Cougar WebWorks 
Dance
workshop
At the Argenta (B.C.) Fall
Faire on the fall equinox weekend, drummers and dancers enjoyed
a workshop designed to match basic dance moves with
particular rhythmic effects. A circle of 15 dancers warmed up to
a beat provided by the five drummers, a basic Olatunji dance warmup:
_____ _____ _____ _____
| | | | | | | | | | | |
G - g d g d G - g d - -
Click
for sound:
RealAudio - Track2-1
Then breathing to a count of two, in and
out, slowing to a four count, for relaxation and internal timing.
The first dance sequence used the same rhythmic form as the warmup
above, but alternating with all bass notes for a while, while dancers
moved close to the ground, and all high rim notes, while dancers
flung their arms into the air and whirled stretching high.
Next the dancers explored side-to-side and forward-and-back movements,
to a rhythm with a swing feel:
_______ _______
| | | | | | | |
D g T - - G d g
Click
for sound:
RealAudio - Track2-2
This rhythm, normally an Afro-Latin fast rock piece, was played at a moderately slow tempo; then as dancers speeded up, it changed to the Cha-cha:
_______ _______
| | | | | | | |
D g T - D g d g
Click
for sound:
RealAudio
- Track2-3
The final movement sequence alternated between contraction and expansion. In Bob Moses' organization of rhythm patterns (see his book, Drum Wisdom), "Contract" is a term for patterns that emphasize the second beat of four (example: Candombe); and "Expand" rhythms emphasize the fourth of four. So the following two rhythms accompanied these movements:
_______ _______
| | | | | | | |
D G - - D G
d g contract
Click
for sound:
RealAudio - Track2-4
D g d P - g d g expand
Click
for sound:
RealAudio - Track2-5
Dancers wheeled freely now in a fast melee, while drummers accelerated the pace of the expansive rhythm. Finally dancers went into freeform while drummers and percussionists jammed on a samba. Most dancers then drifted back into the world of the fair, while a few dedicated sprites carried on, inspiring drummers in further improvisation.
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David
Thiaw Workshop:
David is a Senegalese master
drummer now based in Calgary. In early October he gave a great 3-day
workshop in tiny Johnson's Landing, B.C. We were a mixed class of
15 drummers ranging from no experience to six years. Within the
first session he had us all learning a dozen new patterns and playing
them well together, moving back and forth among them with dynamic
flexibility. His approach was unique to workshops I've taken in
this aspect of combining traditional rhythms creatively in new compositions.
We had all learned to play thirty new rhythms and breaks by the
end, fluidly and together and with rapid recognition between them.
Here is a sampling of the rhythms David Thiaw teaches. While he discourages written notes during the learning, he uses cue cards with the names of the rhythms as an integral part of his teaching. And he offers notated rhythms with personal sets of cards (and tapes) to those interested, after the workshop. My notation is from what I logged during the workshop:
_______ _______ _______ _______ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Iba (8-bar): D g - - - - D g D g - - - - - - D g D g D g D g D g - - - - - - _______ _______ _______ _______ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Dribble (8-bar): d g d g d g d g d g D G D G D G D G D G _______ _______ _______ _______ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | D g D g D g D g D g Duké D g D g D g g Duké Duke Dukeke _______ _______ _______ _______ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | D G D G D - - g d - g - d - g - Merengue _______ _______ _______ _______ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | D - - g d - g - D - g - d - g - Makru _______ _______ _______ _______ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | d - d g d - d - - - d - d - - - Door
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In drum jam situations, as well as in composing arrangements of rhythm patterns, it's most useful to have a repertoire of flexible tools. Among the most serviceable are the following: the "universal break," and two all-purpose accompaniment parts found in many traditional rhythms.
The universal break can be useful either as a crisp ending, or as a transition between patterns, or simply to make a piece more dynamic. It goes like this:
_______ _______ _______ _______
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
d - d g - g - g d - g - d - - -
Click
for sound:
RealAudio - Track2-6
Djembe master Mamady Keita plays it like this:
_______ _______ _______ _______
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
d - d g - g - g d - d g d - - -
This pattern is versatile. The hand order is not important. The basic four bars above can be extended with four more (a note on the one followed by rests) as follows:
_______ _______ _______ _______ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | d
or, these patterns can be doubled or tripled. David Thiaw teaches an extended Universal Break that uses the basic eight bars above twice, then a repeat of the first four twice, finishing with a final eight bars again.
Moving to the accompaniment parts, the following are said to be the original djembe rhythms, which may be true judging by their widespread use in African and Latin rhythmic ensembles. These are basically the same rhythm, notated slightly differently for playing in 4/4 or 6/8 time:
_______ _______
| | | | | | | |
T - - P T - d g
Click
for sound:
RealAudio - Track2-5
_____ _____
| | | | | |
P - g T -(D)
Click
for sound:
RealAudio - Track2-8
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Here are a few of my favorite sevens. I like sevens because they combine the dynamics and feel of fours and threes, and because they cut between the expectations of twelve and sixteen beat phrases. Note the grouping of notes into 4-4-3-3, then 3-3-4-4. These divisions are rather arbitrary but follow some of the internal patterning of notes. Another way to see the time signature is as 7/8: but to look for seven regular beats doesn't quite capture all the rounding effects of the threes.
_______ _______ _____ _____ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | D g d - D g d - D g d P d G D - T g - P T g - P T P T g D - - P - g T g D - D g d g D - - d - - g - D - d - g g D - d - - g d - D - d g d g (T) (T) (T P) _____ _____ _______ _______ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | D g d G d g - G d g D - d g T - T g d P - g d g D g d g
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During this week's practicing and jamming,
a couple of interesting combination patterns came up, mixing parts
from Aconcon and Koukou. For those who don't mind taking liberties
with the traditional pieces, try these for some novel effects, starting
with two or three djembes:
(P, T = slap; g, d = rim; G, D = bass)
_______ _______ | | | | | | | | P T P T g d P Koukou 1 P G P d Aconcon 2 (reversed) ------------------------- _______ _______ | | | | | | | | P T P T g d Aconcon 1 P d P G Aconcon 2 P T P T g d P Koukou 1
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Return
to Rhythms of the Week, Lesson Two
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to Rhythms of the Week, Lesson Four
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to Rhythms of the Week, Lesson Five
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to Rhythms of the Week, Lesson Six
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to Rhythms of the Week, Lesson Seven
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to Rhythms of the Week, Lesson Eight
Order ROOTS JAM: Collected Rhythms for Hand Drum & Percussion
Learn djembe and dundun rhythms the easy way