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Contents<\/p>
The African drum and the Korean city are both named Songbong.<\/p>\n
Sometimes names don\u2019t make sense<\/strong> in another language or country.\u00a0 Sometimes names do not age well<\/strong>, sometimes you get the wrong kind of second glances<\/strong>, and sometimes names are just bad ideas from the beginning.<\/strong><\/p>\n Would you fully trust a restaurant called \u201cSam and Ella\u201d?\u00a0 What about the \u201cCurl up and Dye\u201d hairdressing salon or the \u201cSTD Contractors\u201d?\u00a0 Some say a name makes all the difference when it comes to propelling a business to success, rather than slogging on.\u00a0 <\/strong>I am not sure about that.<\/p>\n Our business is called SONGBONG.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/songbong.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SGB-banner.jpg” alt=”Songbong drums” title_text=”Songbong-banner” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.10.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.8″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \n We did not give it too much consideration at first.\u00a0 <\/span>Simply because it wasn\u2019t really a business at the time, it was just a percussion band.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong> <\/span>Before the Songbong name become part of our brand identity,<\/strong> it took a few years.\u00a0 <\/span>So we did not think of it as a very important decision.<\/strong><\/p>\n David – always ready for a questionable joke – came up with the brilliant idea : \u00a0“What about SONGBONG?”<\/strong>\u00a0 <\/span>My English was very basic at the time and I didn\u2019t really get the pun.\u00a0 <\/span>Humour is always quite difficult to grasp for a non-native.\u00a0 “<\/strong><\/span>Songbong? Sure, whatever”.\u00a0 <\/strong>After all, I knew what a songbong was having learn how to play that African drum in France.\u00a0 Plus,\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know what a \u201cbong\u201d<\/em> was.\u00a0 Deciding of this name or that name for the band was not a priority.\u00a0 <\/span>We were more focused on playing well, teaching drumming and getting gigs.<\/strong><\/p>\n The early followers of Songbong were mostly adults interested in African drums and hand-drumming.\u00a0 <\/span>They got the joke and it made people exchange complicit smiles. \u00a0 <\/span>After noticing that an unusual number of\u00a0 <\/span>Asian-looking fans<\/strong> seemed to have some friendly interest in our sign-written van, we also realised that Songbong was a city in Korea<\/strong>. This fact in itself pushes our business to page 10 of results of a Google search.<\/strong><\/p>\n With time, we organised more serious work with schools<\/strong>, animated arts weeks <\/strong>and ran drumming workshops<\/strong> in the South Island.\u00a0 We took part of numerous events<\/strong> in and around Dunedin. The growing attendance at the weekly dance class<\/strong> also helped put the name out there. Slowly, Songbong became known as a drumming business.<\/strong><\/p>\n Since 2009 or so, David has been spending more and more time making and repairing drums.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong>Little by little, we let go of the teaching and performing side of it. \u00a0 <\/span>We now mostly sell drums to schools and pre-schools<\/strong> and our reach extents to the North Island as well.<\/p>\n Fortunately, our hastely chosen name has never been a hindrance.<\/strong>\u00a0 It became really who we are as a business and hardly draws a smile of people’s faces these days.<\/p>\n Here are a few business naming tips I wish we had considered:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.8″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Songbong is the English pronunciation of the African name of a specific drum<\/strong>. The name has other spellings and pronunciations.\u00a0 In coastal Senegal, for example, songbong<\/em> sounds more like samba<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n And yes, that is the same word we use for the Brazilian drum and dance culture<\/strong> we associate with the colourful carnival in Rio. Samba schools prepare all year round towards the carnival parade where they compete against each other. Their bass drums have a similar shape and musical role as the West African drum : songbong.<\/strong><\/p>\n The French language writes songbong<\/em>: sangban<\/em>.\u00a0 \u00a0Sangban<\/em> is therefore the most common spelling.\u00a0 <\/span>Many countries in West Africa where the songbong is used were politically controlled by the French until the 60s.<\/strong><\/p>\n Usually it will be a 30\/35cm diameter, double-headed bass drum<\/strong>. It is carved in one piece from a short length of tree trunk.\u00a0 <\/span>Generally a songbong is longer than it is wide<\/strong>.\u00a0 The carver might try to sculpt it out as light as possible, because sometimes a songbong will be used in situations where some parading is required<\/strong> and will therefore need to be carried.<\/p>\n Mostly though, the songbong lies on its side, and has a small blacksmith\u2019s forge-welded bell mounted on the top.<\/strong> A songbong might be made sturdy enough to carry heavier animal hide, seeking a lower note.<\/strong> The drummer strikes the goat-hide or calf-hide head with his strong hand, using a hardwood stick. His weaker hand will play the small bell, perhaps with a metal striker such as a large nail.<\/p>\n Some songbongs do not parade much at all, and may never travel. They will be used in the village square, at every folk dance occasion, perhaps in the same spot for century after century.<\/p>\n Musically, the songbong is the core.\u00a0 The other drums depend on its heartbeat when improvising.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/songbong.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Bass-Drum-Dununs-1.jpg” alt=”African drums songbong kenkenni dunumba” title_text=”Bass-Drum-Dununs-1″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.10.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.8″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Drumming in Africa is inseparable from song and dance and most often we can identify the dance it is calling for, by the pattern played on the songbong.<\/strong> When the African Ballets<\/em> started touring Europe in the 70s, westerners discovered and were instantly seduced by the highly rehearsed stage interpretation of African drum music tradition.<\/strong>\u00a0 <\/span>The djemb\u00e9 (hand drum) especially made a big impact on western audiences. Because of their sharp and loud presence, djemb\u00e9s quickly became a favourite of musicians. Djemb\u00e9s are traditional drums from Guinea and Mali<\/strong> in West Africa. Despite often being presented in the West as a solo instrument, a djemb\u00e9\u00a0 <\/span>is almost never played alone,<\/strong> neither is it played in an ensemble consisting only of djemb\u00e9s.