Balafon - the talking xylophone
A xylophone with resonators or balafon is the main instrument of Faso Kan, and it appears in every song of the album. It is an instrument that is present in many West African societies. In Burkina Faso, it is often found in the southwestern parts of the country. It appears in many forms and tunings depending on the area and ethnic group, and also the accompanying instruments vary. The word balafon originates from the linguistic family of the Mandinka, In the Malinke language,”bala fo” signifies ”xylophone/speak,” so to say, make the xylophone speak(Zemp 2004, pp. 314). The balafon pattern is directly related to language, thus carrying a message for those who can understand it. The pattern directly imitates the tone and the rhythm of the language.
In the Sambla culture each village, each important family and every profession has its own piece of music which functions like a coat of arms. Music is composed for every important occasion. Any work carried out by the village community is accompanied by music. What outsiders consider to be beautiful music is in reality the Sambla language transposed into music. The children learn this musical language simultaneously to their spoken language. [...] I 'talk' on the xylophone showing the most important aspects of the ; theySambla culture (Diabaté, 2021)
In some cases, the message is also transmitted in the level of commonly known tunes that include lyrics. When such a tune starts, the listeners immediately recognize the piece and its complete meaning. When playing a phrase of language, the balafon soloist is carefully imitating the melody flow and the intonation of the phrase. He also constantly creates variation to liven up and stimulate the dance, which is a part of the joy of playing. (Zemp 2004, pp. 313 and 319) NEXT PAGE