patrons of jåli kora music, as perhaps they have their own greatness to proclaim. Williams takes the firm direction that Mande music in general has adapted to the new cultural territory that is indicative of early twenty-first century life in West Africa.

While I have already discussed some of the theoretical issues I address in this dissertation, my analysis of the data I collect focuses on ways the Mande have maintained their cultural traditions while adapting them to the demands of twenty-first-century existence. I examine how the balafon has been adapted to accommodate different performance contexts, along with physical changes made to the instrument to facilitate new uses. I also focus on how the instrument has been used in both traditional and modern contexts to blend elements of the two in a way that facilitates the creation of hybridized sites for complex identity formation, sites that are becoming increasingly common as African musicians expand awareness of their cultural traditions to foster increased appreciation by performing those traditions in diverse contexts and collaborative manners. (Williams 2006, 16-17) 30

In a sense, tourists appear as a re-embodiment of the old colonial power-holders who once ruled The Gambia indirectly. In similar ways, the tourist industry has tåken over the country's economic and cultural activities. Jalis and other Gambian musicians are only seeking patronage from the latest group of patrons to seek their services. These notions of cultural adaptation as a result of tourist-based economies are dealt with at length in studies by Burns (1999), Nyanzi et al (2005), and Nowicka (2007).

The growth of the Gambian town of Bakau is an interesting example of the magnitude of the influx of people needed to support the tourist areas. In a 1983 census the population of Bakau was 20,000, which was a 100% increase over the census from

1973. Bakau is located in close proximity to tourist hotels, bars, restaurants, beaches, and markets, thereby, making it an excellent area to observe the interaction of Gambian and tourist culture (Steffen 1986, 69). The population of Bakau in 2006 is reported to have been around 43,000.5 Interestingly, it must be acknowledged that tourism has the potential to destroy precisely what it seeks to enjoy, whether the culture or the natural environment (Steffen 1986,47). The large population of Bakau can be attributed to the job opportunities that the tourist industry has created. These demographic and cultural changes can be perceived as either a positive sign of development or as a medium for negative cultural exchange.

The Work of Marshall McLuhan 31

I believe that the work of Marshall McLuhan is relevant to this discussion about culture and musical change. McLuhan wrote extensively on the notion that humankind has been dramatically impacted by electronic media sources, such as the radio. I propose that the widespread adoption and assimilation of the radio into the societies of West

Africa has drastically affected the music-making practices of the area. It can be difficult to compare the differing effects of radio usage due to the differing levels of access to media in West Africa, control over the content disseminated by media, and the general economic disparity between West Africa and much of the Western world. Yet, it is still useful to discuss the effects of media sources on music in West Africa and in particular

Guinea and The Gambia.

McLuhan's famous slogan "the medium is the message" is very applicable to this discussion, as it relates to the transmission of "language" in the world. In the following,

McLuhan makes the important distinction that people's emotions are affected by what is communicated using that language rather than by those who are using the language.

Another way of getting at this aspect of languages as macromyths is to say that the medium is the message. Only incidentally, as it were, is such a medium a specialized means of signifying or of reference. And in the long run, for such media or macromyths as the phonetic alphabet, printing, photography, the movie, the telegraph, the telephone, radio, and television, the social action of these forms is also, in the fullest sense, their message or meaning. A language is, on the one hand, little affected by the use individuals make of it; but, on the other hand, it almost entirely patterns the character of what is thought, felt, or said by those using it. And it can be utterly changed by the intrusion of another language, as speech was changed by writing, and radio by television. (McLuhan 1959, 340) 32

If McLuhan is giving the examples of writing changing speech and television changing radio from his ppsition in the late 1950s, the impact of the radio on musical practice itself should be included within the limits of this description. I believe McLuhan is correct in stating that one "language" can be changed by another and, therefore, musical performance being changed by radio could also be included in this theory. This point is illustrated in North America with dise jockeys in the 1950s accepting bribes to overplay a record (Peterson and Berger 1975, 162). The "payola" scandal demonstrated that media manipulation worked on a financial and cultural level because as a result of the dise jockey's manipulation of the language of radio, people would hear a record and grow to like it enough to purchase it. This is important to the discussion of the impact of the radio on musical practices in Guinea and The Gambia.

It can be said that generational change has been much of the basis of musical history, but technological reproduction has significantly transformed the playing field.

Sheet music has and will forever be limited to transmitting its message into sound through the act of live performance and requires a literacy of the medium. Radio has allowed for the reproduction of sound without the need for a physical performance or a prerequisite literacy of the media. Similar to sheet music, humankind's adoption of the written word is contingent on one's literacy in the given written language. In contrast to the written word, one's hearing and language acquisition through childhood is the only ability required to understand the language of the radio. Just as a person illiterate of the written word would require someone to audibly communicate that once inaccessible 33 information, a musically illiterate person would require a musician to communicate the sounds that are written on a piece of sheet music.

Music has become an art form that many people can "access" with the ease of turning the page of a book. This increased accessibility has expanded people's so-called

"musical horizons" and has undoubtedly had far reaching influence on global culture and music. I believe that this an important moment in which musical reproduction required musicians to a period that has existed since the time of recordings when music can be heard without the presence of musicians performing live music. This is a significant moment because musical reproduction has made the communication of music faster, more easily accessed, and more widely distributed. This is a fascinating area of study and deserves greater attention at a later time, but is mentioned here to help bring context to this study's discussion of West African musical culture and musical reproduction.

It is important to note that in 1958, McLuhan was writing about the ramifications of such media devices at the time when the radio has been shown to have had a substantial effect on the musical cultures of Guinea and The Gambia. I believe that the spread of radio usage in Guinea and The Gambia is a good example of some of the concepts that McLuhan illustrates in the following:

There is a new interdependence, not only of people, but of media (and of school subjects) resulting from the instantaneous movement of information. You can't send information instantly without creating a new pattern of learning and new undeveloped countries of the mind as well. It is very different from any previous methods of moving information except those in tiny primitive communities. Now, one of the amazing things that happen when a medium of any sort is used with increasing skill is that a kind of reversal of characteristics occurs. I have noted this many times in historical studies of media, but I do not pretend to 34

understand why it should be so. (McLuhan 1958,18)

These "new avenues of perception" mentioned by McLuhan, are arguably what contributed to the conditions that spawned new musical styles in the time following

Guinean independence. As well, with the desire to create a more marketable product, the

American country indulged the new thought patterns of its audiences and to a softening of the music's texture (Holt 2007). In Guinea, the government of Sekou

Touré used the radio and government sponsored music styles to support their political motives. Therefore, it has certainly come to the time when more effort is needed to berter understand these evidently powerful and influential social forces, as it would only lead to greater understanding of what is happening in contemporary society.

In his later writing, McLuhan appears more sure of the negative characteristics of media, in that innovation can lead to the destruction of social and cultural elements in a society.

When, however, the student does an inventory of the side effects of the radio, or of writing, or satellites, subways, or zippers, he will discover that the innumerable disadvantages of these services amounts to a very formidable indictment of the particular figure. That is to say, all innovations are very destructive of many aspects of any society and are typically shunned by the Third World of non-literacy. (McLuhan 1978, 93)

This talk of "Third World non-literacy" is a reference to the low literacy rates that exist in countries such as Guinea (Counsel 2006, 103). Musical societies in West Africa that were traditionally orally based would likely have a predisposition towards audio-based media such as the radio, as this medium would be more easily accessed compared to reading an 35

English or French language newspaper. It is difficult for the written word to have the same mass appeal if the majority of the people either can't read, can't afford the access to print media, or simply prefer to access audio media. I believe that the general literacy~in other words, comprehension of audio media sources—cannot be underestimated as the influence of audiences listening to music on the radio, which has had an impact on the music that musicians create and what music audiences desire to hear. Dyer states that public discourse of ideas which emerged historically via print, and later, electronic media, leads to democracy (Dyer 1985). As media devices have inspired similar notions of public knowledge, Dyer's conception of public discourse could help to explain comparable notions of modernist culture in North America.

The final McLuhan situation that I will include in this discussion strives to illuminate some of the misconceptions that exist regarding the comprehension of humankind's interaction with media in general. The effects of mass literacy and the power created by the growth of written languages in areas, nations, and amongst people whom had not experienced håving their own language conveyed through the medium of print can not be underestimated.

Printing evoked both individualism and nationalism in the sixteenth century, just as it will do again in India, Africa, China, and Russia. For it demands habits of solitary initiative and attention to exactly repeat able commodities, which are the habits inseparable from industry, and enterprise, production and marketing. Where production precedes literacy, there is no uniform market and no price structure. Industrial production without well-established markets and literacy makes "communism" necessary. Such is the state of our own ignorance of our media that we are surprised to find that radio has very different effects in an oral 36

society than it had in our highly literate culture. In the same way the "nationalism" of an oral world is structured quite differently from the nationalism of a newly literate society. It would appear that to see one's mother tongue dignified with the precise technology of print releases a new vision of unity and power, which remains a subliminal divisive force in the West even today. Unawareness of the effects of our media these past two thousand years and more would seem to be itself an effect of literacy that James Joyce designated as "ab-ced" or absent-mindedness. (McLuhan 1959, 344)

If this is the effect of print media on the so-called "oral societies" of the world, then the effects of music conveyed by media sources should also be deemed to have had a drastic and perhaps empowering effect when a society's music is heard on the radio. The charge of "absent-mindedness" is well placed because complacency towards these issues has been utilized by music industries and politicians to promote music for mass consumption with an almost blind disregard for those who decry commercially watered-down versions of traditional music or politically-motivated musical productions. For berter or worse, many people are exposed to popular music and culture promoted on the radio and this represents prosperity and belonging in a community that is trying to find its place in the modern world. 37

Part II

Chapter Four - Contemporary Repertoire, Technique, and Structures

The Gambia: An Overview

Following independence, The Gambia retained the blessed fortune to remain a country free from the horrors of civil war, ethnic cleansing, an economy ravaged by incalculable inflation, or crippling tribal racism. This has unfortunately been the case in other regional countries such as Guinea, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Guinea-Bissau.

Tragic events do take place and racism still exists between different ethnicities in The

Gambia. Yet it seems The Gambia is a place that in some ways has benefitted from a general level of neglect from the global community since the internal conflicts that have tåken place in other African nations have not happened in The Gambia. Regardless of the reason for The Gambia's fortune, Gambian musical practices could be seen to have benefitted as interaction between different ethnic musical styles would not be intentionally segregated by racial discrimination.

Gambian natural resources are still intact, namely its fisheries and wildlife. These resources are susceptible to pollution from both local and foreign sources. There are few factories and a comparatively rninimal visible impact from manufacturing. Such industrial activity did not appear to have sprawled to the extent of the apocalyptic scenes of commercial pollution that I saw poisoning the Senegalese countryside while traveling to and from Dakar and Banjul in January 2007. It must not be overlooked that in an 38 attempt to find money and work many teenaged boys and men get on boats trying to make their way to Babylon (Western Europe) or more specifically to the Spanish Canary

Islands from this part of West Africa. Therefore, there are many social issues related to development that could be mentioned, but these must wait for a future study and are addressed by Burns (1999), Ebron (2002), and Nowicka (2007).

I felt that there is a definite sensibility in the The Gambia that the country is a place to seek refuge from conflicts or economic hardships that are present in other parts of West Africa. An example of the country being a place to seek refuge was demonstrated at the end of December 2006 in the Suso family compound in Bakau Newtown, The

Gambia. While I resided within their compound for several months, there were several visits by various family members from Guinea. Many of these people treated the visit like the trip was a special holiday and remarked frequently about the beauty and prosperity of

The Gambia, as compared to their village in Guinea. This came as a rather stark contrast to the many descriptions of hardships and difficulties by Gambians themselves. Internal political conflicts are not the focus here, but these factors must be mentioned in order to acknowledge the country's multi-layered social environment.

Economic affiliation with the Islamic world was evident with the many Islamic banks, development organizations, and projects that publicly proclaimed to be in conjunction or cooperation with Arabic-speaking countries such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and . Yet, the appeal of Western stardom and farne is enough to attract many

Gambian's attention away from purely Islamic ideals. There is also strong opposition to 39 the type of religious extremism that occurs in other Islamic countries like Iran and

Afghanistan. Daily life in The Gambia is regulated by the timely call to prayer, and a vast majority of all activity in the country is dictated by the regular observance of prayer salo

(Mandinka), sally (Jola), juli (Wolof).

In certain ways, musicians already appear to be viewed negatively by the general

Gambian public. One perception, mentioned above, is that African musicians have sacrificed elements of their traditional music as they perform for the toubobo

(foreigners), who have come to The Gambia with the expectation of seeing a glimpse of their own individualized images of "Africa" (Ebron 2002) or for a sex holiday (Nyanzi

2005, Thomas 2005, Nowicka 2007). In a local context, the jalis who would perform at the local naming ceremonies of Gambian children were still believed to be necessary fixtures at such events, but the general attitude that I observed of some guests towards the jåli s demands for money appeared to me to be unreceptive. A reluctancy to give money to tiae jalis was expressed in several ways. People telling me, "Don't give them (the jalis) money. They will eat all your money. Just give to one. They can't expect you to be full of money." I chose not to attend very many naming ceremonies where I was not performing, simply because as a foreigner I would be frequently solicited by the variousya/w at the events.

