A traditional music lesson in Saint-Louis is an introduction to Senegalese instruments and rhythms with a musician from the city. The session lasts an hour and a half and is priced per person, with no stated level.

An introduction with a musician from the city

The idea is simple: a hands-on session of an hour and a half to get started with traditional Senegalese instruments and rhythms, with a musician from Saint-Louis. The price is per person, which suits a solo traveller as well as a group booking several places. An hour and a half leaves time to settle in, get to know the instruments and play rather than listen.

The lesson takes place in Saint-Louis itself, so it can be combined with a visit to the island on the same day, or slotted between two nature outings in the region.

If you live in the area, the session is a way to get into the country’s music at your own pace. If you are visiting, it naturally extends a visit to the city, on the hands-on side rather than as a show.

Saint-Louis, between river and ocean

Saint-Louis is a former colonial capital at the mouth of the Senegal River, facing the Atlantic Ocean, and its historic island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city is made up of three parts: the island of Ndar in the middle of the river, the Langue de Barbarie on the ocean side and Sor on the mainland bank. Heritage, fishing, birdwatching and a Sahelian atmosphere meet here, and music is one more dimension of it. The northern region is best read along the Senegal River, which you follow upstream from the Atlantic: it is the Senegal of water and light, a setting that gives the lesson a different backdrop from the beaches of the southern coast.

Around the session

To carry on in the same spirit, guided cultural visits help you read the city, and percussion workshops or singing and music classes extend the introduction. Nearby, the Langue de Barbarie National Park and the Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary are nature outings.