STUDENT OF THE YEAR!

 

Optimism, hope, a longing for a brighter sun is what engulfed the whole world, perhaps even the entire universe as we counted the dragging days of 2020. You could see the empty streets mid March, thinking it would only take a few weeks then we'd be back. October, November, December 1st...11th...21st...31st curfews were still on. Thankfully, we can now say this in past tense. Even though the virus is still among us, our resilience has paid off. The cautiousness has helped us curb the menace. We are not afraid, and we shall overcome. Yes, even though we mourn the loss of loved ones, decry the loss of jobs and curse the disruption of our economy, we are standing tall to this giant, ready for a fruitful 2021 against all odds, HAPPY NEW YEAR! There are BETTER DAYS ahead!

Our physical lessons were interrupted as the students had to travel home due to restrictions. Thankfully, a few would be comfortable to continue with the virtual lessons. However, things were never the same or as thriving as we had envisioned while we were doing a post like this last year. The paradox though is that this is the year we have done more especially on the output of the Music Production as well as increasing our visibility. Our social Media handles are doing well as we get more inquiries from potential clients. For all your comments, clicks, following and support in whichever way, we want you to know that we are grateful and that you matter to us. Thank you.

Well, this post is about recognizing our outstanding student. The disclaimer is that all our students are always great, and for this year, they formed a great support team through their hard-work the zeal to know more, submitting assignments despite the challenges we experienced. Below is a conversation we had with our Student of the year, Tina Kasia- an accountant by profession.

Which Instrument did you learn?

Tina: Guitar

Why did you choose the above instrument?

Tina: A general interest. Sounds great.

How did you come to choose DMA?

Tina: I found the lessons to be ideal and class schedules are very flexible.

What can you say about our mode of instruction?

Tina: Professional and friendly.

Were your expectations met? 

Tina: Yes

Explain

Tina: I had been longing to play the guitar from a professional point of view. The training has aligned my skill.

Share any general comments for our readers

Tina: The instructor is very professional and has a yearning to teach. Makes you feel comfortable.

 

We applaud Tina for the award, and we'll be glad to give her a full set of new acoustic strings plus a guitar cable upon her certification.

As the new  unfolds, remember that you're never alone. We'll be here bringing you great tunes, fabulous lessons, inspirational stories as well as leadership captions. WE ARE TOGETHER IN THIS!!

 

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OPPORTUNITY FOR ARTISTS: A CHANCE TO SHIMMER YOUR FLAIR, ACCESS 2020 IS HERE

 

 

YaaYaa(Ghana) and Douglas(Kenya)
During ACCES in Accra Ghana

More than 80 different ethnic groups, over 200 dialects spoken lies a land in Africa known for its own script. One of the world’s popular beverages, coffee was discovered in its region called Kaffa.  With this you must have already figured out what am talking about. You must be probably right.  “The cradle of mankind”, Ethiopia. It is a beautiful city with a unique people’s culture and typography.

Apart from all this interesting facts, an exciting music collaboration took place at its capital Addis Ababa. ACCES (Music in Africa Collaborations, Exchange and Showcases) started here in 2016. By that time it was a small feature on the Music in Africa Foundation’s AGM Plus programme.  Legendary Etgio-Jazz musician Mulatu Astatke was the keynote address; attended by delegates from more than 15 African countries.  Years later, in 2017, ACCES is launched as a fully-fledged international event drawing participants from all over the world. It is for this reason and many more; why you should be part of this amazing program this year.

Here is your chance to prove your shine on to the rest of the world.  There is talent in Africa. What more can be done if we don’t work on what we have and utilize on opportunities presented to us.

Organized by the Music in Africa Foundation, ACCES Africa 2020 will encompass various activities. Among them including pitch sessions, hub exhibitions, panel discussions and networking sessions. It will feature over 80 speakers and net-workers offering a chance to individuals to network, exchange ideas and interact with artists from the continent and diaspora.

East Africa’s Tanzania will be the host of this amazing feature at the Dar es Salaam National Museum and house of culture. One will get to enjoy various benefits of being part of this program. These includes but not limited to transport between venues and accredited hotels. Your logo stands a chance of being added to the ACCES Website and printed programme. In addition your company’s profile will appear on the Music in Africa website Music In Africa and in the dedicated exhibitor’s newsletter. This in return is sent to some 30000+ subscribers in Anglophone and Francophone Africa and the rest of the world.

Despite the coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic, the foundation is hopeful for the event to commence on the 26th of November and offset 0n 28^th same month 2020. Isn’t a good time to do something positive to your community and also for personal growth? As we keep safe during this time and staying strong to conquer this virus, let us also build on us. This is why you should begin by registering for Acces Africa. See the original call here https://www.musicinafrica.net/acces

Tout le meilleur et garder en se’curite’ in other words, ‘All the best and keep safe!’

