West African Guitar

West African Guitar

bulletEuropeanized
bulletInstrument of Africa
bullet15century - the first guitars
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Notes:

Long neglected by Western Ethnomusicologists who often categorised it as Europeanized or hybrid

15century - the first guitars probably came from Portugal or North Africa and were brought to Freetown by Sailors

1950’s Most Guitars were purchased in local shops and were made in Europe.

Capo
bulletUsed extensively to bring the chords to a certain pitch, and even in modern day highlife bands electric guitarist use capos.
bulletNormally the capos were not commercially bought but were carved from a piece of wood and secured by elastic

Guitar Tuning:
bulletStandard E,A,D,G,B.E employed for most songs the favoured key of G is used for a large number of tunes
bullet“Full C” tuning used where the low E string is tuned one step higher to F. The F Chord can then be played with the sixth string open, the other chords are played using the thumb on the bass string
bulletFavoured Alternative tunings: D G D G B D, C E G C E G

The Guitar is played using the thumb and index finger of the right hand

Electric Guitar. Solid body electric Fender Stratocaster.
bulletPlayed in a similar manner to acoustic.
bulletRestring - Esp D string