Splice Sessions Fula Flute with Amadou Ba WAV

Flutist Amadou Ba joined the Splice Originals team at LaBoutique Studio in Dakar, Senegal to lay down flute sounds in the style of the Fulani people. The tambin or Fula flute is a diagonal diatonic flute without a bell. It’s made from a conical vine with three finger holes and a rectangular embouchure with two wings on either side. It has a similar sound and quality to the ney. If it looks familiar, it was used in the 2018 Marvel film, Black Panther.

It’s considered the national instrument of the West African Fula people. Although it has existed for ages in West Africa, the tambin is a little-known instrument throughout the rest of the world, although it is slowly gaining attention for its characteristic rich sound and unique voice.

It’s tuned to what’s called an equidistant heptatonic scale—a seven-note scale where all intervals are roughly equal, depending on the ear of the flute maker. It’s an ancient scale that can sound “out of tune” to some Western musicians, however, the tuning is quite deliberate and precise. The traditional songs of the Fulani and Malinké played with a Western scale would be completely different songs.

These ancient and ancestral flute sounds will add brightness and a touch of magic to any production.