Sunday Synth Jam: Peter Pringle performs Afrique, for Gravikord & Theremin.
The “gravikord” is an electroacoustic instrument that is the brainchild of inventor and musical instrument builder, Bob Grawi. It is based on the traditional West African double harp known as the “kora”.
This piece of music is a short improvisation designed to show some of the things that the gravikord can do (things that are not possible on the kora).
The Gravikord
The gravikord is an electric double harp, invented by Robert Grawi in 1986, modeled after the 21-string West Africankora.
It is made of welded stainless steel tubing, with 24 nylon strings but no resonating gourd or skin. The bridge is a synthetic material designed very differently from the kora and the range of pitches is greater. The playing technique is similar to that of the kora: the player plucks the strings with the thumb and index finger of each hand. The instrument is tuned in a strictly symmetrical alternate tuning, not in the very asymmetrical traditional kora tuning.
More on the Gravikord at Wikipedia
via copperleaves
