Guitar , Africa ,

African Ensemble Guitar

niwel-tsumbu

After a crash course in Afrobeat, Malian pentatonic styles, South African chord-melody techniques, Coupez-Decale and Soukous you’ll feel completely confident playing a variety of African grooves.

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Become Fluent In African Guitar

This course is for guitarists who want to expand their rhythmic vocabulary and develop the confidence to play in real-world band situations. You’ll learn guitar parts from Nigeria, Mali, Congo, Ivory Coast, and South Africa and how to play them in time, with feel, and as part of a wider ensemble.

Through hands-on lessons from Niwel Tsumbu, you’ll study everything from Afrobeat rhythm patterns to West African pentatonic licks and Congolese alternate picking. You’ll explore the melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic language of African guitar in a way that sharpens your ears, tightens your playing, and transforms your confidence.

By the end of this course, you won’t just know a few licks. You’ll know how to build a complete groove, how to support a vocalist, how to play your role in the band—and how to sound authentic doing it.

Key Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Develop African Guitar Technique

Perform alternate picking techniques characteristic of Congolese styles
Apply fingerstyle and chord-melody techniques in the context of African guitar

Build Ensemble Skills

Accompany singers and instrumentalists with rhythmically accurate guitar parts
Adapt guitar playing to match the dynamics of a live band or ensemble

Master African Repertoire

Perform songs like “Malaika” using integrated chord-melody arrangements
Play ensemble-based parts in Coupe-Décalé, Afrobeat, and West African styles

Improvise Using African Musical Language

Construct original lines using African pentatonic scales
Create rhythmically engaging licks and phrases suited to traditional grooves

Understand Cultural and Musical Context

Identify the stylistic differences between genres from Congo, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and South Africa
Articulate the musical contributions of key African artists and genres

Sample Lessons

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Learn With An African Guitar Specialist

Explore the vibrant roots and invigorating rhythms of Sebene with one of its most accomplished practitioners.

Back in the day, Niwel Tsumbu was borrowing bits of fishing line and bike cable to build his guitars. Now he’s performed the world over with the likes of Buena Vista Social club, Natty Wailer and Baaba Maal. He’s recorded with Sinead O’Connor, Nigel Kennedy and Michael O’Suilleabhgin. He’s even written a symphony for the radical 20-piece Surge Orchestra.

From Irish folk to jazz, classical, rock and flamenco, Niwel’s story is one of cross-genre, cross-cultural exploration, improvisation, collaboration and integration. But with this session he’ll take you right back to the fundamental rhythms of his African roots, bedded in Soukous, Sebene and Rumba. Where it all began. Niwel is a real one-off. Don’t miss the chance to benefit from learning with this master musician.

The Ultimate Learning Experience

African Ensemble Guitar

Backed by an expert rhythm section, this 1 hour 40 minute crash course begins with some of Niwel's personal favourite warm-up techniques before taking you on a trip to South Africa, Nigeria, Mali and Ivory Coast picking up some new guitar licks from each location on your journey.

Interactive On-Screen Notation

Our state of the art learning technology speeds up studying with innovative, interactive tools. Access on-screen notation, tablature, animated fretboards, variable tempos, and more today.