Michael League | Gimbri: Grandfather of the Bass? | Thomann

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Michael League and Julia talk about the Gimbri, also known as Sintir, a traditional Instrument played by Gnawa musicians in Morocco. Talking about how this instrument is similar and different to the bass and how bass players can get inspired by the roles and concepts of traditional bass instruments.
We use Triad-Orbit stands for our cameras, lights and mics: tho.mn/triad
Recorded and mixed with Universal Audio: tho.mn/uadx1
Monitors optimised through Sonarworks: tho.mn/sonar
Interesting bits and pieces:
0:00 Intro
0:28 Playing the Gimbri intro
0:51 Relationship between the Gimbri and Bass?
1:58 Introducing the Gimbri
4:19 How it's played, right hand technique
6:47 How it's constructed and tuned
7:48 Surprising similarities between Gnawa and Funk Bass Lines
9:44 Left hand fingering technique and microctones
13:54 Role of the Gimbri in Gnawa music
18:17 Transferring musical concepts from Gimbri to Bass
21:15 Where did Michael get the Instruments from?
23:37 Conclusions
24:03 Thanks for the talk Michael!
24:53 Outro Playing
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Пікірлер: 115

  • @the_13ct70
    @the_13ct703 жыл бұрын

    I came from a family with multiple deep Gnawa heritage and i can tell you this : You nailed it ! You are in the good way , yes you told that you still a student but trust me you are in the good way Very constructive knowledge for the world ! Hope see you again in Essaouira Gnawa festival in the future 👏👏👏🇲🇦🇲🇦🇲🇦🎸🎸

  • @andreasnordin9023
    @andreasnordin90233 жыл бұрын

    Julia is ALWAYS prepared like a true pro. More Julia 4 the People!

  • @Caligari...
    @Caligari...Ай бұрын

    Thank you very much for going outside of the box . I love this music !

  • @mostyles328
    @mostyles3283 жыл бұрын

    Julia could make a career out of interviewing musicians. She asks great questions, lets them talk and stays interestingly engaged…. Bravo!

  • @alaskandar
    @alaskandar3 жыл бұрын

    Thomann PLEASE SHIP to Morocco !!! 🇲🇦 We love our Gembris but we need other stuff to make music 😅

  • @Mr.Nabil.Belhaj
    @Mr.Nabil.Belhaj3 жыл бұрын

    Oh yes the Moroccan guimbri, the official gnawa instrument 👍🏻 If you listen carefully to some jimi Hendrix tunes, you can sort of hear the influence this genre of music gave him when he first visited "El sawira city" in morocco

  • @oliverposchmannsbassguitar758
    @oliverposchmannsbassguitar7583 жыл бұрын

    We all remain being students throughout our entire lives. Today I learned a lot again. Thank you for the opportunity and for this wonderful interview, Julia

  • @rasmusn.e.m1064
    @rasmusn.e.m10643 жыл бұрын

    It's like a big fat friendly banjo. I feel like I already owe it a hug every time I hear it :)

  • @Khmissa
    @Khmissa3 жыл бұрын

    Gimbri will now be available at thomann stores

  • @charlescabellon
    @charlescabellon3 жыл бұрын

    Michael has a League of his own.🎸😍

  • @mandalorthedeaf1237
    @mandalorthedeaf12373 жыл бұрын

    Absolutely love this. Michael is a great guy and is really passionate about this instrument and the history behind it. Please make more videos like this where you show "exotic" traditional instruments.

  • @PooNinja
    @PooNinja3 жыл бұрын

    I’m in a healing trance watching this.

  • @itsthe773guero5
    @itsthe773guero53 жыл бұрын

    i have never heard of this gimbri instrument. it is deep sounding but really is high tone so amazing! thank you julia!!!

  • @aimanjadir9787
    @aimanjadir97873 жыл бұрын

    Gnawa are medicine. And so as bass haha a very spiritual instrument indeed, largely found in my region in North Africa, and that’s true it’s played in pentatonic scales since it’s been discovered man the world is very small this music has been carried to the United States on boats with those people singing to wash away the pain and using shackles as qraqeb « the cuivre instrument with high frequency » if you listen to blues you will find a lot of gnawa in it. Sending you all the love vibes from morocco 🇲🇦 may your life be full of love and bass and melodies. ❤️🙏🏽 Ps : we headbang to this music as well, little moshpit in the living room. 😂

  • @MOHAMEDERREBBAA
    @MOHAMEDERREBBAA Жыл бұрын

    Thanks Micheal for introducing the Guembri and Gnawa music to the audience,will be great to meet you one day ,I am Guembri player based in the Uk.much love ❤️ good luck ,Saha🙏🏽

  • @markanthony5897
    @markanthony58972 жыл бұрын

    really good to see ML. he has been in my heart and on my mind.

