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Programming the
Nyabinghi rhythm is very difficult, if
not impossible. Traditionally, it is
played by many drummers, who interact
to each other and to the hymns and
chants they are singing on top of it.
I would therefore suggest that you
drop the idea of being able to program
a traditional Nyabinghi session in
midi (for programming a rhythm is
always done in midi first, otherwise
it should be a recording of sound, but
more on that in the next chapters) and
create a rhythm founded on the rhythm.
In the midisection of
the Dubroom you can find a midifile
which I have created, inspired on the
Nyabinghi rhythm. I will use that
midifile in this example, to show you
a little about creating. In this
example you'll see how I programmed a
Nyabinghi style rhythm in a normal
general midi drum setup. Take a look
at the following screenshot, which is
rather big so you'll have to click on
the picture below, to see the complete
screen in another window:
LISTEN: EXAMPLE0011.MP3
| EXAMPLE0011.MID
As you can see, the
rhythm is rather complicated. I've
used almost every single drum
available in the General Midi setup.
And while most of them are only
playing on the accents, a few play
some extra rhythms on top of it.
The foundation (the
heart beat, remember?) is the most
important thing, and I've used
different drums to accent it, not only
a bass drum. This is, because if you
have only the sound of one drum, it is
not as full. I've played the accents
on different drums, and also very
loose. Because of the many different
drums sounds, playing it loose will
make the track much fuller then when
everything would be too tight. It's
like many drummers play in one time.
The accent in this
rhythm that I used, is on every first
count of the measure. I've also
included a drum set in this example
(look at the big picture). The drum
accent of my choice is a bassdrum
(kick drum) and an open hi-hat. This
is how sometimes a Nyabinghi style is
played in reggae concerts, when there
are no traditional Nyabinghi drums
around.
Every second measure
there is also an accent to the last
beat. The other beats are inspired and
played according to the feel on the
bassline and the drum accents on ever
first count of the measure.
For further studying
of the Nyabinghi rhythm I would
suggest that you buy some music from
RAS MIKAEL AND THE SONS OF NEGUS
We will now close the
chapters with background information
the different reggae rhythms. |
