Machine head Kora

These fine koras are made in Medina , Senegal by Yakuba Kouyate. Yakuba is descended from a famous line of Senegalese Griots , his father and brothers are distingushed players and craftsmen of great instruments including Koras , Ngonis and Xalams.

Yakuba's father was the first to innovate the 'wooden key' system of tuning and bring it to the monks of the Keur Moussa abbey where it was adopted as their tuning system of choice. The traditional leather straps are still used by some players here today , but because of the difficulty in tuning and maintaining tuning positions , most players you speak to prefer either wooden or machine head models for precision , speed and ease of use.

Yakuba was a student of Toumani Diabaté's school in Mali from 2001 to 2004 , where he refined his techniques for kora building and playing. Yakuba's Koras are used throughout Senegal and the world by professional Kora players. His koras are recognised as excelling in sound quality , playability , tone and longevity which is why they are so highly sought after.....

Tunings for the kora vary from region to region and from player to player , but most have in common a low F starting point on the left hand bass string with the F on the right hand side an octave higher. A common heptatonic tuning would be :

E

C       A

A       G

F        F

D        D

B        B

G        G

E         E

D         C

C         A

F          F