  • @ArtVandalay666
    @ArtVandalay6663 жыл бұрын

    Damn, there is a Zawinul Syndicate song I have always loved called 'Louange' off the Vienna Nights live album but I could never place the instrument that plays the melody. After watching this video I feel like it's got to be a gimbri. So cool.

  • @Mouad_Agh
    @Mouad_Agh11 ай бұрын

    Essaouira Morocco ❤

  • 6 ай бұрын

    Big up to Michael League for sharing some much of this experience with so much respect for the Gnawa culture!

  • @danielweinfurtner
    @danielweinfurtner3 жыл бұрын

    Such a cool interview. Very insightful. I learned a lot!

  • @danadane2501
    @danadane25012 жыл бұрын

    Great interview , learned a lot of pieces of history and technique I wasn't aware of before . He's obviously passionate about his work / art !

  • @karitaura2614
    @karitaura26143 жыл бұрын

    Great discussion and very interesting information. I'm looking forward to a Michael League book: Gnawa Gimbri lines for the Electric Bass - with backing tracks to play with!

  • @j.d.b.4683
    @j.d.b.46833 жыл бұрын

    Marcus played one of the on his album Afrodeezia a few years ago. The song is B's River. Pretty cool song! Julia, Marcus and Michael! Great trio!

  • @Neuri
    @Neuri3 жыл бұрын

    I have learned so much from Michael.

  • @hasname4885
    @hasname48853 жыл бұрын

    Great video, thanks for sharing with us :)

  • @brandonmarti4476
    @brandonmarti44763 жыл бұрын

    Yes! I've been waiting for this Sense the last video! Lol

  • @matto9734
    @matto97345 ай бұрын

    What a great interview Julia did with Michael. I like him so much for having moved to Spain and diving into (north) African music too. I really like the music of Bokanté too.

  • @clausm2203
    @clausm22033 жыл бұрын

    Great interview

  • @ahmedmaa4380
    @ahmedmaa4380 Жыл бұрын

    Gembri is a magic instrument!!!

  • @FunkSoulBruddler
    @FunkSoulBruddler3 жыл бұрын

    Did I just see you on German TV, the band in the studio of the Sportschau - Italy vs. Spain?? 😀

  • @joshuabrice3800
    @joshuabrice38003 жыл бұрын

    We should do that from now on!

  • @jeffroberts_tunes
    @jeffroberts_tunes3 жыл бұрын

    OK folks I"m going to stop you at 2:30 and search Spotify for Gnawa. Hmmm found it. Damn...I'll get back to you in bit...

  • @benmaguire4098
    @benmaguire40983 жыл бұрын

    Miss you playing bass yourself .. But I really like the interviews & the chance to learn about music I never heard of B4 .

  • @bimscutney1242
    @bimscutney12423 жыл бұрын

    Holy Geezer Butler! That was rad.

  • @josephhughes9490
    @josephhughes94903 жыл бұрын

    Julia is not only a amazingly talented bassist but she also can play bass while riding a unicycle . No joke! There's video on KZread. Julia I just love ya like crazy. Austrian amazing! Bass is beautiful.

  • @hagegesamuel

    @hagegesamuel

    3 жыл бұрын

    Really?! I play bass and harmonica and ride a unicycle too! I never tried playing bass on it. Harmonica yes of course :)

  • @Khmissa
    @Khmissa3 жыл бұрын

    Saha 💙

  • @manlioyllades
    @manlioyllades3 жыл бұрын

    When Michael played "Hamuda" (hope I spelled it right) it sounded a lot like some Cuban bassists. Once I saw Cachao live and what he was playing was pretty similar. If you don't know who Cachao was you MUST listen to him!

  • @nicobass4099
    @nicobass40993 жыл бұрын

    Interesting a lot

  • @martintaylor1701
    @martintaylor17013 жыл бұрын

    I actually have one, bought in Morocco, supposedly from the same shop Robert Plant bought some instruments, but who knows if that's true - cool instrument though, not that I really know how to play it.

  • @danadane2501
    @danadane25012 жыл бұрын

    Julia has a really pretty voice . I wonder if she sings on top of playing bass ?

