Skip to main content

Browse Mode
Journey Mode
Learning Trail Forum
Note Canvas Tool
Composer Forum

What’s a kora made of?

Three koras

THE KORA is an ancient instrument from West Africa with a characteristic and beautiful sound. To look at, the kora is quite a complicated instrument, with numerous different parts and fixtures. Kora-player Wali Cham Jobarteh explains where all the parts of the kora come from and how they fit together.

Kora calabash

The biggest part of the kora is the calabash soundbox. A calabash is a fruit and can vary in size from a plum to a large watermelon. For the kora, the calabash is cut in half, the insides are cut out and the shell is dried. There’s a hole cut into the calabash which lets the sound out.

The skin of a kora

The skin is made from a cow-hide, dried and stretched over the edges of the calabash shell and then nailed in place. The nails are also used for decorations.

The bridge section of a kora

The strings are held in place by a wooden bridge. The strings themselves are now generally made of nylon, often fishing twine.

The neck of a kora

As Wali describes, the long neck of the kora is made out of a hard wood, often mahogany. Up the neck are the tuning cords, made of leather, which hold the strings in place at one end. These leather cords are used to tune each string. Moving the cords up the neck tightens the string and makes the pitch of the string higher.

The posts used to hold a kora while playing

These two wooden posts are for the kora-player to hold the instrument. In each hand, only the thumb and forefinger are used to pluck the strings, leaving the other fingers to hold the instrument.

previous

Learning the kora

next

Holding the kora

Like this? Send it to a friend

Like this? Send it to a friend:
Suggested Links Title

Also of Interest

Also of Interest