CR/DQ: Locke explores his role as a Caucasian who's chosen to spend his life on African music and the culture surrounding it. Part of this exploration deals with the validity of his teaching from that role and an examination of the impact the African musical enigma undergoes when subjected to the harsh light of Western scholarly discourse.
The most interesting duality the Locke examines is that between the African method of teaching and the Western method. Locke talks about this distinction with a keen eye to the effect it has on the actual performance and style of the music, noting that African musicians are taught the music in relation to other parts while Western musicians are taught their respective parts as complementary to other parts. And when performing, Locke points out that that value system is evident in the more heavily communal, intuitive stylings of Ewe drumming. Locke mentions various African drum teachers throughout this excerpt, but the most interesting quote he includes from them portrays the African music school in a very ambiguous light - when Lunna admonishes his students "Don't play jazz!" when the students stray beyond the confines of "the drum language," there's a heavy undertone of traditionalism - a sense that the Ewe drumming world is less dynamic and innovative that might initially appear. Locke isn't by any means short of praise for the compelling method of Ewe drumming, so this sentiment seems a little out of place. Locke is understandably concerned about the plight of Ewe drumming, especially fearful that it might be lost, but why does this extend to the idea that no other musical stylings can be incorporated into the Ewe method? Is the style not distinctive enough to be recognizable with such tinges?
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