Workshop with the Traditional African Instrument: Nkuu or African Telephone

Workshop with the Traditional African Instrument: Nkuu or African Telephone
(A hollowed tree trunk played with sticks)

This workshop focuses on musical creation through the Language of Tones using rhythmic and musical activities.

Participants will explore rhythm, its pulse, and learn to express it through the Nkuu drum, other percussion instruments, balafons, xylophones, or string and wind instruments. The session involves:

• Rhythmic phrase demonstrations
• Body movements synchronized with the Nkuu and other instruments
• Discovery of the alphabet of rhythmic sound
• Simple dance steps, songs, and vocal-body choreography, all inspired by the Language of Tones

The Language of Tones teaches the neutrality of music through its rhythmic codes, allowing participants to explore how sound aligns with language. It raises awareness of the communicative power of music and movement through energy, rhythm, and sound vibrations. This practice fosters personal grounding, alignment, creativity, balance, and the release of energy, promoting readiness to meet academic challenges.

Facilitator

Atna Njock Zekuhl, a multi-instrumentalist, singer, guitarist, and master of the Nkuu drum, carries the wisdom of the Language of Tones as an innate heir to this tradition. Grandson of a traditional chief, Atna has been initiated into the musical traditions of various African and Cameroonian tribes, including his own Bàsàa people and the Baka Pygmies. His repertoire has grown to include Western tonal systems and contemporary world music styles.

About the Nkuu and the Language of Tones

The Nkuu drum, known as the African telephone, is one of the first tools of human communication, originating from Central Africa. This sacred slit drum mimics the human voice through low, high, and neutral tones, combined to form messages. For millennia, it has been used in conjunction with the Language of Tones to send coded messages, hold festive and therapeutic sessions, and reinforce physical and spiritual energy.

This practice expresses the music within our languages, blending rhythm and melody to reflect each language’s unique energy and vibration.

Skills Developed

• Connecting music and body movements to release stress
• Enhancing focus and availability for learning

Objectives and Expected Outcomes

This workshop promotes grounding, emotional and motor stimulation, self-alignment, creativity, and balance. It helps participants become more resilient, prepared for academic challenges, and aware of the communicative power of music and the body through energy, rhythm, and the rhythmic alphabet of sound.