\u201cAfrican people went all over the world, and so we get music from those places, too. Like, we [play] Brazilian music, and we [play] Cuban music this semester, along with two African pieces. Part of what [students] are learning when they come in there is a cultural thing and how the music relates,\u201d Reiner said.<\/p>\n
According to the Center for Washington Cultural Traditions, the drum is a significant part of African culture and communication. The CWCT claims that instruments such as drums, shakers, bells and rain-sticks have been used for centuries in West African drumming.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019re doing a piece [for the performance] called Funga Alafia, and it\u2019s Nigerian folkloric, and it just means \u2018welcome and peace be upon you,\u2019 and they learn about call and response,\u201d Reiner said. \u201cThat\u2019s where either one drum plays something and then the other group of drums responds, or the leader says something and then the chorus responds.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Reiner, students do not need to have any prior experience or knowledge of music to join the African Drum Ensemble class. Reiner said the class differs from a traditional ensemble because the class works in a traditional African way. He said that the class consists of a master drummer that passes the traditional music down to the less-experienced.<\/p>\n
Reiner said that everyone who takes the class gets to try out every instrument and take on different roles in different songs. According to Reiner, the students prepare for their semester performance throughout the duration of their time in the course.<\/p>\n
\u201c[During] the first few classes, kids start to learn about the drums\u2013 what drums go with what kind of music\u2013 and then they learn how to strike them. Then we learn how to start and stop together and get loud and soft,\u201d Reiner said. \u201cThen we learn rhythm patterns that are repeated until they can play them, and then we put them all together and each of those rhythm patterns is part of whatever the main groove is.\u201d<\/p>\n
When preparing for the performance, Reiner said it went very smoothly since the COVID-19 pandemic has settled down. The students were able to rehearse easily and there were no major complications, according to Reiner. The only struggle, Reiner said, was that the ensemble had many more students in years past, but his classes are much smaller now, which has caused some strain on the program. Reiner said he believes the class is great for students to take if they need an art credit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a lot of cases, this is the first chance\u2013 and maybe the only time\u2013 they\u2019ll get in front of people, and some people are really shy about it and that\u2019s another thing that\u2019s good about the class is as people learn, they start getting more into it. \u2026where at first they were more shy about it, or thinking that they couldn\u2019t do it or that they couldn\u2019t remember the pattern,\u201d Reiner said. \u201cAfter a while, they start figuring out that they\u2019re better at it than they thought. By the end of the semester, everybody\u2019s feeling okay about what they\u2019re supposed to do, so that\u2019s another kind of experience that leaves a mark.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Dec. 7, Ruth Lilly Performance Hall welcomed the University of Indianapolis African Drum Ensemble. The ensemble is led by Arthur \u201cArt\u201d Reiner, Director of the African Drum Ensemble and percussion instructor at UIndy. Reiner said he has been teaching the African Drum Ensemble course since 1992. In the course, according to Reiner, students learn about the African diaspora, African traditions and how to perform cultural music.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12963,"featured_media":24239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,12],"tags":[7,30,14],"class_list":{"0":"post-24242","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-culture","8":"category-entertainment","9":"tag-apie-project","10":"tag-culture","11":"tag-entertainment"},"yoast_head":"\n