Post by Minoh Workshop in An Appreciation of Ancient Songs and Instruments

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Lately I've been taking lyre lessons, studying some music theory here and there... And the deeper I go, the more I realize what an awesome instrument the West African kora is. In reality a lot of the so-called "lyre" songs in Minotaur Hotel were recorded with a kora by David Gilden.

If/when I ever master the lyre, chances are I'll have a go at the kora next. What an incredible sound... For some reason I'm just not into harps, which is what some people would suggest instead of a kora.

And here's a lyre+cello song, too.

MalPerMeCheMaffidai2 years ago (1 edit)

A very good non-traditional song with Kora is "Go Long" by Joanna Newsom (although it does also use harp mainly. Haha)

A dramatic reminisce about her failed previous relationship with a songwriter, framed within the metaphor of the myth of Bluebeard (particularly using how Bela Bartok's opera treats the myth)

And a more traditional use of the Kora, along with a Balaphon (like a xylophone) and the recitation of the only still-living Epic Poem Bardic Recitation tradition today,-- singing a passage of the Sundiata/SonJara epic of Mali:

itch.io

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