Traditional rhythms and the Griot swing
My experience suggests that when learning and performing West African rhythms, one should approach them in the very sensible way. Each rhythm has particular phrasing, subdivision (often non-isochronous), and swing, resulting from centuries of development and interaction with dancers. The same rhythm may be played(and danced) in various ways, depending on the area, instrumentation, and the musicians. Several rhythm-related phenomenons may appear fundamentally different from the ”western” perspective. I would like to mention some of them here, as they had to be considered when transposing the rhythms for the drum kit.
Let´s take a closer look at a rhythm called Sunu that appears on the album in the song called ”Saa.” Sunu originates from Kassouke-people from The Kayes region in Mali. One of the most famous djembe drummers of all time, master drummer Mamady Keïta states that: ”Sunu is played as a competition-dance-rhythm for young men. (as quoted in Billmeier 2004, p.42 )
My transcription of Sunu for the drum set:
In this transcription, the bell pattern of Sunu was directly applied as the hi-hat pattern. The same pattern also appears in many other rhythms, and even Cuban rumba guaguanco has a similar pattern. The bass drum is inspired by the dundunba/sangban pattern of Sunu, and the snare hit is on the 4th beat, emphasizing the last accented beat of the bell pattern. During the verse, there is also a cross-stick hit on the hi-hat accents. This pattern is similar to the commonly known rumba clave in 4/4. Even though sunu and guaguanco share many similarities and even the same patterns on a partiture, they are not the same rhythm. The biggest difference lies in rhythmic phrasing and subdivision feeling. (and dance moves and their accompaniments).
Sunu´s rhythmic phrasing could be described as ”griot swing”. The subdivisions are not linear, tripled-based shuffle, nor a 16th beat groove, but something in between those. That is a typical phenomenon in West African, and it´s diasporas music. Janne Halonen worked intensively with rhythms from Benin and gives a rule of thumb for phrasing West African rhythms: ”.... the feel of the subdivisions. Sixteenth notes tend to be ”rounded” in a way, that they actually start to sound alike with the triplets, and vice versa.”(Halonen 2018,p.12) I agree that it is a good, yet simplified way to describe it. Many researchers are doing profound studies in this field and have managed to prove how the subdivisions behave in different rhythms scientifically. (Polak, London and Jacoby, 2016) . They suggest that the subdivisions can be divided into isochronous and non-isochronous. The linearly played subdivisions are called isochronous, and any other way of performing the subdivisions would be categorized as non-isochronous. The study acknowledges that the subdivision performance can be considered a means of expression, not only as a fixed state or setting.
In my experience the subdivision feeling may change during the song, for example, when the tempo changes radically, or a soloist may use the alteration of subdivision as a means of expression. For a foreign musician, it often takes years of practice to perfectly adapt to any kind of subdivision accompaniment and alter the subdivision feeling. Especially musicians trained to play mostly isochronous subdivisions may find it very difficult to perform a pattern with non-isochronous subdivisions. That can be a big challenge in transcultural ensembles that include non-isochronous rhythmic material. We did not discuss these details during the album rehearsal process, but luckily, most Faso Kans musicians are familiar with the concept or inborn with it. In my future projects, this is something to consider and discuss between musicians.
I would like to add that a bodily approach may significantly facilitate this task during the learning stage. Traditional dances often feature the subdivisions feeling inbuilt in the movements, so dancing will help to internalize the feeling. Sometimes just seeing the dancer doing the step is enough to understand the feeling, but it´s recommended for all musicians to try the steps. When Faso Kan rehearses a performance, the musicians are often encouraged to do a step while playing. That adds some work but results in a much tighter performance. I once attended a master class by drummer Brice Wassy from Cameroon. He explained his highly polyrhythmic approach to the drum kit by stating that: ”if you can dance it, you can play it.” I have found his approach very helpful while practicing the West African grooves on the drum kit.
I would also like to mention the learning method to speak or sing the rhythms, as it has been an essential step on my path to learning the rhythms. It provides an efficient way to approach the material through language. In the case of griot music, it is a method that is widely used to transmit and communicate musical information. and Human language naturally contains complex rhythmic structures. My late Senegalese sabar master Ndongo Diop always said to me:” If you can speak it, you can play it”.