
In the second type, the one used for African drum literature and the form to be considered here, the instruments communicate through direct representation of the spoken language itself, simulating the tone and rhythm of actual speech. The first is through a conventional code where pre-arranged signals represent a given message in this type there is no directly linguistic basis for the communication. Bascom 1964, 1965 a Berry 1961 Herskovits 1960), expression through drums often forms a not inconsiderable branch of the literature of a number of African societies.ģ Communication through drums can be divided into two types. Although its literary significance has been overlooked in general discussions of African oral literature, (e.g. That this is indeed a form of literature rather than music is clear when the principles of drum language are understood. IĢ A remarkable phenomenon in parts of West and Central Africa is the literature played on drums and certain other musical instruments. Examples of Drum Literature: Announcements and Calls Names Proverbs Poetry. 1 The description in this chapter is mainly based on Rattray 1923 Carrington 1944, 1949a, 1949b and (.)ġ Introductory-The Principles of Drum Language.The drummer returned, but only briefly and collapsed again, this time heading off to the hospital to get his stomach pumped. Or watch another take below.) As the roadies tried to bring him back to form, The Who played as a trio. (Watch a condensed version of the whole affair, from start to finish, above. Then, halfway through “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” he slumped onto his drums. During the show, Moon’s drumming became sloppy and slow, writes his biographer Tony Fletcher. The drugs worked all too well, not least because the tranquillizers actually ended up being PCP. When Moon vomited before the concert, he ended up taking some tranquillizers to calm down. It was, after all, their first show on American soil in two years. But despite that, Keith Moon, the band’s drummer, had a case of the nerves. The Who came to California with its album Quadrophenia topping the charts. In November 1973, Scot Halpin, a 19-year-old kid, scalped tickets to The Who concert in San Francisco, California. Little did he know that he’d wind up playing drums for the band that night - that his name would end up etched in the annals of rock ‘n’ roll.
