Drum Line, Circle Up

Posted by admin on Dec 20, 2011

Iden­tity Counts drum­ming connection

There is a ses­sion right just for you

To para­phrase Kool Moe Dee, self knowl­edge is king. Clearly, no infor­ma­tion is as impor­tant as know­ing who you are . Cul­tural under­stand­ing teaches that the drum (heart­beat) is at the core of any cul­ture. So we’re work­ing to learn more about our­selves through the prac­tice of Mande drum­ming in com­mu­nity circle.

Fam­ily is the matrix of Afrikan social struc­ture, and fam­ily isn’t nuclear but extended. From this exten­sion comes a strength of iden­tity that informs us who we are in rela­tion, and what our respon­si­bil­i­ties are to fam­ily and com­mu­nity. We extrap­o­late this social order to the drum cir­cle. We posi­tion our­selves in a cir­cle so that each indi­vid­ual has a clear view of those with whom she sits the cir­cle. There is both a secu­rity and an account­abil­ity in this for­ma­tion that is lib­er­at­ing — once the indi­vid­ual is able to relax and let go of their crit­i­cal self judgement.

Through our decades of work with young peo­ple and adults, they have taught us how to facil­i­tate their learn­ing. Effec­tive instruc­tion is cul­ture spe­cific and indi­vid­ual, yet, at its core, is the col­lec­tive. While we are teach­ing the cul­tural music tra­di­tion of another peo­ple, we are learn­ing through the lens of Amer­i­can cul­tural per­cep­tion. The facilitator/learner assumes the respon­si­bil­ity for com­mu­ni­cat­ing clearly (though not nec­es­sar­ily ver­bally). They must manip­u­late and wit­ness the expe­ri­ence of the moment to the ben­e­fit of the stu­dent. It is the facil­i­ta­tors respon­si­bil­ity to see and hear each stu­dents com­fort level and effect ways of assist­ing them to inte­grate their momen­tary expe­ri­ence. The result is a height­ened aware­ness and under­stand­ing that iden­tity counts.

TRIAAC will offer Iden­tity Counts drum­ming for learn­ers at all lev­els begin­ning in Jan­u­ary, from pre-school to adults of all ages. Why? We have expe­ri­enced the ben­e­fi­cial effects of com­mu­nity drum­ming first-hand, and wit­nessed its impact on the youth and adults with whom we have worked. The tra­di­tional Afrikan drum­ming prac­tice that’s hap­pen­ing at TRIAAC is a com­mu­nity build­ing expe­ri­ence. Drum­ming within a cir­cle of learn­ers strength­ens self-confidence, opens doors to becom­ing a bet­ter lis­tener, and facil­i­tates left-right brain synchronization. The ben­e­fi­cial effects of drum­ming, rhythm and sound have been val­i­dated by health care pro­fes­sion­als around the world as stress reduc­ing and won­der­fully revi­tal­iz­ing for mind, body and soul.

In our own prac­tice we have found that Mande drumming:

• Pro­motes active listening
• Devel­ops team spirit and ensem­ble skills
  
• Builds self-confidence
• Improves tol­er­ance and respect
• Fos­ters height­ened feel­ings of well-being
• Increases phys­i­cal strength through aer­o­bic exercise
  
• It improves musi­cal abil­ity, tim­ing and hand-ear coordination
  
• Enhances cul­tural aware­ness 

Come drum with us on Wednes­day evening, from 6:00 to 7:30PM. Not to worry if you don’t have a drum, we have authen­tic hand-carved Guinean jenbes that you can use. We’re located at the cor­ner of Brack­en­ridge and Clay streets, In Fort Wayne, IN.

Hit the “Iden­tity” but­ton to learn more. 

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