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Burning Incense(Piano and Voice REHEARSAL)

I remember with nostalgia my life at Campus. This song was birthed at Masinde Muliro University during undergraduate studies. There were four of us who discovered our love for and gifting in Music. We did most of our stuff together and I remember the consitent prayer schedules we had every Thursday night, from 8PM and rehearsals for Sundays. After campus, we dispersed into different cities both literally and metaphorically because we are now Fathers! We recorded an album and this tune was one of my compositions that I still wonder how new it becomes each time I sing it. Well, at the time we were not so good with marketing essentials leave alone digital life. We distributed all the CDs(Mostly free), till presently none of us has any. This photo shows the four of us, the night it was taken was when we had a worship Night with the above song as the theme...should I say people came to me asking for a link and name of the worship band behind the song?

From Left: Jose, Myk, Douglas and Hoseah, 2012/13

Yesterday as I was thinking about how sickly the world looks currently, I was in a spontaneous worship hour where songs just flow as I play an instrument while singing. One of our new students had come to say goodbye as we shut down physical lessons following COVID_19 directive by the government (and of course sane conscience). I could hear her sing out some of the songs she knew. Since most of my compositions are normally congregational (or easy to follow), Burning Incense caught her easily. Today morning she sent me a message giving thanks for the worship session saying her spirit was lifted. My prayer is that everyone of us will use what we've got to give hope, lift up and offer solutions in whatever area of life we are gifted in. As you listen and even join in this song, may you find healing in whichever area of life.

The effect of this song in my life is indescribable. However, let me keep it simple. In the evening, we had a scheduled recording with yet a former Student_Milcah. She's one of the background vocalists in the upcoming album-Mimi na Wewe . Being a student from the former college I used to train, she just knew me as a msic trainer and not a worship leader. And the fact that the album we are doing is on general themes mostly about Africa and mental health, I was not surprised to hear this:

"So you don't do worship music enh?"

From Left: Milcah, Douglas, Judith and Lucy, 2020

I started to explain then realized that was a waste of time.I just sang the song and discovered a video was being taken. Let me skip the "wows" and just say, I had to do it again, with her back up and recording the audio a little professionally.  what you see up there is the  outcome. 

We are grateful for the journey we have made so far and the fact that our recording studio is up and running and giving as the opportunity to record good music is a blessing we can not gainsay. A midst the anguish that the world may be in, we hold on to faith that we shall overcome. Stay put pal!

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Amkeni Choir_Ewe Roho Mtakatifu Lyrics

Ewe roho mutakatifu, utu ongoze sisi wakristo,

Utufikishe kwenye njia iendayo kule mbinguni,

Ewe roho mutakatifu, utu ongoze sisi wakristo,

Utufikishe kwenye njia iendayo kule mbinguni,

Njia ile, ni nyembamba sana na imejaa shida nyinga,

Alikuja Yesu mwokozi kutufikisha kwenye uzima,

Njia hii, ni nyembamba sana na imejaa shida nyinga,

Alikuja Yesu mwokozi kutufikisha kwenye uzima,

Imejaa shida na hofu, mbele yake ni mwana wa nungu,

Hivyo ndivyo alisema malaika, Mwana wa mungu,

Imejaa shida na hofu, mbele yake ni mwana wa nungu,

Hivyo ndivyo alisema malaika, Mwana wa mungu,

Njia ile, ni nyembamba sana na imejaa shida nyingi,

Alikuja Yesu mwokozi kutufikisha kwenye uzima,

Njia hii, ni nyembamba sana na imejaa shida nyingi,

Alikuja Yesu mwokozi kutufikisha kwenye uzima,

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WAKE UP! IT'S MORNING

Bishop TD Jakes Addressing Entrepreneurs 

“I hear people from outside talk about opportunities in Africa more than I hear Africans talk about opportunities in Africa…the globe today is ready for your Idea,”

NunuNtshingila, the Regional Director Facebook Africa pointed out this truth during SOAR AFRICA 2019 as she stood up to address enthusiastic entrepreneurs.

SOAR AFRICA is a platform for African Leaders to get peer mentorship, knowledge sharing and executive engagement that embraces servant leadership. 5^th-6^th September 2019 mark the inaugural dates for the event that has been the talk of the day at least by many in the country for the past one month. The event brought together admirable leaders not only in the business world but also from the Public as well as the Spiritual aspects of life. 

The main speaker being Bishop TD Jakes from the US, the audience were surely blessed by his colleagues of the day including Strive Masiyiwa, Joshua Oigara (KCB), Sylvia Mulinge(Safaricom PLC), CS Fred Matiang’I to mention but a few.

There had been a fuss all over the media about the charges to the event but some of us just chose to focus on the main thing, which was, “SOAR AFRICA.” I was not going to afford this summit but was positive that at least I could get some nuggets of wisdom even if it meant through leaked videos or the social media titbits. 

You can imagine the joy when I got a message to express interest in attending the summit through the YALI alumni email. KCB had decided to sponsor a few of us. That is one of the mails I normally respond to first, doing the necessary before asking questions. Doesn’t Steve Covey advocate for pro-activeness in his 7Habits of Highly Effective People?

