What is Kora Playing?
Kora playing is the performance art of the kora, a twenty-one-stringed harp from the Mandé region of West Africa, which refers to the geographical shadow of the Mandé empire (1235-1469 A.D.), including present-day Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and the Gambia. The kora is a harp-like instrument with a calabash body covered in cowhide, a wooden neck, and 21 strings made from durable materials like fishing lines, nylon, or silk. The instrument is played by a musician plucking the strings with the thumb and index finger of each hand, allowing up to 4 notes to be played at once. The sound of a kora resembles that of a harp, though when played in the traditional style it bears a resemblance to a guitar played using the flamenco or Delta blues technique of plucking polyrhythmic patterns with both hands (using the remaining fingers to secure the instrument by holding the hand posts on either side of the strings). Ostinato riffs (“kumbengo”) and improvised solo runs (“birimintingo”) are played at the same time by skilled players.
Origins & Lineage
Just as the bala (Mande xylophone) has origins in Mali in the 1200s, the kora has origins in the Kaabu federation of the Senegambian Mandinka in the 1700s. Kora music, originating in the 18th century, traces its roots to the Mandinka people of West Africa, particularly in present-day Mali, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Burkina Faso, and Guinea. It is not until 1797 that we find the first specific mention of the kora, by the Scots explorer Mungo Park.
It is traditionally the purview of Mandinka jali: a patrilineal tradition of musicians, storytellers, and singers who perform a variety of functions in society. Kora music was historically an oral tradition preserved by the jali (griots) of the Mandinka Empire, who were custodians of culture, history, and music. Considered a traditional musical instrument, certain families of storytellers could only play the kora in West Africa in the past. A griot is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and musician. These griot families who had surnames such as Kouyate, Diabate, Konte, Cissoko could perform professionally Kora.
The instrument’s origins are also embedded in oral tradition and mythology. It is intimately intertwined with the history of the Mande homeland along the Niger River, slicing through modern-day Mali and Guinea. This chiefdom rose to power in the 1200s when the legendary Sunjata conquered an oppressive king, Soumaoro Kante, with the help of neighbouring allies. Kante owned the primordial bala (also called balafon), a magical xylophone, which was passed on to the jeli (griot) of Sunjata. His name was Balla Faséké Kouyaté and his direct descendants guard that very instrument in a hut in northeastern Guinea. Many origin stories of musical instruments in Africa refer to a jinn (genie) first bringing it out. So it is with the kora.
How It’s Practiced
In performance the instrument rests on the ground in a vertical position, and the musician plays the instrument while seated. The strings themselves are played with just the thumb and forefinger, a technique that requires notable dexterity. The thumbs play the bass notes, acting something like a rhythm section, and the forefingers play the melody. Its unique design divides the strings into bass (left hand) and melody (right hand).
The kora is far more than a musical instrument—it is a vessel of history, used to accompany epic tales, praise songs, and moral teachings. Griots would sing of ancestral lineages, battles, and local legends, all while weaving together intricate melodic patterns on the kora. It is often played at ceremonial events, including births, weddings, and funerals, where its music serves to connect the physical and spiritual worlds. Its sound is often described as hypnotic, meditative, and transcendental.
Along with the balafon and the djeli n’goni (a fretted lute rather than a harp) the kora is an instrument passed down through the griot lineage and is played to accompany praise singing. Name checked in the Senegalese national anthem “Pincez Tous vos Koras, Frappez les Balafons” the kora is usually tuned to a seven note or lydian scale which varies regionally and can be played solo or in ensembles with other folkloric instruments.
Kora Playing Today
Though once confined largely to griot families in West Africa, the kora has achieved increasing international acclaim. Artists such as Toumani Diabaté, Ballaké Sissoko, and Seckou Keita have introduced the instrument to global audiences through collaborations with Western classical, jazz, and pop musicians. Dozens and dozens of kora albums have been released since Gambian Jali Nyama Suso’s debut solo album in 1972. The kora has won more Grammy Awards in the World/Global Music category than the sitar.
By tradition, the playing of the kora is passed from father to son and Sona Jobarteh stands today among legends as the first female virtuoso in a centuries-old tradition passed down the male line. Seekers encounter kora playing through recordings by master players, through world music festivals, and increasingly through workshops and teaching studios in Europe and North America. Learn kora in idyllic retreats, in gorgeous Nature environments, alone or with you partner (and kids too) and/or joining other students coming from all over the world. Retreats having place in Africa (Gambia or/and Senegal) and/or in the south of France.
Common Misconceptions
Kora playing is not a New Age or therapeutic practice invented for Western consumption—it is a living, ancestral tradition with specific cultural protocols and hereditary lineages. Until recent times, it wasn’t just anybody that could pick up the kora to play. That’s because the kora was one of the instruments played exclusively by a hereditary class of musician/storytellers known as griots, whose families originate from the time of the Mali empire, which spanned a large part of West Africa during the 13th -17th centuries. While the instrument has spread globally and non-griot players now perform and teach kora, this represents a significant departure from centuries of practice.
Kora playing is also not simply “relaxing background music.” The kumbengo (ostinato) and birimintingo (improvisation) techniques demand years of study, and traditionally the music carries narrative weight—recounting genealogies, historical events, and moral teachings. Its adoption into wellness or meditation contexts, while valid as contemporary use, often strips the music of its original didactic and ceremonial functions.
How to Begin
Prospective students should begin by listening to recordings by lineage masters. Key albums include Toumani Diabaté’s The Mandé Variations, Ballaké Sissoko’s work, and recordings by Seckou Keita. London University School of Oriental and African Studies (UK) SOAS runs an annual summer school in London which features courses in a wide range of instruments and musical styles. Mandinka Heritage Music School (Kembuje, The Gambia) School teaching kora and other instruments, run by Sanjally Jobarteh, son of one of the all-time greats, Amadou Bansang Jobarteh. Learn to play the Kora with no musical previous experience needed. Private lessons, online instruction, and immersive retreats in West Africa offer pathways for serious students. Those with access to classical guitar training may explore Derek Gripper’s transcriptions, which adapt kora compositions for six-string guitar.