Dr. Kwabena Nketia was professor emeritus at the University of Ghana while I was there. (I was an affiliated researcher and he was my main supervisor.) "Prof" I called him. And not just me . . . everyone at the ICAMD knew him as "Prof." Of the many things that Prof told me, one that really sticks out is: When you are learning to improvise with West African music, it really is--to a large degree--a matter of cutting and pasting the appropriate parts of the various structures that make up the vocabulary of the instruments, but before you can even begin to cut and paste, first, you have to learn the structures.
I guess that can be practice-meme #1: "First, learn the structures."
Monday, January 26, 2009
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