Balafon Bliss… 🇬🇭

A wooden keyed percussive idiophone of West Africa, the Balafon is a Manding name, but variations exist across West Africa.

An idiophone is an instrument which creates sound by vibrating.

🎵 Hand made by master artisans from individually tuned Khadi hardwood keys, cow hide and calabash.
🎵 The keys of the Balafon are tuned to each other in diatonic scale
🎵 It is the wood which set these bala apart – Khadi is premier wood used in making the world’s best Bala.
🎵 Below the key bed are calabash gourds which serve as resonators
🎵 Each gourd has a small hole with very thin paper (traditionally a thin membrane) over it, which creates the buzzing resonance that is so characteristic of West African music.

Available for purchase in 15 key or 22 key.

Enjoy this instrument in action here.