Hello from Winnipeg

[jqpublick]

My name's Mark and I've been playing djembe, dundun and Kora for a while now. (Realistically I'm more of a kora owner than player.)

I've taken some workshops with Mamady Keita, Bruno Genero and a couple of other djembefolas. Life is good, if cold (-20 C here right now.) I've just stumbled across this site today and immediately joined up.

I'm hoping to go to Victoria, B.C. this April for a week of workshops with Mamady again. A good friend is currently in Guinea and he's promised to show me what he's learned. I play in a couple of djembe-centric bands and love it love it love it.

So, hi!

Mark

[James]

Hey Mark, you're very welcome.

I'd be interested to hear how you found us?

I too am a kora owner. I would love to get more into it, but right now the only material I have is in a book and it's reaalllyy boring learning out of a book.

There is also that software that's around but the trial version's all in a different tuning, making the strings completely different. I'd love to just have a teacher around me here somewhere.

That'd be wicked

Anyway, I hope to see youround and about here more

James

[jqpublick]

Hey James:

If the trial version you're talking about is the 'Korajaliya' prog. then you can actually change the tuning of either each string or the overall tuning - siliba, tomora ba, hardino, sauta, etc. The site got updated a while ago.

Not that I have any idea how the tuning would affect the playing of a tune, other than pitch changes I mean. And if 'kora jaliya' isn't the software you're using, that means there's something new out there.

As to how I found you I googled 'djembe' and this site was somewhere on the list. I wasn't paying attention to how far down the list, I was checking some of my drumming links at the time and thought 'why not just search generally and see if there's anything new?' and lo and behold here you were, uh... doing stuff.

As to teachers I did (aherm) meet Toumane Diabate at the Winnipeg Folk Festival last year. He'd done a show with Bela Fleck (incredible banjo player if you don't know him) and I waited at the back of the tent and spoke to him for a while. When I told him that some of the things he'd said about kora helped me understand a few things about playing he asked me if I had my kora with me. I said 'No, no case for it' and he said 'Well I'll be in Winnipeg for a few days after the festival, bring your kora to my hotel and we'll have a lesson.' So I did.

He showed me some finger exercizes, runs and the like, and every time I made a mistake he said 'that's another chicken.' I finally asked and he told me that if you make a mistake in front of your teacher you have to buy him a chicken. So I owe Toumane Diabate 37 chickens. I'm not really sure how to pay that particular debt off. I mean, airmail? UPS?

So there you go. My brush with fame.

Where did you get your kora from and how long has this site been around?


Mark

[bops]

Cool story about Toumani! What a character...

[rachelnguyen]

Hi Mark,

Welcome! I think the only possible solution is for you to go to Mali and give Toumani his chickens while studying there! LOL.

How wonderful!

[James]

I looked at Allla Lakhe in the demo version of Jaliya and it sounded completely different when I played in on my Kora.

I did figure out the Jaliya version by using different strings that I used to play a version I got from Eric Charry's Mande Music book.

I'm not sure why as I realise there should only be a smally difference in Pitch with different tunings.

Anyway, I trust I'll be getting a guitar tuner for Christmas, which will make all this a lot easier....

My teacher in The Gambia wanted us to buy chickens to sacrifice so as to make us learn faster. The theory being - have you seen how fast a chicken scratches it's feet in the dirt? Now imagine your fingers doing that playing Kora....

Getting hungry now....

[rachelnguyen]

LOL, James.

I just taught my teacher the expression "running around like a chicken with it's head cut off". He had never heard it, but got it as soon as I explained. When I was a kid, we lived on a farm and once had a rooster take flight after his head was lopped off. We couldn't believe it!

[rachelnguyen]

PS: I can't even count how many chickens I must owe Sidy at this point....