The simple fact is that almost all Westerners who come for a few weeks to The

Gambia spend anywhere from two to five years, wages of an average Gambian working in the tourist or service industry. Gambians living in the countryside have significantly 40 less access to economic opportunities, and therefore, if our places were reversed, I would do as thejalis did to me and hit up the comparatively rich Westerner. It is easy to understand the inequality of buying power between the average Western tourist and the average Gambian citizen. The largest bill of currency in The Gambia is the Dl00 note and in 2007, had a value in The Gambia of around four Canadian dollars. This is equal to two days wages for an average salaried job in the tourist industry. The disparity in buying power is hard to deny. Therefore, it is hard to predict what place the kora and the music of thejalis will have in future Gambian societies. Will it find a place as that becomes an interest for the older generations or will it find a place in contemporary youth culture as a result of the adaptability of the kora?

Performances in tourist venues in West Africa are different from the performances that take place in local settings and events, such as naming ceremonies, marriages, and circumcision ceremonies. This is partly due to the makeup of the different audiences, one of local Africans, the other foreigners usually from Europe. The expectations of these two audience groups are different and this issue is discussed by authors such as Ebron (2002).

The interaction level of these two groups with the music that they are experiencing is different, since West African audiences expect to dance, expect to give money to the performers, and other such means of participation (Ebron 2002, 43, 61). Western audiences assume a different responce to performances of Gambian music, the audience and the performer or performers remain separate and the audience only participates 41 through applause at the end of the musical piece or performance (Ebron 2002, 60). These performance conceptions have a distinct effect on the performers themselves.

As a Western economic system of consumer consumption increasingly occupies the sensibilities of young Gambians, the cultural and economic value of playing the kora has become reduced in a country long known for its distinguished kora players. Once again these ideas are difficult to quantify. A young kora player in The Gambia would spend countless hours learning to play an instrument that can likely earn him roughly between D50--D500 ($2—25 Canadian) for an average performance at local naming ceremonies or more traditional events in The Gambia. He can often make far more money from performances at tourist venues and music lessons with tourists. As already mentioned, performances at tourist venues have the potential to create even greater opportunities for a musician. There are contemporary kora players from The Gambia who have been able to have successful international careers such as Tåta Dindin Jobarteh.

Some kora players have been able to immigrate to Europe through their ability to play the kora. There are no more than a handful and these are truly world-class musicians.

African musicians who have appeared in recordings sold all over the world and performed all over the world but still live without many of the economic comforts that successful Western artists enjoy. Why would a Gambian youth want to choose a life of hard work and artistic development when interaction6 with the large number of tourists in

The Gambia offers a comparatively easier and perhaps more financially lucrative existence? My experience has shown me that many Gambians are choosing to work and 42 perform music in tourist venues because the tourists offer the best opportunities to make money.

I must also mention the desire and choice of many Gambian youth to get to

Europe or North America by any means in order to make lots of money for themselves, their families, or both. I will not spend time trying to deconstruct the difficulties and disappointment that awaits many young men when they attempt illegal passages by sea to

European territories. I found there was a great deal of indifference amongst the young men in Bakau about problems that people faced trying to take boats to illegally enter

Europe. People would say that they had to try something to get ahead in life regardless of the risks. At the same time, many young people also said that they would never attempt to cross to Europe in a boat precisely because they were aware of the possibility of imprisonment in either Europe or Africa, the constant fear of deportation from Europe, and even death. I mention the practice of human trafficking because it shows that despite all the risks, may they be understood or misunderstood, Gambians are motivated to attempt to adjust their lives in sometimes extreme ways.

Global popular music brings a concomitant stream of outside cultural influences capable of captivating the youth of a country. The resulting impact of new social practices have rendered some previous musical practices impractical or unappealing in a world dominated by mass culture. The simultaneous popularity of Bollywood movies and

American hip-hop music in The Gambia attest to the modernizing direction of contemporary Gambian culture. Given the attention and importance placed on the 43

Gambian tourist industry, money has been influential in determining what elements of older performance practices will be kept or preserved. From my perspective, the same generation that is choosing to be a part of the international popular music scene while still maintaining a connection to their West African musical roots will ultimately decide the future direction of the musical tradition.

A problem for Gambian bands and artists who are trying to advance in their careers from local success in The Gambia to international recognition is due in part to the difficulties arranging travel visas. Based on my observations, the process of a band visiting a Western country would frequently result in problems that were caused when only half the people from the band would be allowed to travel, some band members being left bebind, or people engaging in very risky transactions in an attempt to acquire a visa. I observed members of bands fight because someone had a chance to go to Europe and would be leaving the band bebind. The rest of the members of the band wanted assurances from the departing band member that he would help the rest of the band in getting to the West. After the band member departed for Europe and had not been heard from in more than a month, some of the band members who were still in The Gambia began to insult the departed member for not helping the rest of them. The social tension that these sorts of issues can create are not fully understood by citizens from most

Western countries traveling to Africa who either do not need an entry visa or have no trouble acquiring an entry visa. 44

Guinea and the Balafon: The Gambia and the Kora

In this section of the study, I contrast some of the experiences of Guinea and The

Gambia in regards to the kora and the balafon, as they share the same Mande cultural heritage by both håving an ancestral connection to the legendary king Sunjata and the

Mali empire (Knight 1973, 1--4). The balafon has a long and storied history in Guinea

(Williams 2006), from which the kora draws a portion of its repertoire (Charry 2000,

144). Guinea was one of the first West African countries to gain independence from its colonial rulers and then spent heavily on cultural policies in an attempt to create a national identity for the country (Counsel 2006, 11, 83, 100). The balafon and kora are considered to be two of the three instruments that are played hy jalis, the other one being the ngoni (Counsel 2006,44). The following comparative case study of the cultural activities of these two countries, centered around the balafon and the kora, will help to illustrate how the people of Guinea and The Gambia found ways to enjoy and create the music they wanted to hear.

Williams (2006) represents the balafon as an iconic symbol for the music of all people who share the same Mande heritage. He explains that the Mande descendants in

Guinea have retained strong connections to their cultural heritage through their dependance on the instrument in order to maintain a socio-historical continuum with the past. Williams discusses his own experiences learning the balafon and participating in this continuum:

The balafon has served as a symbol of the strength and unity of the Mande for over eight hundred years, withstanding the threats brought by colonial occupation 45

and contemporary globalization. In this dissertation, I show the role the balafon has played in helping the Mande in Guinea to retain a strong sense of cultural identity through its malleable adaptation to a variety of changing contexts without losing its essential character. (Williams 2006,18)

With this approach he appears to have made the effort to understand the instrument from a performer's perspective. As with the kora, the musical culture surrounding the balafon appears to be under pressure to change in correlation with the shifts in social attitudes of the time. Some of the musical elements, namely a growing usage of tempered tuning methods, found in contemporary Guinean and Gambian music can be distinctively described as coming from Western musical culture.

Williams identifies a growing trend among modern balafon players to perform on instruments that are tuned to a tempered tuning C major scale. He notes that musicians in

Guinea and musicians in the diaspora have begun to utilize a tonal center of C, rather than the more common traditionally tuned tonal center of something around F. This trend of abandoning more traditional balafon tuning systems is similar to the performance trends found in kora music with traditional kora tunings being replaced with the more

"even" Western tuning systems that allow the kora to perform with other tonal instruments (Knight 1991). The trend of balafons being tuned to C facilitates performances of the balafon with a wider range of instruments and makes for easier notation and transmission of the music to other Western xylophone instruments (Williams

2006, 98—100). This demonstrates that balafon performance practices have incurred change as a direct result of Western musical practices, an occurrence that will be discussed in further detail in the coming pages. 46

It is interesting to note that younger players are facilitating the changes to the music tradition. I believe this has been caused by these musicians feeling the lack of a socio-historical connection to their past musical culture and have been giving up their traditional culture in favour of international popular music and the culture that accompanies it. It appears that the musical culture was disrupted to such an extent by colonial administrations in Guinea and The Gambia the youth at that time became disassociated from their traditional music culture. The result is a musical product which does not solely draw inspiration from the musical culture of jalis. Admittedly, there are many factors involved in this discussion, such as the diffusion of recorded music to particular areas of West Africa, the music that particular musicians had experienced in their own individualized upbringing, and regional particularities.

Some balafon performance practices have undergone little change while other elements are forgotten. Reasons for the preservation of particular elements over others are difficult to determine but I believe that functional performance practices, such as introductory passages, are be more likely to be preserved and are different from stylistic elements such as ornamentation. Here Williams discusses the introductory musical ideas of many balafon performances:

French anthropologist Charles Joyeaux's description of an early twentieth century Mande celebration is very similar to my own experiences attending Mande balafon performances in Guinea: The leader begins the concert by exercises of virtuosity on his instrument; he plays a 'cadence,' dåre I say, characterized by rapidly descending lines. Then, calming down, he attacks the tune tåken up by all the other [balafon] players and sung by the singers; in turn the drums come in and the piece is under way" (Joyeaux 1924, 207—208). While Joyeaux was describing a Konkonba mask performance in Kankan that involved eleven 47

balafonists, and most of the performances I attended were either wedding or naming ceremonies that involved only three balafonists, the method of beginning a has changed little in the past eighty years. (Williams 2006, 101)

This reflects that these performance practices are still important to balafon players today.

Similar introductory phrases took place during kora performances I witnessed and in which I participated. As the kora player in the ensemble Manding Culture Band, I was expected to begin each piece the band performed with the kora. The preservation of this practice appears to occur within ensembles where either the balafon or the kora is the prominent melody instrument. It is also musically functional to have either instrument begin a song with some sort of introductory solo of a few phrases, since this provides a clear beginning to a musical piece and draw attention towards the performing musicians.

These introductory phrases would often contain a combination of single notes and chords.

The number of strings on the kora and the number of keys on the balafon correlate with performance styles that have changed to meet the demands of changing audiences.

The work of Counsel correlates with Williams' descriptions of the earliest of balafons håving fifteen keys.

In his account Travels in Asia andAfrica: 1325—1354, Ibn Battuta, an Arab geographer, refers to an instrument "made from reeds and gourds, which are struck with sticks and make a pleasant sound" (1994: 959). He is describing the bala, an instrument widely held to be the first used by griots. A frame xylophone with between 15 and 19 wooden keys, the bala is played both solo and in ensembles. (Counsel 2006, 49)

Ibn Battuta's reference to the balafon in the fourteenth century establishes that the instrument existed at least seven hundred years ago. Battuta visited the capital of Mali 48 and lefl: the most detailed description of royal court life, including performances of music and poetry (Charry 2000, 43). Williams contributes this story told to him by his teacher about the generational development of the balafon:

Over his lifetime, Djeli Sory Kouyaté has seen the balafon go through many changes, some of which he pioneered himself. He described to me how most of the balafons played during his father's generation had fifteen keys. By the time Djeli Sory was a young man, balafons of seventeen keys were more commonly played. As he grew older, the range of balafons was expanded again to nineteen keys, the number of keys on the Sosso Bala. Djeli Sory extended the range of the balafon even further in the 1960s, to twenty-two keys, because he needed three full octaves to play with an orchestra. When I asked him about how accompaniment parts to different songs have changed over the years, he told me that accompaniment parts to songs on the balafon are unfinishable. They can be played many different ways across the range of the balafon. (Williams 2006, 86)

More notes allow for greater musical flexibility since it permits the instrument more opportunities to perform in varied settings. The addition of balafon keys clearly illustrates that balafon players have attempted to survive changing musical sensibilities through adaptation.

In the discussion of additional kora strings, Knight makes the statement that the kora and balafon were being played in modem dance bands of the late 1960s and early

1970s in groups such as Bembeya Jazz of Guinea (Knight 1973, 95). Knight also names a man from Ziguinchor, Senegal, Jåli Mori Suso, as an excellent proponent of a new style of kora. He added four extra strings to his kora when the standard was considered to be twenty-one. Knight mentions that Suso performed a varied repertoire that included praise songs and more modern themes of love and social issues. Knight opposes criticism directed at Jåli Mori Suso from traditionalists and believes that"[...] he is to be 49 commended as an innovatør with a truly imaginative approach to the problems of present-day jaliya" (Knight 1973, 95). It appears that musicians have added more notes as a means to adapt both instruments to changing music styles.

The following expression described by Williams was duplicated in my own experiences learning the kora. It speaks to the similar culture of Guinea and The Gambia.

