West African Drumming
Drawing from the Manding, or Malinke tradition of West Africa, we perform and teach the traditional rythms of this amazing body of music. Hundreds of rhythms based in the village life of Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Mali have found their way intact to our country, through the teaching of master drummers Mamady Keita, Famoudou Konate, and many others. These rhythms are composed of at least 5, and often 7 or more drum parts that create a powerful blanket of music specifically for different events, members of the community, rites of passage, etc. The universal themes contained in these rhythms are so meaningful and important, maybe now more than ever. We keep these traditional meanings along with the rhythms, and find ways to apply their joy, their reminders, and their power to our lives and our own communities.
We find that drumming helps us balance out the rational, intellectual parts of us with the more intuitive, musical, and experiential elements of our humanness. It also is great for coordination, mental agility, relaxation, and group bonding. There also seems to be some ancient human connection to the experience of drumming that just seems so dang fun and enjoyable for people who do it.
Come give it a try! We currently offer a West African Drumming II class for adults, which is for people with some experience drumming. Starting in January, 2011, we will have new West African Drumming I class for people who have never drummed before, or who have very little experience with playing specific parts on a drum. Also starting in January is West African Drumming for teenagers! If you know someone who might be interested, send 'em our way. We're having a blast in our second year teaching drumming in the area.