  • @bacicinvatteneaca
    @bacicinvatteneaca2 жыл бұрын

    The gimbri is also a descendant of the ngoni, a relative of the akontir, the ancestor of the banjo. In fact, many gimbri to this day have the short treble drone string on top. Also, the concept of a high percussive drone is also found in the irish bouzouki, which was developed from the greek bouzouki by a musical culture that had access to banjos (through american influence), although in that case it's a non-reentrant tuning and the strings are all the same length and all fingered. As for being the ancestor of the electric bass, that may be true in role (and even then not really, the gimbri is closer to a 3oud in function within its music) but there clearly isn't any direct line, since the electric bass is a mix of upright bowed bass and guitar, and the upright bowed bass is itself a mix of violin and viola da gamba families (fretless and high tension like the violin, by fourths and with low shoulders like the viola da gambe)

  • @benmaguire4098
    @benmaguire40983 жыл бұрын

    Michael seems like a really nice guy .

  • @ThomannsGuitarsBasses

    @ThomannsGuitarsBasses

    3 жыл бұрын

    Hi Ben, yes he is! :-) // Cheers, Julia

  • @jarrettpelzel9912
    @jarrettpelzel99123 жыл бұрын

    Best advertisement I’ve ever been recommended!

  • @khalildjemouai6871
    @khalildjemouai68713 жыл бұрын

    I’ m proud as an Algerian to see the influence of this instrument on an other genras historically, especially played by one of my favourite bass players, in a show hosted by Julia 🤩

  • @nordenrhazali2696

    @nordenrhazali2696

    Жыл бұрын

    Gnawa is moroccan friend.

  • @khalildjemouai6871

    @khalildjemouai6871

    Жыл бұрын

    @@nordenrhazali2696 No, it's north african، originaly from soudan, go back and read thé history of african music.

  • @badreddineelfiche3056

    @badreddineelfiche3056

    Жыл бұрын

    ​@@khalildjemouai6871 gnawa is moroccan wtf are you talking about

  • @badreddineelfiche3056

    @badreddineelfiche3056

    Жыл бұрын

    ​@@khalildjemouai6871 brought to Morocco from sub-Saharan Africa not north africa

  • @badreddineelfiche3056

    @badreddineelfiche3056

    Жыл бұрын

    ​@@khalildjemouai6871 😂😂😂 UNESCO Lists Moroccan Gnawa as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity gnawa is moroccan only calm down hhhh correct your informations

  • @croula
    @croula6 ай бұрын

    So impressive coming from a western dude. So digging it

  • @whatwouldgdonowgvkpierce6879
    @whatwouldgdonowgvkpierce68793 жыл бұрын

    Nice J thx

  • @mimouli
    @mimouli3 жыл бұрын

    We call it "Hajhuj" it modtly is used in Gnawi musicians that we call Gnawa

  • @amineel-harty4547
    @amineel-harty454710 ай бұрын

    Saha koyo

  • @ZeuzBluez
    @ZeuzBluez Жыл бұрын

    Luv tagnawit (gnawa) I usually play it on guitar bass strings tuned to dgd. Hope thormann start selling gimbris si I can order one.

  • @9856359
    @98563594 ай бұрын

    20:29 this is capeverdean batuku!

  • @tomlane6324
    @tomlane63242 жыл бұрын

    I wish I knew where I could get a gimbri, I’ve been in love with the sound since cowboy bebop’s ost musawe

  • @HZZKN
    @HZZKN3 жыл бұрын

    Does anybody have some recommendations for Gnawa music? Like a Top 5 of things(albums or tracks) to listen to?

  • @joaopedromarri6410
    @joaopedromarri64103 жыл бұрын

    Julia 4 the people

  • @dougsours1
    @dougsours1 Жыл бұрын

    just curious , what kind of pickup do you use for this instrument?

  • @zdude335
    @zdude3353 жыл бұрын

    Just saw you on ard Sportschau. How cool is that 🤘🎸

  • @fidelbene7730

    @fidelbene7730

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yeah, me too! Congrats on the gig

  • @reizo20

    @reizo20

    3 жыл бұрын

    Me too. Never expected to see you there. Glückwunsch!

  • @shockandaweawakentheworld1910
    @shockandaweawakentheworld19103 жыл бұрын

    Nice! I still use an acoustic 5 string which sounds best to me. No picks are how it should always be taught and played

  • @philipmcadam5339
    @philipmcadam53393 жыл бұрын

    Lesser Artists borrow, great Artists steal - Pablo Picasso

  • @philipmcadam5339

    @philipmcadam5339

    3 жыл бұрын

    Be great.

