A Workbook for West African Drumming Classes
Spirited Heart
Acknowledgements Babatunde Olatunji “Rhythm is the soul of life. The whole universe revolves in rhythm. Everything and every human action revolves in rhythm.” - Olatunji
No one person is responsible for making Afro-Cubano drumming what it is today. But certainly no one person is more responsible for making drumming accessible to the entire world than the Master, Babtunde Olatunji. Babatunde Olatunji quietly left this plane Sunday, April 6, 2003, 7:30 am, at the age of 76. It is to his living memory, to his very existence that this book is respectfully and lovingly dedicated. As his drum beats, so too our hearts. No person is more credited for introducing West African drumming to the West than Babatunde Olatunji. He is a “Master of Drums,” the “Maestro”, a virtuoso of West African percussion. Born and raised in Nigeria, Olatunji was educated at Morehouse College in Atlanta and the New York University Graduate School. At Morehouse, he began performing informally, entertaining fellow students. As the demand for his music increased, he entered the professional music field. In 1959, Columbia Records released Olatunji’s first album, Drums of Passion, which became an unprecedented, worldwide smash hit. It was the first album to bring genuine African music to Western ears, and it went on to sell over five million copies. Olatunji has traveled the world for forty years spreading his music and African culture. Thirty years ago, he founded the Olatunji Center of African Culture in the heart of Harlem and he has been a member of the faculties at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California and the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York for almost 15 years. At these institutions, as well as at innumerable workshops and festivals, Olatunji continues to pursue his strong commitment to spreading knowledge of African culture through the teaching of traditional drumming, dancing, and chanting in classes for adults and young people. Olatunji received a Grammy Award in 1991 for his collaboration with Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart on their Planet Drum album. In addition, his composition “Jingo Lo Ba” has become a signature song for the rock group Santana. Olatunji also has written scores for Broadway and Hollywood productions, including the music for She’s Gotta Have It, a film by Spike Lee. In 1997, Chesky Records released love drum talk, which went on to be nominated for the 1998 Grammy for Best World Music Album. On it, Olatunji unleashes the rhythm of passion. Olatunji leads an ebullient ensemble of guitarists, singers and, of course, percussionists through a series of spirited meditations on the nature of love. Lust, kinship, sensuality, courtship, and spirituality are the themes Olatunji uses to fuel his joyous, infectious playing.
Arthur Hull
Arthur Hull (right) is a world-renowned community drum facilitator. His book and CD, Drum Circle Spirit, Facilitating Human Potential Through Rhythm, is the culmination of his years of “rhythmical evangelism” and group facilitation around the world. He is also the author of the video/ book Guide to Endrummingment and has received the All One Tribe Foundation’s Drumming Education Award and the 1998 Drum Magazine “Drummie of the Year” award. Hull has facilitated drum circles and rhythmic alchemy playshops at the Association of Humanistic Psychology, Association for Music Therapists and many other alternative healing conferences, and has appeared on the covers of the Wall Street Journal and Yoga Journal. Within the corporate environment, he has facilitated interactive rhythmical team-building events for groups ranging from 20 to 6000, including Lucent Technology, Walt Disney, Pac Bell, Cisco Systems and Sun Microsystems.
Melvin Johnson Melvin Johnson is an accomplished drum maker, Medicine Drummer, African Drummer and teacher of African Drumming rhythms.
