Ahmed Abdul-Samed

Ghanaian Gonge Fiddle

Ahmed Abdul-Samed is a musician from Ghana who plays gonje. His first contact with music was through his grandfathers as a child, they taught him the traditional horsehair violin. Nowadays, he is considered a master in his field and regularly performs at traditional ceremonies and music festivals around Ghana. Abdul-Samed has released two albums in Northern Ghana throughout his career – one of them blends the sonorous gonje with Western Instrumentation. Abdul-Samed is a gonje musician, first learning this traditional horse-hair violin as a child from his grandfathers. He is a master in his field and regularly performs at traditional ceremonies and music festivals around Ghana. Abdul-Samed brings experience and wisdom to his teaching, and many Bizung students, apprenticed to this old craft, have benefited from his expressive knowledge. He also introduces younger children to the ghale, or calabash rattle, played in mesmerizing accompaniment to the gonje. Samed has released two albums in Northern Ghana, one of which blends the sonorous gonje with Western Instrumentation. He is a trustee for the Northern Musicians Union of Ghana. In addition, Abdul-Samed is a teacher at the Playing For Change Foundation’s Bizung School of Music and Dance, where he brings all his experience and wisdom into his teaching. He is also a trustee for the Northern Musicians Union of Ghana.