Let’s just say I had to attend this no matter the circumstances. I had been down with a fever and I once thought about cancelling my travel plan but… Years ago I read a book with a title “THE PRINCESS WITHIN” by Sarah Jakes which made me admire the man, her husband. I looked forward to becoming a resilient husband, open and honest as well as God-fearing. 

So, when an opportunity comes to hear and see the man you read on paper and/or watched on electrons, what more can one ask? The fact that he is a man of God showing the world that business can be clean and money after all was meant to serve man and not the other way is inspirational and maybe for once…I had to pause because I think the statement needs its own sentence break.

For once, young Christians (and even believers of other religions) have evidence that being religious is not a license to foolishness and poverty as it is always shoved down our throats right from primary school by some who believe in nothing. 

According to TDJ, the success of a nation is like a table. The four legs are Entrepreneurship, Religion, Political Leadership and Technology. Knock any of them off and there you have a crisis. He advocates for an inclusive society where children, the youths and the elderly are part of the cake baking process.

I could see the passion he has for Kenya and the longings for the rising of the black continent. We danced to the beat led by the stamping of his foot encouraging Kenyans to start marketing their products.

“Success is no longer a local Idea…business is a brand. A brand is a promise…a promise is built on trust. Make it easier for people to trade with you…It is not about who’s next…find people who do what you can’t…collaborate…” 

A few months ago, during the National Youths and Devolution Summit, the speakers emphasized on the need for young people to advance from noise to voice. TDJ called on Kenyans to channel their energy into marketing their products because,

“We (outside Kenya) need your products, we need your music, your normal to us is amazing…the wind is right for your dream…wake up! Wake up Kenya, it’s morning!”

To sum up this write-up, my salutation goes to Joy Wachira, the founder of SOAR AFRICA for dreaming big and helping us get the motivation we needed to forge ahead. To KCB and the Yali Fraternity, one day books will be read as people overseas will be looking for the formula that made Africa arise, these titles shall be remembered.  Meanwhile, let me finish reading my copy of SOAR authored by Bishop TD Jakes. You can order it online at Amazon 

A section of young Entrepreneurs after the summit

Dear reader, thank you choosing to read this post under Art4Leadership with sponsorship of Dowe Music &Arts. We endeavor to highlight the positive change taking place in Africa as we rebuke the stench of evils that thwart her progress. Please stay tuned.

The writer has sole responsibility for the post.

Douglas Ogutu is a gifted 

musician and writer

 at Dowe Music & Arts

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How Much is a Guitar?

Retrived from Aruna Musical Store

"Hello sir, I want to buy a guitar, I was wondering if you can help me choose the best..." This is the message I hear quite often from guitar lovers ranging from admirers, beginners, amateurs to experienced players. My first question has always been, "What do you want to use it for?" In this post, we'll look at recommendations of the ranges that you can consider before purchasing a guitar. Disclaimer, when it comes to prices, you are free to do as your pocket allows but if you're like me as in you like counting every single coin and ensuring none goes to waste, this post will help you. I will categorize the prices basing on the levels of guitar players:

Admirer's Guitar 

Souvenir Guitars
Image c/o shutterstock.com

Just like we have people who love watching the Rugby sport but cannot stand the imagination of injuries the players go through leave alone playing the game itself, the guitar has more admirers in the world than aspiring players. In this category, the features of the instrument are more aesthetic than musical. The user goes for color, shape and the general appearance as opposed to sound quality. 

Have you ever visited a friend and found a guitar hanging on a wall and you know very well they can't even tell how many strings the guitar has? Well, that is what am talking about. Most of these are usually souvenirs for birthdays, anniversaries of some sort and so forth. If you plan to buy such, I bet the smaller the size the better. Budgeting from $50 (Ksh. 5000)  can get you a good colored guitar. You don't have to worry about which musical shop to get it. Supermarkets all over the place can sort you out. One more thing, the brand doesn't matter as long as you got the right color for the occasion.

Beginner's Guitar
You have been searching for a music tutor for long and someone just hinted to you about Dowe Music and Arts and how their trainers handle students with utmost excellence and expertise not to mention respect. After a tune or two they showcase you get convinced that you should give it a shot but you must buy the guitar first. Which way to go? There is a wide range of acoustic guitars that you can get from the market. By acoustic I mean those that don't have Pre-amps to connect to a PA system. At this stage, you want to focus on ensuring you have a good grip of the guitar itself. Trying to play on PA at this stage will horrify not only whoever cares to listen but yourself as well. So, let's begin where we are. What is our budget recommendation? $80 (Ksh. 8,000) and above will solve your current problem friend.

Acoustic Guitar
Image c/o melbournemusiccenter.com.au

Amateur's Guitar

Guitar with pick-up Image c/o ebay.com

This belongs to people who have been playing the guitar for say two years (notice I said playing not owning). Chances are they have started having a clear picture of the notes on the fret-board and are not slaves of the Capo. I mean, they use it when they want and not as an escape from the barre chords. Though not  yet veryclear, they can a tleast discover the key in which a song is being played and can tune a guitar without dependance on electronic tuners. They own the above Beginners guitar. 

