Gonje

by Sara-Maria Sorentino

The gonje (alternatively spelled gondze or goonje) is a mysterious instrument—strange and uncanny even to those among whom its playing is commonplace.  The sounds, the technique, and the crafting of the gonje all make for an intensely singular aural experience. Decorated with scarves and a specially designed brass ball for ornamentation, it is nearly inexplicable for an outside observer to discern how a mass of string tied to a resonator can produce such a range of sounds.  The gonje screeches and wails and hums better than the most accomplished avant-garde saxophonist.  What is probably an ancestor of the lute, the fiddle and the violin, the single-stringed gonje is found in different variations across West Africa.  Gonje musicians became members of the royal court of Dagbon (the ethno-linguistic territory for the Dagbamba people, in which Tamale is situated) in the 19th century during the rule of the Dagbamba paramount chief Naa Yakubu I, although the gonje, said to have come from a town called Yambi in what is now Burkina Faso, has been integral to Northern Ghana for many centuries.

Vote for PFCF and help kids around the world

by Playing For Change Foundation

The foundation has been offered an exciting opportunity and we need everyone’s help to make it happen.

Every 3 months a great company called Cultivate Wines gives $100,000 in grants to causes related to education and basic human needs. The Playing For Change Foundation has been selected to participate and now it’s up to you.

YOU can vote EVERY DAY at www.cultivatewines.com/cause/6178/ between now and March 31st and help us win a $10,000 grant or $50,000 if we get the most votes overall!

The Change Is Here

by Francois Viguie & Mark Johnson

Today we share a new video celebrating a recent journey to visit our new music school in Kirina, Mali. This thousand-year-old village has no electricity or running water, but enough happiness and soul to fill all of our hearts. Join music legends, Baaba Maal, Toumani Diabate and Habib Koite to experience the joy, laughter and music that will now be preserved and most importantly shared with all of us. Together we change the world, one school and one song at a time.