Growing Rhythm

Abstract

The ethnographic film Growing Rhythm depicts the Burmese master percussionist, Kyaw Kyaw Naing, leading students, faculty, and community members of SUNY New Paltz in the first Hsaing ensemble in the United States. This ensemble provided an environment in which to learn the musical traditions of another culture while examining and challenging the norms which Western musicians have accepted. The students of Naing learned the music using the traditional instruments of the Hsaing ensemble: chauk lon bat, kyi-waing, maung-hsaing, si do, hne, sandaya, pat-waing, si and wa, and lin quin. The rehearsal technique and experience developed into a community with a shared mission to spread this music and educate the public.