I have measured out my life with coffee spoons. — T. S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” I went to play music with a friend, and when he showed up he said there had been some upset in his family: his young son having a meltdown after a disruption in his routine. I said I could identify.… Continue Reading
New Release! Roots Super Jam: Collected West African & Diaspora Drum Rhythms Roots Jam * Volumes 1, 2 & 3 All three volumes of Roots Jam West African and Afro-Latin drumming lessons and notation are now available to you in one book. Learn djembe rhythms, dunun patterns, and other hand drum and percussion parts, along… Continue Reading
Recently I have been emailing a school student working on a music project, answering questions about West African rhythms. His latest query asked for exercises or tips for mastering polyrhythms. Polyrhythms, in a nutshell, are combinations of rhythms using different time signatures, played together. Here are some prototypical polyrhythms: With any 4/4 pattern…the Afro-Latin clave:… Continue Reading
Two new publications are available for beginning or experienced drummers to learn from. These resources offer accessible rhythms and experiential lessons that helped me in the early phase of my journey as a hand drummer. Friday Night Jam is a kind of anecdotal, instructional how-to (and sometimes painful how-not-to) guide to group improvisation, based on my… Continue Reading
