West African musical instruments

stringed instrument from West Africa

The balafon (pronounced , or, by analogy with xylophone etc., ) is a gourd-resonated xylophone, a type of struck idiophone. It is closely associated with the neighbouring Mandé, Bwaba Bobo, Senoufo and Gur peoples of West Africa, particularly the Guinean branch of the Mandinka ethnic group, but is now found across West Africa from Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali. Its common name, balafon, is likely a European coinage combining its Mandinka name bála () with the word fóo (nyáa) () 'to say / method of saying' or the Greek root phono.

The shekere (from Yoruba Ṣẹ̀kẹ̀rẹ̀) is a percussion instrument consisting of a dried gourd with beads or cowries woven into a net covering the gourd. There are multiple ways to produce sounds with the instrument. It can be shaken or hit against the hand. The instrument can also rest in the palm of one hand while other hand holds the handle of the gourd. A twisting wrist motion is used so that the gourd moves while beads remain in place causing friction and sound different than when the instrument is simply shaken or struck. The shekere originated in Yorubaland in West Africa, which comprises t

A caxixi () is a percussion instrument consisting of a closed basket with a flat bottom filled with seeds or other small particles. The round bottom is traditionally cut from a dried gourd. The caxixi is an indirectly struck idiophone. Like the maraca, it is sounded by shaking. Variations in sound are produced by varying the angle at which the caxixi is shaken, determining whether the contents strike the reed basket (softer sound) or the hard bottom (louder, sharper sound).

thumb|right|Kakaki player at the palace of the Ooni of Ife, in Osun state, western Nigeria The kakaki is a three- to four-metre-long metal trumpet used in Hausa, Yoruba, and Nupe traditional ceremonial music. Kakaki is the name used in Chad, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Benin, Niger, and Nigeria.

West African harp lute

The goje (the Hausa name for the instrument) is one of the many names for a variety of one-stringed fiddles from West Africa, played by groups such as the Yoruba in Sakara music and west African groups that inhabit the Sahel. Snakeskin or lizard skin covers a gourd bowl, and a horsehair string is suspended on bridge. The goje is played with a bowstring.

thumb|Kashaka The kashaka is a simple percussion instrument consisting of two small gourds filled with beans (essentially, two small shakers connected by a string). One gourd is held in the hand and the other is quickly swung from side to side around the hand, creating a "clack" sound upon impact. It originated in West Africa, but has been reproduced in various countries under different names: Patica (Japan), Kosika (USA). Other names include Asalato, Kes Kes, Tchangot Tche, Koshkah, and many others.

thumb|A short mvet with four strings and a single central resonator

The akonting (, or ekonting in French transliteration) is the folk lute of the Jola people, found in Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau in West Africa. It is a string instrument with a skin-headed gourd body, two long melody strings, and one short drone string, akin to the short fifth "thumb string" on the five-string banjo.

Fontomfrom is a Bono type of hourglass-shaped drum mostly used in a royal music ensemble of Bono people in order to relay Bono monarchy messages within a Bono people ethnic group setting. The Fontomfrom ensemble provides music for ceremonies honoring Bono chiefs and Bono monarchy royal processions. The Fontomfrom is also used to recite proverbs or replicate patterns of speech at most Bono monarchy royal gatherings or a Bono monarchy royal durbar.