Melvin was exposed to African Drumming as therapy in 1995, during a stay at the V.A. Hospital, in a class taught by Dr. Jim Arnold (ret). Since his unlikely introduction into the world of African Drumming almost a decade ago, Melvin has attended numerous workshops and classes as he has sought to further his knowledge and understanding of how drums and drumming can be used as healing tools, not only for those playing, but as a medium to project peace and well-being to any point on the planet When not teaching or facilitating drum circles at ONE, Melvin can be found at his Norman, Oklahoma home making, tuning and repairing drums, facilitating the drum circle at the V.A. Hospital where he was first introduced to the medium or working with the youth at the “Art Box” on Britton road in Oklahoma City. In the Spring of 2003 Melvin and Todd helped us kick off a series of community drumming events called Norman Summer Thunder. The events were geared to bring as many people into the fold as possible. For more information on Summer Thunder or how to start a similar activity in your area, just hit our website- www.mindbodyspirit.us
•
Todd Balcom
Todd Balcom, MT-BC is a music therapist, drum circle facilitator, wellness educator, and professional musician. He completed his degree in Music Therapy from Southwestern Oklahoma State University and was Board Certified by the CBMT in 1994 following a clinical internship at Griffin Memorial State Psychiatric Hospital. He spent the next six years as a Music Therapist, and Clinical Case Manager with Norman Regional Hospital (1994-2000) in Norman, Oklahoma where he continued to develop his skills as a health clinician in adolescent, adult, and geriatric mental health and wellness. In addition to coordinating ADD-FIRE activities for the community, He currently serves as the Community Outreach Coordinator for the non-profit agency Transition House, Inc. where he provides music therapy, substance abuse education, and leisure/recreation activities for adults suffering from mental illness. Todd began formally studying percussion at the age of 10. He has studied with Master Facilitator and REMO Signature Series Drum Designer Arthur Hull and is a graduate of Arthur Hull’s Village Music Circles™-Rhythm Alchemy program. He has also attended workshops and master classes with Master Drummer Gordy Ryan as well as study with some of the leading health care professionals in the country such as Dr. Barry Bittman,MD.
Introduction,
Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Drum When I first asked Melvin Johnson, our first drum teacher, what texts he’d like us to sell for his class, he gave me a look I’ll never forget. It was sort of a mix of “Why did you just stick your finger in my ear?” and “You must be the dumbest white man I’ve ever met.” Thus began my education into the world of West African Drumming. The simple fact is, when we began all of this, there were virtually no text-books for West African Drumming. There are more now, but not many, and few worth the paper they’re written on. There’s one that is specifically “Drums of Passion” oriented; I highly recommend it. Don’t bootleg a copy, either. You’ll find many of the same rythms as in this book, but buying it supports Babtunde’s continuing good works; I’m good with that. Go to the website (www.afterscience.com/olatunji/) and buy a copy. Then, if you don’t already have one, buy a copy of Olatunji’s classic “Drums of Passion”. Next, go out and buy a copy of “Love Drum Talk”, also by Master Babatunde. It’s put out by Chesky Music (www.chesky.com). Let’s see. . . Copyright. Simply enough, there is no copyright. There’s nothing that will prevent the overworked / underpaid drones at Kinko’s from just running off a couple of dozen (but please remember, you can download it for free at www.mindbodyspirit.us. . .). These rhythms have been around for hundreds and thousands of years longer than any human that could claim to own them and anyone that tries to reap a profit off of them just needs to come up with a new plan; these are free. Was this hard work? Hell, the spell-check alone took me almost 2 hours. . . Traditionally African rhythms were passed down word-of-mouth and by demonstration and practice. This was a great way of doing things in ancient Africa. The land was made up of a couple thousand wandering tribes that didn’t speak the same language, and nobody had a written version of any of the languages. Guess what? We have the ability to read and write now. And while it’s always good to commit things to memory (that’s a nice way of saying “memorize”) we have committed these songs to paper to make drumming more accessible to the entire world, not just those that have the disposable time to practice with a teacher for 15+ hours a week. Another nice aspect of having the rhythms written down is that there is some