Patty Mayeux Blog

The Joy of Djembe Drumming Ensemble performed at a local festival last weekend. It was yet another performance stacked on top of many hours of rehearsals, years of learning and practicing together. We took the stage for a mere half hour and played the guts out of new and old rhythms. Was it worth lugging our drums to the site for those few minutes? Of course. Saying Yes to opportunities, especially ones that involve your passion, is always the right response. I was asked by our leader to solo during one of the songs and without thinking, I said yes. In this case, soloing merely means to improvise during the regular play, while all others also drum. I experimented with patterns and phrases, while shutting down the part of my brain that names the notes and counts the rhythm. West African music is all about the feel. Sure, we could gather and play the song perfectly, according to a piece of paper, but it doesn’t soar until we feel the polyrhythmic mesh of all drummers coalescing. That only happens if we know our stuff. Knowing is important, but it’s in feeling the jive where miracles of music float in a cloud of harmony.