1. Introducing the Naizungwe drums Story
…r, despite his best efforts, James has been unable to locate any surviving old players who can facilitate a similar education. As a result, he is hoping to work alongside Haruna Walusimbi of Nile Beat Artists to reconstruct the performances directly from the recording he received from Peter Cooke. James tells us: “Nile Beat Artists is a semiprofessional group of musicians that include highly talented musicians. We will also add other musicians sel…
Day 6: Thursday, February 23rd, 2017 Story
…s are Mapipa. They also use the marimba. They played 9 songs, 5 regular performances and four ‘magic moments’: Mkwaju Ngoma: actually four songs in one. About a child going back to his village after a while and being accepted. Rushwa: about harvests, but also uses a metaphor of a broken chicken leg to say that even if love is broken, it will mend, the ‘girlfriend will come back.’ Rushwa Magic Moment 1: just vocals Magic Moment 2: percussion Malala…
Day 4: Tuesday, February 21st, 2017 Story
…ich the best marimbas are made. He was in the market one time and found an old bed made out of Mninga. The wood was old and very dry which was perfect. He bought the bed for $15 and is now making a world class marimba. Behind every song there are wonderful stories! Kijana: Young Man Eholi Yaya Njengwa: To be Built Sahani (Meaning Plate, where a full plate is a metaphor for an abundant life and good harvest) Part two: We then brought in Henry and L…
Day 3: Monday, 2017 February 20th Story
…young girl is ready to be married. Briefly: The basic song, starts with an old women sitting down against a tree. Between her legs is a bundle covered by a blanket. The song first talks about the girl reaching the age where she needs to be hidden from men (roughly 15-17), protected in a hut, where she is instructed on how to be a wife, a mother and member of the village. In the dance, the ‘hidden girl’ is hidden under the blanket next to the woman…
Day 1: Saturday, 2017 February 18th Story
…cers pulls it back by the tail just before it strikes. Breath-taking. This form of performance is new to us (but, of course not to Tanzanians) and we’ve not seen it in Kenya or Uganda. In fact, ‘clown’ acts are quite central to Tanzanian dance as are acrobatic acts. We spoke to Leo about this. “Yes, we love to bring comedy to our music. If you look at most circus troupes that are touring in the world today, a huge number of the acrobats and clowns…
A Report by Professor James Isabirye – Indigenous music learning in contemporary contexts: Nurturing learner identity, agency, and passion News
…n music and instruments. We know that generations to come will be grateful for the work he has put in to continue these traditions. He has also written a report analysing how indigenous learning can inform modern schooling, in which Singing Well’s gets a featured mention as collaborators within his project. You can read more about that here: https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/XGBCQ8EJIVZXHMMGUZ2V/full James Isabirye is a lecturer of music and mus…
Fundraiser for Matthew Watmon News
We are sad to say that a special talent, and a dear friend of Singing Wells, Matthew Watmon is currently in a critical condition in hospital. We are urgently trying to raise funds to support him and his family in this difficult time, and we hope that some of our followers may be able to help us. If you are based in East Africa, please get in touch with Matthew’s brother, Constantine Odida ((MTN) +256-782-236-742 and (Airtel) +256-704-261-037). I…
Singing Wells Approaches 5 Million Views News
…s is a project worth showing people! We can’t wait to bring more songs and stories to the world. Keep an eye out on the Singing Wells Youtube channel for the footage and recordings from our field trip to Zanzibar and Pemba….
Central & Eastern Uganda: Day 4, Part 1 – Reflections Story
…tries of the Entenga drums, which mirror the xylophones, which are written for six musicians, each with their own parts, playing melody and bass lines, and harmonizing across both. You will not hear this richness in any current drums. They are exciting, vibrant, modern and relevant: we all walked away in love with these drums and we are only at the first stage. These are new drums that don’t yet have the rich tones of drums that have been ‘played…
Central & Eastern Uganda: Day 3, Part 2 – Interviews with Musicians of Uganda’s Royal Palaces Story
…m to give you a sense of the desperate situation with this music. We have told you of the royal drums and our efforts to revive them. And of a younger, incredibly passionate drummer, Shaban, who is now extremely motivated about mastering these drums and teaching others. We’ve told you of the Bigwala, and the fact that there are now four new groups, and the farmers are growing long gourds again. This is what we are trying to do and the stories are…
Central & Eastern Uganda: Day 3, Part 1- Drum Making and Palace Players Story
…nstruments: the knife (Akambe), awl (Olukato), hammer (Ennyondo) and wedge for tuning. For this step, the re-stringing, he stopped after a few strings, explaining that he was ruining his drum by showing us. Here, you saw the real skill levels of the drum maker. With his hands moving very fast, he was taking out the stitch of nylon string, cutting off the former holes, creating new holes and re-lacing the drum skins together with leather strings. V…
Central and Eastern Uganda: Day 2 – Kampala to Jinja Story
…the arrangement mirrors in many ways the royal drums. There are generally six players, 3 on each side, configured very roughly as follows (I say roughly, because the notes each plays depends on the song): Akubaa Obuto: meaning player of the small slabs, this musician plays keys 1-4, the highest notes Atabula: meaning the mixer, this musician plays keys 5-11 Asansaga: this person plays keys 8-15 Ow’enduumi: this person plays 13-15 and means ‘player…
Singing Wells Youtube Channel hits 2.5Million views News
…Music Club. This was filmed back in 2011, on the very first day of the Singing Wells pilot trip to Kenya. Seeing the generations of Nyerere’s family performing together was a special moment (his son Mr Bado is also a musician). We captured a great fusion of old and new https://youtu.be/-MU13FLg_io You also need to check out the Elgon Ngoma Troupe, performing a traditional circumcision ritual dance. Please keep following our channel – with new vi…
Musisi’s Story, Part 1: The Fall of the Buganda Kingdom Story
…und, shot. His guts were out on the ground and he was crying for help and told the soldier that he knew me and that we should help him. I thought that this gatekeeper had his problems and I had mine and I needed to live so I said I didn’t know him and told the soldier to hurry on and find the King. And then we came to the Throne Room but it had already been shot up and it was a real mess. And it was clear that the King wasn’t there and the key was…
The Return of Bigwala News
…and gradually died out. When the kingdoms were restored in 1990, very few players with knowledge of constructing and playing the bigwala remained alive. James Isabirye, a Lecturer at the Department of Performing Arts of Kyambogo University in Kampala, has been striving since 2012 to restore knowledge of the instrument, receiving help from UNESCO, on their List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, to preserve the instrum…
Rediscovering the lost Royal Drums of the Buganda Kingdom: Day 1, Uganda Story
…e hearing a full song – percussion, bass, rhythms and melodies across the six players. These drums were dead. We have some recordings from Hugh Tracy in the 1950’s (more on this later) and Peter Cooke also recorded a final performance in 1969. But the drummers all died. The drums were gone. We had old recordings, but no drummers. We were listening to lost songbooks. We were listening to the full drums together for the first time in almost 50 years…