LIVING & LEARNING


changing rhythmic patterns instigated by the lead drummer using an elaborate system of calls and transition rhythms. For the novice drummer that means that the path to progress is learning the various rhythmic patterns, learning the calls and being able to change instantly from one rhythmic pattern to the next. Now this is not Einsteinian in its demands BUT it does require application and practice... and I never had the time and/or determination to put in that time. So I struggled during that phase of my drumming life. The second obstacle, and the far more


fundamental one, is that I am seriously rhythmically challenged. That is, I have poor coordination and am a slow learner when it comes to moving my hands to designated places at the time they should be there. I am the person two beats behind everyone else and hitting the pulse note three beats after every one else. The kind word is probably ‘awkward’ though ‘klutzy’ and ‘totally uncoordinated’ are equally appropriate. Really, I should never have looked at a


Anyone can drum


✤ A


By Hess Strengers


lot of us are drawn to the sound of drums. It brings out a primal connection that sets feet tapping and hands clapping and bodies moving.


It is a wonderful group activity that brings all together in a common pursuit to collectively revel in the beat and to share the emotion. Now, to begin, let me be specific about


the sort of drum and drum music that I am talking about, it's about a ‘djembe’ or African drum. They are about the height of a stool, have a goatskin across the top, tensioned by lots of strings, and they are hit with the open hand as opposed to individual fingers or a stick. As I explain to those who come and


drum with me (I do not call myself a teacher!!) the djembe evolved to meet a cultural need for African tribes. The people loved to dance and they liked to dance to a strong beat BUT there was no electricity and no amplification – so how to make enough noise so that a large group could become consumed by the beat and lose themselves in its power?


20 APRIL 2011


It doesn't matter where we look we can be faced with obstacles. For Hess it was playing the


e we look we can be faced


with obstacles For Hess it was playing the African drum. Not only did he overcome the obstacle, he removed it for many others. The


sound of drums has a primal call that pulls at us all. The answer bears a remarkable similarity


to the evolution of the Western orchestra. That is, you use numbers and, in the case of the Africans, you get lots and lots of djembes (as opposed to violins in the orchestra). So if you have an instrument that can make lots of noise and you then get a lot of them you have the problem solved. Unlike Europeans, the Africans wanted


a heart-tearing beat, as opposed to a melody, and the djembe was the perfect instrument to give them a pulse or beat. African djembe music is all rhythm and little melody... just heart-pulsating and body-shaking boom, boom , booms!! It is not just music – it is the full spectrum of music, dance, passion and all- encompassing life! I am one such person who found


themselves caught up in its primal drive though I found I had a serious obstacle, No. I actually had two serious obstacles between me and making music on a drum. The first was the quite normal realisation that African djembe music is relatively complex. African drum music is as structured as a symphony with different roles for different drums and with


djembe. I was a fish out of water, but that denies a fundamental human trait, that if you are passionate about something then you should yield to the yearning and to hell with the odds against you and the probable ridicule you may attract!! The only barrier is the barrier itself!! The question was, “How can I do


djembe drumming and involve others in a meaningful but achievable way????” Now you might ask why I saw involving others as critical, why I could not just make bad music on my own? The answer will be clear as a bell to those who have drummed, as drumming is a communal activity and it is bears a strong resemblance to the structure of insect societies. In the spring of 2010 I was in the local


community house at Inverloch (VIC) and I saw a drumset parked in one of the rooms. It set off the proverbial light bulb in my mind. I had approached other community houses with the offer of running a drumming workshop but, for whatever reason, no-one ever took me up on it. I am relatively conventional in both my looks and manner… true. Anyway I broached the topic with the person in charge and they indicated they would be quite willing to advertise the event, ‘Beat of the drum, rhythm of the surf’, and so I put it on the back burner of my mind. But it happened!!!! At first it was even over-subscribed!! The remainder of this article now


addresses itself to how I introduced drumming to people who had never touched a djembe and how we set off on the path to becoming the ‘pulse’, ‘drones’ and ‘butterflies’ and making music. I am not going to get too technical


because, primarily, I know little of music, but I did know that music comes in bars and there are a certain number of beats in each bar. So a very simple rhythm we began with was 1, 2, 3, 4, with each number designating a hit of the drum and perhaps the 4 indicating a base note (a hit in the middle of the drum as opposed to the edge).


Almost everyone can do this. Then we may have learnt 11, 2, 33, 4 (base) where the 22 indicates you have to hit the drum twice in the same time period as the single number. Now, the permutations of numbers you can fit into this structure are not quite infinite (I think??) but when you also include putting an emphasis on one or two of the notes or withholding a beat, then the range is immeasurable. And so you have the foundation for djembe for dummies!!! Let me elaborate. Half the group are


hitting 11 22 33 4 and the other half are hitting 1 2 3 4 – so we can now hear a counter rhythm to the first with both synchronising on the base (4). Without going into too much detail the style of drumming I use allows anyone to become involved. “But”, the musical elitist asks, “where


is the challenge in this, where is the creativity? And what if I can drum proficiently, how is this going to amuse me beyond the first 30 seconds?” The answer to this lies in the nature of African drumming. When the African boys from the tribe


come together for a celebration and each of them drags out their favourite djembe, their role is relatively mundane. Most of that group will be what I call ‘drones’. My group is not fond of that word but that is because they fail to appreciate the importance of the drones. The drones are the life pulse of the music, they are the boom, boom, boom that the dancers need to get into the groove. For those into techno music, it is that heart-gripping base throb that drives the music. African music has to have drones to serve its primary purpose, to move bodies, fire up hearts and make feet pound the bare earth. There is even a level below the drones,


they are or she/he is the ‘pulse’ and all they do is hit that one main beat in the bar, though there is some small room for movement beyond this. They are the metronome of the group. However, there is room for ‘butterflies’


in this wild melange of sound, and this is where the accomplished or artist can rise!!! While the pulse beats monotonously, the drones repeat their 11 22 33 4, and above all this comes the butterfly (usually one at the time). They can play their own rhythmic melody within and around the foundation structure and thereby enrich the overall flavour of the music AND give rhythmic patterns to the dancers as problematic as their bodies are capable of performing. So the learners are caught up in this


musical cacophony and plays their part, the more accomplished are playing one of the drone roles (yes, the drones can be divided so they are still each making a different contribution) and above them all soar the butterflies, each in their turn making a little flutter and twirl. One other innovation I have found


has worked well is to lead my butterflies. In the beginning I would say to the group, “Now you try to go off on your


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