 If the above guitar is in good condition, get a gadget called Pick-up and mount it on the guitar just near the sound box opening. The pick-up acts as a pre-amp for converting analog signals from the guitar strings to digital to be sent to the PA. This should cost between $20-50 (Ksh. 2,000-5,000) inclusive of a cable say five meters long.

Semi-Acoustic Guitar
Image c/o audiomart.co.za

Alternatively, one can decide to buy a semi-acoustic guitar. At this stage, chances are that the player still has little or no gigs at all to enable them purchase a higher quality guitar. This means you have to outsource money elsewhere. Most people on such a lean budget as I was then decide to sell the beginners guitar (of course at a lower price than they bought) and top up the savings to buy a semi-acoustic guitar. Where are we at? Now that you've began to enjoy your own guitar playing, it's time to let the world feel a taste. Your budget needs to upgrade to something like $150 (Ksh. 15000). At this point we start mentioning brands like Yamaha, Fender. Sadly though, you may only afford the Gibsons which has some good invigorating sound vibrations.

Professional Guitar

Yamaha SA2200 Semi Acoustic Guitar
Image c/o rimmermusic.co.uk

We call you a professional guitarist because you are no longer confused with the music theory rules/rudiments. In fact, you are outgrowing them to a point where their boundaries make sense but not enough to limit your exploitative fingers. You bend a few like using a Major Chords where your teacher said you shouldn't. Yes, you can run a number of scales beautifully to any given song or create a chord pattern given just a monotonic melody. The point is, you find no problem understanding this paragraph.

Unfortunately, sometimes you may reach this level but your pocket is still at the admirer's level. I once attended a christian mission where we were amazed that there were three old acoustic guitars but the players distinguished them as Lead, semi-acoustic and Bass. In essence, for a professional guitarist, you can turn any of the above into what you want. However, some audiences are very judgmental. You don't want to lose your show just because of your stinginess. Get a good guitar, with a guitar case that takes care of the instrument well. You should be ready to spend $300 (Ksh. 30,000) and above for the guitar alone while the case chops $30-100(Ksh.3000-10,000) depending on whether you want a bag or a wooded/metallic case.

Electric Guitarists

Lead Guitar Image c/o jiji.nj

Bass Guitar
Image c/o stagefrontmusic.co.au

These are majorly the bass and lead guitars. There are also acoustic electric guitars. For these, we not only mention Yamaha, Gibsons and/or Fender, rather, we work ourselves out to purchasing them since our ears have precision to understand what sound we want. Budget? Anything less than $200 (Ksh. 20,000) will not serve you for a desirable duration. Remember, the reason I have placed this category here is that the players are assumed to have basic music theory and have good musical ears. It will be a bit problematic to learn these if you don't have the basics. However, nothing is impossible in this world. Also, these guitars come with the budget of a PA system. So unless you are buying for a church/band which already has the PA, realize that your budget can not be any less than $50(Ksh. 50,000).

Conclusion
  As stated earlier, sometimes it is your pocket that speaks for you. However, as you can see, you can not start from the last to the first. Life itself doesn't work that way. Even if it does, no one wishes it does. Hopefully, this post will help you in purchasing your next guitar.

The writer is 

a guitar trainer at 

Dowe Music & Arts

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Touch A Soul: 2019 Valentine Edition

Touch A Soul Banner Made By
Activate Graphic Solutions

Dowe Music & Arts Team with the children

With all the fuss on social media about the men’s conference on Valentines Day, we at Dowe Music visited beautiful souls in one of the slum areas in Nakuru. Located off town just near the Lake Nakuru Game park is a home with a courageous woman. Elizabeth (a.k.a Mama Ng’endo) is a lady full of compassion and love for the less fortunate. She houses sixteen abandoned children by either irresponsible beings of a human or because of the cruel hand of death.

Soon after our expedition at the coast last week, we embarked on a fund drive to facilitate the visit. Well, before I delve much into this, I must mention that this visit became more relevant because of the Human Centered Design approach we applied. By Thursday, earlier week, we had not yet found a suitable orphanage to visit. Bu suitable I mean a place where we would get all the children at the same time. Most of them had some children in boarding school.

I was privileged to participate in the MWF 2019 interview. It happened that the panelist came late. Instead of each of us minding our own business and rehearsing what to say as it always happens in most job interviews, I told the group of five sharp looking ladies and one Gentleman to turn the chairs around. We did our introduction and that’s how I knew Susan.

Susan

Susan is a soft spoken lady graced with empathy for the underprivileged. Despite having growing up in a middle class family and currently having a good job (Things I came to learn later after the visit), one can only wonder why and how she has a heart to take occasional visits to Mama Ng’endo and do shopping for the children. It was after everyone had shared their stories that I told Susan about my interest in her visits to the home.

