Bala

[Dugafola]

how many bala players we have here?

i have recently aquired a 6 year old guinea bala that was made and played by one of the most revered bala players in west africa. it was fostered for the past 5 years in america by a buddy of mine...his loss is my gain.

i'm a complete nubile when it comes to bala. i'd say i can recognize and call out the names of bala pieces because i've heard them so many times...now it's time to see if i can figure out how to play them.

my closest teacher is in the Bay area. his name is Mohammed Kouyate from guinea conakry. he was a balafola for les mervielle d'afrique at some point and probably some other ballets. you can hear him on Fode Seydou Bangoura's Fakoly as well as Mohammed Diaby's latest disc.

the bala i'm getting is kinda beat up. half of it needs to get re-strung as well as a few gourds need replacing. then tuned of course. it's not the prettiest thing but it's got some history and i'm very stoked to own it now...and my buddy has the bala that's tuned to go with it.

is there any good media out there for learning bala? there are a ton of recordings and most djembe recordings feature bala at some point.

[bubudi]

dugs,

see this thread for answers to your questions. congrats on your bala! i happen to like the bootsy looking ones. they often sound better, too. if your gourds are repairable, i'd go that way, as it'll be more likely to be in tune that way. you might be able repair the gourds yourself if the damage is relatively minor. i'd tend to do the minimum to it possible (not even oil the keys). if you want, get mohamed or karamba to show you how to fix and string the gourds, then you'll know how to put the instrument together and do your own tuning. tuning can be very tricky, fiddly business, though, which is why i recommend doing the least possible modification to it. why would you want to anyway? it sounds like a bala with a history and lots of character.

more resources:

master of the balafon series
naby camara balafon instruction vol 1

[BobF]

Congrats on the bala! Time for a trip to Guinea and focus on the bala???

[Kabum]

Hi guys!

Unfortunately I do not have a balafon of my own (yet), but I get to keep one at my place from time to time. It is usually played at the dance classes of a friend of mine, but ocasionally we have longer periods with no classes and I prefer to take the bala to my palce and try to learn it instead of letting it alone in a dark, cold and dusty storage closet.

There's a YouTube user called "torpeza" who has some nice videos which include several LH and RH patterns, small solos, embelishments, etc. I think it is a good way to start, and although it will be pretty tough in the beginning (I think one should avoid the idea that years of djembe experience make the balafon learning very easy...they are jut two very different worlds, don't you think?), you'll be feeling enormously happy once you get it right

http://www.youtube.com/user/torpeza

let me know what you think
Take care and enjoy the Holidays