Can you play the kenkeni bell off the time for dundunbas?

[James]

To those who don't know there are a few kenkeni bells for dundunna rhythms.

Easy bell

Bell => lx - - lx - -
ken => l- o|- o o


More diffcult bell off the time

Bell => l- x x|- x x
ken => l- o|- o o


There's a really big difference between the difficulty in playing them. Bubudi has pointed out even madder bells below!

[bubudi]

that's the most commonly played kenkeni bell pattern for the dunun rhythms. try it shifted so that the second bell stroke falls on the beat. it's more challenging because it requires you to strike the drum both on and in-between bell strokes. it also sounds very nice, the way it hockets with the dununba bell. your 'advanced' bell falls together with the strokes, so is easy to do... if you are playing with an experienced dununba player, he'll be playing the exact same bell so by following him you will stay anchored until you get used to it enough to come in & maintain it on your own.

with the shifted version i mentioned you follow the main djembe accompaniment for the bell, so feeling the timing will not be an issue... more so the physical aspect of playing it, until you get used to it.

i suggest switching bell patterns from time to time to give yourself the added dimension within the rhythm. another bell pattern to try is with 3 bell strokes for every 2 beats. the first bell stroke falls on the first beat, the other 2 fall on the first 2 strokes of the kenkeni. that is another timing within the dununba rhythms. often that timing is present in the dunun melody, but even when it's not, the soloist will bring it in. that dual timing is an example of what i mean by added dimension.

[James]

A lot to play with there.

I predict brain bending in my near future.

I'm editing out my terminology as it's innapropriate.

Easier and more difficult bell perhaps

[bubudi]

it's not a dununba unless there's some brain bending involved actually, one of my teachers once said something similar.

[Dugafola]

good to know a couple different bell patterns.

especially when playing in a dance class where the music is at a good clip.

[kawa]

Playing the bell off the time becomes natural with practice.

You may learn it faster by practicing first hitting the bell at exactly the same time you're hitting the skin, then adding one stroke on the bell just before the first stroke on the skin.

It becomes easier when you're already acquainted with off the beat accompaniments on djembe.

Also it's a cognitive thing : listen to lots and lots of dunumbas so that your brain gets used to those off the beat strokes, it will make things way way easier. People often struggle with it, because they don't realize the problem is cognitive, they think it's physiological (moving the arm at the right time), so they assume it's only about hitting the bell at the right time (it never works), whereas it's a whole new perception of time and rhythm that is involved (ie a rhythm that is off the beat).

But if you can't play the kenkeni bell off the time, yet I do not advise playing the bell with one stroke on the time. It kills the feeling of the dunumba you're playing.
You're better off not playing the bell on the kenkeni, the bells on the sangban and the dunumba will make a great melody.

Listen to lots of dunumbas, practice and don't give up, everybody can get it.

Kawa
http://kawatvinternational.wordpress.com/
http://kawatv.wordpress.com/

[Mikeleza]

Playing the bell on the down beat in dundunba doesn't sound good to me. I love the swing when the dun and the kenkeni are locking together, thats the crux of the feeling of dundunba to me... even being clever and playing the bell as a 1 . a 2 . a 3 . a 4 . doesn't sound that great to me... OFF BEAT ALL THE WAY!

[bubudi]

mike, i agree, as long as you also have the sangban bell. being able to play the kenkeni with the bell leading onto the beat is a good skill to have though, even if playing it that way is not traditional or ideal.

[dleufer]

I've seen people teach (and taught) this as an intermediary bell for people learning the offbeat kenkeni
x.x.x.x.x.x.
..o.oo..o.oo
I've been teaching a couple of people how to play the offbeat kenkeni recently and I've got them to play a mix of the pattern above and this
..x.xx..x.xx
..o.oo..o.oo
Also just playing the kenkeni without any bell is good practice and then gradually bringing the bell in once the pattern is locking in. Then, just like Kawa said, it's just a matter of adding in that one bell stroke and you're sorted. Playing the offbeat djembe accompaniment is also great practice
1..2..3..4..
..s.os..s.os

The day the offbeat finally broke into my brain was a great day indeed!