THE PROCESS OF EFFECTIVE DRUMMING
Introduction
There are five
basic elements of the process of drumming just as five good stages of the
effective communication process can also be identified. These are discussed
below:
The Drummer or
Source Conceives an Idea
This is the
first stage of drumming which involves the initiation of an idea by the
drummer, aludundun or alubata (dundun or bata drummer) as the case may be
hence, the equivalent of this stage in general communication is called the
ideation stage by communication scholars. the drummer initiates the idea of
welcoming some people to a given occasion or ceremony, passing vital messages
to those in the neighbourhood, greeting the king who is just coming from his
bedroom, reciting the oriki of important people or places or reminding subjects
of the supremacy of the monarch within a kingdom. Whichever be the case, the
conception of a good idea makes or marks the beginning of effective drumming.
The drummer selects the appropriate channels.
The Drumbeat Channel or
Medium
The second stage
of drumming has to do with the choice of ideal means of disseminating the
drummer’s message, that is, the specific talking drum that will be used to pass
the intended message. The drummer can choose the use of very eloquent dundun
talking drum, which is believed to be more comprehensible than others
especially when he does not want the listener to have much difficulties in
interpreting his message. The drummer can use the bata talking drum if his
intended audience or listeners are also experts in bata drumming.
The Drummer’s
Idea is Coded into Drumbeat Messages or Sound
This third stage
of drumming process has to do with the choice of appropriate language or style
of drumbeats with which the intended message will be coded. For example,
straightforward drum language can be used which virtually everybody who
understands the tonal language imitated by the talking drum can easily comprehend.
Similar
expressions that listeners or audience are already familiar with can also be
used to achieve the same easy-to-comprehend drumming.
The Drummer’s
Audience or Receivers Decode the Drumbeat Message
This fourth
stage of communication has to do with the interpretation of the communicator’s
coded drumbeat messages by his or her audience or listeners. The audience
expected to decipher the drumbeat message may be a single person such as the
king being welcome back to his palace from a trip by palace talking drummers.
The audience can be important dignitaries or eminent personalities at an
important occasion. Whichever be the case, there will be effective drumming if
both the drummer and the audience understand the code of the drumbeat so that
the latter easily deciphers and understands the message.
The Audience/Receivers
Send a Feedback
This is the
final stage of the process of drumming, which is basically about the response
of the listener to the drummer’s message sent via the talking drum.
Such a response,
according to Ngozi (2001:2), “can be positive, negative, limited, zero, verbal
or non-verbal”.
This means
response to the drummer’s message can be the positive that is expected or the
negative that is no expected. The response can be partial which represents the
limited feedback or there may be no response at all, which is the zero
feedback. Also, the response can be verbal if it is via the use of words or
speech sounds and may be non-verbal if it does not use words or speech at all.
For example, a man whose oriki (praise poem) is played by a drummer may just
smile, wave, stand and dance or send money to the drummer.
