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Arvind Suresh posted an update
7 weeks ago (edited)
I enrolled in the Malian Guitar Evolution course last weekend and am just finishing the first module. I recently discovered “Duna Ma Yelema” by Boubacar Traoré and Ali Farka Toure and tried to learn the riff. My guitar playing is clunky still, but its a start!
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C Standifer, Francois Joubert and 3 others7 Comments-
Sounding good @arvind-suresh How are you finding the first module?
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Really liked the first module, gentle introduction to Malian guitar. I am trying to mimic what Vieux is playing as a way to practice. Maybe a simple exercise for students to practice (a lick or a riff) would be a nice addition to the course material.
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@arvind-suresh Yes what I’m thinking could be good for that course is if below each video we have another bit of guitar tab with 1 takeaway riff that’s essential from that lesson. There is lot of improvised guitar parts but having 1 solid riff shown as an essential one to learn and memorise would be good. What do you think? Could that idea be improved in any way?
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Courage man! I love the song, and learnt how to play it myself about 2 – 3 years ago. Since you added Ali Farka Toure, I’m guessing you saw the video of both of them playing on youtube; where Ali accompanies him. That clip is part of a full length documentary on Boubabcar Traore’s music, called Je chanterai pour toi.
There is a part in this Malian Evolution course called “Octave technique” or so, where Vieux mentions Boubacar Traore, calling him by his nickname; “Kar Kar plays like this”. The part is helpful in learning Boubacar Traore Songs, as he plays many using octaves, including Duna Ma Yelama. Happy practicing!
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@edd Yes, i think a riff or 2 to help the student get started with a song that they can already start playing would be a great addition!
Marc, you’re exactly right! That Youtube video is so mesmerizing, capturing this magical vibe I’m in love with! I didn’t know about the documentary, I’ll watch it tonight, THANK YOU!! -
This is great! Did you learn the riff by ear, or did you find a tab somewhere? I’ve always wanted to learn some Boubacar songs, but I’m terrible at playing by ear.
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As for the riff assignments, I like that idea, but I also kind of like being able to listen to the whole song, pick out a riff I like from the video, and just work on that. Some of the songs, like the one from the pentatonic module, are pretty intimidating at first before you break them down, so maybe it would be possible to pull out or highlight a couple of suggested riffs. I’ve never seen this music software before, so I’m not sure if that’s a built-in capability.
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