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Day 1 - Basics

Day 1 of CoLab 2018 complete. I really wasn't sure what to expect this year but it's been a fun and revealing beginning! I assumed Cuban Carnival would just be a band playing Cuban music or something, but to my surprise (and mixed feelings of delight and apprehension) we were fully engaged in learning how to dance a PROPER conga. I didn't realise it was even a real thing with specific movements until today.
Cuban percussion - congas!

We started off the day with some rhythmic work firstly with our bodies and later using Conga drums, cowbells and Bambo drums. By clapping with a weighted first beat, as if one hand is pressing the other or sticking to it, and adding the stomping of feet, we began to learn how to feel the beat really clearly in our bodies. Subsequently we added singing (in Spanish) and for me, that's where it all went wrong. I did not realise how difficult it would be to clap, stamp and sing different things at the same time! It highlighted to me the narrow-minded approach of playing an instrument in the Western Classical world and how focused we often become on the technical things. We later transferred these skills to the percussion instruments - I had a conga drum to play, which was great fun but hurts your hands after a while.

Rhythmic parts notated.
Melody notated only with
 words and rhythm
In the style of a real Cuban carnival, the trumpeters then got out their instruments (myself included) and played the song melody by ear. Although I expected to struggle with finding which notes to play, I actually found the biggest challenge was playing the correct rhythm accurately. It's a very different feel to what I'm used to and I just had to let go of my inhibitions and "feel" the music rather than attempt to count it. Eventually our mentor wrote the notation down just so we could understand and see how all the parts fit together, but the aim is not to use this guide when we're playing, of course.


After an early lunch break, we had the pleasure of being taught how to dance in true conga style by Luanda Pua - a professional Cuban dancer. This session was tiring and highlighted my lack of coordination even more, but it's a challenge I hope to overcome this week! I'm not sure how I'll be able to play and dance at the same time though; I have a lot to learn.

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