The hand drum class, circle
and open mic at Potay.Haiti.Caribbean.Us.All was my point of interest this past
Friday night. I did not really know what to expect but what I can say is that a
blessing was lavished on me just by being present in that space.
With such superb skill and panache, the host, Okai, got the air of learning and personal enjoyment flowing. Not only did he give insight on how to play Conga drums or Djembe drums, but also how to get your voice across with uniqueness; by voice I mean, the sound that vibrates out of your hand hitting the drums. And by uniqueness, I mean that though all participants were taught the same hand gestures, every person still plays with their own incredible degree of diversity.
Potay located as 2720 Farragut
Road in Brooklyn, NY definitely had something special going on. As time slipped
away between our fingers, there were a n umber of lessons being learned between
the hand drum class and the open mic that shortly followed it. One of them is
like Paul Coelho said, “wherever your heart is there you will find your
treasure.”
My heart has had an inextinguishable
light for singing all my life and most recently in piano. I didn’t actually
consider that I might be accompanying other participants via keyboard or that I
would be learning new songs to play on the spot but being in synchrony with
others at this event helped me to increase my knowledge of my musicianship a
bit more.
Another thing that I learned
was like Carlos Santana said, “people are flowers. Music is water. Musicians
are the hose.” Considering how the curiosity of knowing more about hand drums
and becoming more familiar with the cultural aspects of it was almost like broaching
the idea that there is nothing wrong with being who you are individually. We
all shared, and all voices were respected and heard which means more to me than
I can express because at that point, it is a realization that there is no
reason to derail your efforts and so it alleviated uncertainties as far as who
you are and what you had to bring to the table because everybody banded
together like family. So, I felt
comfortable introducing my music and the scope of my performing voice as a live
exhibition to them.
The drum circle event was beyond helpful. I felt
elated to experience gather together on that Friday night and become a part of
the community and to be filled with the wealth of information that I received. It
helped to draw a smile on my face that has yet to leave ever since. If you want
to see for yourself how it went, I invite you to check out this video for
yourself and hopefully, it will bring you joy as it did for me. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/7LBROH-GfjM
Check out the flyer and let
me know if you have interest or any probing questions that I might
be able to answer
about it. And if you feel like being a part of the glorious moment of hand
drumming, it is a recurring event happening every Friday at Potay. Maybe you
feel like escaping to something different, all happening at Potay on Farragut Road
and Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, NY. So stop on through and you will not be
disappointed.
Thank you so much for checking out my blog post.