For the past one year, I have come to appreciate the power of story-telling and connecting with people. Little was it known to me that the lateness of our panelists (We all know that it is not in an American to be late) was a divine chance for me to make contacts with great change makers. Thankfully, I have contacts of all of them: Orpah, a volunteer with G-Unite, Sakuda a founder of a High School, Birir a fellow Yali Nakuru Alumni and the founder of Go Green and Linda.

Back to the top story. We did chat with Susan and on asking how we might help the home, she had every detail on her fingertips. Normally, we always think of bringing clothes and sadly (or is it fate), those that are torn and want someone to take them instead of turning them into dusters. Susan gave me a list of things that the home was in dire need. On top of the list was that there’s a need for well- wishers and sponsors to help Elizabeth educate the children. Well, this would be beyond our scope as our company has barely broken even and it’s still taking off. However, what if by you reading this story you can give it a shot. You can get our contacts at the Dowe Music &Arts website.

Reaching out to the current class of students, they suggested a budget so we can do a one-month shopping. I was so excited for a bout ten seconds then a thought came. Who was going to foot that? These young people? Long story short, we set a target which was surpassed by about $20 (Ksh.2000). We are grateful to everyone including friends of Dowe Music &Arts (Those who are neither alumni or current students) for the support you gave.

Elizabeth "Mama Ng'endo at her home,
Sewage Area, Nakuru

We arrived safely on Thursday evening, 14 of February.  Mama Ng’endo gave a story that made all of us appreciate life. Her husband was brutally murdedered in 2007during the Post- Election Violence. They found his lifeless body lying in a trench. Well, I have been preaching peace and singing about it for long but for once I felt a deeper unction to do this more and more.

She picked up herself and thought about life and what lessons God had for her in the new status of widowhood. A thought of taking care of orphaned children came in. Being a Christian, she thought so little about her meagre resources and how she would cater for the children. Elizabeth narrated how sometimes she wakes up to a toddler as young as a month old abandoned at her doorstep. This was so heart breaking especially as I remembered Susan telling me a testimony of how a child was almost dying of malnutrition and now she was a bundle of joy, months later, in the hands of Mama Ng’endo!

After introduction and short speeches from both the visitors and the host, we had an awesome moment of acoustic guitar music. Our repertoire was graced with Paul Clement’s Amani, Angel Benard’s Siteketei and Kuliko Jana by Sauti Sol. This was the first for one of our students. As we went back to office, Ms. Waigi had a comment to make.

 I didn’t know it’s this nice to help someone less fortunate…thank you so much for organizing this.

Touch a Soul will be here again in a year’s time. Remember, at any point in life, there is always someone less privileged than you. Dare to touch a soul!

The writer of this post is the founder of 

Dowe Music & Arts and the 

frontier of Art4Leadership. 

He is a Yali Alumni based in Nakuru.

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WHAT’S HAPPENING IN NAKURU?

Mr. Imran (Right) Awards YaliNakuru

Most Active Chapter 2018

November 2014 is the month I got a link from a High School friend for Mandela Washington Fellowship. Now if you have ever applied for this program you know well that this was an expired link. Let me just say I discovered this after days of gathering thoughts on what to write. I was however happy that there was an option to join the network through email.

In November 2017, while working on my brand Dowe Music & Arts and the Art4Leadership Initiative, I saw a poster about a program in the Kenya National Library Nakuru Branch.The facilitator was Maureen Changawa (MWF2017), and there were YALI Logos. I recalled then that at some point while I was training a music band at Geothermal Development Company, Maureen had mentioned that she’d be away from June. This brought to a halt a recording project we had started. Learning that in fact what she was leaving for was MWF made me more interested in the program. Well, I had signed up for all platforms on social media and even done courses in YALI but I had never thought there was anyone in Nakuru who knew about it.

Maureen (MWF 2017) addressing youths during

 Art4Leadership Concert

As it is my custom, I carried my violin and thankfully to the moderator, Mr. Joseck Olala (YALI RLC Cohort 25), I got an opportunity to perform. This opened the next uncountable opportunities. We discussed after the event and he was enthusiastic about an artiste who had an agenda for sound leadership.

Towards the end of the month, the US embassy organized an information session headed by Mr. George Kamau (Chairman, American Spaces) on YALI LEARNS that I must say helped me understand the program better. That is the time I reached out to Christine (one of the Facilitators) asking her whether YALI could accommodate a musical event. The response I got was so welcoming that I immediately started planning for the concert a month before. With her help in inviting participants through mail, the attendance was so overwhelming that the chief Librarian asked me to limit the number to sixty in future events. This was on 19^th January 2018.

It suffices to say that this event was the start of a broadened network both within and without Nakuru county, and by extension without Kenya. As Dowe Music & Arts we have carried out more than eight Art4Leadership events in partnership with YALI and the Kenya National Library. One needs to know that I did not wait to become and alumni to start the events. It is actually almost impossible to become vibrant just because you have graduated from a fellowship. The drive needs to be in you.

