Niwel Tsumbu is a Congolese-born, Ireland-based guitarist who has performed with Sinéad O’Connor, Buena Vista Social Club and Baaba Maal. He played on Rhiannon Giddens’ Grammy Award-winning album and currently tours with her band. In this lesson from our Tribal Fingerstyle Guitar course, Niwel breaks down how African melodies relate to the simple scales and modes you already know.

We have a huge variety of African guitar courses taught by world-class artists including Vieux Farka Touré, Bombino, and Niwel Tsumbu himself. Explore our African guitar collection below, or try our 7-day trial membership to access everything. Remember – we’re a small and supportive organisation happy to guide your musical studies. Edd Bateman can respond to any questions you’ve got via email at info@worldmusicmethod.com

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