The Saturday Drum Circle is very different from the one held here at the farm, as many of the participants have had a lot of experience. Some of them play with Sankofa (African Dancing and Drumming Ensemble) and all are very loyal followers of Khalid. In fact, most of them drive out from Rochester. People who are drawn to drumming have some similar characteristics (sensitive, interested in community, mellow, caring). Jeff, who leads our jams at the farm, has had a lot of experience playing with Khalid and his goal is to expose more people to the joys of this activity. He does workshops and schools, local events etc. Most of us, who drum here, are real rookies. Sometimes I wonder what the college group even thinks...about my being there. That's where community comes in. Khalid welcomes people of all different levels and patiently takes us along. We drummed from 1-4:15 this week. That's a very long stretch, but I was able to keep up 90% of the time. It really feeds your soul. I now take notes to learn more of the terminology and videos to remember the hand patterns.
Here's a sample.
