![]() He uses the traditional kora to create new material, so it’s important that he stays rooted in the traditions, but can put his own interpretation into them. This is necessary when playing in a more improvised way, responding to other musicians around you, as he does in the band. He can also more easily tune up or down, and modify the sound while playing. With the new tunings, he is able to take songs from all the main traditions and play them all on the same instrument. HIs approach has been to put all 4 tunings together in the same instrument, so while still rooted in tradition, the sound is quite different to what people are used to hearing, and the range of material he can perform is greatly extended. He was looking after his daughter and made a mistake in the tuning of the song… And it just felt right so he adjusted and developed it till it sounded right. The first time he experimented was by accident when recording his debut album on the song Tamala. Seckou learnt all 4 tunings quite early on and felt at home with them. Each region has its own distinct tuning and usually a kora player only works with his own regional tunings. ![]() There are four basic traditional tunings which are linked to the different regions in Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Mali where the kora is played. Most koras have 21 strings, but the Southern Senegalese version that Seckou uses can have as many as 25 strings. The kora is a West African stringed instrument, related to but very different from the harp and lute.
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