consistency. No two people are going to remember a rhythm the same way if they don’t hear it regularly (I still sometimes hum my old favorite “Don’t go ‘round tonight, for it’s bound to take your wife. There’s a baboon on the right. . .) This edition is a work in progress. Of all of the rhythms in the world, these don’t even scratch the surface. Have a rhythm that you’d care to contribute? E-mail us at the store. Give us as much information as you can about the song and it might make it into one of the updates. Will we pay you? Yeah! We’ll send you a FREE COPY of the book! Check to website often- We’ll add updates every couple of months, or so. (www.mindbodyspirit.us) This text is formatted to be printed (you’ll need to set your margins to the maximum) and is designed to be spiral-bound across the top. This allows for maximum room across the page for notes and what-not. Again, Kinko’s will be happy to help you in this regard. It’ll be about $5, but it’s well worth it. $5 for what is soon to be one of the best drumming text books out there; You could do worse. Enjoy the book. Enjoy drumming. Enjoy the fact that you have the ability to take up such a physically, mentally and spiritually rewarding hobby. Share you talent with as many people as you can. And for G*od’s sake, don’t mess up your fine-motor skills by screwing around with drugs. The choice is yours- choose not to be a moron. That’s it. That’s all I know. Rustin Sparks •
[email protected]
Babatunde Olatunji’s Warm Up Exercises G = B = rh bass Go = T = rh tone Pa = S = rh slap Dun = b = lh bass Do = t = lh tone Ta = s = lh slap 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Gun GoDo Gun GoDo GoDo Gun Gun GoDo GoDo Gun GoDo Gun GoDo GoDo Gun Pa Gun GoDo GoDo Gun Pa Ta Gun GoDo GoDo Gun PaGo PaGo Gun Pa Gun Pa Gun Pa GoDO Gun PaTa PaTa Gun Pa GoDo GoDo GoDo GoDo GoDo
B.Tt. B.Tt.Tt.B. B.Tt.Tt.B.Tt. B.Tt.Tt.B.S. B.Tt.Tt.B.Ss. B.Tt.Tt.B.ST.ST. B.S.B.S.B.S.Tt. B.Ss.Ss.B.S.Tt. Tt.Tt.Tt.Tt.
This is a great starting exercise. You play each one 4 times, then you move on to the next. When you get to the end of number 6, just cycle back around to number 1 and keep going. Mastering these rhythms will prove invaluable to you in learning to play the drum.
Apply the same approach (4X repeats) in solo practice to groups of rhythms, such as the rhythms for Fanga, Samba, et cetera. Not only will this enable you to learn the individual rhythms, but it will also enable you to switch from rhythm to rhythm, easily filling in the gaps between. This exercise will also lead to a very good understanding of how the rhythms relate to each other when you play them using Baba’s method.
Baba ends the GUN, GO DO, PA TA section with an exercise, noted below, that uses the three essential tones. This is also a good exercise to use daily as an effective warm-up. Not only is it good practice, but when mastered it becomes pretty fun, also.
To use the notation below (many thanks to Arthur Hull) try this; tap your finger in a slow, steady rhythm, one tap for every box in the phrase below. In this case, you would have eight taps per phrase. Keep on tapping, and once you’re comfortable with knowing where the first tap (the downbeat) of every eight is, try singing the GUN, GO DO, PA TA pattern along with the tapping. The GUN should always start on the first beat. If you think of the phrase in four beats, as the numbers signify, but keep tapping in eight, the rhythm may feel more fluid.
GUN
(PAUSE) GO
DO
PA
TA
(PAUSE) (PAUSE)
PATTERNS In this section. Baba covers some basic rhythms. These are basic structures that many of the African rhythms are based on. Next to practicing regularly, listening and watching Baba (or in our case, Melvin) play these rhythms is the best way to learn them. We will notate them as well, so that you can recall them easier and spend more time on the individual rhythms. Baba uses the same patterns for both the GO DO and PA TA tones. The patterns below are in the same order as Baba plays them when he first demonstrates the GO DO patterns on the drum, after singing them, only we have added a “ ” to emphasize a silent beat (PAUSE). So first sing along and then play on. As Baba emphasizes,
•
IF YOU CAN SING IT, YOU CAN PLAY IT!” Pattern A
GO
GO
DO
GO
DO
GO
DO
GO
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GO
DO
Pattern B
GUN
Pattern C
GUN
GO
DO
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GO
DO
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GO
DO
GO
DO
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
Pattern D
GUN
Pattern E
GUN
Pattern F
GUN
(Reprinted from http://www.une.edu.au/arts/kafui/warmup.htm - no longer posted)
Following are the rhythms and beats that Baba (and West African Drumming) have become famous for. Are these all of the rhythms? Certainly not; these are just the ones that we chose to put in the book!
