In most systems of education, any idea of original musical expression, if given any emphasis at all, is seen as something which comes only after a long period of learning. It is rarely viewed as an integral part of the learning process itself, something that can be placed at the forefront of one's musical study. Creating and working at one's own language is often seen as being in opposition to the learning process. The effect of this is that most people stop studying music after a very short period of time, and they tend to lose contact with their own voice and original units of musical meaning. This is something we have come to accept as natural.
Music making becomes something that is elevated and placed out of reach for most.
The Native Drum Institute seeks to use technology along with some of the changes it's brought, to empower people, especially younger people, with the idea that they can approach music in any way they like, incorporating and building on current styles that exist today. NDI believes that a student's interests can be put at the forefront of musical learning without it diminishing their work or growth. Learning how to play usually means learning how to think in someone else's units of musical meaning. NDI believes that we all have our own units of musical meaning, our own way of hearing, organizing, and imagining music, and that finding that in ourselves, and deepening our relationship to that impulse, is a primary and fundamental right, regardless of the extent of our musical knowledge. And, we believe that the impulse to hear in our own way doesn't come only after a long and difficult period of learning, but exists right from the start.