The phrase that I heard most frequently in the Mandinka and Wolof languages was

"small, small," or the English equivalent of the French words that Williams describes here:

Bangali clearly sensing my frustration, smiled reassuringly and said, "petit å petit," meaning that I should relax and take my time. The message he was trying to convey to me was that by being patient, persistent, and content to learn one thing at a time, I will eventually be able to play the accompaniments he shows me. As I was to find out during both my trips to Guinea, the saying "petit å petit is one that is used often to counsel someone who is trying to undertake a daunting task. The phrase is a contraction of the song lyric that I quote at the beginning of the chapter, and based on its ubiquity of usage in Guinea, it could possibly be considered an unofficial national motto. (Williams 2006,159)

I can also attest to the frequent use of the expression in my experience of daily Gambian life. There were several phrases in Mandinka that had an interesting rise and then decline of popularity amongst the local Bakau population I was a part of for nine months.

Another Mandinka greeting or expression, "el samma day," which translates roughly to "good morning day to you all," was reportedly an expression started by a slightly disturbed man who would walk around the public garages from Bakau to

Brikama. The story was that the man would walk around and shout "el samma day" and ask for fare to any given destination. I was at the Suso family compound when the man 50 came around the area asking for fare to Brikama. It was a funny moment as a friend leaned over to me and said, "Deano, this is the el samma day guy." I replied that I should take a picture. Unfortunately, the camera was not close at hand as the man went walking down the street in a short time. Even when I saw Youssou N'Dour in concert at the

Independance Stadium near Banjul, N'Dour himself was asking the crowd why the expression was so popular. He said it had made the whole country crazy along with the

Gambian president, who had very wisely adopted it as a campaign slogan for his eventual landslide re-election campaign only eight weeks earlier. N'Dour also named a recent of his after the expression, giving further weight to its interesting popularity.

The Sosso bala is an instrument that is alleged to have been preserved since the time of the legendary thirteenth-century king, Sunjata. The instrument is believed to essentially be the wellspring of the musical culture of the Mande people (Counsel 2006,

2—3, 41, 58, 62). The story regarding Sunjata's/a/i, Balafaséké Kouyaté, and the origins of the balafon in Mande culture is best outlined here:

The Sosso Bala originally belonged to Soumaoro Kante, the tyrannical sorcerer king of the Susu people, whom Sunjata Keita defeated to found his empire. Sunjata took the Sosso Bala as a war trophy after he defeated Soumaoro and gave the instrument to his griot, Balafaséké Kouyaté. (Williams 2006,11)

Much of the repertoire of Mande jalis derives from the praisesongs of Sunjata's ja/z or is about the story of the balafon being tåken from the conquered enemy and marks a dramatic cultural starting point for the musical tradition. This is an important moment in accounts of West African history and is a moment in time musicians either directly or indirectly reference in performances of traditionalya/iya. It seems difficult for a young 51 musician to still perceive themselves as being connected to this story while living in a modern global culture saturated with images of popular music stars håving unimaginable wealth in comparison to the vast majority of West African musicians.

The preservation of the Sosso bala (likely spelled as Suso in The Gambia) in

Guinea with the balafon has no comparable equivalent with the kora. The instruments have a vastly different age; the balafon is believed to be around six hundred years older than the kora (Counsel 2006, 2—3, 18). Many kora pieces have been tåken from the balafon repertoire and the two instruments have begun to be used together in modern performances (Williams 2006, 83; Knight 1973, 95). It seems unlikely that a sensibility of preservation could exist in a modern world where drastic change has been forced on some West African countries. Ambitions of cultural preservation are at best secondary compared to ambitions of wealth acquisition, as some feel to be the case in The Gambia

(Counsel 2006, 195).

Comparing the two country's cultural policies, it was Guinea that created a more elaborate and involved approach to their country's cultural policy. The Gambia neglected creating a distinctive cultural policy (Counsel 2006, 185—186), and perhaps, by doing so, did more to preserve musical practices by this lack of government activity. The establishment of Niagassola, as the home of the Sosso Bala, was an attempt to demonstrate the importance of traditional culture in the context of modern Guinea

(Williams 2006, 3). The following passage presents a clear statement of how the balafon is an iconic image of Mande heritage in Guinea: 52

While performers and instrument-makers have made changes to the range and tuning of the balafon to make the instrument more adaptable to changing performance contexts, the role of the instrument as the foundation for the preservation of Mande heritage in Guinea has not changed. (Williams 2006, 3)

Yet, this connection to Guinea's traditional music culture is difficult to preserve, since modern Western instruments, such as the guitar, and their accompanying music styles have become ingrained in Guinea's contemporary music culture. Although these musical changes reflect associations with Guinea's traditional music culture, they do not maintain the same socio-historical connection to important elements of the music tradition. In ways such as those mentioned here, the traditional musical culture of Guinea appears to have incurred a considerable amount of change as a result of the runding by Sékou

Touré's government in the 1960s and 1970s.

There are significant differences between Guinea and The Gambia. Guinea is far larger than The Gambia and the internal turmoil that has marked Guinea's history is well documented (Riviere 1977; Kaba 1977; Campbell and Clapp 1995; Counsel 2006). As well, I witnessed the pain and worry that marked the faces of the Suso family members in

The Gambia as they phoned relatives in Guinea during a period of civil strife that hit

Guinea's capital city of Conakry in late 2006. While I was in The Gambia and Senegal in

2006—2007, a common joke was that people in Senegal riot over politics while in The

Gambia people riot over football (soccer). During the same trip, the Gambian under-20 football team was playing at a major international tournament in Canada in June 2007, and the games were televised in The Gambia. After a poor performance by the team playing in Canada, both the coach's and goalkeeper's families were threatened by groups 53 of boys outside their hornes. A passionate love of football in The Gambia and much of

West Africa is a cultural element that contributes to notions of African modernization much the same as Sékou Touré utilized a passion amongst his people for modern- sounding music.

Modernization was part of the reason for Sékou Touré's initiative to solidify

Western cultural instruments as part of the musical heritage of Guinea. This is notable because Touré is reported to have made extreme efforts to "remove" Western elements from Guinean music (Counsel 2006, 85), but then purchased Western instruments from

Italy for government-funded dance bands that played Western instruments (Counsel 2006,

87). It appears that Sékou Touré had the desire to at least preserve the most beneficial elements of Guinean traditional music.

What is not mentioned here, but was confided to me while I was in Guinea, is that shortly after Guinea and Mali gained their independence from France, Sekou Touré, the first president of Guinea, decided that the Sosso Bala was to remain in Guinea and would no longer travel back and forth between Guinea and Mali. He wanted the instrument to stay in Guinea for two reasons: to support his program of using African traditional culture to help create a national identity for Guinea, and because he was worried that something bad might happen to the instrument if it kept traveling. Touré negotiated extensively with Modibo Keita, the first president of Mali, and eventually convinced Keita to let the Sosso Bala remain in Niagassola. These negotiations, while never published in any written account, are nevertheless fairly well known in Guinea, and reflect political involvement at the highest level in the use of traditional culture to help create a national identity for Guinea. (Williams 2006, 77—78)

It appears that the family of Sunjata'sy'a//, Balafaséké Kouyaté, has maintained a strong socio-historical connection to the musicians of the past with the strict practices surrounding who may play the Sosso bala (Williams 2006, 2, 15, 76-77). In the years 54 following Guinean Independance in 1958, the travel of the instrument between Guinea and Mali ended with the Touré regime (Williams 2006, 77—78). By defining that the

Sosso bala would stop traveling and remain in Guinea as a centerpiece of the country's cultural approach to national identity, the practices surrounding the instrument were definitely altered. Many musical, cultural or social activities and practices came to an end when the instrument was no longer allowed to travel. The travel of the Sosso bala warrants further investigation.

Counsel (2006) gives a reason for the low number of government-sponsored music ensembles in The Gambia as compared to Guinea. He mentions the migration of

Gambian musicians to Dakar as a reason for the low number of Gambian orchestras as well as the country's close proximity to Dakar.

Music in The Gambia is dominated by the griots, and in particular by griots who play the kora. The Gambia's kora players are regarded as being the foremost practitioners of their craft in West Africa. Due to their influence, and other factors such as the proximity of Dakar, to which many musicians migrated, there were few Gambian orchestras. Insufficient research has been conducted on musical groups in the preindependence period. (Counsel 2006, 184)

It is notable that the government-sponsored ensemble environment that dominated in

Guinea in the 1960s and 1970s did not really develop in The Gambia, where there was only one national orchestra (Counsel 2006, 185—186). The infrastructure needed to support the existence of Guinea's national and regional ensembles, might have been seen as a waste if The Gambia were to spend money on developing musicians who would be lost to the larger commercial market of Senegal's capital city Dakar. This study is not 55 intent on debating the financial viability of greater funding from the Gambian government at the time.

The Image of a Jåli

Traditional practices ofjaliya have already been shown to have been rendered impossible (extinct in many ways) by the influence of colonial administrations. Western performance constructs, such as those concerning the relationship between performer and audience, have contributed to creating a specific image for contemporary West African jalis to pursue. This has forced jalis to make specific decisions regarding performance practices and the various musical contexts in which they perform. A common stereotype of a modernya/i is that of a musician who is connected to past history and someone who plays old African music. The modem jåli is now left to fulfill an impossible role of presenting an exotic image of themselves which will successfully illustrate "The Africa" that exists in differing performance conventions and audience expectations (Ebron 2002,

61). Changes to performance practices have occurred as a result of contemporary jalis adapting themselves and their music in order to fulfill the expectations of audiences abroad.

I believe kora music has become a means by which we can judge this process of undoubted change in Gambian music. Ebron believes that change has occurred in

Gambian musical culture in conjunction with increased adherence to Western models of culture and music making (Ebron 2002, 58). Ebron states that a contemporary jåli is 56

forced to play within a frame where his music produces an image of an imagined

"Africa" that can be appreciatively consumed by the audience. Gambian kora music must also be expressive to audiences in classical and world music venues in the West (Ebron

2002, 60—61). Yet, the majority of audiences in The Gambia still understand Mandinka and appreciate the storfes told by the jalis (Ebron 2002, 61). By continuing to sing in local languages, Gambianya/is still maintain a distance from wide acceptance or interest by Western audiences.

One perspective is that Gambian musicians are looking to go in similar directions as their Western and even Caribbean musical contemporaries in order to achieve a breakthrough into the global popular music market. However, Gambian musicians have not been able to achieve the appeal among Western audiences as yet. The musicians of today who affiliate themselves with the kora, and generally perform "Jåli music," still tend to sing the majority of their songs in Mandinka (Ebron 2002, 61).7 The Mandinka language arguably preserves the best articulation of kora music, since a translation or reinterpretation of the words jalis sing would be a loss of connection with the culture from which the music came. The tradition of kora playing will appear to be taking a step away from its historical origins if the Mandinka oral tradition must be translated into

English as it takes a step towards Western popular music.

Performance plays on the preconceived notions of African music that audiences are expecting before a performance even begins. Social changes in The Gambia, which were either forced or adopted voluntarily, have all contributed to the present state of the 57

musical culture and these changes are articulated in Gambian kora performances. Ebron

illustrates the association between performance and representation here:

Performance is a mode through which representation is enacted and negotiated, and this is relevant whether one is studying written texts, oral traditions, or social interactions. Performance brings representation to life. (Ebron 2002, 11)

The point is that the incentive to present oneself in a manner that appeases a Western audience's imagined perceptions is mostly financial. Ebron discusses issues of privatization and entrepreneurship being a major factor of "things not being as they once were" (Ebron 2002, 59—60). The ability of a. jåli to rely on specialized knowledge to praise only a few patrons has been replaced by the ability to fulfill the image of a global privateer. The same Western culture responsible for this shift has now created an image

for jalis to aspire towards in order to obtain interest from Western audiences.

To add to this study, it is important to mentionya/w in contemporary musical

settings. The example here allows an insight into the contemporary culture a modem jåli must negotiate. The Gambianya//, Lamin Kuyateh, of Bakau Newtown, is the jåli with whom I have shared the most time as a student. Lamin Kuyateh is reluctant to perform under the current economic circumstances in The Gambia, which he believes are dominated by the tourist industry. He would tell me he wanted to teach his children to play the kora, but did not want them to go around the area playing at naming ceremonies, known in Mandinka as kolios. This is an example of a modernya// trying to exist in a world that has a prescribed image for Gambianyafo to fulfill as opposed to the prescribed image he wants fulfilled. Lamin Kuyateh's choice was to only participate on his terms. 58

This gives further evidence to the existence of contemporary expectations for modem jalis to fulfill.