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/songbong.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Djembes-and-dununs.jpg” alt=”African drums” title_text=”Djembes and dununs” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.10.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.8″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \n Because they do not have the bold appeal of djemb\u00e9, the dununs (bass drums of the traditional ensemble) are not as well-known.<\/p>\n The dununs intricate rhythms are usually made of :<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Traditional African drum ensembles are made of djemb\u00e9s and dununs.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Typically, the small kenkenni<\/strong> has a short repetitive phrase, which does not change. The medium songbong,<\/strong> has a longer but persistent phrase, often an 8-bar, or even 16-bar phrase, but does not usually vary.<\/p>\n The large dunumba<\/strong> has an empty phrase, with a long cycle, and varies a lot, including improvisation, often \u201cdialoguing\u201d with the other soloist on one of the djembes. These variations amplify, recognise\u00a0 <\/span>or acknowledge dance moves by a dancer, who happens to be the soloist at that time.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.8″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \n <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Naming our business Songbong was our way of acknowledging the importance of this African drum in the bass section in traditional West African dance ensembles.\u00a0 <\/strong>As for the North Korean city of the same name, it is a complete coincidence and the two are not connected.<\/p>\n Choosing a name for a business is not a light affair, but our experience says that a hastely chosen name is not always a problem.<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Do you know what an African drum and a Korean city have in common?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":102176,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"WHAT IS A SONGBONG?\r\n\r\nThis is the English pronunciation of an African name for a drum. It has other spellings and pronunciations.\r\n\r\nIn coastal Senegal, for example, songbong is said \u201csamba\u201d.\r\n\r\nAnd yes, that\u2019s the same word they use for the Brazilian drum &dance culture we associate with the carnival in Rio. Each drum ensemble is a Samba school, and their bass drums are a similar shape the songbong.\r\n\r\nThe French language writes songbong \u201csangban\u201d, where the \u201can\u201d phonemes are the nasal sound in French where the \u201cn\u201d is silent. Sangban is therefore the most common spelling for songbong, as the countries in West Africa who use it, were all French colonies until 1960 or so. Much of the time, people from different countries in the region would need a lingua franca to communicate with each other, handily provided by the European colonizer. Similar to what happens all over the world now, using American English.\r\n\r\nWherever we see sangban, or sanban, written, it probably means the European music writer is using the original French term. There was no earlier agreed written term, as the African languages were practically all pre-literate in pre-colonial times.\r\n\r\nSo, what is a songbong?\r\n\r\nUsually it will be a 35cm diameter, double-headed bass drum. Definitely between 30cm and 40cm. It will be carved in one piece from a short piece of tree trunk, the length being variable, but generally a songbong is longer than it is wide. The carver might try to sculpt it out as light as possible, because sometimes a songbong will be used in situations where some parading is required, in some initiation situations for example.\r\n\r\nMostly though, the songbong lies on its side, and has a small blacksmith\u2019s forge-welded bell mounted on the side. The carver doesn\u2019t need to prioritise lightness in this case, but will make a songbong sturdy enough to carry heavier animal hide, seeking a lower note. The drummer strikes the goat-hide or calf-hide head with his strong hand, using a hardwood stick. His weaker hand will play the small bell, perhaps with a metal striker such as a large nail.\r\n\r\nSome songbongs do not parade much at all, and maybe never travel. They will be used in the village square, at every folk dance occasion, perhaps in the same spot for century after century.\r\n\r\nSongbongs are just one drum in an ensemble, led by the more well-known djembe. Traditional ensembles might be small quartets or quintets. There are two other bass drums possible: the smaller kenkenni (25cm diam) and the large dunun\/dununba (40-50cm diam).\r\n\r\nEach drum in the \u201cbass\u201d section has its own job to do, but most often we can identify the dance it is calling for, by the rhythm played on the songbong.\r\n\r\nOther examples of this, in popular music culture, would be the clave pattern in a rhumba band, or the rhythm guitar groove in a reggae band. We can instantly recognize the music style just from one element in the ensemble.\r\n\r\nWhen we were choosing a name for our music business in NZ, we picked Songbong, despite its possible wink at soft drug culture. We weathered that storm, which proved not too controversial when we started up in the 1990s, and no longer even produces a smile on buyers\u2019 faces.\r\n\r\nThe name songbong was acknowledging the importance of the \u201cbass\u201d section in some traditional African dance ensembles.","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/songbong.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100961"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/songbong.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/songbong.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songbong.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songbong.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100961"}],"version-history":[{"count":55,"href":"https:\/\/songbong.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102217,"href":"https:\/\/songbong.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100961\/revisions\/102217"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songbong.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/songbong.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songbong.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songbong.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
What is a songbong?<\/span><\/h2>\n
An African drum<\/span><\/h3>\n
An important drum<\/span><\/h3>\n
Djemb\u00e9s are to be played with a songbong<\/span><\/h2>\n
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<\/ul>\n
The songbong is the heart of the orchestra.<\/span><\/h2>\n