Music Observation Report

Words: 500
Pages: 2

The applied sessions were a part of the class I was looking forward to. For the first five weeks of class, I learned how to play various African drums. Prior to this class, I have had musical experience in high school in both band and choir, but this was my first time playing percussion. During the first applied session, I quickly realized my absence from music and had difficulties with rhythms. I was very out of practice and it was very difficult for me not keep my part steady and play the correct rhythms. Another challenge I faced was memorization. I have never been the best at memorizing music and knew I was in for a challenge because African drumming is learned through memorization and replication rather than reading music. In week two, …show more content…
After two weeks of work, I felt I was improving and parts were starting to click in my head. I felt like the individual parts and the timeline was more in sync in my head and I was starting to better understand their relationships. This was the week where I began to feel comfortable with the part and where I fit in with the ensemble. I was not only able to find the correct entrances but keep rhythm as well. We also learned some basic improvisation on the lead part which was very interesting. It allowed more freedom and with a better understanding of the music, I was able to explore. After the week three’s class Jay sent recording of the Kanlogo, Achan, and Adawu and listening to those outside of class helped me with memorization. Week four we not only drummed but danced as well. This was a lot of fun and interesting because I got to see how the rhythms of the drum and movements of the dance work together. After the fifth and final week, I not only improved but felt more comfortable on all the instruments from the shaker, bells, and drums. When playing with the group, I was not dependent on Jay or others to play my