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       Many thanks to
                 SHADOWgraphix
                 for the Š animated
                     djembe player.

DJEMBE-L M2 Compilation Topic, 5/1/97

Inside Looking Out:

Mon Nov 4 22:32:15 1996
From: kgoertz@mail.utexas.edu (karein goertz)
Subject: Re: Africans & Traditions & Fanga - reply

>I know that no African musician would be impressed by an American playing "traditional" African music, no matter how accurately, fast, or beautifully it was played. I do feel, however, that one would be very impressed by the sounds of America, even when expressed with the Djembe or any other traditional percussion instrument.>

I had the good fortune to travel through parts of SE Asia this summer and while in the North of Bali, far from the hordes of Australian tourists in Kuta outside a seedy beach town bar I heard the sound of a cat being impaled...no, in stepping inside it was a bluegrass band! A bunch of young Balinese guys scratching at a fiddle, clawing a banjo and beating of guitars and bass. And what a shitty bunch of ersatz instruments they where. And they rocked! And they played it all: "Rocky Top", "Fox on the Run" "Uncle Pen" and manic "Orange Blossom Special" a real high, lonesome sound. Anything I called out, they made a stab at. On a break, after I approached the band, I realized none of them spoke English, or seemingly had ever been off the island. Everything they learned was from records, books, etc. And they were crazy about the music. Traditional American Music. They were so excited that I was so excited. For me it had nothing to do with a nostalgia for home. I was hearing my own country's tradition spun right back at me. In all honesty, they sucked. They were so far from the feel of the traditional music, played by traditional American players, that there was no way to begin to communicate that. But also in all honesty, it didn't matter one bit. Their enthusiasm, honest love of the music and their energy far outweighed any lack of feeling or technique. They were going at it with an intensity and spirit that I love to find in musicians in this country no matter the "tradition" they come from.

By an even stranger path I found myself in San Francisco on my return listening to a Bay Area Gamelan orchestra playing traditional Balinese music-again with spirit and integrity-and who knows how much authority or precision when related to the traditional players I had heard in Indonesia. It was as apparent at that performance as it had been in Bali that such concerns were inappropriate in the face of these peoples' efforts. It seems to me that a person can be glib, sanctimonious or honest when it comes to playing music and all perspectives seem to be represented on this list. I have found it to be an interesting and provocative thread.

Wed Nov 6 14:55:48 1996
From: Jean Stockton Jean.Stockton@mci.com
Subject: Re: DJEMBE-L digest 60
Lindsay Rowlands wrote...

>I recently had a highly respected teacher/performer state publicly that all djembe music originates from Guinea. There is no way in the world that I would jeopardise my relationship with him by pointing out the obvious anthropological faultiness of such a statement. I have also had African teachers say that music was invented in Africa. It's best to leave it where it lies.>

If you could prove to the individual that his statement is anthropologically incorrect, that should not jeopardize your relationship with him. It might be the basis of some serious discourse. Most individuals I encounter are open for intelligent discussion.

Wed Nov 6 15:31:53 1996
From: Lindsay Rowlands lrowland@metz.une.edu.au
Subject: Re: DJEMBE-L digest 60 (fwd)

>[snip above quote/MTF]
Without going into elaborate reasons why, they (the teachers) are clearly wrong within our cosmological framework, that is, the way we see our place in the universe. Because they are, in our terms, factually incorrect, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are within their own cosmology. I take this position out of acknowledgment and respect for different cultural perspectives.

It achieves nothing by trying to bend someone from another culture to your culturally derived view - except perhaps animosity, xenophobia, etc. And it makes not a hoot of difference to me whether people hold such different views of the world that I know, unless they wish to do me harm.

What is proof? In the context of the position I take regarding other cultures, proof doesn't come into it at all. Besides, my long experiences with other cultures has taught me that there are many things that are irreconcilable and no amount of coercion will change that.

Where was music invented? All cultures make music - and that is all we can be sure of. Using sound in meaningful ways seems to be part of human programming, and probably derives from speech and other vocalities.

-- Lindsay Rowlands, Faculty of Arts, University of New England, Armidale NSW Australia.

Wed Nov 6 15:17:06 1996
From: Paul Czerner pczerner@ivid.com
Subject: Re: DJEMBE-L digest 60 (fwd)

>
> Where was music invented?
>
> Peace
>
> Makeeda
On the inside.
*********************************

Wed Nov 6 20:25:39 1996
From: Steve Tierra sctierra@wco.com
Subject: Where was music invented?
At 06:54 PM 11/6/96 -0500, Jean Stockton wrote:
>Where was music invented?

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DJEMBE-L M2 Compilation Topic, 5/1/97

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