Yali Nakuru Chapter has become a family that I never had. Since February, every cohort has had three to four participants from Nakuru. We have grown not just in numbers but in impact. If you are active on social media especially the YALI Network, we don’t let a week go without an event. We are a team. We are formidable. We are selfless. We are servants and we are deliberate in our actions. If you think I am just blowing fetish kisses, dare to visit us in any of the events. We understood what commencement day meant.

After Setting 2019 Strategy

As we wrap up the year, we just did a successful tree planting last week on Jamhuri Day. We planted over four hundred trees in Ngata and Milimani Primary Schools. The video in this post will show you the kind of energy these young souls exhibit. Thankfully, God has given us talents which are really appreciated. We always have music in our events. Who would think that a Design Thinking Workshop would require music?

A tune for the seedling?

Just yesterday, I was among the panelists evaluating Design Challenge Prototypes by 47 youths from Nakuru, courtesy of Knls. Other panelists were Oliver Jemuge (Chairperson) and Catherine Lagat (Events Coordinator) The facilitators of the three week program were Joseck Olala (cohort 25) and Joseph Njinju (cohort 28).  Apart from other awards, one participant got a partial scholarship to learn any musical instrument at Dowe Music & Arts. Isn’t life getting better?

After Tree Planting, More sense through Music

We are not missing out on cohort 29 commencent coming Friday 21^st 2018. Njinju and I will be welcoming the new leaders in the Yali Alumni. See you there if you make it. Stay tuned to this platform for more inspirational stories.

The writer is the founder of Dowe Music &Arts

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Tune Your Guitar in Less than one Minute

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AFLEWO NAKURU 2018 REVIEW: WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Africa Let's Worship

Back Ground Vocalists

 A few months ago, I wrote about the wonderful activities AFLEWO Nakuru Chapter was doing in the community specifically the participation in the Agricultural show. Well, in today’s post I'll be giving a review of the major event, that is, AFLEWO Night 2018 vis a vis the same in 2016. I have chosen the two since I did not attend the one in 2017 due to some other commitments. Let’s look at a few pointers:

AUDITIONS

In 2016, I attended the auditions late in May. This means we had only three months to practice more than forty songs as well as carry out community service and ministry in different churches. You have to realise that practice only happens twice or at most thrice a month. That left us with less than twenty 10 sessions of real rehearsal. For musicians reading this, you must be aware of the 10,000 hour rule. What this tells you is that unless an individual disciplined him/herself to work on the music in their closet, our ministry would be nowhere close to excellence.

Chester (Left) With part of the Nakuru Leadership

Good news! In 2018, I think the process began immediately after the set down of the previous year’s major event. Word was already on social media about AFLEWO auditions. By late March, a team had already been formed and zealous young people were ready to voluntarily serve God and the community. I must applaud the leadership under Mr. Philip Kirui and Mr. Chester Omonde. There is a Swahili saying that goes thus, ‘Siku njema huonekana asubuhi,’ meaning that one can tell the goodness of a day just by how the morning starts. When I attended the auditions, I noticed a better plan. There were tables with panelists who sought to find out how committed the aspiring ministers were. This time around, there was a table auditioning those who wanted to join the band. This to me was a sign that things                                                                         had changed for the better.

THE BAND

Pastor Josh of Mavuno Church

 and his co-Mc welcoming the congregants.

I have already indicated that there was a deliberate plan to ensure that AFLEWO 2018 had instrumentalists who were committed to working with the rest of the team up to the end. Truth be told, in most churches, band members are usually left in their own class. Seldom do the choir/worship team think about their whereabouts provided they are good at their job. When discussing simple matters such as the uniforms, the band is normally left to do it’s mix and match style- perhaps because most bands are male dominated, and the notion normally is, aesthetics don’t really matter if your tune is good. Did you attend this year’s AFLEWO Night? These pictures can tell you how maroon colour beautified LCC Deliverance church on the night of 19^th October.

Unlike the case in 2016 where there was close to no clear band practice plan, this time there was. The emphasis here was not to seclude the band from the team but just to ensure a synchronous performance by the instrumentalists. As a matter of fact, we were required to attend the rest of the sessions with the other team members. This is where I give a pat on the shoulders of Music Team Leaders- Ibrah and Rose for the wonderful facilitation. The end result was that we had the same people who had been consistently attending practice ministering in the AFLEWO Night. Again, this was a plus to the organisers. Back then, we practiced only to realize on the night that there were ‘brethren-meant-for the-job’ while some of those who had labored especially the drums, keyboard and bass guitar became spectators and part of the congregation. Being a mentor myself, I admit that this broke my heart despite the fact that I was not among the spectators. I remember raising this point to one of the officials a few days after the event. Thankfully and to the glory of God, things were different in 2018.

