Old and new: a kora sits alongside an electric guitar in Bamako, Mali’s capital city.

Malian musicians use lots of fascinating instruments from drums to elaborate stringed lutes, as well as modern acoustic and electric guitars.

The ngoni is a banjo-like lute made from hollowed-out wood with a dried animal skin stretched over it. It has three to five strings and the neck is made from a piece of dowelling. Because the ngoni is a quiet instrument it is now usually played with an electric pick-up. The ngoni was once played by West African slaves, and developed into the banjo.

The djembe is a drum.

The kora, is a sort of harp made from a calabash (a large, hollow gourd) with up to 25 strings.

The fle, is a kind of shaker made from a calabash with cowrie shells strung round it. It is shaken and thrown by Wassoulou women, to produce a sound like a maraca.

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