Rhythm #
Title:
1
Samba
2
“Gordy’s Beat”
3
Khaki Lambe
4
Ramboday
5
Rumba
6
Mombasa (2 players, 4 drums)
7
Bolon (Malinke Rythym)
8
Shiko (Nigerian Drum Rythym)
9
Kassagbe
10
Rumbayesa
11
Kasa
12
Tiriba
13
Caba
14
Scarf (Sword)
15
Kashlima
16
Shiftateli
17
Yankidi
18
Macrou
19
Kpanlogo (Dance of Youth)
20
Djankadi
21
The Train
22
The Pulse
23
High Life Bottom
24
The Clave
25
Bolamba
26
Beledy
27
Mesmoudic (Cane)
28
Fanga
1 - Samba GUN
DUN
GO
GUN
GUN
PA
GO
GUN
GUN
GO
GO
GUN
TA
GO
DO
GO PA
GUN
DUN
GO
DO
GO
GO
GUN
GUN
DO
PA
PA
GO
DO
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GO
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GO
DO
GO
TA
GO
PA
GO
DO
GO
DO
GO
GUN
DO
GO
DO
GO
GO
DO
2 - “Gordy’S Beat” GUN
PA
GUN
PA
GUN
3 - Kaki Lambe GUN
GO
DO
PA
GUN
GO
DO
PA
GUN
GO
DO
GO
GO
DO
GUN
GO
DO
GO
PA
TA
GO
DO
GO
GO
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GUN
KA
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GO
DO
GO
GO
GO
GO
DO
GO
GO
GO
4 - Ramboday (w/Jun-Jun) GUN
GO
DO
GO
JUN
JUN
GUN
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GO
PA
GUN
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
DO
GO
GO
DO
PA
GO
DO
5 - Rumba GUN
GO
GUN
GUN GUN
GUN
GO
GUN
GUN
PA
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
DO
GUN
GO
GUN
GUN
GO
GUN
GO
DO
DO
GO
6 - Mombasa
(2 PLAYERS, 6 DRUMS) #1 GO
DO
GO
DO
GO
DO
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
DUN
DUN
GO
GO
GO
DO
GO
DO
PA
TA
TA
GO
DO
DO
#2
7 - Bolon PA
GO
DO
GO
DO
PA
TA
GO
PA
PA
TA
8 - Shiko
DO
PA
PA
TA
GO
PA
GO
DO
PA
GUN
GO
DO
DO
GUN
GUN
GUN
PA
TA
GUN
PA
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GUN
GUN
GO
GUN
GUN
GO
GUN
PA
TA
GUN
PA
TA
GUN
PA
TA
GO
DO
GO
GO
DO
GO
DO
PA
PA
TA
PA
TA
9 - Kassagbe GODO
GO
DO
GO
DO
GO
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
JUN
JUN
JO
JO
TA
GO
GO
TA
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
PA
GO
DO
JO
JO
JO
JO
10 - Rumbayesa GUN PA GO
TA
PA
TA
GUN
GUN
TA
GO
DO
PA
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
TA
GO
GO
DO
GO
DO
JUN
JUN
JO
JO
JO
GUN
GO
DO
GO
GO
PA
GO
DO
GUN
GO
GUN
GO
DO
PA
GUN
DO
GO
DO
GO
DO
GUN
PA
11 - Kasa GO
DO
PA
PA
TA
GO
DO
PA
PA
TA
PA
GUN
GO
DO
PA
GUN
GO
DO
PA
GO
DO
PA
TA
GUN
PA
GO
DO
PA
TA
GUN
GUN
PA
TA
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
PA
TA
GUN
GO
DO
12 - Tiriba GUN
GO
DO
GUN
PA
TA
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
PA
TA
GUN
KA
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GO
GUN
13 - Caba GUN
GUN
GO
DO
PA
PA
GO
GO
GUN
