African Rhythms: Enhanced Learning via AfroStudio

Anyone studying African rhythms knows that it can take a considerable amount of time until the body finally incorporates a given pattern involving several instruments like djembe, kenekeni, sagban, dundunba and shekere. In the process, many students write the rhythm, sing it, clap it, or even record it in order to speed up the embodiment of the musical structure.

Traditionally, African rhythms were transmitted out of voice, face to face, without a systematic writing. Indeed, such pedagogic approach is typical from the music understanding of occidental culture. Whether you like it or not, we are use to learn this way since school.

To improve the music learning process, a software tool was created under the name of AfroStudio. Designed by African rhythm professors, AfroStudio was conceived as an educational tool for the study, composition and further incorporation of complex African rhythms and ensembles.

AfroStudio allows to describe each African instrument pattern in a intuitively fashion without requiring any expertise on musical theory. Once created, a powerful playback feature allows to reproduce the ensemble at lower tempos for detailed analysis, or at higher rates to obtain the final feeling of the music. In both cases a moving cursor points the current beat in the graphic user interface, which also allow the user to modify the pattern, tempo and equalization in real time.

To have such a rich feature set in a mobile device is crucial for the practice of African music which rarely happens in an environment with a laptop computer or other high-end processing hardware. Indeed, being able to take AfroStudio in your pocket right out to the fresh air where the rest of the drummers tend to be is a distinguishing fundamental feature.

Drum teachers can also take advantage of the so-called AfroCloud to upload rhythms transmitted and practiced while in class. Students can then recall the pattern while out-of-class and thus speed-up the learning process. Moreover, students can study the ensemble by listening or filtering specific instruments as well as edit and share the rhythm with friends.

The experienced musician can also take advantage of AfroStudio to compose and get the feeling of complex musical structures and phrases to later play in a real ensemble. Also, since African drum rhythms are mainly transmitted by word of mouth, keeping and sharing them via the AfroCloud public server can help to maintain the tradition. At the time of writing we have more than 200 rhythms uploaded from all around the world in the AfroCloud!

If interested, reach us in our facebook page or go straight to download AfroStudio in the App Store. Happy drumming! Happy learning!