Notation primer

This page explains how easy it is to write music for African percussion, using notation that is half way between letter notation and tabulature on the one hand, and real western music notation on the other. All the brilliant and advanced options are at the bottom of this page, so I can keep this introduction extremely simple.

Yankadi font

• Introduction * Write beautiful music
• Notation primer * Simple tutorial
• Notation A to Z * The advanced bits
• Keyboard map * All the symbols

Writing music

Writing music with the Yankadi font is as simple as typing the notes and dots / pauses that you play. Newly introduced features are shown in red:

Here is an example of the Balakulandja1 (S) with the slaps and tones correctly placed on the correct pulses. The unplayed pulses are just dots. Use the s for the slap, the t (or o) for the tone, and the b for the bass.

Next, add the note beams - the horizontal connecting bars that connect 3 or 4 notes at a time. Use the numeric keys 3 and 4 for this. Note beams make the music a lot easier to read, and indicate the beats in a measure. The note beams have no width, so the cursor does not move when you type them.

Add some more notes so you have 4 groups or 4 beats. And use the square bracket keys around it to indicate a phrase that is complete.

And our phrase is complete! This phrase happens to be one measure (or one bar) in length. It contains 4 beats or note groups, grouped by note beams. And each beat or note group consists of 4 pulses. Each pulse is a possible note location. It can either have a dot or a real note to be played in it, such as a slap.

This completes your very first introduction to the Yankadi font!

Advanced features

The Yankadi font also has quite a few advanced features for those who want to get the utmost out of their notation:

• Music notes, and tabulature or letter notation (b, t, s etc.) combined in one font
• Switch a complete score from one set of symbols to another with one click
• Flams
• Rolls or roulements
• Triplets
• Handing
• Ghost notes
• Accented notes
• Microtiming (shifting of notes forward and backward in time)
• Doundounba, sangban, kenkeni, all normal and muffled, plus wood and bell on one staff, in various combinations
• Begin of phrase symbol
• Alternative ending symbol
• Zero width and normal width bar lines
• Dots, or empty note stems, to indicate unplayed pulses
• Phrase lines
• Repeat symbols
• Half space for extra layout options
• Note beams for 1 to 6 notes