Editing Kora (instrument) (section)

== Scores ==

[[Image:Kora Sheet Music (Jacques Burtin).tiff|thumb|right|Kora sheet music (fragment of the score of ''One Thousand Sources'', for solo kora, by Jacques Burtin).]]

As part of the [[oral tradition]] of West Africa, music for the kora was not written until the 20th century. [[Ethnomusicologist]]s were the only ones to record some traditional airs in the normal grand staff method, using the [[G clef]] and the [[F clef]].

Today, kora scores are written on a single G clef, following the Keur Moussa notation system. This notation system was created for the kora in the late 1970s by Brother [[Dominique Catta]], a monk of the Keur Moussa Monastery (Senegal). The seven low notes that should be written on the F clef are replaced by [[Arabic numerals|Arabic]] or [[Roman numerals]] and written on the G clef.

While jali still compose in the traditional way (without writing scores), some Western musicians began to write [[partiture]]s for the kora and adopted the Keur Moussa notation system at the beginning of the 1980s. More than 200 scores have already been written for kora solo or kora and Western instruments. Two notable Western composers for the kora are Brother [[Dominique Catta]]<ref>Selected scores of Brother Dominique Catta : ''Banehu Len'', Suite n°1 for koras, 1983 ; ''Fleuves d'Eau Vive'', Suite n°2 for koras and [[chant]], 1986; ''Du Désert, d'ici et d'ailleurs'', Airs de kora, 1988 ; ''Banehu Len II'', Suite n°3 for kora and [[flute]], 1990 ; ''Psautier rythmé de Keur Moussa'', 150 Psalms with kora accompaniment, 1996 (all scores published by the Keur Moussa Monastery). The influential ''Méthode progressive pour airs de kora'' (Progressive Method for kora learning), by Brother Dominique Catta, was published in 1987 by the Monastery Keur Moussa.</ref> and [[Jacques Burtin]]<ref>Selected scores of Jacques Burtin : ''Une Rosée de Lumière'', Nine pieces for kora, Monastère de Keur Moussa, 1988; ''Le Chant intérieur / The Inner Song'', Pieces and suites for kora, Editions Studio SM, [[Paris, France|Paris]], 1996 ; ''Joies soudaines'', Works for kora 1988-2010, Marie-Chantal Froment Editor, [[Le Mans, France|Le Mans]], 2010</ref> ([[France]]), who wrote most of these scores, though composers like [[Carole Ouellet]]<ref>Four scores of Carole Ouellet have been published in ''Du Désert, d'ici et d'ailleurs'' (Monastère de Keur Moussa, 1988). Her other compositions have been recorded along with Brother Catta's works. See discography.</ref> ([[Canada]]), Brother [[Grégoire Philippe]]<ref>''Quand renaît le matin'', Prelude for 3 koras and a kora player, by Brother Grégoire Philippe, has been published in 1991 by the Monastery of Keur Moussa.</ref> (Monastère de Keur Moussa) and Sister Claire Marie Ledoux<ref>Sister Claire Marie Ledoux composed pieces for solo kora and songs accompanied by the kora. They can be heard in the CD ''Une Rosée de Lumière - [[St. Francis of Assisi|Saint François]] et [[St. Claire of Assisi|Sainte Claire d'Assise]]'', by Jacques Burtin and Sister Claire Marie Ledoux, Studio SM, 1997.</ref> (France) have also contributed with their own original works.

[[Derek Gripper]] ([[Cape Town, South Africa]]) has transcribed a number of West African kora compositions by Toumani Diabaté and others for performance on western-style [[classical guitar]], and has performed some of these transcriptions on two recordings and in concert from 2012 through 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.derekgripper.com/ |website=Derekgripper.com |title=Derek Gripper: Solo Acoustic Guitarist - African and Contemporary - Composer and Performer |date=2017 |access-date=24 September 2017 |archive-date=14 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014232129/http://www.derekgripper.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>