Passport Series
Passport Series: Our intensive course with Robin “Bountourabi” Leftwich
Designed to meet the demands we’ve been hearing from our students! The course will include rhythms, technique, playing ballet dununs, meter madness, traditional and improvisational solos, and more.
Passport East
Held in Cary, NC on select Saturdays from 9am – 4pm at Mike Long’s studio. Email Mike for registration and address at HomesteadDrumming@gmail.com.
Passport West
Held in Asheville, NC on select Saturdays from 9 am – 4 pm at the Francine Delaney New School for Children, 119 Brevard Rd., Asheville, 28806. Map and Directions.
During each class we will cover the following:
History of the rhythm
Djembe and Dunun parts
Rudiments and improved sound/technique
Reading/Writing djembe/dunun music
And much more
Be ready to learn and have fun! Reserve your spot today!
What to bring:
Your Djembe
Dunun (these will be provided if needed)
Sense of humor!!!
Audio recorder
Pen
Notebook/paper
Did we mention sense of humor?!?!
Wear comfortable clothes
Hydration
We accept cash, check, and credit cards.
Although we encourage you to take each workshop in succession for the best learning experience, it is not required.
Join us for our Passport Series
Introduction and Foundational Rhythms, with some review from our last class — Performance
Asheville: Saturday, February 25th from 9am-4pm, with a break for lunch. Open to all skill levels. Note: The room we use has very good ventilation and is big enough for social distancing. COVID-19 vaccinations are recommended as are face masks while inside. If you’d like to bring your lunch, there are picnic tables on the school grounds. If there is interest, we can order food to be delivered so we won’t have to navigate the lunchtime rush hour in West Asheville.
You will need your djembe and dununs for this class.
The in-person classes are $100 each or $50 if you’ve taken the class before. Payment can be made using PayPal to Rachel@happybeatdrumming.com or by using the BUY NOW button.*
*REGISTER: Registration is confirmed with your PayPal payment to Rachel@happybeatdrumming.com. When you register, please send an email to annlovellnc@yahoo.com so we can plan a space for you. See the Facebook event page.
Performance Workshop
Cary: Sunday, March 5th from 9am-4pmCary: Saturday, January 21st from 9am-4pm, with a break for lunch. We will meet at Mike’s studio in Cary (address given with registration). We will go to lunch at a nearby restaurant, or bring your own.
You will need your djembe and dununs for this class.
*REGISTER: Registration is confirmed with your PayPal payment to Rachel@happybeatdrumming.com. When you register, please send an email to Mike Long at HomesteadDrumming@gmail.com so we can plan a space for you. See the Facebook event page.
The course schedule is as follows:
Introduction and Foundational Rhythms
Foundational rhythms are rhythms that every student should know because they contain elements fundamental to learning West African music (timing, handing, patterns, etc ) that can be used as building blocks to accelerate further learning.
Rhythms that Build
In this session, students will learn how to use rhythms as building blocks – exploring the similarities between rhythms that allow for a natural progression of learning and teaching. Students will be taught rhythms that are easily learned from their pre-existing knowledge of foundational rhythms.
Meter Madness
In this session, students will learn rhythms in duple and triple meter timing – exploring the use of 4 and 8 beat rhythms along with the accompanying language with both meters to facilitate in playing and leading rhythms inside both meters.
Ballet Dunun, Dunun
The Ballet Dunun and dunun class will begin with basic dunun techniques and then move into more complex rhythms. The day will end with students learning how to translate traditional dunun parts to a ballet-style setup. Being able to play ballet dununs allows students to hold classes and drum circles with fewer people, gives students flexibility in performances, and provides them with a deeper understanding of the dunun melodies and the relationship of the dununs to the djembe.
Do-able Dununbas
The dununba family of rhythms is both rich and complex. This class is designed to expose students to a dununba rhythm and to help them understand the intricacies of playing the djembe and dunun parts. This class will also help students play more challenging dunun parts that are upbeat and completing.
Traditional Solos
In this class, students will learn some traditional solos. Traditional solos are solos that are developed around traditional dance moves/steps and are specific to a rhythm. The solos will help the student be able to drum for dancers and will also act as building blocks for improvisational solos.
Improvisational Solos
This class will teach you how to use traditional solos as a starting point for building your own improvisational solos. Basic techniques and common solo licks will be revealed to the students who will then have the opportunity to practice soloing in a failure-free environment.
Performance class
The rubber hits the road in the Performance class. The Performance class is a culmination of the work done so far in the passport series. This class will take 2 rhythms and create performance pieces that are ready to go by the end of the day.
- See information on our classes & private lessons.
- Connect with us on facebook for more drumming opportunities!
- Read about Robin “Bountou” and Rachel, co-founders of HBD