Archive

The Archive is the library and the administration center for the notations.

Here we find more than 160 authentic notations of the most famous pieces from the Kora repertoire of Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinée and Mali, based on interpretations of more than 30 artists, among them traditional Griots as well as internationally known master musicians like:
Jali Nyama Suso, Alhaji Bai Konte, Amadou Bansang Jobarteh, Lalo Keba Drame, Foday Musa Suso, Sidiki Diabaté, Batrou Sekou Kouyaté, Toumani Diabaté, Ballaké Sissoko, Abdou Galissa

The notations for Kora are available in the Jaliya Full Version together with all notations for all instruments for Euro 50.

List the notations by artist:

Or list the notations by song title:

We select a title from the list.
The properties of the notation are shown and may be adjusted.

Now we can Load the notation for playback and editing.

Notation Player/Editor

Here we see the Editor interface, the controls for the Notation Player and the Instrument Visualization.

The wellknown song Kelefaba is loaded.

Kora bridge shows the strings being played.
The music is played with sampled sounds of original instruments.

The control bar allows several playback related and other operations:

• exit the notation, save your modifications and return to the Archive
• show and hide the Editing Area
• show and hide the Instrument
• loudspeakers on/off
• show and hide the Tuner
• play the notation from the first position at the left in the editing area
• adjust playing tempo in Beats per Minute
• adjust Swing feeling
• metronome
• position counter
• show and hide the Archive from where further notations may be loaded
• show the documentation (web)

The Notation Window has two parts.

The upper part is the Overview for the notation, the scrollbar lets you navigate quickly forth and back.
The measures are numbered on the lower border.
The little squares represent the notes on the instrument, from high to low. The solid ones are sounding normally, the outlined ones are dampened sounds. The colors indicate which finger plays the note: light red = left index, dark red = left thumb, light blue = right index, dark blue = right thumb.
The time is subdivided by the vertical metrum lines: a measure contains a number of beats and every beat contains a number of pulses, one pulse being the finest resolution in time.
The black rectangle defines the Editing Area within the notation, to be displayed in the lower part.
The green vertical line indicates the cursor position in the editing area. When the notation is played the cursor moves over the scrolling notes. The notes at the cursor position are displayed accordingly as flashing strings on the Kora bridge in the Instrument Window.

The lower part is the Editing Area for the notation.
The measures are numbered on the lower border and the beats on the upper one.
Here the notes are represented by note symbols. They may be set or reset by clicking on the note lines. There are two styles for sounds, long (normal) and short (stopped, dotted), the clicked note will sound accordingly.
Note-by-Note playing: Moving the cursor from left to right will also sound the notes, where notes on the same vertical metrum line will sound together at the same time.

The Instrument Window is synchronized with the notation.

A Kora bridge is shown schematically from the player's view. When the notation is played or the cursor is moved over the editing area the strings related to the notes are displayed with flashing colors. Thus it is shown which finger (thumb, index finger), of which hand (left, right) plucks which string in which way (sounding, dampened).

In connection with the Beats per Minute tempo slowdown and with looping parts of the notation the Instrument Window is most useful as an infinitely patient teacher for the notations being played.

Clicking on the strings will sound them to control the tuning.
Clicking on the note symbols activates the Tuner Window.
Clicking on a finger symbol will mute/unmute all strings to be played with this finger. Muted strings don't sound when played. This is also helpful when learning a notation step by step.

How to loop and edit parts of the notation:

Clicking on a measure number at the lower border selects the measure for looped playback.
This works also for the beat numbers at the upper border.
Cut/copy/paste editing is available also as well as changing the number of pulses in a beat or a whole measure.

Tuner

How to tune the instrument:

Clicking on the Tuner button brings up the Tuner Window.
The sounds of the instrument can be tuned up and down microtonally in Cents (100 per halfnote) or chromatically in halfnote intervals (12 per octave).
Volume and Panorama can be adjusted.
Predefined traditional tunings can be chosen, custom tunings can be created.

How to tune single sounds and octaves:

Clicking on a note symbol in the Instrument brings up the Tuner.
The tuning will affect only the selected note and optionally all its octaves.

Fun stuff

• Change the instrument before you load a notation in the editor, i.e. play Kora tunes with Percussion or with Balafon, Ngoni - strange music!

• Change the tuning, use equidistant or modal tunings, the music gets a different mood!

• Play around with the Swing slider, the rhythm gets a different feeling!

• Play around with the Transpose slider, shifting the played notes up or down on the instrument changes the modal scale!

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Copyright © 1997 Harald Loquenz. All rights reserved

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