About singing and playing:
Singing and playing simultaneously is one of the most important areas of any percussionists’ development. This skill and ability will enable you to focus your musical mind in several different areas at the same time enabling you to detach from the physical act of playing drums and focus on the bigger picture of the whole arrangement. Whether you play Samba, Cuban percussion, Maracatu or West African djembe rhythms, this skill will be invaluable to your personal development as a player or teacher.
I can’t sing. Is this course for me?
The songs of Candomblé can easily be accessed by all. By singing together, in unison the energy of the group takes over the focus of the arrangements. As long as you can make a note, any note then this course is suitable for you. We will teach the melody lines in bite sized chunks and work to the level and speed of the group.
“ A really enjoyable weekend of learning, playing and singing together in a friendly, welcoming and supportive environment!” – Global Grooves Candomblé workshop participant November 2011
Which instruments are used in the course?
Traditionally the arrangements we will cover are played using bells and atabaque (Rum, Rum Pe and Le). For this course (due to a shortage of available atabaques) we will be using bell and congas (conga, tumba, and quinto). Some congas will be available to hire for the weekend or you may bring your own instruments along. We will also have a selection of Natal congas available for you to buy if you would like to treat yourself to a new drum! Advanced orders welcome.
The last Candomblé course was free why does this one have a charge attached?
As a registered charity Global Grooves does everything it can to keep course fees low or on some occasions even free but we can’t do this all the time. Increasing overheads and decreasing support for arts projects in the UK means that sometimes we have to charge even if we don’t want too!
We are delivering this course because we want to both reconnect with old friends and welcome new faces to the Global Grooves family. The fee for this course is heavily subsidised and helps to raise funds to help keep course fees reduced in the future.
You will come away from this course feeling inspired, relaxed and happy as well as having a wealth of new patterns, songs and knowledge to draw upon in your future practice.