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Bongos!
"On the infrequent occasions when I have been called upon in a formal place to play the bongo drums, the introducer never seems to find it necessary to mention that I also do theoretical physics."
Statement after an introduction mentioning that he played bongo drums; Messenger Lectures at Cornell University
"At Los Alamos, things were pretty tense from all the work, and there wasn't any way to amuse yourself: there weren't any movies, or anything like that. But I discovered some drums that the boys' school, which had been there previously, had collected: Los Alamos was in the middle of New Mexico, where there are lots of Indian villages. So I amused myself--sometimes alone, sometimes with another guy--just making noise, playing on these drums. I didn't know any particular rhythm, but the rhythms of the Indians were rather simple, but the drums were good, and I had fun.
I met a lady from the Belgian Congo who gave me some ethnological records. In those days, records like that were rare, with drum music from the Watusi and other tribes of Africa. I really admired the Watusi drummers very, very much and I used to try to imitate them--not very accurately, but just to sound something like them--and I developed a large number of rhythms as a result of that.
Listening suggestions: Try the album "Lost Safari Drummers", track title "Watusi" or Montego Joe's album "African Rhythms in the New and Old World", track title "Rwanda" Watusi" (both albums found on iTunes.) or Click here for a Video of Feynman Playing Bongos
"When I came to CalTech, I used to go down to the Sunset Strip a lot. One time there was a group of drummers led by a big fella from Nigeria called Ukonu, playing this wonderful drum music--just percussion--at one of the nightclubs. The second-in-command, who was especially nice to me, invited me to come up on the stage with them and play a little. So I got up there with the other guys and played along with them on the drums for a little while.
I asked the second guy if Ukono ever gave lessons, and he said yes. So I used to go down to Ukonu's place, near Century Boulevard (where the Watts riots later occurred) to get lessons in drumming. "
Statement after an introduction mentioning that he played bongo drums; Messenger Lectures at Cornell University
"At Los Alamos, things were pretty tense from all the work, and there wasn't any way to amuse yourself: there weren't any movies, or anything like that. But I discovered some drums that the boys' school, which had been there previously, had collected: Los Alamos was in the middle of New Mexico, where there are lots of Indian villages. So I amused myself--sometimes alone, sometimes with another guy--just making noise, playing on these drums. I didn't know any particular rhythm, but the rhythms of the Indians were rather simple, but the drums were good, and I had fun.
I met a lady from the Belgian Congo who gave me some ethnological records. In those days, records like that were rare, with drum music from the Watusi and other tribes of Africa. I really admired the Watusi drummers very, very much and I used to try to imitate them--not very accurately, but just to sound something like them--and I developed a large number of rhythms as a result of that.
Listening suggestions: Try the album "Lost Safari Drummers", track title "Watusi" or Montego Joe's album "African Rhythms in the New and Old World", track title "Rwanda" Watusi" (both albums found on iTunes.) or Click here for a Video of Feynman Playing Bongos
"When I came to CalTech, I used to go down to the Sunset Strip a lot. One time there was a group of drummers led by a big fella from Nigeria called Ukonu, playing this wonderful drum music--just percussion--at one of the nightclubs. The second-in-command, who was especially nice to me, invited me to come up on the stage with them and play a little. So I got up there with the other guys and played along with them on the drums for a little while.
I asked the second guy if Ukono ever gave lessons, and he said yes. So I used to go down to Ukonu's place, near Century Boulevard (where the Watts riots later occurred) to get lessons in drumming. "