BARA

[e2c]

Wonderful thread - bops, special thanks for your pics and the info.

[Jessie]

From what I learned, I had thought it as the part of the dundunba that the dancers would start going around the area in a circle walking to the pulse of the sangbahn, and either we would start it and the dancers would then start because they heard us play, or the dancers would start the move and we would change out of whatever other dundunba we would play, into bada. And it could be the beginning, middle or end or seemingly used to change the energy and bring it back in focus.

[archetypo]

Billy Konate taught us a rhythm in a Montreal workshop in 2008 called 'Bara Don', which he also referred to as 'Baradota dunun'. His explanation was that Baradota dunun was a rhythm the drummers would start playing at the lead drummer's home, prior to departing for the Bara and the continuation of the dununba. He said they would typically start by playing maybe 2 or 3 warmup rhythms at the lead drummer's place, and they would play Baradota dunun as they made their way to the Bara. I've heard a couple of versions of this also - There is a tracked called Bara on Billy's first CD, Saboule Moyala N'Wolobalou Kobarika, which is similar but ot the same as the one he taught us in Montreal, and neither of these is the same as the one on Manasa Camio's CD. Billy also said something to the effect that the version he taught us was a version he learned from an elder drummer that hadn't really been played in about 30 years or so.

[Dugafola]

yea...bardota should be considered a separate rhythm entirely from 'bada/bara.'

i learned yet another one from Wadaba Kourouma.