Play Darbukawith Omar Kattan
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Kuku كوكو

A relaxed 4/4 dance groove arranged for darbuka, dahola, bendir and riq, with optional sagats. [1][2][3]

4/4West Africa · Guinea and neighbouring traditions

Hear the shape of the rhythm.

Basic

Practice sequence · counting restarts in each bar.

Bar 1

Darbuka
1DR
e—hold
&TR
aKL
2·rest
e·rest
&SR
a—hold
3DR
e—hold
&TR
aKL
4·rest
e·rest
&SR
a—hold

Bar 2

Darbuka
1DR
e—hold
&TR
aKL
2·rest
e·rest
&SR
a—hold
3DR
e—hold
&TR
aKL
4·rest
e·rest
&SR
a—hold
D · DumT · TekK · KaS · SlapP · PopR · RakZ · ZakKi Ti ki ti · ghost notesTra tra · tek + ka flam· · Rest
What do these notes mean?
Practise Kuku · BasicTry Classic

Musical context

  • Folk & social dance

Names & context

Arabic name
كوكو
Other names & spellings
Koukou · Coucou

Our darbuka arrangement follows Djembe Gorilla’s bass-opening accompaniment and two-bar low-drum phrase. Basic leaves space; Classic adds soft fills. Tone and slap response adapts the other accompaniment. These are our practice versions of a West African rhythm. [1][2][3]

Regions & traditions

  • West Africa

Musical use and influences can span several regions. [1][2][3]

Sources & further reading · 3 references
  1. Djembe Gorilla · Kuku · Full ensemble
  2. Rob te Riet / Mark Egg · Kuku, accompaniment chart, p. 1
  3. Djembe Sounds · Kuku