Baraka on Semi-Acoustic Guitar

Bass Guitarist

Jose on Lead Guitar

Douglas on Violin

Erick on Drums

Above photos: Aflewo Nakuru Page

SOUND

Thursday, 8^th 2016 was the day sound set up was to be done. I am not perfect with time but I try keeping it especially when it is something that needs my attention. This was going to be my first time in Aflewo Night. I arrived at the venue at 5pm and saw no sign of sound set up. There was a fellowship in the church on going and there after, a lady friend came around where I was. She was also a member of the team. I realized there had been a hitch in getting sound and that meant the set up would be done on Friday. I had just bought a mic for my violin and really wished to find out how good or bad it was.  Come Friday, at around 6pm, I heard a statement that I think I never wish to tell any instrumentalist performing thus; “To all instrumentalists; you have to sort yourself out. Make sure you have the right cables and test your instrument.” Well, this was not a blatant statement especially in the way it was presented- with a smile. I tried my mic through the DI Box (see the picture below) and nothing was working.

Retrieved from Guitar Center

 Every one was busy with their stuff and seemingly there was no particular reference personnel to address our frustrations to. That was going to be a long night. I tried switching from violin to guitar and that is when I realized the DI box was faulty. The only remedy was to play the violin as it was and perhaps at the mercy of the vocalist mics to pick some of the vibrations. That meant I would use effort than skill to play the violin. I could not even hear myself.

The episode at that time made me realize that I had not also prepared well. It is not just enough to practice the notes. As an instrumentalist, you have to ensure that you have the right gear. When I went for the auditions this year, I had a new mic and two cables (which are always in my bag wherever I go), just in case one fails. I remember one official saying, “I think this is a different person from the one I saw in 2016” after I presented my favorite hymn, ‘At the Cross.’ I went with the cables to the Aflewo night and as I was unwrapping, the Technician came and gave me another saying, “use this.” The feeling was fantastic. The sound was on point and I almost thought there was a fellow violinist at the mixer who gave me just the right frequency and amplitude ( a post on these terms will be coming soon) leave alone the correct reverb effect. A big thank you to the Tech team among whom is a fellow church mate at Mavuno Nakuru, Mr. Patrick Omondi of RHEMA Production Studio.

GUEST MINISTERS

Imagine attending a worship night, you are fully socked into the event then all of a sudden somewhere around 11:30 everything stops. You see chaps on the pulpit moving around with cables, someone changing the drumkit, singers leaving the stage and others come and instead of continuing with the process, you hear this, “Sound Check! One! Two! Three! Hallelujah!” The process takes whole of your forty five minutes and boom! You hear a different kind of sound altogether. There were some squeaky sounds but now no more. The new team manages to bring back the atmosphere and somehow, you get back and even beyond where you were. Time flies and you realise it is already at 5 am. Time to go. How would you describe the event? Won’t you have a tale of two nights in one whereby the first one was a rehearsal?

Above is just a description I got from a friend of mine attending AFLEWO 2016. There was an awesome team from Nairobi that came to minister with us. Well, it was great having them. However, stopping everything in the middle of the service was the undoing. Logically, even if they would arrive late, it would have been prudent to send their system earlier with a person in charge so we could have a seamless transition. The point is that however much we had brethren who just worshiped regardless of who was leading, we are psychological beings and at one point we draw conclusions from the behavior of ministers on the pulpit. That tends to affect our focus on the prime goal.

Mr Kaberia, AFLEWO founder.

There were guest ministers in AFLEWO Nakuru 2018 worship Night. One was Mr. Kaberia, the founding leader of AFLEWO. During his ministry, you could tell his passion for a Godly African continent. He related with the youths and even led a song which they could dance freely as he reminded them that Africa needs their energy. The other two guests sang with the team too and a part from the different colors of their attire, you could not tell they were visitors from Mombasa. They did not even stop to say it.

A section of youths in dance

Part of the Aflewo patronage

Godwill Babete with Guest ministers

GOING FORWARD

We all start from somewhere. I can only say that there’s a great change in the organisation’s operations and if you had stopped attending due to some of the above challenges or even something else, I am optimistic that 2019 will be even greater. Basing on the improvement, we may be required to start looking for a bigger venue. Above all, whenever attending, remember the focus, the God we worship. For those attending as ministers, do your practice diligently; however, remember, it is not so much about the song, rather, the heart of service.

LCC Deliverance Church, Nakuru

The writer of this post joined AFLEWO in 2016.

He serves as a violinist and a guitarist and

 is the founder of Dowe Music & Arts

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YALI RLC East Africa Cohort 28: Hub of Inspiration

A section of Cohort 28 at Karen Shopping Center, during the cleanup on 22nd, 09, 2018

It’s only one week since the program began yet every participant has a bunch of stories, inspirational quotes, memories and moments to share. Well, when I started applying for the training, I was somewhat timid and unsure if the “serious-academic-like” program had any space for a musician like me. I remember at one point I just discarded my application and gave it a break till this year. 

The motivation came from the fact that in February, I was called for an interview for the Mandela Washington Fellowship (MWF, 2018). It was so influential that the regret letter that followed the interview didn’t deter me from anything worth trying. I will stop the description right here and just talk about Yali-Rlc EA, Cohort 28.

