389:
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453:, or praise singers who are born into the profession. It most often acts as a solo or duo instrument to accompany praise songs and historical recitations, and in some areas it may form part of a larger group including kora, drums, and calabashes. It is traditionally heard at weddings, infant naming ceremonies, and (always with amplification) is now a common member of folklore ensembles, popular
150:(Tanged or Semi-spike lute: Chordophone, the plane of strings runs parallel with the sound table, the string bearer is a plain handle and passes "diametrically" through the resonator, the resonator consists of a natural or carved out bowl, in which the handle extends into but does not pass completely through the resonator)
384:
strips and to its wooden bridge by cotton strings. By moving these strips, the instrument's tune can be adjusted. The xalam usually has two main melody strings that are fingered by the left hand (like the strings of a guitar or banjo) and two to three supplementary strings of fixed pitch. Most xalam
526:
One category of lute has a V- or fan-shaped bridge that slips onto the end of the neck (which is exposed by a hole in the soundtable). It is played exclusively by...griots...The other category of lute... has a cylindrical bridge that sits on top of the soundtable... Figure 1b. Hausa molo: non-griot
404:
or high) uses the same string intervals but the fundamental is placed a minor second above the higher melody string, meaning that the open main strings now play the role of 3 and 6, with the supplementary strings acting as 3´ and 4#, the highest supplementary string usually being ignored. In the
409:), the fundamental is a minor third above the lowest main string and the main strings are tuned 6 and 2, with supplementary strings tuned to 5 and 1´. The third supplementary string is either ignored or is tuned to 6 or 2´. If playing in an ensemble, the
400:
or low), the main strings are tuned 1 and 4 ( 1 being the fundamental of a major scale), with three supplementary strings being tuned an octave higher to 1´, 2´, and 3´. The second tuning (
146:
396:
In most Wolof-speaking parts of
Senegal, the xalam has three principal tunings, all of which involve tuning the two main strings a perfect fourth apart. In the first tuning (
588:
70:
372:
chordophone with one to five strings. The wooden body (soundbox) membranophone of the instrument is oval-shaped and covered with the hide of
41:, African lute, in the collection of the Smithsonian. The biggest visible difference between the molo and a griot lute like the xalam is the
954:
385:
players construct their own xalams, although they usually call on woodworkers (lawbe) to carve the body, neck, and bridge for them.
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250:. The xalam and its variants are known by various names in other languages, including bappe, diassare, hoddu (
904:
793:
317:(a word composed of the verbal form of xalam, meaning "to play the xalam", and the agentive suffix
959:
767:
376:. The strings of the xalam are typically made of two or three tightly wound strands of low-gauge
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477:
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fishing line; these strings are fixed to the instrument's wooden neck by long and narrow
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xalam's lowest note were C, the ardins lowest note would be a low A and the
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xalam to ensure that the fundamentals of each xalam coincide. (Thus, if the
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Senegalese khalamkat holding a khalam (xalam, hoddu, molo). Circa 1890-1905.
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Back of a molo (lute, showing how the skin soundboard is held on)
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543:. New York: W. W. Norton and Company. pp. 103, 258.
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lute, wooden trough resonator, cylinder-shaped bridge...
360:(a Hausa variant of the xalam with a spherical body) in
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413:
xalam's main strings are tuned a minor third below the
514:"Plucked Lutes in West Africa: an Historical Overview"
214:
with 1 to 5 strings. The xalam is commonly played in
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321:, thus meaning "one who xalams"). In Mande, this is
313:In Wolof, a person who plays the xalam is called a
584:Cosaan: Senegalese Culture—Xalam and Virtual Xalam
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610:
368:The xalam, in its standard form, is a simple
589:Video of Cheick Hamala Diabate performances
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449:In most areas the xalam is played by male
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591:from Kennedy Center Millennium Stage site
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421:xalam is tuned a major third above the
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13:
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1001:
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433:xalam's lowest note would be E.)
955:West African musical instruments
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142:Hornbostel–Sachs classification
980:Senegalese musical instruments
547:
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1:
539:J. H. Kwabena Nketia (1974).
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16:Traditional West African lute
990:Nigerian musical instruments
985:Nigerien musical instruments
7:
975:Sahrawi musical instruments
965:Gambian musical instruments
524:. The Galpin Society: 4–6.
512:Charry, Eric (March 1996).
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19:For the musical group, see
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970:Malian musical instruments
950:Arabic musical instruments
518:The Galpin Society Journal
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329:. In Hausa, this is
852:Related instruments
556:"What is a Kologo?"
541:The Music of Africa
206:) is a traditional
156:Related instruments
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493:Rubab (instrument)
488:Ngoni (instrument)
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898:Other topics
824:Swedish lute
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564:. Retrieved
560:the original
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459:groups, and
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356:playing the
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327:konting fola
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240:Burkina Faso
198:, khalam in
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124:, 'ngonifola
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21:Xalam (band)
335:mai kontigi
258:), kologo (
254:), koliko (
234:, Northern
230:, Northern
212:West Africa
58:Other names
944:Categories
566:2012-06-17
499:References
304:Hassaniyya
294:), ndere,
262:), komsa,
244:Mauritania
905:Composers
794:Angélique
331:mai gurmi
323:ngonifola
799:Archlute
753:Shamisen
703:Kutiyapi
473:Akonting
467:See also
364:, Niger.
315:xalamkat
280:Mandinka
204:Dagbanli
166:akonting
66:diassare
931:Commons
915:Players
874:Gittern
864:Cittern
839:Vihuela
834:Theorbo
819:Mandora
814:Mandore
738:Sanxian
733:Sanshin
693:Dramyin
437:Players
427:ci suuf
423:ci suuf
415:cu suuf
398:ci suuf
382:leather
300:Bambara
288:Songhay
264:kontigi
256:Gurunsi
232:Nigeria
224:Senegal
134:tidinit
112:konting
107:kontigi
859:Citole
829:Torban
787:Europe
778:Yueqin
763:Tanbur
723:Qinqin
718:Qanbūs
683:Dombra
668:Barbat
640:Africa
456:mbalax
451:griots
431:ci kow
419:ci kow
402:ci kow
374:cattle
308:Berber
272:garaya
260:Frafra
252:Pulaar
246:, and
220:Gambia
171:garaya
147:321.33
90:Khalam
86:kologu
43:bridge
809:Kobza
804:Cobza
773:Veena
758:Sitar
748:Setar
743:Sapeh
728:Rubab
698:Komuz
688:Dutar
652:Xalam
461:ndaga
411:ardin
407:ardin
378:nylon
362:Diffa
358:gurmi
354:Griot
351:Hausa
296:ngoni
292:Zarma
276:Hausa
268:gurmi
236:Ghana
228:Niger
210:from
200:Wolof
196:Serer
192:Xalam
181:ngoni
129:ngoni
122:ndere
98:komsa
94:Xalam
82:hoddu
77:gurmi
71:gĂşlĂşm
62:bappe
27:Xalam
889:LaĂşd
713:Pipa
678:Biwa
673:Bipa
661:Asia
647:Goje
626:Lute
370:lute
319:-kat
306:and
284:molo
216:Mali
208:lute
194:(in
117:molo
102:koni
39:Molo
768:Tar
708:Oud
333:or
325:or
310:).
282:),
946::
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516:.
349:A
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298:(
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286:(
274:(
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23:.
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