  • @Izar_Sirius
    @Izar_Sirius3 жыл бұрын

    The gimbri exists in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia

  • @badreddineelfiche3056

    @badreddineelfiche3056

    Жыл бұрын

    Nope its moroccan istrument used in moroccan gnawa

  • @badreddineelfiche3056

    @badreddineelfiche3056

    Жыл бұрын

    Even if he is in Algeria, he is originally from Morocco

  • @charleslehmann1
    @charleslehmann13 жыл бұрын

    Hello! If you want to hear this instrument played by a musician from Essaouira, check this on YT: BANIYA - Mohamed Khabba Trio

  • @thetomster7625
    @thetomster7625 Жыл бұрын

    I think the appropriation discussion in art is a bit over complicated... to me its simple: you experience something, its resonates with you, it inspires you and you will - to some degree - include into your own art. And since you are telling stories anyway, you can just be completely open, where you have it from: Give the credit. Its only really stealing if either it becomes your whole act or if you pretend it was your invention. everything else is just a shared and collaborative forward movement and in same way only art is capable of. oh and btw: what a lovely instrument - I first heard it played by Marcus Miller in Montreux - Bs River :)

  • @lars5174
    @lars51743 жыл бұрын

    That tuning sounds like a part of the instrumental part in "Autobahn" by Kraftwerk.

  • @kwyatt261
    @kwyatt2613 жыл бұрын

    The sintir seems to be much more akin to a banjo than a bass, which makes sense seeing as the banjo came from Africa

  • @ushnicyuvnikof2748
    @ushnicyuvnikof2748 Жыл бұрын

    Ok so, if I take this to a luthier, how low can he get the action on one of these beauties? Because I'm forming this Russian funk band and my costume is a voodoo witch Doctor, I'm goinh to be called Dr Zulu Phonk, I've written my the 1st song called " get down power to the brothers of funk the man cant hold me down im funktastic" and I've decided on one of these over a Hofner! Also do they come with pick ups? Can I put a seymour duncan in it and what tunners would you recommend I was thinking some Schallers.

  • @johnviolette5511
    @johnviolette55113 жыл бұрын

    Julia, this is not the right place to post but I just watched both Earth Wind and Fire videos and you are such a fantastic player. But how do you learn these songs so quickly and how do you remember them?

  • @ThomannsGuitarsBasses

    @ThomannsGuitarsBasses

    3 жыл бұрын

    Hi John, most of the time I learn the bass lines by ear :) // Cheers, Julia

  • @johnviolette5511

    @johnviolette5511

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@ThomannsGuitarsBasses that's awesome. I'm lucky if I get the root notes and a few colorful licks every now and then.

  • @boldsquid8940
    @boldsquid89403 жыл бұрын

    Is that the same instrument at the start of downgrade desert by Igorr?

  • @konstantinosmparmpounis6464

    @konstantinosmparmpounis6464

    3 жыл бұрын

    I don't know but isn't that supposed to be middle eastern

  • @boldsquid8940

    @boldsquid8940

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@konstantinosmparmpounis6464 Interesting

  • @bassist789
    @bassist7893 жыл бұрын

    REMEMBER: ALL MUSIC IS THE SAME. LISTEN CLOSELY AND FOR LONG ENOUGH AND IT WILL BECOME INCREASINGLY OBVIOUS!!!! EDIT: THIS IS A GOOD THING!

  • @kirkbolas4985
    @kirkbolas49853 жыл бұрын

    What I knew prior to this video hosted by Julia (and her expert skills as an interviewer) with Michael as a most engaging guest: I was vaguely aware of a stringed, melodic bass instrument used in certain North African folk music. I was told it was called a Sintir, a member of the Lute family. That was the extent of my knowledge. What I learned: Apparently the Gimbri is another name for the Sintir and it’s used in traditional Gnawa music, a genre I’d never heard of before. It’s made of wood, camel hide and genuine animal gut strings along with some functional metal furniture. It performs three, separate and distinct roles simultaneously in the hands of a skilled player. It’s played both with a grooving accompaniment and in unison with the sole vocalist (depending on the part of the song performed at the moment); it’s accompanied by only one other instrument, a metallic castanet-like instrument (that I did know about), that I know as the Garageb. I didn’t know how or where the Garageb was utilized until now. There’s more I learned but these are the highlights. Thank you Julia and Micheal. One question, with some background context: It’s a fretless instrument, so it’s not necessarily predetermined as to the intervallic sensibilities of the playable notes. Most of what I heard Michael playing seemed fairly Western, with the 12 note diatonic base and a 7-note, major scale set of intervals. I did pick up on the microtonal aspects and would have not known this was deliberate unless Michael had indicated as such. Was Micheal deliberately playing with a familiar set of Western sounding intervals for us or is the traditional Gnawa music intervallic set that close to the Western system, whether it has just naturally developed that way or having been influenced** by European music? **The influence I’m thinking of is when the Moors (from Morocco) and Spaniards/Portuguese, somewhat peacefully, coinhabited the Iberian peninsula up until about five or six centuries ago. Michael’s brother, being an ethnomusicologist, might have the answer to my question.

