Are you looking for an elective a little outside of the box? Or maybe you’re a music major looking for an ensemble credit that will allow you to play something other than the same old instrument you’ve played since the sixth grade. In that case, I may have the class for you. It’s called West African Drum Ensemble! I first heard about this class during my time as an introductory music therapy major last year, but unfortunately have not had the pleasure of taking it (but that won’t stop me from advocating for it and hopefully getting the opportunity to take it).
Dylan Bassett, the instructor of the course, was able to give me some insight on his background in West African music, how the course is set up and what his goals are for the class.
“My goals for this course are for students to learn how to play traditional rhythms from West Africa, increase their overall drumming skills and have fun playing together. We play rhythms from the ancient empire of Mali, which today encompasses areas of Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Sierra Leone, Cote D’lvoire and Burkina Faso and in this tradition we play djembe and dunun. We also play sabar drums from the Wolof of Senegal, which includes six different drums and each semester we explore about four different traditional rhythms.”
Bassett has been studying the music of West Africa since 1993 and has a Master’s degree in Global and International Studies with an emphasis in West African percussion from KU. He has studied in Guinea, The Gambia, Ghana, Senegal and played with a variety of amazing talents in the realm of West African music.
Like my last two articles, I have been ever so fortunate as to be able to chat with a student involved in the group. Lane Zipsie (@lanezipsie), a sophomore majoring in music therapy, was able to tell me what’s up with this new style of drumming to just recently hit campus.
General information: The class name is PENS 252 is one credit hour. This course is open to everyone and no previous experience is necessary.
When/where does the class meet? Thursday evenings from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in Murphy 118.
What made you decide to join? Well, my primary instrument is voice and I didn’t want to do my usual choir thing. I’m also interested in becoming better at different types of percussion (I still have a lot to learn and plenty of room for improvement).
How many people are in the class? I’d say somewhere between 15 and 20.
Describe what class is like: We usually start off warming up on the djembes (GEM-BAY). We look at different types of dance rhythms and practice them together and normally rotate through three instruments. No one has a set instrument and the drums come in all different sizes.
What kind of homework do you have? Just practicing. Pretty plain and simple.
How is your grade determined? Mostly attendance and then some very low-stakes playing exams.
What do you like most about the class? I like learning new things. This was definitely outside of my comfort zone but I’m learning a lot.
What do you struggle with? Um, everything. Mostly hand coordination between the bell and the drum. We also do a lot of solo-ing.
Would you reccommend this class to non-music majors? Definitely! It may be a little intimidating at first if you don’t have a music background but everyone is really welcoming.
Any performances we should be on the look out for? We have some scheduled but haven’t started working on any pieces. We’re still working on the basics and getting comfortable playing both by ourselves as well as with each other.
Below are some pictures from the group’s performance last spring outside of the Spencer Art Museum, the group enjoys performing in a variety of different settings. The group has two scheduled performances this semester, one on October 25th at the KU Dance Marathon and another on October 28th at Haskell Indian Nations University at 7:30pm.
(All photos courtesy of Rachel Ludwick)