talks to percussion artist and teacher David Dely
By: Moni Oyeyele
You could confidently say that Colombian-Hungarian David Dely has music in his veins. Having been inspired by a family where almost everyone is a musician and/or a teacher, he could hardly have chosen any other fate than building a successful musical career. Besides his artistry, however, he also cares about sharing his knowledge with people longing for the rhythm. “It is a positive surprise to experience the growing number of Hungarians who want to learn the drum, and the way they seek out skills that are not traditional here,” the 32-year-old artist-pedagogue says. “Hand drum techniques and rhythms are mostly related to African and Latin American musical styles and dances; their liveliness and cheerfulness can almost be therapeutic for stressed city folk in Europe.”The son of Hungarian percussionist István Dely and Colombian singer/songwriter Leonor Dely, David was raised on the Caribbean Coast, in the very heartland of Afro-Colombian folklore and Gabriel García Márquez’s magical realism.
As a musician, he grew up amidst the Afro-Caribbean drums and native American flutes of his father’s percussion school, where he was at the same time learning and teaching the spirit of the “tribal-global” approach to music for more than 15 years.
At the Music Academy of Bogotá, he already had several students and followers in style.
With his wife, who is also a singer, Dely moved to Hungary in 2001, and, since then, with his re-established band Tumba y Quema, he has played at all significant capital and countryside music festivals, and produced a CD, while continuing to teach.
Besides individual lessons, given either in English, Spanish or Hungarian, he highly values percussion workshops, where conga- and djembe- players of various levels gather and, following Dely’s instructions, develop or refine their skills, always ending the workshop with a percussion jam.
“I also deal with professional players, acting as a kind of rhythm-clinic”, he says.
“One can always further develop him or herself, and a real artist is always humble and diligent to learn new things. Through teaching, I also learn a lot, even today.”
At the Music Academy of Bogotá, he already had several students and followers in style.
With his wife, who is also a singer, Dely moved to Hungary in 2001, and, since then, with his re-established band Tumba y Quema, he has played at all significant capital and countryside music festivals, and produced a CD, while continuing to teach.
Besides individual lessons, given either in English, Spanish or Hungarian, he highly values percussion workshops, where conga- and djembe- players of various levels gather and, following Dely’s instructions, develop or refine their skills, always ending the workshop with a percussion jam.
“I also deal with professional players, acting as a kind of rhythm-clinic”, he says.
“One can always further develop him or herself, and a real artist is always humble and diligent to learn new things. Through teaching, I also learn a lot, even today.”
Heartbeat
But why should one learn to play the drum, and not another instrument? “The very first thing a fetus hears in its mother’s womb is the rhythm of her heartbeat, and rhythms escort us throughout our entire life,” Dely says.
“Learning the drum, it is most ideal to start as early as four or five years, but it is never too late: one can start in their 40s or 50s, and still achieve a relatively good level.
“Indeed, percussions are one of the best instruments to start with. A drum is such a generous instrument: unlike, for instance, a violin or a saxophone, it gives you a feeling of success even in the early stage of learning. In addition, rhythm is the skeleton of music; there is no music without rhythm. So once you get the beat, you will have some music!”
Once you have made up your mind to “get the beat,” Dely recommends starting with a conga. “It is an instrument that has lots of opportunities to play, however, to get the correct technique of hitting it and getting the right sound out of it is not too easy at first.
“But once you master that sound, you will know the basic ‘sounding’ technology of most other types of drum, including djembe-, congalegre, and darbuka. It is similar to first having to learn the classical guitar before moving on to bass guitar.”
Dely is also a talented gaita (a traditional Colombian flute) and Andian flute performer, and an experienced guitarist. Those instruments, however, are mainly used for his composing and performing work.
The artist believes musical education should be taken more seriously, regardless of one’s age and profession.
Music and rhythm are powerful tools for taking people away from loneliness, sorrow or simple idleness – besides, playing the drum with friends can be such fun, almost an addiction.
“The vibration of drums impacts one both physically and psychologically. I believe listening to and learning good rhythms is a necessity for any healthy person,” Dely summarizes.
My other objective, besides teaching music, is to make people get the feeling of respect for why they are doing something. You must be conscious that you are not only learning to play on a drum, but to interrelate with other things and creations in your environments,” explained David Dely.
“I am very happy when my former students or workshop participants come back to me, saying that, although they didn’t become professional drummers, they learnt how to enjoy it, and that enjoyment brought other enjoyments to them, and so helped their life.”
