__  __      _____ _   __  __           _      
|  \/  | ___|  ___(_) |  \/  |_   _ ___(_) ___ 
| |\/| |/ _ \ |_  | | | |\/| | | | / __| |/ __|
| |  | |  __/  _| | | | |  | | |_| \__ \ | (__ 
|_|  |_|\___|_|   |_| |_|  |_|\__,_|___/_|\___|
rock and/or roll

dangorma (kora tune played on guitar)

I loved the song dangorma as played by Malian kora player Sanjally Jobarteh, so I arranged it for nylon-string guitar.

[mp3]
For the guitar version, I use the dadf#be tuning that South African guitarist Derek Gripper figured out works well for most kora tunes. I really like sections where a steady repeating pulse ends up sounding syncopated because of what is going on under it, and this tune has two of those. There is also a muting thing I have never done before that is basically like playing a 0 fret harmonic.
posted by umbú on Jun 17, 2025 at 6:17 PM

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Thanks! My friend was testing out his new ssl audio interface and rode NT-2A mic, so he set me down in front of it and pressed record. I actually think I played better because I hadn't been thinking all day about how I was going to record later. He didn't even have a mic stand yet, so he cut a round hole out of a yogurt container and stuck it in.
posted by umbú at 8:30 AM

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Utterly splendid. Beautiful piece of music, real nice guitar rendition. Thanks umbú !
posted by nicolin at 7:12 AM

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umbú! This is so beautiful I'm feeling a little humbled. The warmth and richness of the nylon strings is perfect. Thank you for sharing it here.
posted by snsranch at 5:28 PM

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Whoa, this is gorgeous.
posted by valrus at 9:26 PM

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brother, my soul is lifted in a fall day
posted by es_de_bah at 5:37 PM

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