but i am not sure why you seem so convinced that famoudou would invent a rhythm and then proceed to say it was traditional. what would he possibly have to gain from that?
at least 60% of Mamady's classes are invented/changed/arranged (for noone plays the rhythms that way in a traditional context) and you still believe it's traditional. I don' know what they have to gain from that, I think the main reason is that they feel that most white's will never be able to play the music correctly, so it has to be made a bit (or much) easier. Then they forget things, then the motivation isn't the same every day (they are great drummers, but human beings, you know, they don't give the same answers each day e.g.). A guy I know told me once that he saw Famoudou at Sangbarala, and had said (while watching the drummers playing): "Ah, that's the way we were used to play it!" (in the sense of: now I rimenba - pardon: remember).
Mamady is the one who has the greatest merites for brining djembe music to every part of the world and he is a great musician and a super nice man. But you can't call traditional the mixed up Baga, Susu, Koniaka, Maninka (of all regions) style that he plays/teaches on three DUNDUNS (never on boté or the Baga drums) with bells on all three (where have you ever seen that???).
You have to take it as something new - the djembe teaching industry, the tam-tam mandingue style, a new tradition in my opinion, which for example most Americans seem to follow (Belgium is much in the same way, for Mamady was in Brussels before). There you got a fixed number of solos, one kensedeni that anyone plays for this rhythm, you got different grades ("have you already startet with "mandjani", guy?" - "No I'm still working on soli rapide, yknow").
That's cool, too! without this, much less people would play, I'm sure! And for this style you can buy books, watch teaching dvds... So it's easier to do it this way, I think. But I did it my... (ok, sorry)
D
famoudou explains that damba is a pre wedding rhythm, as i have mentioned before, not something performed at a denabo/dendon. damba is the name that famoudou uses on his cd, rhythms and songs from guinea, and teaches. takonani, on the other hand, is played at a denabo, during the time when the young men want to dance. there's a song that goes with takonani telling the boys how it takes courage to dance. when you look at the difference in the sangban between takonani on mamady's hamanah disc and damba on famoudou's rhythms and songs from guinea, you could say that it is no more (i would actually say less) than the difference between some other dununba rhythms (such as dunungbe and gbando djeli). maybe this is not enough for you, but it should be enough to warrant some further investigation at least?
Where and when did you see this: "takonani" at a den fête?
I would say more probably it's the way that Duga described: there was a song, and then Famoudou decided to put it on a disc. With which rhythm? Ah, ok, we'll take this one (a "dundunba" without any meaning til now, for it's been invented d;-) - sorry, kidding!).
1st or 2nd page:
for me damba is a different rhythm, another dunun rhythm that you can hear on the same famoudou cd as takonani. damba is played before the marriage ceremony, on the occasion that the bride has a ritual bath. the sangban is a little bit similar but it's different enough to be a separate rhythm, especially when you take the bell into account.
the bell? well, the difference between danba and takonani is that there are twice 2 strokes on sangban for takonani and twice a single one for danba, right? Please correct me, if there's something I forgot. 1) In the video, where we play, we do the takanani ersion as an echauffement, so it's quite near.
2) How could you change from the danba sangban to the takonani sangban (for me it's just a variation/ech.) without changing the bell? It's the logical way to do it.
3) If the two sangbans are far away from each other (and the bell), to call it 2 different rhythms, how about kon/dundungbè: I someone plays the double stroke (at Baro e.g.) for a while, it becomes a new rhythm? Bell and name are different, too!
I agree that rhythms can get different names for different occasions (morybayassa/soli(ba) e.g.). But what I tried to say is that the rhythm that is played for what ever fête in Hamana is danba - not takonani. It would be very interesting to look at your source: are they playing it with the double strokes (no proof, for it can be a variation, but still interesting, there could even be the two bells in it). I will ask Sean, too, next time I write him (he has just moved to Australia, Michi, he's Australian d;-) ).
there are also other dunun rhythms you may hear outside the dununbe festivals, such as takonani at a denabo or n'yewaylela at a djaa festival. sometimes they are played as a prelude to the festival. i'm not sure as to the exact number of dununba rhythms that you may hear in other contexts.
How do you play nyewalela, Bubudi? You know, when it's played for Dyaa, probably I wouldnt't call it a dundunba then (then it's probably a dyaa there, depends on the question, if they play it for dundunbas, too in the same village). Like kontémoudou (or Kantèmoudou) which is a dundunba in Baro, a dyaa in Babila. But we have had this kind of discussion before. I'm not angry, if your point of view is different!
oh dear, has become a long posting now. Please don't trouble about what I wrote concerning the Mamady teaching style. It just my opinion, everyone can have his ore her own.
Best wishes
D