The main differences between contemporary performance practices and older musical practices begins with the space of music making. The tourist industry has already been mentioned to have infiuenced Gambian musical practices, and these sort of environmental changes have had an impact on the audience's contextual connection to the music. The socio-historical connection to the cultural music was a vitally important element for previous generations of jalis and their audiences. It also appears to have become a less important component of contemporary music making:

While scholars have written about specific aspects of/e// speech that contribute to its power and effectiveness, it is still the connection between the listener, who is also a participant in the performance - whether through dancing, giving gifts to the jeli honoring him/her, or other forms of interaction with the jeli - and the listener's ancestors as evoked through they'e//'s performance that results in the joining of past and present to shape the future. This is why it is so important for the jeli to sing only the songs that are appropriate for each particular family. Otherwise, this historico-spiritual connection does not exist, and the performance becomes one of sheer artifice, perhaps admirable for the technical merit of the performer, but lacking the cultural context to signify it as true jeliya, or jeli artistry. (Williams 2006, 75)

These older notions of a socio-historical connection have been replaced by music that appeals to as many people or cultural backgrounds as possible in order to be a commercial product from which an artist can support themselves. As the music moves towards a greater symmetry with other popular music attempts all over the world, individual cultural distinctiveness disappears. Williams states that a choice of sorts was faced regarding adherence to either old or.wiw performance customs: 59

Prior to colonization, the Mande jelilu had relied on their horon patrons for support. With the dismantling of traditional systems of governance as a result of colonial rule, the jelilu had to choose between two options -either attempt to maintain their traditions by only performing their arts in a way that reflects historical customs or sing praise songs to the highest bidder, regardless of the recipienfs family origins. (Williams 2006, 74)

I believe that the answer to this question is that most jalis have made a gradual movement towards singing praise songs to the highest bidder. To an extent, this explains why the social-historical knowledge a jåli occupies during a given performance is part of the allure for Western audiences, as this feeds preconceived notions of the exotic and imagined "Africa."

The problem that faces Guinean and Gambian musicians is that West African music is frequently portrayed or marketed on being different from Western popular music as a means for greater interest from Western audiences. The expectation by Western audiences to hear music that sounds different and detached from music influenced by global musical culture, is simply not the case today. There has been a steady inclusion or adoption of Western musical techniques, practices, methods, and aesthetics by West

African artists into the performance practices of instruments like the kora and balafon.

Trying to seil West African music in this way may lead a Western tourist audience to believe that they are not seeing their imagined "Africa." Arguably, Western audiences will buy the music if they believe in the image being presented, but are then not interested in the music if it has too many Western elements. At the same time, the

Western audience cannot completely connect to the vocal component essential to traditional kora and balafon music because of the language barrier. It appears to be 60 difficult for success to grace a Gambian kora player or a Guinean balafon player, since it seems they are set for failure or mediocrity with Western tourist audiences in their own countries and fickle audiences abroad.

I believe that the socio-historical connectionya/i musician and patron that was maintained for generations has now become distinctly disrupted as the musical tradition comes in ever greater contact with the modern world. There is a moment of irony here in that West Africans are in the process of doing what the colonial occupiers always wanted: adopting the cultural values and practices of the colonizing powers. Yet, to a certain extent, Western audiences reject this contemporary musical product that is being put forth by West African musicians. It seems that aspirations of Africans for the positive attributes of the West have contributed to straining traditional connections to their past musical culture. This could also just be the tradition undergoing a temporary period of increased change and a strong connection to the musical past will once again come to prominence in West African music. West African music stars such as Youssou N'Dour and Baaba

Maal have utilizedja/i musical sensibilities (Counsel 2006, 202—203). 61

Chapter Five - On the Ground

Field Experience in The Gambia

It is difficult to genuinely think of myself as an effective interpreter of what is happening in the area of Gambian music with which I was involved. Yet, I have tried here to create an effective method for discussing a subject that has been such a significant part of my life. In an attempt to be included in their lives, I believe I have put in a great deal of effort into playing the kora and interacting with West Africans. I preferred to engage myself in the practice and study of the kora instead of driving around the area trying to skirn knowledge from as many notable musicians as possible. My approach involved sitting in one place and playing the instrument.

Gambians know the cultural value placed on their traditional knowledge, culture, and practices, since they have utilized that very thing in the country's approach to tourism. Talk is cheap and people are eager to tell a Western researcher just about anything in order to gain payment or favour. I could have conducted a formal interview approach and had people line up outside of my door waiting to be interviewed, but I could not have maintained any legitimacy within the Bakau community in conducting such a practice. The Gambia is prosperous in comparison to other West African countries, but not in comparison to the standard of living all of these "researchers" have enjoyed that have allowed them research opportunities to be in The Gambia in the first place. 62

Therefore, I feel an approach in which a researcher is not directly paying for someone's

knowledge is far more productive and promotes a working relationship based on respect.

A researcher might have the best intentions, but it is the people of a land who will

decide what that researcher learns. By publicly demonstrating a diligent work ethic in

trying to learn how to berter play the kora, I found that I escaped much serious scrutiny regarding my intentions with the community. At the same time, my every move was noticed and observed by everyone and is the source for much interaction since people noticed things about you and then asked a question. I felt that I was generally viewed as

someone who was involved in trying to learn a difficult and uncommon skill. I believe this to be the case because as I progressively gained greater proficiency at playing the kora members of the community would begin to take more interest in my progress. Even though the value of a. jåli 's performance is somewhat in question in the larger society, the

skill of playing the kora is possessed by only few people and I believe that people

generally showed appreciation for my efforts in playing the kora. My activities were plainly visible to all who wanted to see and hear. Many people would take time to stop,

listen to me play, give a comment or smile, and walk on. Because of my actions, I believe that I was able to maintain a level of respect and integrity during my time living in the community.

As traditional systems of patronage diminish, jalis attempt to explore the current

environment in an attempt to find new means of patronage. For instance, the inclusion of a kora into what Gambians described as bands, or what are simply referred 63

to as "roots bands," is one example of kora-playingyafo finding new performance

environments in which to present their art. Shortly after arriving in The Gambia in

October 2006,1 began playing in Manding Culture Band a local roots revival ensemble,

from Bakau Newtown. Roots revival bands are similar to the troupe bands created by the

Gambian government such as The Gambian National Troupe, since they are comprised of

varying combinations of traditional instruments. Roots bands appear to be a perfect fit

with the stage-oriented performances tourist venues demand for their guests. In the

following paragraphs, I will describe what I believe Gambians themselves classify as a

roots revival band.

There are a few general similarities among roots revival bands. Roots bands or

"jam bands" include a mix of traditional instruments from several different regions as

well as either one or more vocalists. Bands combine many different types of instruments

that would not typically accompany traditional Mandinka rhythms or repertoire. A single

kora was sometimes included in these bands. Traditionally, the kora would not perform

with loud percussion instruments such as drums. Percussion instruments are not part of

traditional kora performance practices. The traditional role of rhythmic devices in kora performances can be described in the following example:

Drums do not play a major role in a typical performance, as they are not an instrument restricted to the caste of the griot. Percussive rhythms may be supplied by hand-claps, finger-clicking, and/or the use of the né. A kora player may also be accompanied by another musician who sits next to the instrument and uses a large east iron needle, a loyo, to tap out a counter rhythm (konkondiro) on the gourd resonator of the kora. The incorporation of drums is commonly found in urban performances, where it is usually associated with those griots who are entertainers for the public at large. Drums are often 64

integrated into modem ensembles which incorporate western-style electric instrumentation. (Counsel 2006,45)

This example shows how far removed the kora had become from its traditional performance environment. Roots revival bands offer a new means for kora players to continue performing their art.

From my observations, roots bands were common at weddings, naming ceremonies, and most importantly, at tourist venues in and around Bakau. Manding

Culture Band was one among these roots bands who would perform a mixed repertoire of traditional and contemporary tunes. Songs were exclusively sung in Mandinka, though the drums used in the band, and all the members of the band themselves, were from different ethnic backgrounds. These bands combined the use of drums and other instruments from several different ethnic backgrounds such as Mandinka, Wolof, and Jola

(a minority ethnic group in The Gambia). At times, there was a continuous exchange of band members and the number of band members varied at the performances by Manding

Culture Band. Therefore, there was a slightly altering lineup of instruments in the band at any particular performance. The full sized lineup could include dancers, two to three vocalists, two leadjembes, two bass jembes (usually played on a small stand), dundunba

(large bass drum), tam-tams (two long cylindrical drums that stand upright on the floor and played sitting on a chair), congas, boukarabou (a Jola set of three drums together on one stand), kasenkasenks (a Fula instrument comparable to a type of shakers that were also referred to as maracas), plastic toy tambourine, and kora. Given the band's 65 propensity for a continuously changing lineup, the bass and lead jembe would not always be doubled and at some performances there would only be one vocalist.

Manding Culture Band had several interesting characteristics that I believe define it as a roots revival band. The group's eclectic instrumentation articulates a combination of ethnic influences and is similar to many other local Gambian groups who performed in the Bakau area. The group had the intention of capitalizing on the tourist industry and the many Western tourists interested in experiencing African musical culture. During my time with the band, the vast majority of our performances were at venues considered to be part of the tourist industry. I would say Manding Culture Band wanted to present themselves as an ensemble which could cater to the tourist industry because that was where they believed their best financial opportunities could be found.

The band had been rehearsing since September 2006 and I joined the band in late

October, just as they were preparing for some of their first public performances. Most of the band's performances were located within a five~to thirty—minutes drive from Bakau

Newtown. During my time with the band, there was always an attempt to acquire as many performance contracts as possible. Often the contracts were for the band to perform at a tourist venue once a week for an indefinite period of time. The band was also getting verbal contracts with proprietors to perform on short notice for one—night engagements at many different locations. The band would also perform at traditional events like naming ceremonies and at more contemporary events like the opening of a public library in 66

Bakau, or a political rally for the ruling political party. This demonstrates some of the diverse venues where the band would perform.

Transportation for Manding Culture Band would almost always involve hiring a van to take the members of the band and equipment to and from the performance. It would usually depart from the compound beside the one in which I was residing in Bakau

Newtown because that was where the band's equipment was stored. Most of the band lived in Bakau Newtown. This also explains why I came into contact with the band and then became their kora player. At first, I attended the band's rehearsals and then began only playing the kasenkasenks. When the members of the band noticed I was also a competent kora player, they asked me to perform with the kora.

An experience that demonstrated changing musical aesthetics in Bakau, occurred during a performance of Manding Culture Band at Bakau Lower Basic School on

February 23, 2007. The band had played a few songs and the children were not dancing.

From my perspective behind my kora, the children appeared to be loosing interest with the Mande rhythms and repertoire we were playing. Occasionally, when the band would perform the song "Jarabi," there would be a change of the rhythm during the second half of the piece to reflect the Wolof inspired mbalax style. The band performed this rhythm change at the Bakau Lower Basic School during the performance of "Jarabi" and the reaction of the children was instant and dramatic. The children took to the area in front of the musicians and began to imitate the high energy dance styles of contemporary mbalax dance music (Example 1). 67

The mbalax rhythms undoubtedly caused a strong display of enthusiasm from the children, but this is also a reflection of the demise of the musical culture which surrounds the music of the jalis and kora players. This is due to the fact that the kora is not typically part of mbalax music inspired by traditional Wolof dance music. The kora is a Mandinka instrument not typically played by Wolof jalis, who usually play a different instrument called the xalam (Coolen's, 1983) study. As the Wolof ethnic group do not play the kora, the instrument would not typically appear alongside a Wolof drum band. This is not a firm rule, as I noticed other bands that generally performed Mande drum rhythms would also incorporate elements of mbalax rhythms into their performances.8

I was also an example of a kora player trying to accommodate the mbalax rhythms on the kora while playing within the context of a roots revival ensemble which almost exclusively performed Mande repertoire. When the band would switch the rhythm of a song to mbalax, I would have to change what I was playing on the kora to correspond with the rhythmic change. At the same time, it is clear nothing was very traditional about my place in the band as the Canadian kora player. This example shows that Wolof musical aesthetics have grown in such popularity that bands focused on performing Mande repertoire, easily performed by a kora, have been incorporating mbalax rhythms into performances and thereby forcing kora players to adapt. Kora jalis could not simply stop playing when the ensemble would switch to mbalax and would often drastically alter the kumbengo to accommodate the typically faster rhythms of mbalax music in comparison to the rhythms that accompany mast Mande traditional 68

songs. Jalis are forced to adapt kora performance practices as a means to remain relevant

in these roots revival bands to earn a living.

Based on the musical performances I witnessed while in The Gambia, varying

combinations of traditional instruments appeared to be a recognized genre. Musical styles

that have developed in the past twenty years are utilizing more traditional West African

musical aesthetics instead of some of the heavy synthesized music of artists in the 1980s.

Styles that draw on musical practices that are found in rural towns and villages, have also

developed elsewhere in West Africa. Traditional West African musical practices are still

appreciated by local Gambian artists as well as elsewhere in the region and demonstrate

that the demand for traditional music has not entirely disappeared and has seen a

resurgence in the past few decades.

The success of wassoulou music, and other styles such as mbalax, signifies a shift towards a greater role for traditional musical instruments in modern West African musical performance and composition. In recent years, for example, Malian musicians such as Souleymane Traoré (also known as Neba Solo) have achieved prominence, winning the artist of the year award in 1996. Traoré's ensemble consists entirely of percussion, namely two balas (Traoré plays the balamba, the "bass" bala and largest member of the family) and four percussionists. Their music represents a departure from the synthesized "world music" compositions of artists in the 1980s, for it makes minimal use of expensive production techniques and diversity of instrumentation. Traoré's music signifies a return to a style more akin to that found in rural villages and towns. (Counsel 2006, 212)

The return to village-oriented performance practices, is important in this discussion.

