Aug 7

Another intense day of drumming with Kwasi. I slept in this morning, so I shoveled down breakfast, threw on some clothes and stumbled the few meters to the drum circle. I was still only half awake when we began. I spent the morning in a hypnotic daze aware only of cross rhythms and the wind.

It is interesting to learn Gahu from Kwasi. It is the same dance as the one we learned in WAME, but like all good games of telephone, the steps are slightly different from one interpretation to the other. Some of the words and rhythms in the song are different too. Such is the nature of oral tradition. Every teacher and every performer does it slighty different, so the one we know is unique to the WAME class of 2012. Maybe that makes it less authentic, or maybe that is part of the process.

It’s neat to watch the little boys. They are no older than 3 and they follow Kwasi everywhere. Each has a set of drum stics perpetually in his hand and they will play any drum they are goven, including the big boba if Kwasi lets them. The interesting is, their rhythms are pretty close to being correct. They will grow up to be amazing drummers just from exposure.