African Instruments Related to the Acoustic Guitar
The guitar is an instrument that is popular throughout the world, and there are many guitars both played in and made in Africa. However, there are also more-traditional African instruments that share some basic characteristics with guitars that are common in the West. Many of these instruments are still used to play traditional African music.
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Ngoni
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There are perhaps a dozen different names for lutes across Africa. They show up in many countries and are made from many different materials, although they all have some commonalities. One of the most common names for these instruments is "ngoni." They are made from wooden bowls covered in hide to create a sound drum, with a long piece of wood inserted into the bowl to create the neck. They are then strung with four nylon strings. Some ngoni are electrified so that they can be amplified to play for larger crowds.
Kora
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The kora is a considerably complicated instrument that plays a very large role in West African music. The instrument has a history of more than 200 years and is played in countries such as Gambia, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Guinee. Its body is large and rounded and rests on the ground or in the lap of the seated player, with a long rounded neck extending from the body. The instrument has elements of the guitar, lute and harp that are combined to create its individual sound. It is played finger style, and has two planes of strings extending from the bridge to the neck. One has 11 strings, the other 10.
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Lyre
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The Baganda and Basoga lyre are related to guitars loosely, although they lack some of the characteristics of the guitar. They have two pieces of wood inserted into a covered bowl, with a top piece of wood that the strings are wound around. The difference between this instrument and many other guitarlike instruments is that the strings do not follow a high to low tuning progression. Starting on the left, the third string is actually the highest tone.
Ramkie
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In the southern part of Africa, a homemade instrument that resembles the guitar has become very well known. The ramkie is made by using an oilcan to form the resonator chamber. The neck looks more like a guitar neck, due to metal pieces of wire being bent around it to work as frets. There are both four- and six-string versions of the ramkie. Some are strung with fishing line, others with bicycle brake cables that have been unwound.
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- Photo Credit guitar image by cherie from Fotolia.com
