Bolombatto
Encyclopedia
The bolombatto is a traditional stringed instrument that features in the music of West Africa
. It consists of four strings, stretched over a gourd
, which serves as a resonator. The strings each have a different thickness. The thickness of it determines how low the sound will be. For example, a string that is really thick has a low sound and a really thin string as a high-pitched sound. In addition, the instrument also has a tin
rattle
attached to its body, which the musician plays by striking the strings and gourd simultaneously, adding an element of percussion to the music. In this way, it is similar to the sinding
.
The bolombatto was originally played by shepherds, who used the combined sounds of the strings and percussion to frighten away wild animals.
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
. It consists of four strings, stretched over a gourd
Gourd
A gourd is a plant of the family Cucurbitaceae. Gourd is occasionally used to describe crops like cucumbers, squash, luffas, and melons. The term 'gourd' however, can more specifically, refer to the plants of the two Cucurbitaceae genera Lagenaria and Cucurbita or also to their hollow dried out shell...
, which serves as a resonator. The strings each have a different thickness. The thickness of it determines how low the sound will be. For example, a string that is really thick has a low sound and a really thin string as a high-pitched sound. In addition, the instrument also has a tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
rattle
Rattle (percussion)
A rattle is a percussion instrument. It consists of a hollow body filled with small uniform solid objects, like sand or nuts. Rhythmical shaking of this instrument produces repetitive, rather dry timbre noises. In some kinds of music, a rattle assumes the role of the metronome, as an alternative to...
attached to its body, which the musician plays by striking the strings and gourd simultaneously, adding an element of percussion to the music. In this way, it is similar to the sinding
Sinding
Sinding can refer to the brothers:*Christian Sinding , Norwegian composer*Otto Sinding , Norwegian painter*Stephan Sinding , Norwegian sculptoror*Tore Sinding, pianist and composer....
.
The bolombatto was originally played by shepherds, who used the combined sounds of the strings and percussion to frighten away wild animals.