Malian dance class at Connecticut college with drummers Joh Camara, Papus Diabate, and myself
I have been a professional dance musician for over 20 years, first at the University of Utah and now at Connecticut College. I have also been a member of many performing groups including a middle eastern belly dance troupe, salsa bands, mexican group, reggae/deadhead band, my own drum ensemble the Possessed, jazz groups, avant garde and experimental performances, have played with old time groups like the Platters, the Coasters, the Ink Spots, performed with legandary jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, been on the same bill as (warmed up for) Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, Yellowman, Pato Banton and many others. It is time to pass on to you some of what I know about making people dance. My focus here is dance class accompaniment.
Following are a few observations from the drivers seat.
SIMPLICITY - Ok, you have practiced really a lot and can play 4 different rhythms at once! WOW!- - - You know what? The class doesn't care. What do they want? They want to feel comfortable with the groove. They don't want to be forced guess which part of the rhythm they are supposed to follow. Give them some big obvious thumps right on the downbeat. Then after everyone has it, gradually introduce more and more variation. This will also give you some place to go. Save some for the finale!
PRACTICE WITH A METRONOME - You may be the only one responsible for making the groove happen. You will not be able to follow along. Everyone is relying on you, the musician to provide interesting music which above all is rhythmicaly accurate. Therefore it is imperative that you are confident, consistant, and accurate in your tempos. One way to accomplish this is to practice creative, interesting, different ideas while bound to the unforgiving click of the metronome. It will be hard at first and may reveal ones inconsistancy in a way that may be hard for some to accept. Keep working until eveything smooths out and make it a regular part of your practice. I've heard drummers say "I can't play with a click track". My only answer is this. A drummer who cant play solid time (or worse refuses to learn it) is not yet a drummer. A small electronic metronome is fine and costs about $20. - $30. U.S. Avoid the old mechanical ones as drumming demands more accuracy than these can provide.
MAKE THE DANCE TEACHER HAPPY - It will be a good class if the teacher is happy. Even if the teacher doesn't seem to make sense, a bit of input from the musician might be appreciated and may help clarify things for everyone. After all the dance teacher has their speciality and the musician has theirs, both should be respected - but the teacher is ultimatly in charge. A bit of humor helps if its not too distracting from the main focus of the class.
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