Depending on the situation and the instrumentation, these revival bands do not always reflect traditional performance practices, but rather reflect the contemporary conceptions 69

of music in West Africa. It can be said there are other reasons for the appearance of these

bands, and some of them have already been mentioned in this study. For example, it

appears difficult for widespread synthesizer use to take hold in a country which suffers

from intermittent electrical outages. Maybe this speaks to the notion that traditional

instruments are the most durable for the West African environment.

The kora must be electronically amplified as it does not produce enough sound to be heard over more than two drums. Amplification considerably changes the tone of the

instrument. From my experience, much of the bass frequencies of a kora are lost when the instrument is amplified and the high frequencies become more distinct. When the kora performs amplified and with a large band most of the instrumenfs bass notes are

almost inaudible. The kora integrates well into a drum band that is already using at least one microphone for a lead singer as there is already an emphasis on a heavy bass component which leaves the kora and vocalist to fill out the high end frequency range.

A rudimentary sound setup is something that is useful for West Africa since the reliability of equipment, and often the shear impracticality or impossibility of elaborate

sound setups, gives support to håving the kora and vocalist(s) as the only electronically amplified sounds. These were usually the performance circumstances during my time with Manding Culture Band. An example of the potential for sound difficulties took place at a large government-sponsored performance in McCarthy Park in Banjul, which was broadcast on GRTS (the sole TV channel in The Gambia). The event was plaguedby technical problems due to the elaborate sound setups for the many different groups 70 performing that night. Musical programs held in the countryside rely heavily on gasoline generators to power electrical sound amplification equipment due to the lack of widespread electrical grids. Musical performances in areas without electricity would be limited in the styles of music that could be produced.

Transcriptions

Arguably, the Western music scale of letters with sharps and flats can be a useful means through which to convey a basic understanding of an instrument from outside the

Western music tradition to Westerners and those versed in its musical language. The other

side of this issue is that the translation of foreign musical concepts and music into

Western musical language will inherently suffer from the loss of some of the original musical ideas in the transmission. Given this fact, I will restrict my goals regarding the music that I have transcribed here. My goals are to produce a means for transmitting only the notes and the order of the notes needed to play a particular kora piece. In this I am not referring to presenting over-simplified renditions of the individual pieces, but rather to

find a clear and effective method for teaching kora music. This teaching method will be

coming from a Western cultural background, but will attempt to avoid the student requiring a previous knowledge of Western musical theory. A full description, analysis, and explanation of the tablature method that I have devised will follow below.

There is a limit to what I have to offer as someone transmitting knowledge of the kora. Since I was not born a Gambian, nor to a family of jalis, nor lived a substantial 71 portion of my life in West Africa, I will not have the same level of cultural or musical knowledge as a Gambian kora-playing jåli who has lived all their life in The Gambia. I believe the music that I present in this study are my best attempt at recreating the music that I leamed on the kora. If Gambian audiences who are most familiar with the kora believe the music is a poor example of kora playing, then I would certainly feel an element of failure. Western audiences formulate their own connection to the music which is based on whatever preconceived notion of African music and not on a lifetime of cultural knowledge as is the case of Gambian audiences.

Time has elapsed since I first learned the kora pieces that I transcribe in this study and when I have attempted to write them down. This has resulted in things being added, small elements being forgotten or parts that have now become more prominent than when

I had originally learned them. The songs that I will include here are "Kaira," "Kelefaba,"

"Masani Cisse," "Bani Lay," "Allah La Ke," "Kurra Bissan," and "Jarabi." This is a collection of some of the pieces which were a big part of my time in The Gambia. The selection of transcriptions is drawn from several sources and consists of favourite songs from playing with Manding Culture Band, the songs that the children would ask me to play so they could sing them, and songs people on the street would ask me to play

(sometimes as a test of my proficiency). The whole notion of transcriptions representing orally transmitted musics is similar to Western surveying techniques that were a precursor to an enterprise of appropriation and should be viewed as attempts at representing performance practices and not as recreations of a performance. 72

My conception of a tablature for the kora is that it should give a representation of the kora from the perspective of someone playing the instrument. I believe that a kora tablature should accurately define what fingers play what strings at any particular time.

Tablature is useful for the kora as it offers a means to quickly and easily transmit musical ideas. There is a usefulness which exists in a tablature method that I have developed with kora students of my own; it is something proven to be effective in communicating the basic mechanics of a given kora piece. As well, many kumbengos are only a few seconds in length and some even shorter. This form of tablature is very applicable to songs with a short kumbengo such as "Kurra Bissan." It might take longer to notate a more complex kumbengo using this form of tablature, but I believe this tablature to be a less confusing method than the transcription of kora music in Western , in the way that

Knight (1973) and later Charry (2000) chose to represent kora music.

The issue of how to transcribe kora music is inherently difficult because a notation system for Western art music will inevitably retain some of the elements of the musical culture the medium was created to transmit. Therefore, an attempt to transcribe kora music forces a decision between notating the music in either duple or triple eighth- note subdivisions. Even after playing the kora for six years I find triple-pulsed notation difficult to conceive and I favour using duple notation because of its familiarity.

Figure 4. Example of Knighfs triple-pulsed kora notation. 73

jfaiwfeerøie

sasmmmam 1 % f- •• T —^-T- f *T~~—""^ Tf "W y-——•—- ,—f-p-

^m^mm

(Knight 1973, 2: 15)

Triple-pulsed notation might have a greater rhythmic accuracy but I personally find that duple-pulsed notation would be understood by a larger portion of the world's notationally literate population. A knowledge of Western notation is the most obvious drawback to this notational conception as it limits the transcriptions understanding.

Knight discusses the use of triple instead of duple metre by stating that a triple- based notation "may overly quantify the unevenness, even though it captures the rhythmic character berter than writing it with a duple base" (Knight 1973, 197). I think that a duple based notation is actually far more effective for defining a basic rhythm because it is more adaptable to the unevenness in beat that is inherent in kora. Williams makes mention of the practice in jazz music that eighth notes are "swung" instead of played "straight" as the notes would appear on the paper (Williams 2006, 44, 102-103).

Figure 5. Example of the same transcription in duple-pulsed notation. 74

Figure 5 demonstrates that if a rhythm is written in the most basic and commonly understandable means, the stylistic variances which each genre of music requires are left to be interpreted by the performer, as is the case in jazz music. By adding too much notational detail, I believe that the musician will be confined to creating sound within a musical context that does not allow for the rhythmic flexibility needed to create kora music. At the same time, there are pieces that do not swing and therefore a triple-pulsed notation would be more applicable to songs like "Masani Cisse." For berter or for worse, a higher number of notational literate musicians will be more familiar with reading music in common time rather than in a triple-pulsed metre such as twelve over eight.

Tablature

The kora is played with the left and right index fingers and left and right thumbs.

The remaining three fingers of both hands each hold the instrumenfs two handles that are found on both sides of the instruments twenty-one strings (Figure 2). The kora's strings are separated into two planes with the plane of strings located closest to the left handle being played by the fingers on the left hand and the plane of strings located closest to the 75 right handle being played by the fingers on the right hand (Figure 3). The hands do not typically if ever play the opposing plane of strings. It is important to articulate some general concepts regarding how to physically make music on the kora.

Tablature was explored by Knight (1973), and was incorporated alongside his transcriptions of kora music in Western notation (Figure 3). The problem with reading the tablature from left to right in conjunction with the Western notation (Figure 3) is that the numbers of the tablature are then sideways and this seems to create a rather inefficient transmission of information as too many directional considerations have to be made. If one rotates the entire page (Figure 6) so that the tablature would read up to down, there is still the initial discomfort of håving to read horizontal lines of numbers up to down.

Figure 6. Example of Knight's combined kora notation and tablature.

»' •M •»• «r *l ^» • «* • • Ut • •»•• i « Vi . *«» « • «A . ••» • * Vi . -—. «n "— ** tft t» $ .. Vi K *

rn =200 Kum be» ^=5 É=i I 1 1 i! I 8 J-J h" r- U^J-^i E

(Knight 1972, Volume 2:15)

In Knighfs transcription of "Kelefaba," the beginning of the tablature is marked with "I

T T I" and delineates the left and right index fingers (I) and thumbs (T). An effective 76 element of his tablature conception when read up to down, is that it visually and mentally represents the kora as if being played. Knighfs tablature articulates which finger plays which note and illustrates whether notes are played together or separately.

I believe Knight was correct in placing an emphasis on delineating which notes are either played together or separately. The conception of notes either being played together or separately is an excellent approach to playing the instrument. In the beginning stages of learning the kora, there is great difficultly in being sure that one is playing the correct strings at the proper time. This is due in part to the oral nature of traditional musical transmission and the reluctance or inability of some kora teachers to answer all the intricate questions a Western student may ask about performance in general or of a particular piece. Knight also delineates the strings in scale degrees which aids in the identification of similar sounding strings. A step-by-step visual depiction which delineates the use of a given finger on a particular string(s) and reads left to right would theoretically be an ideal format for tablature of kora music. My tablature method achieves these aims and is intended for easy use.

The technique that I quickly came up with one day during the first lesson with a new kora student is something that fills the aforementioned criteria. The tablature is based on the idea of representing a kumbengo as a series of rectangles stacked horizontally left to right with each rectangle containing either one note or one chord.

Similar to Knight's approach, the rectangle represents the bridge of the kora as if being viewed from the visual perspective of someone playing the kora. 77

Figure 7. Example of my tablature method.

43 73 23

51 l2 52 l3

My tablature method allows for the clear identification of what notes are to be played by which fingers. This was often a difficult question to have answered in traditional learning environments. Traditional oral means of transmission rely upon the student's keen observation skills as well as the teacher's ability to communicate musical ideas to the student.

In the rectangles themselves, the first number tells the scale degree and the second smaller number identifies the octave in which the particular scale degree is found. The kora spans just under three and a half octaves, and therefore, the lowest sounding string on the kora will be written as 1l and the highest sounding string would be written as 34.

The placement of these pairs of numbers in the rectangle delineates what fingers are used to play the strings.

Figure 8. Breakdown of my tablature method.

Left Index Right Index

scale degree octave brackets indicate a damped note V (34)

l1 52

Left Thumb Right Thumb 78

If the number pairs are located in the top-left corner of the rectangle, the string is played with the left index finger. If the number pairs are located in the top-right corner of the rectangle, the string is played with the right index finger. If the number pairs are located in the bottom-left corner of the rectangle, the string is played with the left thumb. If the number pairs are located in the bottom-right corner of the rectangle, the string is played with the right thumb. I believe this is a clear means to quickly and easily communicate a musical idea.

This tablature technique has its limitations, since it does not articulate rhythm at all and forces the student to comprehend that on their own. Rhythm is one of the most important elements of West African music, and therefore the tablature does not pro vide all the information meant to be learned from a jåli or by oneself. I believe this approach effectively communicates the order of the notes that are played in a kumbengo. My method does not deal with rhythm because Western rhythmic notation is somewhat difficult to initially comprehend unless you are educated in Western musical notation.

Without defined rhythm, my tablature technique forces people to engage themselves in listening to the music, and the tablature is more user friendly for people who come from musical backgrounds that do not use Western notation. In that sense, the tablature is limited in the amount of information that it contains, but this can also make the musical information more easily digested and utilized.

This technique is oriented towards a quick comprehension by a Western musical audience and is useable by anyone who could understand the relationship between the 79

number pairs and the strings on the kora. It can be argued that a means of identifying the

strings could be done using a different number scheme. An easy idea would be to number

them from one to twenty-one. An argument against this type of scheme is that such a multitude of different numbers creates difficulty utilizing them to effectively and quickly

communicate a musical idea. Recognition of smular notes is a valuable tool as it

encourages a knowledge that is useful to being able to play octaves on the kora. As well, recognition of similar notes on the kora teaches the building blocks for being able to

expand upon a kumbengo and a basis from which to perform birimintingo. In this

instance, I feel that tablature is merely a tool to assist in bridging the di vide of musical

cultures and is undoubtedly not a representation of traditional learning practices.

I believe the method I present here delivers information in as simple a visual

format as possible. I have yet to have the opportunity to teach Gambian kora students for any extensive period of time, so I cannot say if this could also be helpful in teaching

students from West Africa and The Gambia. I believe the tablature could potentially be useful to a Gambian student. I would argue it should in most cases be cross-culturally comprehensible, since it is based on a number scheme from one to seven in the Western alphabet. Most West African children who have had the opportunity of schooling, would learn either English or French in school and would likely recognize the numbers found in the tablature. Mandinka counting systems are based on a scheme that begins one (kiliri) to ten (tang) and then proceeds ten with one (tang aning kiliri), meaning eleven, ten with two (tang aning Jula), meaning twelve, and so on. 80

Given that many kumbengos are often only a few seconds in length, any given

tablature should not be an unwieldy number of rectangles. The tablature identifies

individual strings with two numbers that represent scale degrees, from one to seven, and

octave range, from one to four. I believe that a tablature that relies on number schemes

can be justified cross-culturally because, as already mentioned, there is the likelihood that

many Gambians could comprehend this system of numbers. As well, there are still seven

different pitches on the kora before the first one is repeated and this is comparable to a

Western major scale. Therefore, it is completely logical to represent the different strings

and scale degrees on the kora with numbers.

