I have been running regular African Drumming evening classes in Sheffield now for 25 years! The weekly classes remain an enjoyable mid-week activity, however working towards polished pieces and a performance heightens the sense of personal fulfilment, achievement and appreciation. For both myself and the students the performance becomes a crucial motivator on the wonderful journey of music making.
Last month the students from our class performed their very first 30-minute performance set comprised of multiple rhythm and break patterns which have been orchestrated into three musical pieces.
You can see the result here:
Video guide:
1st Piece "Degu Degu Racca Racca" 00:09
2nd Piece "Soko Moolan Chegin Jarafoli" 11:22;
3rd Piece "Kassa Musolu Jarafoli" 22:30.
Musical sources and inspiration: Songalo Coulibaly, Iya Sako; Hans Sutton; Sidiki Dembele; Babara Bangoura; Moudou Diouf.
The Diversity Festival runs every year in Sheffield and is a free celebration of unity and mutual respect between Sheffield's many communities, for people of every gender, sexuality, ethnicity, age and ability. Find out more here
So how does performing to the public enhance the experience for students? Here is what some of our students have said:
Amy:
“Performing at gigs makes me feel alive! Creating an electric, energetic atmosphere for people of all ages to enjoy makes me feel like all the practice is worth it. It puts all the learning to the test and gives me a great sense of achievement.
It's so good to know that we do gives others immense enjoyment :) whether that's dancing to us, drumming on the tables with us or tapping their feet to the beat :)”
Louise:
“Drumming classes with Steve are always fantastic fun and highly energising. However, the fact that we're gradually working towards a live performance makes them even more exciting. Steve has a charismatic teaching style and always pitches the classes just right, ensuring that both beginners and more advanced drummers are contributing. The performances we've done over the last year have been great and it's always so good to see the response from the audience. As a group we were particularly proud of the latest one we've done, which included 3 pieces that we've learnt over quite a long period of time. The atmosphere on the day was brilliant and there was such a sense of camaraderie with all our fellow drummers in terms of what we'd achieved. I only discovered drumming just over a year ago and wish I had sooner - it's just the best tonic for lifting your spirits, which for most of us with busy lives is an absolute essential!”
When someone asked me about why I put these performance pieces together I told them,
“The class we run on Thursday nights has been gigging more regularly for the last year after a period of sporadic short one-off sets at charity events. Although these were valuable showcases and entertaining, the performances had no on-going development or legacy. This year, after having done some short performances at various local events, I realised how much I loved composing and arranging.
With such a devoted passionate group of students, I decided it would be great to keep everything we were performing alive so we could build a repertoire. This is the result so far - our first 30 minute set comprising three tracks; each of which is a sort of 3-groove sandwich with funky breaks in between.
This gig I know will be the first of many, but it has been a big milestone in the group’s development and has provided a massive boost of confidence and self-belief.”
Steve Rivers, class teacher and Unbeatable Energy director.
Our African Drumming classes take place every Thursday night in Sheffield City Centre. You don’t need to become part of the performance group to become part of the class and you don’t need any prior experience of drumming or music making. All drums are provided. Over the weeks you will learn the sounds, breaks and techniques towards arrangements which can culminate in a performance. African Drumming is highly invigorating, therapeutic, social and very addictive! Why not come and join us this Thursday! Click here for full details and to book your place.
