Transcriptions

This website presents an archive of sabar drum rhythms and compositions, anchored in the legacy and family of Doudou Ndiaye Rose (1930-2015). Arranged in the spirit of the aural tradition, learning by listening.

AURAL DICTIONARY

le temps shows the steady beat, having a similar function for temporal organization to the clave of Brazilian and Cuban musics, and is played by hitting the stick on the side of the drum. The first hit is the one, so to say.

bah-tass bah-tass signals the end of the opening solo and cues the ensemble to begin immediately!

Sabar refers variously to the individual drum, the ensemble of drums, the dance, and also the drum event.

types of sabar drums:

open-bottom drums: nder, mbëng-mbëng ball, mbëng-mbëng, tungune
closed-bottom drums: talmbat, lamb

tannibeer is the high energy drum spectacle at night that features dancing.

bakks are the musical phrases that are played on top of the rhythms. These are original and can be quite creative.

Birame performs each traditional drum layer on the appropriate type of sabar drum, each with their own sound and purpose: mbeung mbeung drum for the mbalax part, talmbat drum for the talmbat part, lamb drum for the tulli part, and nder drum for the baht nder part and solo part.

rhythm name:	ARDIN
rhythm type:	traditional Wolof
recording location:	Point E, Dakar, Senegal
recording date:	September 2022
played by:	Birame Ndiaye Rose
instruments:	mbeung mbeung, talmbat, lamb, nder
notes by:	Moustapha Ndiaye Rose, master sabar drummer and son of Doudou Ndiaye Rose
notes:	It’s a traditional rhythm played at the very beginning of the sabar, without dance steps. We always start with this rhythm which allows everyone to warm up. It is sometimes followed by tempo changes and improvisations, we go up and down. Then the soloist signals to the drummer to move to the next rhythm that will lead to the dance. This is played at a tannibeer.

rhythm name:	FARWU JAR
rhythm type:	traditional Wolof
recording location:	Point E, Dakar, Senegal
recording date:	September 2022
played by:	Birame Ndiaye Rose
instruments:	mbeung mbeung, talmbat, lamb, nder
notes by:	Moustapha Ndiaye Rose, master sabar drummer and son of Doudou Ndiaye Rose
notes:	Farwu Jar means the beloved lover. It was a traditional rhythm danced by men who threw their hats and then the girls got up to choose a hat. It was as a kind of game but sometimes it ended in a wedding. It is played during the sabar and is a rather 'feminine' rhythm. This is played at a tannibeer.

rhythm name:	CEEBU JIN
rhythm type:	traditional Wolof
recording location:	Point E, Dakar, Senegal
recording date:	September 2022
played by:	Birame Ndiaye Rose
instruments:	mbeung mbeung, talmbat, lamb, nder, nder solo
notes by:	Moustapha Ndiaye Rose, master sabar drummer and son of Doudou Ndiaye Rose
notes:	It’s a traditional rhythm but also the name of a Senegalese dish (of rice and fish). It used to be danced by women only but nowadays everyone can dance on it. Men wait for this rhythm to dance and make 'masculine' gestures. The sabar rhythm is played again after the ceebu jen. Ceebu jen is necessarily played in the same way as the ardin for example; the dancers expect this rhythm.

rhythm name:	BAAR MBAYE
rhythm type:	traditional Wolof
recording location:	Point E, Dakar, Senegal
recording date:	September 2022
played by:	Birame Ndiaye Rose
instruments:	mbeung mbeung, talmbat, lamb, nder solo
notes by:	Moustapha Ndiaye Rose, master sabar drummer and son of Doudou Ndiaye Rose
notes:	It is a traditional rhythm, a song (‘baar mbaye bëkëtë bëkëtë baar mbaye kai’), and a family event: the bëkëtë bëkëtë. Families take a newborn baby and put it on a straw tray or on the mother's head and do tricks while carrying the baby. People sing and women make sudden movements. If the baby does not fall off, it has been bëkëtë bëkëtë and it can later, as an adult, swear ‘on its father's belt’ and be believed whatever he says. On the other hand, he cannot swear on Allah or the Prophet, or the Marabou. This is played in the sabar rhythm and today people call the sabar rhythm bëkëtë bëkëtë.