We arrived on Sunday 16^th and as usual I had beside my bag a violin and a guitar. Truth is, it always feels awkward when you imagine no one else will be carrying the “unnecessary” stuff that lag you. However, having some little knowledge in Swahili, I usually cling to the proverb mficha uchi hazai which means one can not beget a child if one conceals one’s nakedness. Since music is my profession, it’s my land and my economy, I dare not leave the tools of trade behind whatever the circumstances. My roommate, Mr. Desire (please pronounce in French) from Burundi arrived at 11.00pm, after I had finished my practice, that meant any discussion about the presence of music gadgets would be the following day.

The following day we had a whole day of orientation and this is where I began feeling home even though the rooms seemed small for a musical performance. Thankfully, and unbeknownst to me, my needs were catered for. This was not only an academic center, but also a holistic center where brilliance was understood not to be limited to papers and theories. Well, we got a little scared by one Mr. Imran, the head of admissions but I remembered campus life. Whatever face he put on was matching his job.

Mr. Francis led the orientation in the most effective way and when he announced that we’d leave Kenyatta University for Bracken Hurst Hotel, I recalled his friendliness and reached.

“Hello sir…, I came with my guitar and I’d like to carry it with me because I can’t stay two days without practicing,” I said, eyes full of hope and my face brimming. 

Whether it was for the presumption for him or the excitement of making it here I can’t tell. I just recall him saying,

“Sure, no problem.”

Bracken Hurst presented wonderful bonding sessions that helped us know one another before engaging in class work. As young people, we made friends quickly as it took just the first tea break to see small groups emerging and of course teams of pairs; I mean, ladies and gentlemen. The first exercise reminded me of the series ‘QUANTICO.’ We were told to find out from minimally five people various aspects of life. Two people came to me and asked me a question which I guess it was because they had seen me with a guitar. They forund out that I have no problem singing before people. That being my daily hope, what followed broadcast my passion to the whole team.

 Mr. Robinson from Uganda was the first one to finish the assignment. He read out my name and when the facilitator noted the characteristic, he asked me to prove. That’s when I recalled that we had left our luggage outside. He then pointed me to a grand piano on his right hand side! This was way beyond my expectation. We all know that such moments are never to be wasted. I went and introduce my song, SAY NO TO POOR LEADERSHIP. Since the lyrics are easy to follow, one minute was enough for the whole hall to be warmed up by the chorus.

I must say that the short presentation earned me friends (of course by God’s grace). Thereafter, there was a group of five to eight young people around the piano together with Chrispin a fellow Kenyan who had come with his guitar. We sang a few hymns and pop songs before I taught them what I called Stand for Change (YALI THEME). I started composing this song as soon as I got a congratulatory message from the admission desk, a month before. The chorus can be sung in English, Swahili and French and I just loved how the youths grasped and appreciated the lines.

The High ropes activities deepened our budding bonds the more as we learned the essence of trust, team work and the importance of daring to risk. I must admit this was something I had never tried and it was somewhat scary but eventually everyone pulled through. The last day at the hotel began with an exercise to solve an African problem. Our team, The lions had a skit, poem and a song which tackled illiteracy in Africa. Just to let you know, the song was composed within twenty minutes by a section of the team and the end f our presentation was not without everyone on their feet, dancing and singing thus:

We are the agents of a better Africa,

Educated Africa

The week ended on a pick as we learned the essence of an Inclusive society. The teaching on selflessness is never an easy one. However, the team must be applauded for the way the whole program is tailored to ensure everyone understands. On Friday, a challenge from Riara University was presented to us in our various groups. The day was a bit long as we took time to pitch ideas.

On Saturday, we were invited to participate in a clean up exercise at Karen shopping center which we did cheerfully. On the way to and from Karen, I couldn’t get mind of my new album called Ubuntu.

 The aim for this is to sensitize the society to go back to the basics of being human. We love technology and yes, it is very important. Even so, I am sure that I am not the only one under pressure to ignore the people around me while laughing with others I might never see overseas. Ubuntu is about Africa, love, community development and letting youths know that no one will create it for us.

As I reflected, I recalled the session on Social Inclusion by Mr. Moses Okumu. He emphasized the point that humanity comes first before we are anything else and that we are the ones responsible for the change we want.

 I hope my fellow leaders didn’t find it weird that I took a lone seat both ways. The result of that is a tune that I think is beautiful and educative as well as entertaining. In filling up my Ubuntu Album, I had the concepts, but I must admit, that for this song, it was not until this weekend that it came out. I’m so grateful that it comes out in the presence of leaders from East and Central Africa. God willing, Africa shall get the point home soon. You can get the song on YouTube by clicking Mimi na Wewe (Africa is Waiting for Us). The following people are highly appreciated for accepting to do the draft with me till 10:00Pm:

Stay tuned especially for the next three weeks. Lots of fun coming your way!

Ruth Lelei : Vocalist_Kenya

Tushabe Immaculate: Vocalist_Uganda

Chrispine Bosire: Vocalist/Guitarist_ Kenya

Josue Sincre: Vocalist/Video recorder_ Rwanda

Joseph Jinju: IT Support @ Dowe Music & Arts_Kenya

The writer is the founder of Dowemusic &Arts

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