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BURKINA FASO - INSTRUMENTS
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Burkina Faso is home to MORE THAN sixty different ethnic groups, each with their own variety of folk music. Unlike most African countries, Burkina Faso has not yet had a popular national style. One reason may be the poverty in the country, which is great even when compared with other poor nearby nations; with little resources to invest, large-scale concerts, advanced recording studios, electric instruments and product distribution are difficult.
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THESE ARE SOME OF THE MOST USED BURKINABE INSTRUMENTS:
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 BALAFON
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It is an idiophone instrument, similar to the wooden xylophone. It has gourds of different sizes to amplify the sound. Its exact characteristics can vary depending on the maker. |
 BENDRE |
It is a very ancient membranophone made from a gourd with the top cut off and covered with goat or sheep skin. Bendré music is sacred, and is played by a head drummer (benaaba) |
 DJEMBE |
It is a membranophone instrument usually made from a tanned goat skin attached to a cylindrical base made from the caïcedrat tree. |
 KORA |
It is a chordophone instrument played traditionally by the djeli in Burkina Faso. It is made from half of a gourd covered in goat or calf skin. A stick runs through the gourd perpendicular to the bridge, and the strings are joined to the bridge. Though the instrument traditionally had seven strings, the number increased to twenty-one. |
 KALIMBA |
A small idiophone instrument made from a board box or gourd, that wooden or metal keys are attached to the top of. Often the metal keys were made from old spoon handles or bicycle spokes cut and hammered to the desired shape. The keys are plucked with the thumbs, or with combinations of thumbs and fingers. |
 N'GONI |
It is a stringed instrument with 3 strings that has a distinctive shape, sometimes like a dugout canoe and sometimes like a stylized character. The dozo n'goni is played by hunters ("dozo" means hunter in Bambara) but anyone can play the kamele n'goni at parties. |
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Our market to raise money
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On May 24th our school prepared a Global action market to raise some money to buy a school in Burkina Fasso, joining a project of Fons Solidari Mallorquí. We transformed our school yard in a flea market for one day and we had food stalls where everybody could taste typical dishes from many places.
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05/29/06 - Maite Rabanal
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