First Day

1. I signed up for this seminar because I've always wanted to try some kind of percussion instrument. I've been playing piano and trumpet for 8 years and wanted to try guitar, but don't really have the time to buy one and a instruction book and then drill for hours--drums just seemed like a more direct route to a new instrument. I hope to gain an improved appreciation for African music and to further develop my rhythmic abilities.

2. Being like any first day, I expected the run-of-the-mill introduction to what the seminar was. This is always important though, and I thought Baba PC did a good job of describing each drum and their function for the sounds of the band. I didn't expect to get playing so soon, but it was fun to jump right in and start playing right away.

I selected this seminar because I wanted to learn about African drumming and how it has influenced today's music. I also wanted to play the drums. I thought it would be fun since I have never played any sort of drum before.

I expected the first day to be fun, wich it was. I also expected to play some of the drums. What I didn't expect was all the different kinds of instruments there were for Muntu drumming. The names of the drums were interesting as well.

Why I Joined the Seminar

1. I joined this seminar because I love international music: everything from Japanese Pop to Indian to Italian. I wanted to add African music to this list, and this seminar sounded like a great opportunity to do so. I'm hoping to become more comfortable with playing together with other people, as well as learn how to keep a steady rhythm. I take piano, so I know how to keep a beat, but it's different with the drums. I'm not aiming for much: I don't really want to play the dejembe; I'm actually more interested in playing the kenkeni or the sangban.

2. In what ways was the first day's drumming what you expected? How was it different? I wasn't aware that there were so many different types of drums in just this one style of drumming, so learning about the different instruments was really interesting. Along those lines, I was expecting more playing the first day, but in hindsight, learning about the drums first makes complete sense.

I joined Muntu Drumming because I have always been interested in drums, although not Muntu drums but they should be similar. I hope to learn to keep a constant rhythm with the drums and know how to create different and catchy rhythms.

I knew that the first day was like an introduction to what Muntu Drumming is and its background. Also I knew/thought that we would get to play the drums even though it was a short time. What I did not expect was the different kinds of drums in Muntu drumming and what each one was mainly used for in a Muntu orchestra. Also the use of instruments that were not drums was something I did not expect.

I signed up for the Muntu drumming seminar, because it sounded interesting and fun. I've seen different types of African performances, and wanted to further my knowledge. I hope to learn the basics, and be able to create new rhythms.

The first day was what I expected, because we got to play the drums. We didn't just bang on them, we learned the starting tone. It was different, because I didn't expect to learn the names and learn about the specific types.

Muntu Drumming was my first-choice seminar, and I chose it because I recalled last year's Muntu Drummers' International Night performance, where everyone looked like they were having a really good time, and it sounded really good.

I came in without knowing much about what goes in in the seminar, and was therefore quite nicely surprised-- I had no idea we'd learn so much about the names of the drums as well as learning to play them.

I joined the seminar becasue the sounds of drums makes me truly happy, there's something about the synchronization of a beat that makes me want to smile.

The first day of class was everything I believed it would be... loud, fun, and empowering.

Welcome to the Muntu Drumming Blog!

Welcome to the blog! For your first post, I'd like you to answer two questions in a couple of sentences each.

1. Why did you sign up for this seminar? What did you hope to get out of it?

2. In what ways was the first day's drumming what you expected? How was it different?

Thanks!

== pj karafiol