Learn Senegalese Bass

Explore A New Realm Of African Rhythm

On the most westerly tip of Africa lies the country of Senegal – responsible for giving the world such superstars as Youssou N’Dour, Baaba Maal, Orchestra Baobab, Toure Kunda, Super Diamono and many, many more – and deep within the downtown streets of its capital city Dakar, the rhythm Mbalax was born. Piercing sabar drums call out with odd measure phrases, synthetic marimba sounds blare over loudspeakers and people dance all night, competing for the best moves. 

The traditional music of Senegal rhythmically defies the rest of the African continent with a powerful pulse, often considered confusing and requiring international pop hits to be toned down in order to be universally understood, felt and danced to. A mini orchestra of tonal sabar percussion with the combination of varying sizes and pitch of drums – chol, mbung bung and tama (the lizard skin talking drum) – makes up the ancestral background of modern Senegalese drum kit rhythms. This in turn defines the unique bass style by the note placement and accents, which at first listen may seem disjointed, out of place, even a little strange.

Study it further to truly understand a new way to play.

Learn Essential Musical Styles

Venture into the realms of the Senegalese genres of Mbalax and the kora led Afro-Mandingue, return for more of the Congolese staple bass diet of Soukous then build up tumbao fluency studying African Salsa and Rumba. Accompanied by interactive backing tracks, clear explanations, on-screen notation and tabs, this course is designed to further your understanding of African music and help you on your way to mastering these unique basslines, authentically and with confidence.

Upon arriving in West Africa Edd said “I immediately noticed that Senegalese musicians had a way of slicing up a beat into more semi demi quavers than I’d ever heard in African music and had an effortless ability to all synchronise their accents on any chosen beat, no matter how oddly placed in the bar that seemed to me. That’s completely unlike anything covered in the previous course where we never need to play any note value smaller than a 16th. This all originates from the different Senegalese percussion rhythms that seem to have a way of governing most of the traditional genres.” 

Whether you’re a newcomer of a seasoned pro, Edd leads you through an entire syllabus inspired by five musical West African voyages and lessons learnt on the touring circuit from Southern Senegal’s most famous and influential musicians.