Ngoni

[needsmorecowbel]

Has anyone on the forums built any African Acoustic Instruments....

I'm Tempted to build a Malian mandolin/ banjo called a Ngoni...It's got a damn nice sound. Strings are usually fishing line and the neck is usually made from a sawed down broomstick.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k0GlhNWa9Y


Typically about two-feet long and has either four or seven strings

Body is a hollowed-out, canoe-shaped piece of wood with dried animal skin stretched over it like a drum- skin is pinned down at the rear of the instrument

"The string closest to the player actually produces the highest pitch, and the player plucks it with his thumb, just like a 5-string banjo. This feature, coupled with the fact that the ngoni's body is a drum rather than a box, provides strong evidence that the ngoni is the African ancestor of the banjo."

[needsmorecowbel]

[kiwigeo]

Post with care...banjo talk may get you into trouble on this forum and could in a worse case scenario get you banned.

[needsmorecowbel]

lol