  • @JasperKloek

    @JasperKloek

    Жыл бұрын

    Interesting question! My guess would be the answer is a bit of each of those.

  • @desecration171
    @desecration1713 жыл бұрын

    Nice job on the origin story. You usually have to beat the correct information out of people about how something changed from Point A to B due to wars, colonization, migration, or integration.

  • @JTPrime08
    @JTPrime083 жыл бұрын

    Noice😂👍🏾👌🏾

  • @dennisojohnson
    @dennisojohnson3 жыл бұрын

    I believe that music is original to Africa . That make me believe also, that the Garden of Eden must also be in Africa .

  • @stoatystoat174
    @stoatystoat1742 ай бұрын

    :)

  • @drisselmhamdi9221
    @drisselmhamdi92216 ай бұрын

    Marcus Miller played Guenbri in a concert or a documentary.

  • @firashebili
    @firashebili Жыл бұрын

    didn't you find someone from Gnawa? the guy doesn't represent Gnawa even though he plays, just as a matter of recognition to the music genre, imagine I talk to an american about Spanish music... respect though

  • @moussaoukazi7238
    @moussaoukazi72383 жыл бұрын

    It’s not sentir guys it’s guimbri :)

  • @fusionistaaaa
    @fusionistaaaa5 ай бұрын

    Interesting interview Julia. Michael caught the essence of the guimbri and explains very well. Currently in gnawa land, it inspired me to resample your interview kzread.info/dash/bejne/n42om62qmKfAlqg.html and make it a 3 part gnawa trance song. First with acoustic samples, then finding the link with samba before getting into the trance. What do you think?

  • @jimkiousis
    @jimkiousis3 жыл бұрын

    😶🙃

  • @sterngaz7319
    @sterngaz7319 Жыл бұрын

    It's Marroccan grounds

  • @AtoZBestProducts
    @AtoZBestProducts Жыл бұрын

    Gambri gnaws you are welcome

  • @BenTrem42
    @BenTrem423 жыл бұрын

    ...which also is where banjo comes from. yoiks

  • @szrnkabela
    @szrnkabela3 жыл бұрын

    Research topic for Davie504 around the world

  • @adlafiadlafi3425
    @adlafiadlafi34252 ай бұрын

    Better than playing ganbri abd Rahman baco team al ghiawan

  • @montycline9840
    @montycline98403 жыл бұрын

    That was really cold to watch in here. Thank you both for your time but put not together.

  • @Lectric_Blue
    @Lectric_Blue3 жыл бұрын

    Why don't we use music to help cure sick people in our western cultures? Music has the power to get through to a person's inner self, to their soul. It lifts your mood, it makes you feel better, it's a positive force for good. We all know this instinctively, we feel it at concerts. It is music making us feel good. I have seen the change music can make to a room full of dementia sufferers when tambourines and triangles are handed out. When the music starts it awakens something inside them, they join in. It lifts their mood. It's a real tangible thing. We should use music in hospitals to help relieve stress and anxiety and to promote quicker healing.

  • @nordenrhazali2696
    @nordenrhazali2696 Жыл бұрын

    Gnawa is purely moroccan, nothing to have with algeria. Yes, they play it, but it is originated from morocco.

  • @strat0871
    @strat08713 жыл бұрын

    Davie 504 would say:" Epic !.. but- this- is- not- B A S S, ..SLAP !

  • @szrnkabela

    @szrnkabela

    3 жыл бұрын

    Actually, Michael is slappin the i strument the whole time!

  • @jiloune0
    @jiloune0Ай бұрын

    Moroccan not algerian, Gnawa music with guelbri exist only in Morocco 👍♥️🌹🇲🇦

  • @jpseph5471
    @jpseph54713 жыл бұрын

    think homie is on acid

  • @SinnGread
    @SinnGread3 жыл бұрын

    they ought to be interviewing Julia instead ... she is way more interesting and less smug

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