Shared Joy

As you may have gleaned by now, I was at the World Rhythm Festival in Seattle this weekend. I saw some great performances, attended some enlightening workshops, dined with friends and met some fascinating people. Not too shabby for a free festival.

Today at the end of one workshop I overheard a fellow student saying she couldn't do ka on her doumbek (a hand drum). ka is one of the three basic sounds played on a doumbek, typically with the left ring finger. I watched her play and could see a couple things she wasn't doing right.

After playing a ka on her drum to make sure her drum was fine, I gave her some suggestions on how to play ka properly, and after a few tries and more suggestions, she was playing it well.

You should have seen that girl light up! It was like a five-year-old on Christmas morning. "I got the ka!" she exclaimed. She'd had an epiphany. I wish I could do that every day. I try daily to put a smile on someone's face (and it's usually Connie's), but if I could light someone up every day I'd be lit up myself. It really makes your day.


Posted by Dave    Blog Tag: Chatter