Forty-four traditional rhythms from West Africa, written out in full — kenkeni, sangban, dundun and djembe, part by part. Hear each drum on its own, or the whole ensemble together, and read along as the cursor moves through the notation.
Built for practice: slow a rhythm down until you can play it, mute the parts you are covering yourself, and turn on the metronome when you want the pulse held for you.
Forty-four rhythms from Guinea, Mali and the countries around them — Kuku, Djansa, Söli, Tiriba, Sorsornet, Kakilambé, Mendiani and more. Each carries a short note on where it comes from and what it was played for: a harvest, an initiation, a welcome, a competition among young men.
Both feels are covered — the binary rhythms counted in four, and the ternary ones counted in threes. Search by name, or keep the ones you are working on in favourites.
A rhythm is not one line. Each one gives you the dunun family — kenkeni, sangban and dundun, with their bells — the djembe accompaniments, and a set of solo phrases and breaks. Tick a part on to add it to what you hear; untick it to play that part yourself.
A cursor runs through the notation as it plays, so you can see where you are as well as hear it. Where the sticking matters it is marked underneath, left and right.
Djembe notation has never settled on one spelling. A teacher writes B T S for bass, tone and slap; a book writes G g P for the right hand and D d T for the left; another marks the hand by letter case alone. Learn from two sources and you are reading two languages.
This app reads all four. Pick the one your teacher or your book uses and every rhythm is redrawn in it — the notation changes, the music does not. Each alphabet is set out in full on the settings screen: which letter is a bass, a tone, a slap, which hand it belongs to, and how a double, a flam and a closed stroke are marked.
Take the tempo down to something you can actually play, and bring it up as the rhythm settles. Tap the tempo in if you would rather feel it than pick a number. A count-in gives you a bar before the rhythm starts, and the metronome clicks the pulse underneath — in threes for the ternary rhythms, so 6/8 sounds like 6/8 and not like a march.
Each drum has its own level, the metronome included, so you can push the part you are learning forward and hold the rest back.
Classic, Sand and Slate. The same notation on paper-white, on warm parchment, or on dark grey for a room with the lights down.
Every rhythm in the app, with the feel it is counted in. Each one carries full notation for kenkeni, sangban, dundun and djembe, with accompaniments, solo phrases and breaks.
| Rhythm | Feel | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Abondan | 6/8 | Abondan (Abonda) is a rhythm from the Baoule-people from the Ivory Coast. |
| Adjos | 4/4 | Adjos is a rhythm of the Baolé-people from the South of Ivory Coast. |
| Balakulanya | 4/4 | Balakulanya (Balakulandyan) is traditionally played at wedding parties, where the fertility of the marriage is often speculated on. |
| Fanga | 4/4 | This is a rhythm of welcome from West Africa. |
| Dalah | 4/4 | The rhythm is played in honour of the women-fishers. |
| Dennadon | 4/4 | Dennadon is a Malinke-rhythm, from the Mandiana region. |
| Djansa | 4/4 | Djansa (Dansa, Yansa, Diansa) originally comes from the Kassouke people of Southern Mali (Kayes-region). |
| Dibon II | 4/4 | This is one of the many rhythms played for the farmers. |
| Djaa Kouroussa | 6/8 | Djaa used to be a dance for young women in which they learned how to seduce. |
| Djaa Siguiri | 6/8 | Djaa is a Malinke-rhythm that originates from the handclapping by women. |
| Djolé | 4/4 | Djolé (Jolé, Yolé), is a mask-dance from the Temine-people from Sierra Leone. |
| Donaba | 6/8 | Donaba, the Malinke word for "Great (female) Dancer" is a very ancient Dunumba-rhythm. |
| Garankedon | 6/8 | Garankedon (Garangedon, Garankefoli) is a Malinke rhythm from the caste of the leatherworkers / shoemakers. |
| Kakilambé | 6/8 | Kakilambé is a mask-dance of the Baga-people that live in the coastal area (Boke-region) of Guinea. |
| Kassa | 4/4 | Kassa (Cassa) is a harvest-dance of the Malinke-people in East Guinea. |
| Konden I | 6/8 | Konden is a Malinke mask-dance from Guinea, known in the Wassolon and Siguiri regions. |
| Konden II | 6/8 | A second Konden, from the same Malinke mask-dance of Guinea. |
| Könönari | 4/4 | Könönari is a Malinke-rhythm for the female. |
| Kuku | 4/4 | Originally Kuku (Koukou, Cucu, Coucou) is a circle-dance for the women, celebrating the return from fishing. |
| Kurabadon | 6/8 | Kurabadon is a Dunumba-rhythm of the Malinke from Guinea; the name means "sacred bush". |
| Liberté I | 6/8 | During the days that Guinea got its independence from France (1958) one Ballet-performance-group that competed at the National Festival called itself "Ballet Liberté". |
| Liberté II | 4/4 | During the days that Guinea got its independence from France (1958) one Ballet-performance-group that competed at the National Festival called itself "Ballet Liberté". |
| Lolo | 4/4 | Lolo is a rhythm that was created by Famoudou Konaté. |
| Macru | 4/4 | Macru (Makru, Makuru) is a Susu-seduction-dance. |
| Mamaya | 6/8 | The old Mandingo-dance Mamaya (Mamayah) was very popular in Guinea during the 1940 - 1960 period. |
| Maraka | 6/8 | The Soninké, living in the Kayes-region in Mali, are neighbours of the Malinke and Bambara. |
| Mendiani | 6/8 | Mendiani is a Malinke-rhythm, played in the areas of Siguiri, Mandiana, Kouroussa and Kankan. |
| Meni | 4/4 | Meni (Menie) is a Malinke rhythm from Guinea that used to be played on the occasion of the birth of a child, or more specific: on the day that a name is given to the child. |
| Molekanimani Djou Jee | 6/8 | Molekanimani Djou Jee is a Sousou-song with rhythm from Guinea about how good and bad things happen (children are born and people die) all the time, and that therefore envy is a bad custom. |
| Moribayassa | 4/4 | Moribayassa is played and danced if a wish is fulfilled. |
| Namani | 6/8 | Namani is a Malinke-rhythm from the Wassolon-area that is very similar to Soli. |
| Nantalomba | 6/8 | Nantalomba comes from Burkina Faso and belongs to the initiation dances of the young. |
| Noumou | 4/4 | Noumou is a rhythm of the blacksmith. |
| Sinte | 4/4 | Sinte is a Sousou-rhythm that is played at celebrations in Nalu, near the Boke-region in Guinea. |
| Sofa | 4/4 | Sofa is an ancient Malinke rhythm of the warriors, from the days when they rode to battle on horseback. |
| Söli | 6/8 | Söli (and also the Wassolon Söli) is a rhythm of the Malinke-people from Guinea. |
| Söli des Manían | 6/8 | This Söli rhythm is danced and played at the circumcision ceremonies. |
| Sorofoli | 4/4 | Sorofoli is a rhythm from Guinea, carrying the phrase "De na tole ko te". |
| Sorsornet | 6/8 | The Sorsornet is a rhythm of the Baga-people. |
| Takonany | 6/8 | Takonany, a malinke-rhythm is one of the dunumba-rhythms. |
| Tiriba | 6/8 | Tiriba (Triba) is from the Laduma-people, from the Boke and Boffa area in the West of Guinea. |
| Toro | 4/4 | Toro, a Malinke-rhythm from the Siguiri-region in Guinea is traditionally played after the initiation of boys. |
| Yankadi (6/8) | 6/8 | A Sousou dance of seduction. |
| Yankadi (4/4) | 4/4 | A Sousou dance of seduction. |