Draft:Kafonu

Kafonu is a musical instrument from Ghana, a country on the west coast of Africa.

Invented, designed and built by the Ghanaian artist Afero Asamany based on the inspiration of a dream (in 2016), its name is composed of the agglutination of two words from the Ewe language: EKA (which means "strings") and FONU (which means speak, talk or "conversation "). The philosophical musical idea of the instrument is therefore linked to the notion of "Conversation of the Strings" or the "Voice of the Strings".

There are several traditional chordophones in Ghana, such as Kwame Asamany Afero, the Kafonu presents itself as yet another creative possibility within this expressive set of musical instruments.

Organology

The KAFONU is an instrument from the chordophone family (string instruments) and is composed of a single hollowed-out wooden monoblock, made from Rosewood. The top is made from cowhide and the musician uses fishing strings on the instrument, a total of 10. The bridge (V-shaped) that supports the strings on the top is also made from Rosewood and there is a rectangular structure of metal that fixes the strings to the front of the soundboard. The wood was treated with olive oil. The builder uses guitar tuning pegs on the other end of the instrument, arranged in a group of 4 at the top of the hand, 3 at the end of the hand, parallel to the neck and another 3 at the bottom of the hand.

Still in relation to the organology of the instrument, the structural measurements are: total length - 66cm, arm length - 33cm, resonator length - 28cm, width - 13cm, arm width - 9cm, depth of the resonator sound box - 11cm.

Tuning

Regarding the tuning of the instrument, the strings are arranged in the following order (from low to high): A3 C4 D4 E4 F4 G4 A4 B4 C5 D5. Each string can produce notes in a range of 9M, that is, one octave and two more notes, from the open string to the farthest note to be pressed on the instrument's neck.

Performance and repertoires

According to musician Afero Asamany, the practice of KAFONU is directly related to spirituality and peace of mind. Asamany states that: “This string instrument that sounds so calm and bring the soul closer and feed the soul”. The philosophical conception of the instrument (conversation of the strings) and its extremely pleasant timbre promote a feeling of calm and relief, whether for those who play or those who listen.

Asamany indicates that there are at least 3 ways to perform the instrument. In the first form, only the right hand is used, while the thumb performs consistent rhythmic patterns on the lower strings, the index, middle and ring fingers improvise melodies across the scale on open strings. In this case, a percussion instrument can be used in the left hand to accompany. In a second way of playing, the concept of “Open runs” is used. Asamany explains that in this technique the index finger of the left hand also produces notes, but without pressing the neck. Associated with the open notes performed by the right hand, these open notes (or open notes) performed by the left hand function as a speed resource, allowing more notes to be played. Finally, in the third way of playing, these movements are associated with the notes produced when pressing the strings on the instrument's neck, with the left hand.

One night in 2016, Asamany had a droe (dream in English) where he saw the image of KAFONU. Asamany believes that artists' creative processes can continue while they sleep, as in this case: “- I saw in this dream a beautiful, small instrument and at around 12pm that morning I woke up, got up and started drawing a first draft”. In the same week, the musician built the body of the instrument, made of African rosewood. However, continuing to build the instrument was not an easy process and took a few months, involving moments of reflection and meditation for 3 years. Therefore, construction was completed in 2019.

Currently, Afero Asamany is developing intense work to promote Ghanaian music through Kafonu and its creative possibilities. Such activities range from the construction of instruments to the development of new repertoires, including traditional musical education for children for preservation of cultural heritage.