But, I believe the practice of long apprenticeship periods with an instrument master rarely occur in practice outside of family compounds, which generally contained

generations of musicians. There are few such compounds. Lamin Kuyateh of Bakau

Newtown, The Gambia, appeared to have undergone a long apprenticeship period with the late Jåli Nyama Suso, as Lamin shared with me stories of running errands for his teacher. Lamin always spoke very fondly of Jåli Nyama Suso and with sorrow at the loss

of his teacher. Without a larger survey area, the extent to which direct apprenticeship was the only means by which contemporary kora players learned the kora can only be guessed. This would require a research mandate more specifically detailed to the topic than the one I chose during my time in The Gambia. Yet it is still an interesting topic for

further investigation. 81

Contemporary teaching and learning methods in West Africa have changed with

the influx of Western musical culture and with the increasing access to technology such

as cassette tape, CD, and MP3 players. Recorded technology has had an effect on the production of music in West Africa over the past century and has not received much

attention from academia. Manyjalis have learned from listening to recordings. Toumani

Diabate has said that he did not learn to play the kora from his father, but rather learned

from commercial recordings of his father as well as artists from Africa and the West

(Charry 1992, 29). The full impact of these changes is not fully understood. The longterm

implications of new techniques of acquisition is unknown at this time as well as what

impact they will ultimately have on the vitality of the musical culture. Toumani Diabate is

the son of the late Sidiki Diabate.

In the home given to his father by the first president of Mali, Toumani Diabate lives in a world of fax machines, cell phones, recording sessions, local nightclubs, international tours, electrified jalimuso-led ensembles performing at traditional celebrations, extended family and the extended obligations therein, high infant mortality, young kora apprentices, respect for the j elis of his father's generation, and the proud legacy of the Diabate lineage of j elis. (Charry 2000, 27)

Given that ToumanTs father was a very successfulya/z, Toumani would have likely had a

greater access to technology than most Malian youth of his generation. It is easy to understand why contemporary kora musicians, trying to make a nåme for themselves, have difficulty in the diverse economic conditions of West Africa, which can be difficult

for an artist whose tradition is regarded in many contrary ways by the general contemporary Gambian population. 82

There are other issues involved in transcribing music that is orally transmitted.

Williams makes some important points about the relationship of jåli music and dancing as a means to understanding the rhythmic structure of any given piece. He also raises issues surrounding transcriptions and the inaccuracies that occur when trying to decide how to notate a rhythm when one does not know how to perform even the song's most basic dance steps. The association of music and movement in West African music is an issue that was addressed by David Locke (1979) and is also articulated by Williams in the following:

As the dance movements and drum rhythms are inextricably linked, an inability to feel and physically articulate the pulse of the drum rhythms would necessarily preclude one from being able to perform the corresponding dance movements correctly. The inability to understand the pulse as an underlying rhythmic framework for the entire performance can also lead to transcription errors and perhaps even a complete misunderstanding of the rhythmic structure and interaction within a performance Understanding the relationship between African music and dance is so vital that, according to Agawu, "many misinterpretations of African rhythm and meter stem from a failure to observe the dance" (Agawu 2003, 73). Thus, knowing how to move to African music is an important step toward understanding it in a meaningful way. (Williams 2006, 30-31)

Comprehending how the music is intended to create movement is crucial in performing the music well enough for a West African audience to enjoy and to make for the best transcription of the music. This is not limited to dancing and can certainly include clapping hands, tapping toes, and snapping fingers. Chernoff contributes to this argument by stating, "In African music, it is the listener or dancer who has to supply the beat: the listener must be actively engaged in making sense of the music" (Chernoff 1979, 50). In 83 my experience, paying attention to dancing and the movement of others, helped me to better understand basic dance movements of pieces and to berter perform the music.

Allah La Ke

One of my favourite and most frequently play ed pieces included in this study is

"Allah La Ke." "Allah La Ke" is a piece that has been played by many artists from The

Gambia, Senegal, Guinea, and Mali. The piece has also been well studied by Knight

(1972) and Charry (2000). Charry's study is of particular interest here because of his conception of the harmonic scheme of "Allah La Ke" and the placement of the bass notes that are played by the left thumb. I will begin by discussing Charry's transcription of

Amadu Bansang Jobarteh's version and then comparing other jali's versions and the version that I learned.

Charry states that in "Allah La Ke," the right thumb part usually maintains the rhythmic drive and does not vary greatly from player to player and the rhythmic and harmonic realization of the left thumb part is more subject to the player's own personal style (Charry 2000, 170—173). Thus, making the left thumb a less defining feature of the piece than the right thumb. I believe that there is another possible perspective, since the notes in the left thumb can also be viewed as providing the most definition of the harmonic qualities of the piece. 84

Figure 9. Charry's transcription of Amadu Bansang Jobarteh's version of "Allah La Ke" in Western notation.9

tyvti i p Lif ii p 11 P?TJ'??«*? É ?

The bass strings in Charry's transcription of Amadu Bansang Jobarteh's version of "Allah

La Ke" as they appear are F-F-D-C-D, or 1-1-6-5-6 in scale degrees (Figure 9).

According to Charry's transcriptions (Appendix III), Dembo Konte's and Nyama Suso's versions share the same left thumb bass note progression as that of Jobarteh. Similar bass notes occur in the versions of Toumani Diabate, Sidiki Diabate, and Bai Konte versions of "Allah La Ke." With the exception of Bai Konte's version, the other versions share identical left thumb bass notes. The similar notes are the F note found on beat six of measure one, the D note found on beat ten of measure one and the D note found on beat ten of measure two (Appendix III). Beat one of measure two is the place where a C note appears in only the versions of Toumani Diabate and Sidiki Diabate, with the other four transcriptions not playing anything in the left thumb at that time.

An inverse perspective to Charry's analysis is that the recurrence across the different versions of the same left thumb bass notes is further evidence that they are the defining feature of the piece. The versions of Toumani Diabate and Sidiki Diabate share 85

identical bass notes to my transcription of "Allah La Ke" (Figure 10). The following is my conception of "Allah La Ke" using my tablature method.

Figure 10: My rendition of "Allah la Ke" in tablature.

3 3 (63) l 5' (43) l

6' l2 52 51 l2 61 32

3 53 (23) V 53 1" l

l1 l2 52 1' l2 32

The only difference being that Charry and I have differing perceptions of the beginning of the piece. The position of beat one in my rendition of "Allah La Ke" is not important to this discussion, as the "beginning" of a kumbengo is not important to African musicians (Knight 1973,189—190). The similarities among left thumb bass notes in

Charry's transcriptions speak to the notion that the left thumb actually carries the defining harmonic and rhythmic pulse of "Allah La Ke" instead of the right thumb.

The regular occurrence of bass notes in the left thumb leads into a discussion of the defining marks of a qualified kora master. One of the most basic and foundational

skills of kora playing is being able to maintain the kumbengo, playing birimintingo phrases or passages, and then being able to return to the kumbengo as smoothly as possible (Knight 1973, 81—82). From my own experience, the ability to maintain the bass pattern in the left thumb while performing improvised birimintingo patterns directly displays a musician's proficiency and is a telling indication of one's skill level. This does 86 not mean every bass note played by the left thumb must be sounded each time. Rather, a portion of the left thumb notes are sometimes not played in an attempt to create variation in the music. Entirely different variations of the basic kumbengo pattern can also be played given the improvised nature of kora playing.

Kaira

The piece "Kaira", is another example of a kumbengo in sauta runing that has a definitive bass part in the left thumb. The left thumb part is particularly important in articulating the harmonic direction for the song. Using my tablature technique, my conception of the piece is as follows:

Figure 11. My rendition of Kaira in tablature.

3 3 2 62 63 53 (43) 2 5 7

¥ 6' 52 22 52 V 32

y 53 l4 l3

y l1 l2 52

My conception of the progression of the song is D-G-E-F, or scale degrees 6-2-7-1

(Figure 11). These four notes are the bass notes played by the left thumb. There is not a transcription of the piece by Charry that can be used for comparison, but "Kaira" is an important piece in the Gambian repertoire I experienced. In the Bakau music community,

"Kaira" appeared to be a well-known song performed by Manding Culture Band, which 87 the group performed at almost every performance. The group of working jalimuso who lived in the Suso family compound also knew the song, and I would frequently hear them perform it at their performances.

The length of the kumbengos of "Kaira" and "Allah La Ke" can be said to both be four equal beats in length. This is not in reference to the particular konkondiro patterns, the specific tapping rhythms associated with each particular song (Knight 1973, 192).

The two songs are four beats in length. This kind of comparison is not possible using my tablature technique because the number of rectangles has no direct correlation with the rhythmic duration of a piece. (Examples of the two pieces transcribed in duple and triple

Western notation can be found in Appendix II.)

Figure 12. Examples of the comparable lengths of my renditions of "Kaira" and "Allah

La Ke" in Western duple notation.

Kaira W J r •' r m :*>='] 1 1

? <> j i ; #=rt =£ S^ tr i 88

Allah La Ke

H i i i i $ i fes^ ^ 3—^n m f

V=ft j » j ^ p ^^ er ^

The similar rhythmic lengths of "Kaira" and "Allah La Ke," speaks to the similar physical elements involved in their performance. The two songs also share similar melodic features. Starting on the upbeat of beat two of measure two and ending on the upbeat of beat three of measure two, my transcriptions of "Kaira" and "Allah La Ke" are

exactly identical (Figure 12).

In my experience performing kora music, there is an interconnectedness which

exists between particular birimintingo patterns and certain kumbengos. For example, I have found that the following birimintingo pattern can be easily performed with both

songs "Kaira" and "Allah La Ke." There is nothing new about this since Knight (1968)

and Charry (2000) have both mentioned this point.

Figure 13. Birimintingo pattern that works for both "Kaira" and "Allah La Ke." 89

Kaira

«i l l P \£J [J J^S $

i h i # W

') Hill m m m tr i

Allah La Ke

&«* i * i p IT-T QJ «H^

* i * 7 fl ^

y<*t i i aj *—«r # ^ F ^

The significance is that the utility of birimintingo passages supports the idea that kora pieces are defined by the bass notes played by the thumbs rather than the higher notes on the kora, which are played by the two index fingers. To again compare the bass notes played by the left thumb of "Kaira" and "Allah La Ke," for "Kaira" the notes are D-G-E-

F and for "Allah La Ke" the notes are D-C-D-F-F (Figure 13). The different bass notes in 90 the two songs show that birimintingo is then just a means of embellishing the accompaniment (kumbengo).

Kelefaba

The performance of "Kelefaba" speaks to the notion that the thumbs are most important in defining the characteristics of the piece. This is the piece that many kora players in The Gambia first learn. "Kelefaba" is a foundational part of Gambian kora performance, since is known by many kora players and elements of the accompaniment

(kumbengo) are replicated in many other kora songs. As mentioned earlier, the right thumb motion of F-C-F-C or (1-5-1-5) is a relatively common and frequent ostinato

(repeating) pattern that is found in many other kora pieces.

Figure 14. My rendition of "Kelefaba" in tablature.

3 3 3 (43) 5 7 (23) 5

2 2 2 5' l 5 (l3) l 51 52

3 3 3 (43) 5 7 (23) 5

1 2 2 2 2 l l 5 (l3) l 5

The notes played by the left thumb are C-C-F and are an example of an old song due to its limited bass note (Figure 14). Charry cites Sidiki Diabate as saying that, "If someone wants to learn the kora, if you want to learn the kora, if someone wants to teach you the kora, he should play Kelefaba for you. It is the alphabet because it has the kumbengo of 91 every piece in it" (Charry 2000, 323). Kora players first learn "Kelefaba" and then utilize the mechanics of the song as they develop there own skills on the kora.

All four fingers are important in most kumbengos, but I am focusing on the patterns played with the thumbs because I felt they were the most easy parts to follow when learning a new kora piece. The accompaniment (kumbengo) pattern for "Kelefaba" teaches some of the most basic physical movements involved in kora performance. The mechanics of kora pieces like "Kelefaba" have been developed and have contributed to creating particular performance repertoires and styles. The differences which exist between the left thumb patterns of songs like "Allah La Ke," "Kaira," and "Kelefaba" speaks to repertoire that is of different ages. Some of the oldest kora songs tend to have only a few bass notes, while newer songs that have been composed in the last fifty to sixty typically have a greater number of bass notes and therefore, a greater number of harmonic changes.

Masani Cisse

"Masani Cisse" is a song that in someways demonstrates the diffusion of performance practices that have come from outside The Gambia. Different versions of the song allude to the influence of musicians who frequently play in a sauta tuning. The piece was originally performed in a tomora ba/siliba tuning and is said to have originated in The Gambia (Charry 2000, 148). "Masani Cisse" has become a piece that is also 92

frequently performed in sauta tunings. The following is my rendition of the piece played

in tomora ba/siliba tuning.

Figure 15. My rendition of "Masani Cisse" in tablature using tomora ba/siliba tuning.

