Tag Archives | Nyabinghi

Jammin’ in Jamaica

All Around This World -- The Caribbean featuring Jamaica

This week in our online class we’re fortunate enough to travel to Jamaica, a small island nation that has had a disproportionate influence on global music and culture.  Jamaican musicians have either originated or advanced so very many musical styles such as, in roughly chronological order, Kumina, Nyabinghi, Mento, Ska, Rocksteady, Reggae, Dub and Dancehall/Ragga. Though we’re going to meet a few of these genres over the course of the week, there won’t be enough time. We’ll leave wanting more, and more, and more….

Nyabinghi Drumming

Jamaican Nyabinghi drumming is religious Rastafarian music that adherents perform in communal drumming circles while chanting Rastafarian prayers.

Every Jamaican Nyabinghi drumming circle worth its salt features several distinct drums: the THUNDER (the bottom, bass drum of the ensemble), the FUNDE (a middle-pitched drum that keeps “the heartbeat” of the rhythm), the REPEATER (the highest-pitched drum, it improvises rhythms and is believed to carry the spirit of the session), and, often, the SHAKA: the sekere, which accents and provides character to the rhythms. This video gets you in the Jamaican groove.