// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Gyile a good dancer? It's a spinning term.

The gyil of northwestern Ghana

The gyile is a type of West African xylophone, with seventeen keys constructed over gourds. It holds a place in the musical traditions of the Dagara and Birifor people of northern Ghana and southern Burkina Faso.

Bernard Woma (d. 2018) was a well-known gyile player from Upper West Ghana who spent many years teaching the instrument and introducing it to audiences around the world.

Playing Style

The gyile is played by striking the keys with a wooden mallet with rubber heads and is generally played by men but there are no restrictions on gender. The instrument is usually played in pairs and accompanied by a calabash gourd drum called kuor. It can also be played by one person with the drum and the stick part as accompaniment.

Gallery

• 
  A player striking keys
• 
  Gyile player
• 
  Wooden mallet with rubber heads
• 
  Musical instruments
• 
  The underside of SK Kakraba
• 
  the Gyile Instrument
• 
  The gyile keys

See also

• Balafon