3 l3 7 l4 33

1 5 l1 l2 52 l2 32

3 43 53 7 1"

2 2 42 52 7 l2 5

Gambian musicians demonstrate fiexible notions of tonality in kora music since they will

sometimes play the same kora song but in different tunings. This has already been studied by Knight (1973; 1991). "Masani Cisse" is a prime example of a new version of song in a different kora tuning becoming arguably more popular than the original.

Figure 16. My rendition of "Masani Cisse" in tablature using sauta tuning.

63 62 53 (43) 63 62 33 (23)

61 32 52 5" 61 32 (52)

23 l3 72 63 62

22 l2 V 61 32 52 51

The minor key version "Masani Cisse" in Figure 16, has become popular with many contemporary musicians as renditions of this sauta version have appeared on several contemporary West African albums. 93

Tåta Dindin Jobarteh is a contemporary Gambian kora artist who has had international success. He has released several albums and spends the majority of his time living in . When I met up with Tåta Dindin again in late December 2006 at the

Jobarteh family's compound in Brikama, he had a German documentary film crew with him. Tåta Dindin is an example of a Gambian artist who has negotiated between a complex global culture and his country's traditional music practices. The reinvention or reinterpretation of Mande traditional songs is a practice that still occurs today.

As stated in chapter III, Mande music is characterised by an expansion of the repertoire through the modification of existing songs and their accompaniment (Rnight 1975: 11). Thus, whether it was sanctioned by their government or not, Mande musicians in the post-independence era continued to explore new ways in which to present material from the stock of their indigenous traditional songs. Modem interpretations remained popular with the public, too, and the skills which the musicians had developed while performing for the state controlled orchestras and ensembles enabled them to continue their careers well after the subsidised formations (and the governments which supported them) had collapsed. (Counsel 2006, 196)

As traditional songs are redone to suit the tastes and practices of contemporary musicians such as Tåta Dindin Jobarteh, there is an interesting opportunity to reflect on the performance choices. The current practices of reinvention by Gambian kora playingjalis illustrates the current prominence of the sauta tuning.

For example, the song "Massaneh Ceesay," on Jobarteh's album 2008 Kanaké, is a rendition of the traditional song "Masani Cisse" that is very popular in The Gambia,

Senegal, and Mali. Radio Gambia uses the melody everyday as music to transition from one program to another. The radio version, and most other renditions that I have heard, 94 the is played in a major (ionian) mode, or at least reasonably close to the Western major scale. Meeting Tåta Dindin for the first time at the Jobarteh family compound in Brikama in April 2004,1 witnessed and videorecorded a version of the song he played in a distinctively minor mode (Example 2). Minor key variations of "Masani Cisse" have appeared on other contemporary albums like Ba Cissoko's Sabolan (2004). I learned the rendition I have transcribed here (Figure 16) from Lamin Kuyateh, who knew how to play several different accompaniment patterns (kumbengos) for both the original major key version of "Masani Cisse" and the newer minor key version of the song. The creation of different versions of kora songs, like in the "Masani Cisse" example, demonstrates an adoption and proliferation of kora techniques that utilize the sauta tuning. This scale has already been mentioned as useful in allowing the kora to perform with other instruments and namely balafons that are tuned to C instead of more traditional tonal centres. This also shows an influence from musicians and kora players from Mali and Guinea where the sauta tuning is used more exclusively than in most Gambian kora songs.

Kura Bissan

"Kura Bissan" is a classic in the Senegambia and is widely popular in the Bakau area of The Gambia. The song is widely believed to have been composed by Lalo Kabar

Drammen and there are recordings of the piece from the 1970s. The piece was so well known that children would begin to sing the song upon hearing me perform the kumbengo. In my experience performing this song with Manding Culture Band, the 95

drums would play an mbalax rhythm instead of the slower Mande rhythms that the band

more frequently performed. The kumbengo itself is rather simple in its motions and

length and is comparable to "Kelefaba" in its simplicity.

Figure 17. My rendition of "Kura Bissan" in tablature.

(43) 53

l1 i2 52 5'

2» i4 53

r i2 52 51

Like "Kelefaba," the accompaniment (kumbengo) for "Kura Bissan" is made up

of two halves that are only slight variations of one another and the division of the piece is

evident in Figure 17. The left thumb is very clear in this transcription (Figure 17) and

articulates a regularly occurring rhythm that is relatively even in comparison to the other

kumbengos examined in this study. The activity of the bass notes in "Kura Bissan" seems

to once again reflect an older performance style since there are few bass notes and

confined to only the lowest two bass strings. Those two strings are the lowest F note, or

l1 in my transcription method, and the lowest C note, or 51. These are the same bass notes that are used in "Kelefaba," and as the two pieces are roughly one hundred years apart in

their ages, there is evidence that many elements of kumbengos can be traced back to

elements of the kumbengo for "Kelefaba." 96

Bani Lay

"Bani Lay" is another song that is performed in sauta tuning. "Bani Lay" was frequently performed by Manding Culture Band and other contemporary music groups in

Bakau. Like the song "Jarabi," many vocalists would freely attach their owns words to the song, and there was great diversity among versions. The origin of this piece is unknown to me and was even referred to under a completely different nåme by some

Guinean vocalists with whom I worked. "Bani Lay" is a song where the left thumb plays many notes and is long enough to be subdivided into two patterns that are slight variations of one another. These are as follows: 1-2M-7-5 and l-22-l-7-6 (Figure 18).

Figure 18. My rendition of "Bani Lay" in tablature.

I3 l4 l4 33 23 33 l3 T 53 33

2 2 1 2 2 l1 l2 3 22 3 l l V 5i 52 3

63 l4 33 23 33 l3 T e 63 33

61 32 32 22 32 l1 l2 T 61 32

The leap of a major ninth in the left thumb from l1 to 22 (Figure 18) might seem large and far more complex in comparison to older songs like "Kelefaba" and "Allah La Ke," but I believe that this points to a more recent composition date for "Bani Lay." As the repertoire of the kora developed, it appears that the left thumb has become more active and more frequently occurring than in older songs. 97

Jarabi

"Jarabi" is a song which has had ample popularity in the piece's short existence.

It is a popular love song. I heard many different versions of the song in my time in The

Gambia and at performances in North America. The piece was widely popular among younger and older members of the Bakau community. It was well received by local audiences when I performed the song with Manding Culture Band. First recorded in

1970, "Jarabi" was composed by the jalimuso Fanta Sacko (spelled as Saho in The

Gambia) and has become an extremely popular and well-known song in much of West

Africa (Duran 1995, 206). The distinctly similar feature of most of these versions of

"Jarabi" is the bass note pattern of the left thumb.

Figure 19. My rendition of "Jarabi" in tablature.

63

6' 32 72 61 32 5' 52

63

61 32 72 6' 32 51 52

V

V 32 T T 32 51 52

73

T 32 72 V 32 51 52 98

The bass notes in the left thumb are clearly repetitive and show the pattern contains three different notes that outline two tonal areas (Figure 19). The patterns of 6-6-5-6-6-5 and

7-7-5-7-7-5 outlines chords around the 6 or D and the 7 or E (Figure 19). The other aspect to this story is that Fanta Sacko has noted that she has never received any royalties for the song, even though there have been numerous recorded versions of it (Duran 1995,

206). For instance, Toumani Diabate performed the song on his landmark 1988 album

Kaira and often features the song in educational videos as an example of a typical kora piece.

In my experience performing "Jarabi," African singers will but there own words to the song as if "Jarabi" were a traditional song. This seems to point to a notion that songs that are only forty years old have become thought of by enough people to be traditional songs and then so it can then be altered to suit a performance context. This is in contrast to the reception that I saw of current African pop songs by Vivian N'Dour and

Ami Collee where people would memorize every word of the recording. This is in line with West African performance practices in which vocal improvisation is an important element, but is a strong contrast to from the Western musical tradition where are generally adhered to in performances. Popular West African songs composed in the past forty to fifty years have fallen into use as traditional melodies that had the original words of their songs altered.

"Jarabi" is played on the kora in a sauta tuning. It was well known and well performed in The Gambia by female singers, both jalis and non-jalis. This speaks to the 99 spread of performance practices from Mali and Guinea as songs performed in sauta have gained greater prominence among Gambian audiences, kora players, and singers. The popularity of "Jarabi" and other songs in the sauta tuning such as "Kaira" and "Allah La

Ke," demonstrate that West African musicians and audience enjoy the sound of kora songs in sauta tuning. In the following section, the sauta tuning will be discussed with the intent of trying to articulate some of the reasons for the popularity of the sauta tuning.

The Importance of the Sauta Tuning

The frequent performance of songs in a sauta kora tuning is an interesting element of Gambian kora playing, since the tuning is a relatively new practice and seems to have become as important a tuning as siliba/tomora ba due to the frequent use the sauta kora tuning by many African artists. Many new kora styles popularized by artists such as

Toumani Diabate, Ballake Sissoko, Tåta Dindin Jobarteh, and many others utilize a sauta kora tuning. A lengthy stylistic analysis will not be undertaken at this point and I will limit this discussion of the sauta kora tuning to its relevance in the sample of repertoire that has already been presented. The origin of the tuning is an important component to the history of a portion of the repertoire in this study here because it begins to explain the musical environment from which a portion of this discussed repertoire came.

The practice of performing songs in different tunings, such as the examples given above, are related to many possible influences. These include the migration of people from Mali and Guinea into The Gambia in the late nineteenth century and the popularity of the musical practices those people brought with them (Charry 2000, 160). Sauta tuning was possibly created as a means for cross-cultural musical interaction to accommodate this influx of people and musical styles. Charry illustrates the views of Amadu Bansang

Jobarteh regarding the origin and use of the sauta tuning:

Amadu Bansang Jobarteh believes that all three eastern tunings, Tomora mesengo, Hardino, and Sauta, come from the kontingo (the Mandinka term for koni). The kontingo was an important instrument in eastern Gambia for two reasons: as a part of the Fulbe stronghold called Fuladu, its leaders were probably attended by gaulos (Fulbe griots) who played the hoddu (the Fulbe version of the koni); and late nineteenth-century migrations of jelis from Mali into eastern Gambia brought the kontingo with them (including Amadu Bansang's father Jåli Fili Jobarteh). (Charry 2000,160)

Charry has begun to piece together one of the directions of musical influence upon kora music. The influence of koni players from east of The Gambia offers a possible reason for the existence of the sauta tuning and evidence of the connection which exists between the differing musical cultures of the Senegambia region, Mali, and Guinea. Jobarteh first heard the sauta tuning from a jåli named Keba Kouyate from Niumi and believes that sauta is a recent tuning that originated on the koni (Charry 2000, 159).

Kora players use Sauta tuning primarily to play pieces from Mali. Such pieces typically feature vocal melodies, usually sung by jalimusolu, that have a raised fourth degree, and Sauta is the only kora tuning that has a raised fourth degree. Knight (1991a: 34) has noted that among kora players Sauta may also be called jalimusolu la kumbengo (female jåli's tuning). The nåme Sauta may be related to the termArabic term saut: "sound [...] voice; tone; strain; melody; tune." Jalis who have had strong Koranic training, like the vast majority of my teachers, often use Arabic terms in the course of Mandinka conversation (I have heard Amadu Bansang Jobarteh use saut to refer to the sound of something). Kora players may have attached the Arabic term saut (or sauta) to a tuning typically used to play pieces from Mali with prominent vocal melodies sung by jalimusolu. (Charry 2000, 160) 101

The proposed origin of the sauta tuning from the koni is likely since it follows patterns of cultural adaptation that have been a mark of West ASncanjaliya over the past century and discussed in this study. The fact that the sauta tuning is used by kora players to perform pieces from Mali that have prominent vocal melodies, point to another possibility for the growing usage of sauta tunings. Perhaps people liked to sing songs from Mali because they were new and interesting musical techniques. The popularity of the songs themselves led to greater usage oi sauta tunings by kora players, since they were just meeting the demand for Malian vocal styles.

Gambian kora songs are different from kora performance practices in places outside of The Gambia. This demonstrates that there are separate schools of kora performance practices and repertoire. Charry articulates the division of kora repertoire in the following way:

The major direction of influence in the shared repertory of jelis is from old Mali (in the east) to more recent Mande territories in the west. For Gambian kora players, Mali is the ultimate source of their tradition, but they are more familiar with the traditions that spring from the Kabu empire and local cultures. Gambian jalis divide their repertory into tilijii (sunset, west)-pieces from The Gambia-and tilibo (sunrise, east)-pieces from Mali. A few pieces from The Gambia, such as Masani Cisse and Allah l'a ke, have also entered the repertory of Malians owing to their widespread popularity. (Charry 2000, 149)

This is an important distinction as to the popularity of some of the repertoire mentioned in this discussion. The popularity of "Allah La Ke" in Mali can be attributed to the fact that the piece is in sauta tuning and therefore was already in a favourite tuning of Malian kora players. "Masani Cisse" was originally performed in a siliba/tomora ba tuning. The popularity of "Masani Cisse" among Malian kora players is evident with the frequent performance of the adapted version in sauta tuning. Given that the sauta tuning was created to allow for musical collaboration between West African musical cultures, it is possible that the popularity of "Allah La Ke" and "Masani Cisse" has been facilitated by the sauta tuning.

