Kpanlogo Drumming Lessons

Hello everybody, akwaaba (welcome)!

So, remember the musicians at the engagement ceremony? Well, one of them, Anthony, is a really good friend of Clara's. We talked for a few minutes that day, and decided on doing a drumming lesson, just to get a feel for it. By the way, thank you Clara!!!

Last Friday evening, I went over to Gidi's (that's Anthony's last name) house, for what I thought would be a quick, one-hour kpanlogo drum showcase. Kpanlogo (pronounced "pahnlogo") is a traditional Ghanaian drum, as rhythmic as one would expect in African music. Usually three people play in the regular band, two drums, one leading and one supporting, and a bell to keep time.

Kpanlogo drums.

Gidi is a really talented musician, and can play several instruments, particularly drums and flute. That night, he started out by teaching me two supporting rhythms. As we started to play, and the beat spread across the nearby houses, kids started showing up, dancing and having fun. Of course, they also laughed a lot at the obruni with no groove, but that made it all even more enjoyable.

Two of Gidi's friends, Eli and Kwadwo, also came, and after about an hour and a half of class, they took over the drums. My fate was sealed.

For the next two hours, maybe 30 people passed through Gidi's front yard, coming to sing and dance to the kpanlogo beat. It was impossible to just stand watching, all the bodies in the place were moving! The men sang joke-songs, making fun of each other, or telling anecdotes in Twi. At times, when the drummers where sweating so much they had to stop, other people would take over. It is amazing how every person present had rhythm in their hands! In comparison, the kpanlogo party that night was similar to a Brazilian "roda de samba", where many people come together to just have fun, and the "repentistas" in the Northeast, improvising mocking lyrics.

When I checked the time, I had been there for over three hours! The powerful drumming and singing, with the extravagant dancing made me lose track of time. Also, I knew I had found a new big part of my cultural experience in Ghana!

Some of the people by the end of the night.

Today was my third kpanlogo lesson in four days, with another tomorrow morning. Haha, I know, it's getting pretty intense.
Gidi is a really fun person to be around, and the chance to learn from him is just as amazing as hearing him play. More importantly, he is an incredibly effective teacher, with a well-organized plan and a great talent for presenting rhythms that are challenging at just the right level. I've learned a few supporting and leading rhythms, a few lyrics, and some drumming patterns that represent sentences.

One goes: "fine, fine baby, you no go fine past your mother", as a saying that young people should demonstrate humility towards their parents and older persons.
Another, in Twi, composed by Gidi: "Woya eh negbe woya? Woya shi lolo", meaning: where are we going? We're going to play the kpanlogo rhythm.

In a few weeks, I should have a drum ready. Gidi already found a shell, and I am deciding on the symbols to be carved on it. For now, my lap, chest and stomach do just fine for practicing!

Although the four different slap types Gidi taught me still sound quite similar, playing kpanlogo makes me feel the Ghanaian happiness of their musical tradition. Learning this beautiful art from a world-class musician, and precisely where it was born and perfected, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. That's also why I will take a drum with me back home! Hopefully by then, my hands will sound more Ghanaian, and kpanlogo will be a piece of Ghana to carry with me through the years.

Caught in the beat,

Kwame