World's Oldest Wind Instrument - Street Musician - Street Talent - The sounds of the Balafon

The Balafon (Balafong, Balaphone) is a sort of wooden xylophone or percussion idiophone which plays melodic tunes and typically has between 16 to 27 keys which has been played in the locale since the 1300s and began in Mali as per the Manding history described by the griots.

They call it "a blessing from the fallen angel" to the Kuyateh families. This was the period under the Manding Realm's author Sunjata Keita and his Sosso rival Soumaoro Kante why should said have been given by Balafon by spirits. The instrument and in addition the Karanyango (ringer) was consolidated into the musical outfit of the griots to go with the Kora.

The tuning procedure is identified with the dialect that is impossible to miss to every ethnic gathering or to the sizes of their melodies. Numerous varieties are to be found inside of each tribal gathering.

The braces are by and large produced using a hardwood, and are painstakingly dried over a low power flame to accomplish their profound reverberation. The closures of every support are blazed dark with an iron to seal them. After the harsh cut, it is important to adjust the keys to the sought pitches. The thinning so as to adjust of the keys is expert the middle to thinning so as to bring down the key's pitch and the closures to raise the pitch.