After performing and playing with musicians from several different West African countries, there are several trends in the contemporary kora performance practices in

West Africa and in African diaspora. One of the most notable trends is that of performing the kora with balafons that are tuned to C major. To perform in this situation, the kora is tuned to a sauta tuning in F (F lydian scale), which works weil as the notes of the two scales are the same. This tuning scheme is beneficial since the kora can easily integrate into the many musical situations in which the Western scale of C major is the common ground. The frequency of performance environments where the tonal centre of C major is the common ground, provides part of the explanation for the rising prominence in the use of the sauta kora tuning as the two musical cultures, represented by the kora and balafon, have progressively come into greater contact through migration, trade, and the diffusion of recorded music.

Musical changes of some sort had to take place in order for the instruments to be able to perform together. The balafon cannot easily be retuned and may only alter its tuning by taking the instrument apart and shaving wood off the keys. Generally, the kora can easily be tuned to match most balafons due to the moveable tuning rings. In my 103 opinion the kora can only be easily retuned the distance of a semi-tone or a tone, either up or down.I0Therefore, it is likely that the kora would be the instrument that would make significant tuning changes in order to perform with other instruments. The sauta tuning allows the kora to make fewer tuning adjustments in order to perform with other instruments. The technical musical choices made by kora and balafon players seem to be moving towards a greater compatibility with the evenly tempered Western scale. The sauta tuning has allowed the kora to perform with the koni, the balafon, and large ensembles of both traditional and non-traditional instruments.

There is also a more technical reason for the growing use of the sauta tuning which points to the increased use of the tuning has been motivated by a functional need to find musical ways for the kora to perform with the balafon. Williams believes that there is a division amongst balafon players between playing instruments that are tuned either to traditional tunings or Western tunings like C major.

Nevertheless, there is a growing preference among Mande balafonists, at least in the area surrounding Conakry, for balafons tuned to Western diatonic scales. I asked Fodé Camara, one of Abou's favorite balafon makers, who also made a beautiful professional quality "C" balafon for me during my last trip to Guinea, about preferences among contemporary balafonists in Guinea for instruments in traditional tunings or Western tunings. He told me that, for the most part, the younger players all want instruments in Western tunings, and only the older balafonists still want instruments that are traditionally tuned. I do not know if this preference among younger players in Coastal Guinea for balafons in Western tunings reflects a desire to perform with ensembles that include Western instruments, a more general move toward performing traditional musics in Western tunings, a desire to follow in the footsteps of other Mande popular music stars like Salif Keita and Mory Kante, who have gained international farne by taking traditional music and rearranging it for electric ensembles that play in Western tunings, a combination thereof, or some other change in the aesthetic preferences of Mande musicians. In any case, this is certainly a phenomenon that invites further inquiry. (Williams 2006, 99—100)

This is completely relevant to kora musicians because, as already stated, the balafon is

not easily retuned and, therefore, the kora is the instrument that has to adjust to perform

with other Mande instruments. It seems that any musical changes which occur with the balafon will have to be accommodated by other instruments like the kora. The type of musical change described by Williams is that of balafons being tuned to C. It is easy to

see how the practice of balafons being tuned to C and then koras being tuned to sauta tunings as a means to compensate for balafons being tuned to C, can become firmly

entrenched the more that balafons perform with ensembles.

Since the practice of musicians playing balafons tuned to C major becomes more

entrenched among contemporary musicians in West Africa and abroad, the characteristics

and general aesthetics of the music will change. And, as balafons and koras come to perform together in greater frequency, there will be a growing trend among kora players to utilize the sauta kora tuning. The use of the tonal centres of C and F for the balafon

and kora respectively, illustrates that musicians have altered the tuning and performance practices of the balafon and kora. I believe that the use of common concepts of Western musical culture, is because balafon and kora musicians see it as a means to greater

interconnection between local and international musics. West African music has evolved

from being communicated and shared within a small community to a musical culture that relies on the patronage of the global community. Guinean and Gambian musicians in 105 particular have adapted their traditional musical practices to gain greater attention from an ever expanding global community and from West African audiences. 106

Conclusion

This study has illustrated how kora musicians do not practice jaliya the way their grandfathers or even their fathers had previously practiced the art form, and that this is one of the realities that faces modernjaliya. The second half of the twentieth century was a time marked by massive changes to the traditional art form of the jåli and was also marked by the transition of The Gambia from a British colony to an independent country.

It was noted that this administrative change could have possibly allowed the art form of jaliya to return to more traditional systems of musical patronage, since Gambians were once again in control of their own country. For the most part, Gambian kora players have chosen to continue to adapt performance practices to suit the music demanded by audiences at tourist venues in The Gambia and by audiences abroad. The traditional system of patronage was so disrupted by factors such as colonial administration and the influx of outside culture through Western media (such as the radio) and tourism, that

Gambians had already adapted the traditional music culture to fit their modern society.

Technological changes such as the radio, and later television, drastically changed the very nature of jaliya as people could then hear and see performances of the best kora players in the world without ever attending a performance.

Traditional forms of musical patronage had been disrupted by the imposition of colonial rule since many of the wealthy ruling elite of the country had been removed from their positions of power and access to their traditional means of wealth, namely taxation, which was stopped making traditional patronage difficult, if not impossible.

Audiences no longer participate in the socio-historical continuum to the music and culture of one's ancestors. The practice of a jåli personalizing praise songs to specific patrons still occurred, though this became more difficult with alteration to the surrounding culture that had once supported the jåli 's music. Diversification of the sources of patronage for jalis also meant that the subject matter of their praises would have to be directed to a wider and more general audience (Counsel 2006, 61). In particular, the radio appears to have made the expensive patronage oi a. jåli seem almost foolish when the music of world-class kora players could be enjoyed on the radio for free.

The cultural mixing that was underway in The Gambia as a result of conflicts in neighbouring countries, created greater cultural diversity in the area. As a result, the traditional music of the Gambian Mandinka did not resonate with the influx of foreigners, who either did not intimately share this same cultural background or those who had no connection whatsoever to the Mandinka culture. Kora players have found ways to integrate new techniques as a means of adapting to changing musical tastes. Traditional songs are still reworked in an attempt to bridge the musical and generational divides which exist in Gambian culture. The diversified mass culture of present-day The Gambia appears to have lost interest in spending large amounts of their resources on a jåli 's performance, and yet, audiences are still interested in certain musical elements ofa jåli 's performance. In essence, the practice of patronage has become less accepted by the 108 general population of The Gambia and has forced musicians to adapt to the changing musical and cultural aesthetics of their time. 109

Appendix I - My renditions of kora pieces using my tablature method

Kelefaba (in tomora ba/silaba tuning)

(43) 53 V (23) 53

51 P 52 (P) P 51 52

(43) 53 T (23) 53

l1 P 52 (P) P 52 110

Masani Cisse (in tomora ba/silaba tuning)

l3 T l4 33

2 51 l1 l2 5 l2 32

3 43 53 7 l4

2 42 52 7 l2 52 111

Masani Cisse (in sauta tuning)

2 2 63 6 53 (43) 63 6 33 (23)

61 32 52 51 61 32 (52)

23 I3 T 63 62

22 l2 V 61 32 52 51 112

Kura Bissau (in tomora ba/silaba tuning)

(43) 53

l1 P 52 51

23 l4 53

1 l P 52 51 Jarabi (in sauta tuning)

63

61 32 72 61 32 51 52

63

61 32 T 6l 32 51 52

V

V 32 72 71 32 51 52

73

71 32 72 71 32 51 52 114

Allah La Ke (in sauta tuning)

(63) P 53 (43)

61 P 52 51 P

P 53 (23) P

61 32 P P 52

53 l4 P

P P 32 115

Kaira (in sauta tuning)

62 63 53 (43) 23 53 72

32 61 52 22 52 71 32

3 33 53 l4 l

2 2 52 l1 l 5 Bani Lay (in sauta tuning) p J4 l4 33 23 33

l1 P 32 22 32 l3 72 53 33

ll l2 r 51 52 32

4 3 3 3 p 14 l 3 2 3

l1 l2 32 22 32 l3 T 62 63 33

l1 l2 61 32 117

Appendix II - My renditions of "Kaira" and "Allah La Ke" in duple and triple Western notation

Kaira in duple E :J T •' r *i='\ 1 1 k) (il l l r r r r *i r B P er

Kaira in triple 118

Allah La Ke in duple i vl i i 7 n E3 / JJ> *i fr ? J? f

'ro) $ i ^ BE LL ? K 7 £ g^^ IT P^F

Allah La Ke in triple jg>- >• >• "f B)fnf j *FFT 7 7j^fp7j^

yff i- i- i- ^ g3E L3JP77P77IJÉ I r>ii O" ^ 119

Appendix III - A representation of Charry's six transcriptions of the kora kumbengo for "Allah La Ke" (Charry 2000, 169)

Amadu Bansang Jobarteh

<| W ? 7 p [jj 7 7 p 7 Ep 7 7 i'' 7 7 «ff 7 7 p 7ES

7 7 7 7 ±dt ; P p ^±

Sidiki Diabate A ff 7 7 J\ f ? r 7 7 ft 7 7 P I 7 7 J 7 7 «f 7 7 J1 7 7 J^

7 ff 7 rl^-T-T- ±=fc -*-*- •^-fr" nM^- ^ % f P Toumani Diabate

ff 7 7 J^ 7 7 ff 7 7 J\ 7=7^ 7 7 ^^Rf 7 7 h7=¥ ^ ifc

^ 7 ff 7 * 7 1 f ±=3z ^S P 120

Bai Konte

Dembo Konte IIS *i 4t n ** ) 1 7 j\f 7Eg 11 ^11+11 J\*ilJ\

y 7 p 7 ? K ? i Wf^ ? f nbP n E -i-l- f I Nyama Suso jtf" J*==$='=£ = * v n * 1 ÉJ U » Pft=^=* J' * v J>

: *) fr* *=5=^ Tr Tr K p ^5 -7-7- ? 7 7 i=7=7 g 7 7 P= Bibhography

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Video Examples

Example 1. Change to mabalax rhythm during the song "Jarabi" at a performance by Manding Culture Band at Bakau Lower Basic School, February 23 2007.

Example 2. Minor key version of "Masani Cisse" performed by Tåta Dindin Jobarteh.

Example 3. Performance of the song "Allah La Ke" by Manding Culture Band at Atlantic City Bar and Restaurant, Bakau, The Gambia, April 27 2007.

Example 4. Performance of the song "Jarabi" by Manding Culture Band at Atlantic City Bar and Restaurant, Bakau, The Gambia, April 27 2007.

Example 5. Performance of the major key version of the song "Masani Cisse" by Manding Culture Band at Atlantic City Bar and Restaurant, Bakau, The Gambia, April 27 2007.

Example 6. Performance of the song "Bani Lay" by Manding Culture Band at Atlantic City Bar and Restaurant, Bakau, The Gambia, April 27 2007.

Example 7. Performance of the song "Kelefaba" by Manding Culture Band at Atlantic City Bar and Restaurant, Bakau, The Gambia, April 27 2007.

Example 8. Performance of the song "Kiara" by Lamin Kuyateh at Banjul Craft Market, Banjul, The Gambia, May 2007.

Example 9. Performance of the song "Kelefaba" by Lamin Kuyateh at Banjul Craft Market, Banjul, The Gambia, May 2007. 1 Map tåken from Counsel 2006, 12. 2 Diagram tåken from Counsel 2006, 46 3 CIA Worldfact Book, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ga.html. (Accessed on June 2, 2009). 4 For more information on mbalax music and artists National Geographic offers a concise summery and means to hear mbalax music. National Geograpic, http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/ page.basic/genre/content.genre/mbalax__752. (Accessed on June 3, 2009). 5 http://population.mongabay.com/population/gambia/2413920/bakau. (Accessed on June 2, 2009). 6 Interaction includes performing with music groups and/or hanging out at performances that are geared towards entertaining tourists at hotels, restaurants, bars, and other venues associated with the tourist industry. Other moments for local interaction with the country's large population of tourists include legitimate work in a hotel, unauthorized guiding, prostitution, or as a seller of a vast array of foods and other goods that are specifically for sale to tourists. 7 There are examples of musicians performing original composed kora songs in English. But, I have never heard the melody of a Gambian traditional song sung in English instead of Mandinka. I have heard a traditional song being explained in English and accompanied by music, but the vocalist sang the melody in Mandinka. 8 This is a video example of Pa Bo Bo Jobarteh mixing kora, mbalax drumming, and Western instruments. The music is performed in the main courtyard of the Jobarteh family compound in Brikama, The Gambia. Youtube video, (Accessed May 1, 2009). 9 Representation based on Charry 2000, 169. 10 In order to preserve the proper string tension, any changes that are greater will require a change of the gauges of the kora's strings, which is as labour intensive as retuning a balafon.