Kita Soli / Beginners Djembe Drumming Welcome! So glad you are considering to take my course. What to expect: When it comes to drumming there are 3 fundamental building blocks:1. Technique2. Timing3. TempoWe will refine our personal and group understanding of these concepts through playfully exploring a variety of rhythms. Without lengthy explanation the drum will guide you to the peace you seek. There is no rhythm without presence, when that presence becomes evident energy and ecstasy follow. However nothing worth doing is easy so expect to work your body and mind in the pursuit. Then watch with wonder as your skills progress, your perceptions sharpen, and your body strengthens. This practice will improve your memory, coordination and overall brain function. On a musical level your sense of timing, tempo, and swing will be greatly improved. Beyond technical understanding you will also be shown how to improvise based on your own intuition. To play this type of music takes a communal effort. The more we drum together the more we see how the interconnection of each of our individual rhythms create one larger singular rhythm. The skills derived from communal drumming when applied to other community efforts greatly improve their efficiency and lend a light touch to ones efforts. The skills taught in this class are universally applicable to all music. No previous experience needed. Simply show up with an open heart and eagerness to learn. The lessons are slow paced with lots of details to assist you in getting the parts and building confidence as you goParty Time! Let it go! Shake off the worries of the day and hit the djembe. CommunityEnthusiasmCo-creationEmpowermentKita Soli invites you back to yourself. Dance and play with your friends and community to the sound of this friendly rhythm. Everyone is invitedPlay alone, with friends, at a drum circle, during a open mic or at a gig. Kita Soli goes well with all types of common time music. This is a cornerstone rhythm everyone can benefit from learning. Once you know Kita Soli you are the party. What are you waiting for, get started! OriginKita, MaliKita is a town and urban commune in western Mali. The town is the capital of the Kita Cercle in the Kayes Region. It lies on the eastern slope of Mount Kita (Bambara: “Kita-kulu”), known for its caves and rock paintings. Today, the town is known for its music, its annual Roman Catholic pilgrimage and its role as a processing center for the surrounding cotton- and peanut-growing region. Kita lies on the Dakar-Niger Railway and is the largest transit hub between Bamako (112 miles) and Kayes (205 miles). In the 2009 census the urban commune had a population of 48,947.[1]In November 1955, Kita became a commune of average exercise. On March 2, 1966, Kita became a commune of full exercise. The town grew in the 1990s around the cotton industry, but this has since declined. About the rhythm Kita SoliThis is a fun rhythm similar to Djansa a very popular rhythm also from Kaye. It is a 4/4 rhythm with a celebratory feeling. It is a crowd pleaser, always good for any party atmosphere.I chose this rhythm as the basis for my beginners course because I noticed at some point in my progression as a musician that the feeling of Kita Soli was in the vast majority of popular music styles running from Rock, Hip-hop, Pop, Jazz, electronic music, Country, Kirtan, and drum circles. Everyone was playing Kita Soli but didnt know it. It was in fact one of the very first rhythms I learned in my early days at drum circles. This rhythm is encoded in our musical DNA. Young and old will recognize it on a body level and rock to the beat when heard. Seeing that it was what everyone was trying to play anyways I decided to expand on the theme. Here you will find a total of 24 variations on the root Djembe sole part from the rhythm Kita Soli. Enjoy! Whats covered: Section 1IntroGet to know your DjembeRudimentsFull LessonRhythms 1 - 6 recorded in 5min downloadable shortsPractice instructionsTest your skills and play along with meSection 2Intro Rhythms 1-6 full instructional lesson introducing the slap soundRhythms 1 - 6 recorded in 5min downloadable shortsDun Dun Solo instructionPractice instructionsTest your skills and play along with usSection 3Intro Rhythms 1-6 full instructional lesson introducing the Bass layerRhythms 1 - 6 recorded in 5min downloadable shortsDun Dun Solo instructionPractice instructionsTest your skills and play along with us My story: It is a miracle that I am here at all. My life was heading in a direction of total catastrophe. My environment was incredibly abusive and so my life was a living hell. Filled with depression, and anxiety I was on the brink of suicide. Then I found the drum. Drumming literally saved my life. It allowed me to release and express my pent up emotions.I was not musician material, I had no concept of music. I had no concept of anything except hate, rage, and depression. The drum didnt mind, she invited me to strike and express it all. My very first instruction came from my Mother
