Students Drum to a Different Beat
Drum beats and chants were heard from Ruth Lilly Performance Hall in the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center on Wednesday, Dec. 1.
The African Drum Ensemble started at 7:30 p.m. and was directed by Faculty Adjunct Arthur Reiner.
“I thought they did great,” Reiner said. “They were pretty focused. They were listening, and things were pretty together.”
The members of the Tuesday section of the class performed the first two pieces. The first song, “Baion,” is a traditional number from Northern Brazil. The triangle section of the group started it. The song which also featured instruments such as the Agogo bells and Djun Djun.
The second piece performed was a traditional dance rhythm from Cuba, the Conga.
Members of the Wednesday section of the course then came out to perform the next two songs: “Oye Como Va’’ and “Batucada,” a traditional Southern Brazil piece. During “Oye Como Va,” a Cha Cha tune, Reiner got the audience involved by teaching them the beat, so they could clap along.
The University of Indianapolis African Drum Ensemble performs a full program of music every semester under the direction of Faculty Adjunct Arthur Reiner. Photo by Calvin Johnson.
The last song was performed by the members of the two courses combined and included a song and dance. The crowd seemed to get the most excited about this song.
“African drums were a hit and added some flair to my hump day study session,” junior Liz Eads said.
When determining which songs to play, Reiner said he likes to choose music from the African Diaspora, which he described as the spreading of their culture to other parts of the world.
“The African Diaspora was huge, of course, because of the slave trade,” Reiner said. “There were so many people taken from Africa and brought to the new world.”
He said that the groups do not always perform only African music, but other types of music that he likes to describe as the grandchildren of African music.
“It’s music that developed in the new world as a direct result of people being brought over here hundreds of years ago and what it’s evolved into,” Reiner said.
He also said that because the students in his courses aren’t always music majors, and many times have never played an instrument or performed with a group before, he tries to choose easy-to-learn beats.
“I pick these pieces because they’re things the kids can get together in one semester technically and things that are really indigenous and representative of the culture,” Reiner said.
Three students from the African Drum Ensemble play tambourine during the annual concert to showcase their semester progress. Photo by Calvin Johnson.
Many different types of drums and bells were used during the performance, such as the shekere, guiro, pandiero, triangle, tambourine and the bongos.
Reiner said that he tries to get his students to try each of the different parts, and then he assigns the students to certain instruments two-thirds of the way through the semester. He likes for each student to learn three different parts.
“If they are playing the djun djun on one song, then maybe they’ll play the bell on something else,” Reiner said.
Reiner teaches the songs by rote and said that in African cultures, and in other parts of the world, the music is still taught that way.
Reiner teaches two sections of African Drums each semester and says he always has a wait list for the one credit hour course. The class meets once a week and according to Reiner, students mostly play the whole time.
“African Drums was very entertaining,” junior Kelsey Jones said. “It made me want to eventually take the class.”
