Learn Kwela

With a web site with as little traffic as the Kwela Project, it’s pretty easy to notice what kind of things are bringing visitors here. For example, Sunday’s BBC Prom performance by the Buskaid Soweto String Project, which you can still listen to online, resulted in a number of visits that had been referred from Google.

About a week ago, someone arrived at the Kwela Project as a result of typing ‘learn kwela‘ into Google. It has always been my intention that the project help aspiring kwelaleses (made up group noun) with music and technical tips, but it’s taken this long to listen to enough music, and read around the subject enough to feel that I’ve something worth saying.

Dolos is a catchy tune by Spokes Mashiyane that is the seventh track on King Kwela CD (or first track on side two if you’ve got vinyl). There are four main themes that Spokes varies and elaborates upon – these are transcribed below. Although they’re written in the key of D major, play them on a B flat whistle to be in the same key as the recording. Most kwela is played on a B flat whistle.

Dolos by Spokes Mashiyane

This entry was written by chris, posted on July 17, 2007 at 2:28 pm, filed under Playing and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

4 Comments

  1. breqwas
    Posted July 27, 2007 at 5:06 pm | Permalink

    Hmm. B-flat whistle, you say?
    Well, now let’s try to find B-flat whistle in Moscow… :(

  2. Dave
    Posted July 27, 2007 at 7:59 pm | Permalink

    Thanks for doing this. I’ve really loved Kwela, but as a beginning musician, couldn’t figure out how to get started. Your transcriptions will really help me out.

  3. sarena baxter
    Posted July 29, 2008 at 11:53 am | Permalink

    I am looking for the sheet music for “MAMA THEMBA’S GETTING MARRIED TONIGHT” for my wedding. Can anybody help me find a supplier please?

  4. chris
    Posted July 29, 2008 at 8:19 pm | Permalink

    Hi Serena
    I’m afraid I can’t really help, beyond pointing out that the song’s title is usually spelled “Mama Tembu’s Wedding” and is by a South African singer called Margaret Singana:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Singana

    You can hear her version of it on last.fm:

    http://www.last.fm/music/Margaret+Singana/+videos/+1-DfEulZbi4E8

    I’d be kind’a surprised if it was published as sheet music, so probably your best way forward is to find a talented musician whose arrangements you already enjoy, and commission him or her to arrange the piece for your wedding.

    Good luck!
    Chris

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