Translation of nine East African rhythms: A drum kit exploration through improvised music

The following folio examines methods of improvised music performance and composition that utilize rhythmic concepts as structural elements. This was realized through the use of my drum kit performance practice, small ensemble sessions, and nine East African rhythms as source material for the resulting bodies of work. Through six distinct projects comprising solo, duo, and trio formats, my own interests in improvised music performance and composition are described as performer, composer, and ensemble leader. Improvised music performance works as a service to this programme of research, which combines pre-planned with unplanned approaches to spontaneous compositions. Through the methods to be discussed, the work was conducted as a series of translations: firstly, from the traditional rhythms to my interpretation of them; secondly, from these interpretations to solo drum kit; and finally, from solo drum kit to the ensemble instruments. This work’s contribution to new knowledge is in terms of a making framework consisting of three domains. The first is the three-stage translation process; the second is the underlying theory of translation; and the third is a set of guiding principles of practice realized as values that are based on the theory of translation in this research. The major implication of my six projects is that as a leader, composer, and performer I have developed performance and composition approaches in which these musical-practice roles can be combined to produce a diverse set of pieces with recurrent related themes. These methods here employed in the processes of composing, rehearsing, and performing can also be transferred into my own future endeavours as a creative musician.