The balafon is widespread in West Africa, especially in Guinea and Mali. It consists of wooden bars and calabashes - hollow gourds that serve as resonators. Two or three finger-thick holes are drilled into the sides of the calabashes, over which spider webs or bat wings are glued. The bars and their resonators are held together by a frame of split bamboo and strips of goatskin. Today's balaphones vary considerably in size, number of bars (between 12 and 23) and tuning. The range is usually two and a half to three and a half octaves. - Mopti - Mali - 1969
