AZ Drum and Dance -
Traditional West African Drum Class
(Rhythms of the Mandeng)

Photos by Paul Luehrmann

 

 

 

 

May block for Level I and Level II classes starts 5/2

Level I:

Moribayassa

This is an old rhythm which plays a important and unusual role in the life of a woman. If a woman has a major problem or crisis in her life (i.e. illness or childlessness) - and she has unsuccesfully tried all possible means to resolve this problem - she wil make a vow. "If this problem will go away, I will dance the Moribayassa. It can sometimes take many years, but if the woman finally considers the problem solved, she will remember her vow and will dance the Moribayassa. For the dance she will dress in a way she would usually never do, she will wear old and worn cloths, she will act like a crazy person. This way she circles 3 or 7 times around the village. Musicians and other women follow her. After that she will change her cloths and will burry the old rags under a mango tree.

Moribayassa is in 4/4 time signature. We will learn all Dunun and Djembe parts.

Level II:

Soli rapide

This is a rhythm which belongs to the group of Soli rhythms which are played in the 3 months prior to the initiation of boys and girls as well as during the ceremony itself. Soli lent and Soli rapide are played back to back.Soli lent is the slow part which gives opportunity for the elder people to dance. Eventually the rhythm will make the transition into Soli rapid, which is very fast and has a 6/8 time signature. In this class we will focus on Soli rapide.

We will focus on Sangba and Dunun variations and the solo origineaux.

To sign in email Lorin@AZDrumAndDance.org
or call (480) 251 5351
Times and locations:
Level I Friday nights
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Flamenco! ... the Studio,
524 W Broadway Rd, Suite 108, Tempe (map it!)
Cost: $12 per class
Students can drop in with instructor's approval.
Prerequisites (see below).

Level II Friday nights
8:00 pm - 9:30 pm		 Flamenco! ... the Studio,
524 W Broadway Rd, Suite 108, Tempe (map it!)
Cost: $12 per class
Students can drop in with instructor's approval.
Prerequisites (see below).
Level III tbd.

Attendance by invitation only.

Students that are signed in for Level I and Level II pay $20 for both sessions.

 

If you have no drum let us know, we have extras. Although we recommend
that you get your own Djembe once you are commited to keep learning (... and practicing :-).
Click here to see on which rhythms we have worked on in past sessions

Join us to learn and play the indigenous music of the Djembe:

The djembe and the music played with it has its origin with the Malinke people (or Maninka) people of the Mandeng Empire located in West Africa. Today this is mainly Mali, Guinea and Ivory Coast. Drumming was never intended to be an art form. It was and is an integral part of the way of life. Their music is complex, not familiar to Westerners, but the polyrhythms and the swing used in this music is the foundation of todays Jazz and Latin music.

The Djembe drum has become increasingly popular outside of Africa and worldwide since the 70s. More people are becoming familiar with it through performance or have participated in instructional jam sessions.

However, there is more to the music of the Djembe.

AZDrumAndDance provides the opportunity to learn how to play the complex rhythms and experience it's cultural origins.

The classes are organized in 1 month blocks. This way, the students can have a continuous learning and improvement without having to revisit the previously learned material every week because of fluctuating attendance.
In order to account for the different skill levels, we have 3 levels of classes. The classes are taught by Bernd Geh with the assistance of selected AZD&D level 3 students.

What level am I ????
Below you will find the AZDrumAndDance definition of the different levels. This will help you understand in which level you belong and the teaching objectives of each class. If you want to learn Malinke music you will realize, that your learning process will go through different phases which we try to account for in the different levels.
Level I

The learning phase of a level I drummer can be described as the "pattern acquisition and motor skill phase". You spend most of your energy in learning the drum patterns and working on your motor skills. Level I drummers usually don't understand and hear the other parts of the rhythm while playing their own parts. In order to learn a djembe or dunun part you will need hours and very often the pattern will be gone once you stop playing for a while or have played another part. While you are a level I drummer, you are also beginning to learn a clear differentiation between the different sounds on the Djembe (slap, tone, bass)

The level 1 class focuses on rhythms with what would be called a 4/4 metric. Among the Malinke rhythms those are the least difficult to learn. In a teaching block each student will learn all the djembe accompaniments and all the dunun accompaniments. At the end of a session, the class will be able to play all parts of the rhythm as an ensemble.
Level II

A level 2 drummer already knows the basic accompaniments of 4/4 and 6/8 rhythms. Slaps and tones are no major obstacles anymore. The motor skills of playing bell and sticks on a dunun are developed. The learning phase of a level II drummer can be described as the "play and listen phase". You will slowly start to hear the other accompaniment parts of the rhythm, while you play your own part. You will start to understand your accompaniment in the context of the entire rhythm.

The level II class focuses on more complex rhythms including dunun variations and solo phrases. We will also learn echauffements. In level II class, we will also start to explore the "microtiming" of this music - slight syncopations which make this music sound so interesting and spicy.

A year or more of level I instruction (or the approval of the instructor) is required for level II class.
Level III

A level III drummer has typically been learning for 3-4 years on a continual basis. You are a level III drummer, when you don't need more than 5 minutes to learn and play any new pattern. In this phase you are not collecting patterns anymore, you focus on the music. As a level III player, you will be able to play difficult off-beat figures and won't be "sucked" onto the beat anymore. You can clearly hear all the other accompaniments and don't get confused by them. The phase of learning can be described as the "groove and energy phase".

The level III class focuses on the groove of the music. We will use the microtiming to make the rhythms sound energetic. We will also work on speed and will understand how the swing of this music changes with speed. Echauffements, breaks and solo phrases will be a considerable part of the learning.

Attendance in level III classes is by invitation only.

 

About the teacher:
Bernd Geh has been continuously teaching West African drumming since 2001 in the Phoenix area. Bernd is originally from Germany. His major and most influential teacher is Herman Kathan, who is a professional musician and certified Mamady Keita instructor. Bernd also learned from numerous african masters and teachers, such as Mamady Keita, Famodou Konate, Adama Drame, Amadou Kienou, Moussa Traore, Abdoul Doumbia and Bolokada Conde, Bernd is a physicist by education, his passion for West African music provides a healthy balance with his professional life and is a wonderful complement to science: African music combines aspects of science and metaphysics. The structure of this music has an unintended -but yet brilliant - logic with analogies to geometry or the complex but perfectly regular structure of crystals.
However, drumming - and especially drumming for dancers - can put you in a mind state that is beyond the scope of physics. Both aspects are major driving forces for him to continue the never-ending path of being a learner combined with the joy of teaching this wonderful music.

Bernd and his wife Lorin are the founders of AZDrumAndDance.

If you have any questions, please call Lorin at 480-251-5351 or send email to Lorin@AzDrumAndDance.org.

See photographs of the Friday night class performing:
- Recital at Domba Studio in Dec. 2004
- Recital at Domba Studio in Dec. 2003
- Domba Studio 1st anniversary celebration, Sept. 2003