Where Did The Unique Style Of Botswana's Guitarists Come From? Nobody Seems To Know
Thanks in part to the efforts of Dutch ex-pat, this unique playing style has been documented in a new compilation of Botswanan folk music.
by Andy Hermann
Apr 26, 2018
4 minutes
As YouTube videos go, a 2009 clip entitled "Botswana Music Guitar - Ronnie - 'Happy New Year' " is not the most visually arresting — just a static shot of a man sitting in front of a cinderblock wall and cradling a battered acoustic guitar, while behind him a second person, in a blue work shirt and khaki pants, looks into the distance, bored.
Then Ronnie Moipolai begins to play. It's a simple tune, with a loping rhythm and sunny chord progression that's recognizably related to much of the folk music of sub-Saharan Africa. But Moipolai's technique on the instrument is strikingly distinctive, right hand strumming three strings in open tuning and plunking out bass on a
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