Students will learn to perform selections of dance-drumming repertoire from Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, Togo and Benin and the sociocultural context of the music and its performance. Students will play on authentic instruments (bells, rattles and drums) and sing. Song lyrics with translations will be made available.
No musical experience or ability to read musical notation is required; students will learn pieces by ear through vugbe, 'drum language', which refers to the naming of specific sounds made on the drum in a kind of indigenous solfège. The course will culminate in a mandatory presentation at the end of the semester.
Instructor: Kwaku Manu
Room: 104
No periods were set for this course