GUN
PA
GO
PA
GO
GO
GUN
GO
PA
GUN
GO
DO
14 - Scarf (Sword) GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GO
GO
DO
GO
15 - Kashlima GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GO
GUN
GO
DO
GO
16 - Shiftateli (Chiftitelli) GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GO
GUN
GUN
GO
17 - Yankidi GUN
PA
TA
PA
GO
DO
GUN
GO
GO
DO
GO
GO
DO
GO
18 - Macrou
DO
GUN
PA
GUN
GO
DO
FL
FL
PA
TA
GO
DO
GO
DO
GO
GO
DO
GO
DO
GUN
PA
GO
DO
GUN
PA
GO
DO
GUN
GO
GO
GUN
PA
GUN
GO
GUN
PA
GO
PA
GO
GO
PA
PA
GO
GUN
GO
PA
GUN
GO
GUN
GO
DO
PA
GUN
GO
19 - Kpanlogo “Dance of Youth” GO
DO
PA
GUN
PA
TA
GO
PA
TA
GUN
GO
DO
GO
DO
GO
DO
GUN
PA
TA
GO
GO
GUN
PA
TA
PA
TA
GO
DO
PA
TA
GO
DO
20 - Djankadi (Yankadi) GUN
PA
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
PA
TA
GO
DO
PA
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GO
GUN
GUN
GO
GO
GUN
GUN
21 - The Train (exercise) GO
DO
PA
TA
GUN
GUN
PA
TA
GO
DO
PA
TA
GUN
GUN
PA
TA
GO
DO
TA
GUN
GUN
PA
TA
GO
DO
TA
GUN
GUN
PA
TA
GO
DO
PA
TA
GUN
GUN
TA
GO
DO
PA
TA
GUN
TA
GO
DO
TA
GUN
GUN
PA
GO
DO
TA
GUN
GUN
PA
GO
DO
PA
TA
PA
TA
GO
DO
PA
TA
GUN
PA
TA
22 - The Pulse (exercise) GO
GO
GUN
GUN
GUN
GUN
GUN
GO
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GUN
DO
GO
GUN
GUN
GUN
DO
GO
DO
GO
DO
GO
GUN
GUN
GUN
23 - High Life Bottom GUN
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
DO
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
DO
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
TA
TA
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
TA
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
TA
GUN
GO
DO
24 - The Clave (exercise) GO
DO
GO
GO
GO
GO
DO
DO
GO
DO
GO
GO
GO
GO
DO
DO
GO
DO
GO
GO
GO
PA
GO
GO
GO
PA
TA
GO
TA
GO
DO
GO
DO
PA
GO
DO
25 - Bolomba GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
PA
TA
PA
DO
PA
PA
TA
GO
DO
PA
PA
TA
GO
PA
GO
DO
PA
GUN
PA
PA
TA
GUN
26 - Beledy (Beladi, Belady) GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GO
GUN
GO
DO
GO
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GO
27 - Mesmoudic (Cane) (2X speed) GO
DO
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GO
DO
GO
DO
GO
DO
GO
GO
DO
GUN
GO
DO
GO
DO
GO
GO
DO
GO
DO
GO
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GUN
GO
GO
DO
GUN
GO
DO
GO
GO
DO
GO
DO
GO
--
--
28 - Fanga GUN
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GO
GO
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GUN
DO
GUN
GO
DO
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GO
DO
GUN
GUN
GO
DO
GO
DO
GUN
