Editing Kora (instrument) (section)

==Description==
The kora is built from a gourd, cut in half and covered with cow skin to make a resonator with a long hardwood neck. The skin is supported by two handles that run underneath it. It has 21 strings, each of which plays a different note. These strings are supported by a notched, double free-standing [[Bridge (instrument)|bridge]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Loquenz |first1=Harald |url=http://www.kora-music.com/e/bauweise.htm |website=West African Kora Music and Jaliya Culture |access-date=21 June 2021 |title="Construction of the Instrument" |archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624201311/http://www.kora-music.com/e/bauweise.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The kora doesn't fit into any one [[Musical instrument classification|category of musical instrument]], but rather several, and must be classified as a "double-bridge-harp-lute." The strings run in two divided ranks, characteristic of a [[Multi-course harp|double harp]]. They do not end in a soundboard but are instead held in notches on a bridge, classifying it as a bridge harp. The strings originate from a string arm or neck and cross a bridge directly supported by a resonating chamber, also making it a lute.

The sound of a kora resembles that of a harp, though when played in the traditional style it bears 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 (music)|solo runs]] ("birimintingo") are played at the same time by skilled players.

Kora players have traditionally come from [[Griot|jali]] families (also from the [[Mandinka people|Mandinka]] tribes) who are traditional historians, genealogists and storytellers who pass their skills on to their descendants. Though played in [[Guinea]], [[Guinea-Bissau]], [[Mali]] and [[Senegal]], the instrument was first discovered in [[the Gambia]]. While those from neighbouring Guinea were known to carry the lute, Senegalese Griots were known as carriers of a hand drum known as the 'sabar'. Most West African musicians [[Griot#Terms "griot" and "jhali"|prefer the term "jali" to "griot,"]] which is the French word. "Jali" means something similar to a "bard" or oral historian.

Traditional koras feature strings, eleven played by the left hand and ten by the right. Modern koras made in the [[Casamance]] region of southern [[Senegal]] sometimes feature additional bass strings, adding up to four strings to the traditional 21.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kora-music.ml/the-kora-instrument/|title=The Kora Instrument – Kora Music|website=www.kora-music.ml|access-date=2020-04-06|archive-date=2020-08-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813180255/https://www.kora-music.ml/the-kora-instrument/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Strings were traditionally made from thin strips of hide, such as cow or antelope skin. Today, most strings are made from harp strings or nylon fishing line,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Calderwood |first1=Eric |title=The Kora: A Primer |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/08/the-kora-a-primer.html |website=pastemagazine.com |language=en |date=August 18, 2009 |access-date=August 10, 2019 |archive-date=August 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190810035820/https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/08/the-kora-a-primer.html |url-status=live }}</ref> sometimes plaited together to create thicker strings.

A vital accessory in the past was the nyenmyemo, a leaf-shaped plate of tin or brass with wire loops threaded around the edge. Clamped to the bridge,<ref name=oxford/>{{dubious|reason=it looks like it's on the end of the neck to me|date=August 2019}} or the top end of the neck<ref>{{cite web |title=Other Musical Instruments – Kora Music |url=https://www.kora-music.ml/other-musical-instruments/ |website=www.kora-music.ml |access-date=2019-08-10 |archive-date=2019-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190810035242/https://www.kora-music.ml/other-musical-instruments/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> it produced sympathetic sounds, serving as an amplifier since the [[Impedance matching#Acoustics|sound carried well into]] the open air. In today's environment, players usually prefer or need an [[Pickup (music technology)|electronic pickup]].<ref name="oxford">[http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/15371?q=kora&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit] {{dead link|date=November 2018}}</ref>

By moving the [[Tuning mechanisms for stringed instruments#Konso|konso]] (a system of leather tuning rings) up and down the neck, a kora player can retune the instrument into one of four seven-note scales. These scales are close in tuning to western [[Major scale|major]], [[Minor scale|minor]] and [[Lydian mode|Lydian]] modes.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.coraconnection.com/pages/TuningKora.html |title=Tuning the Kora |access-date=2006-10-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006044154/http://www.coraconnection.com/pages/TuningKora.html |archive-date=2006-10-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thekoraworkshop.co.uk/kora-tuning-help-silaba.html |title=Tuning the Kora |access-date=2009-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091111203752/http://www.thekoraworkshop.co.uk/kora-tuning-help-silaba.html |archive-date=2009-11-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref>