dazeblog #0.5
Notes on Talking Drums & “Call & Response”
* This is a longer adaptation of a series of tweets I made tonight but with examples outside my own work and in a bloggy/longer form.
A concept that I’ve started subconsiously introducing into my break-heavy music (Jungle, Breakbeat, Club, etc.) is the idea of the “talking drums” from West Africa.
Here’s an example via Ghana Archives:
Now even as a child, I’ve always been hyper-aware of my Ghanian & Jamaican heritage & I was always around each side growing up; if it had anything to do with either side, it always piqued my interest. So when I got to my high school and saw they had an afterschool “African Drums” program I took it in a heartbeat. Now I couldn’t stay in the program, due to a series of things in my life BUT for the period I was there, I learned the basics of how to play the djembe. I already had musical experience prior & during my time in the program (played piano @ age 4 & played on a drum set for my church in my preteens), but this program granted me a better understanding of how to utilize rhythm to convey messages & feeling.
Referring to the video of the Asante drums linked above, “drums are not only musical instruments, they are also a means of talking to one another” & I feel that motif can be expressed within music production & performance as well. When you’re making music or performing with an instrument, I believe you’re imparting a message, sometimes unintentionally.
The way personally I utilize this understanding when it comes to chopping and processing breaks is akin to a rapper or a vocalist using flows & pitch while singing. Take for example, this song Kay Flock - Ain’t No Love (ft. Thunder Bklu), and pay attention to each rappers flow, pitch and overall energy.
…you can feel the aggression and passion with each line due to their delivery, pacing & intonnation; if it was delivered with as less passion, it would not have the same impact on the listener.
Compare this with the jungle classic, UK Apache & Shy-Fx - Original Nuttah & take note of the drums & how they compliment not only UK Apache’s vocal delivery but the overall composition of the track.
The frenetic tempo of the breakbeat exudes a high energy that UK Apache’s verse has to keep pace with in order for the song to sound as good as it does, almost as if the breaks are conversing with Apache, the 808s & the repeated string. This sort of ‘conversing’ greatly relates to the utilization of the “talking drums” discussed in the video I linked at the beginning of this entry.
So, how does call & response come into play?
“Call & Response” can appear in music in a variety of ways. Much like how the talking drums of the Asante used calls & response to send messages, any element, instrument or motif of a song can be used to illicit a response from another element. Take for example this excerpt from an unreleased song I’m working on, and take note of how the Reese sub-bass receives messages from the 808 bass.
This call & response works to not only add variation to a good bassline but to also accompany the vocal chopping as a sort of “backup singer” (for lack of a better term).
Another good example from my music is the break down during the jersey club part of “tell me” by me & mon. Take note of how each measure has a “what?” near its ending:
Each “what?” acts as the response to the rhythmic instrumental call. Funnily enough, whenever I perform this song, the crowd often catches on to the response & joins along with the chant. (its so fye lol)
This can also be understood by watching this gameplay footage of Rhythm Heaven Fever’s Ringside minigame; where each “wubba dubba dub is that true?” is responded to by a grunt from the wrestler.
Call & Response can also appear within the same element of music. From “tell me” (citing it again cuz i fuckin love that song lol), the synth lead responds to itself, almost as a monologue.
Okay, that’s all I feel I can write on this for now, I might expand on this in the future. BUT I hope that this helps you understand how I utilize the talking drums philosophy and the call & response technique, and I hope it helps you during the music creation process.
