About a month ago, my church asked me to be a camp leader for girls camp (ages 11-18). I said I would. Afterwards, I wandered my apartment thinking, what did I just agree to? That's when I walked by my hand drum. Oh, yeah!...
So, I created a goal to learn to play it, take it with me to girls camp and be the "cool" hippie camp leader that plays the drums by the campfire. There's a girl going with us that can play the ukulele, and I thought it'd be perfect to know just enough that I could accompany her. Or just play a steady rhythm while marshmallows are a roastin'. I daydreamed about that for a bit until it got me excited for girls camp. But now it's time to do this. I dusted off the drum, started tap-tap-tapping, but---needless to say, even though I play the drum set, learning to play my Bookman's drum has been a little trickier than I realized... 5 things about doing djembe: 1. Know that you're playing a djembe and not a bongo. (Similar instruments, but different techniques.) 2. Learn to spell djembe: D-J-E-M-B-E (weird!) 3. Learn to pronounce djembe ("jem-bay") 4. Learn to talk djembe ("gat-goo-gat-goo-gat-gat") 5. Practice, practice, practice! I'm at the beginnings of learning, but it's been fun so far. I've learned that my djembe has three sounds: bass tone, open tone, and slap tone, that the drum goes between your legs and should be pointed away from you, never towards, and that you're not supposed to play with any rings on (oops!). Below are a few videos suggested by Simon, my drum teacher. If you want to learn more than djembe, like the bongos, shakers, and more I suggest you check out Kalani's yoututbe channel and website. That's what I'll be doing up until camp. I'll be sure to write a follow up post about my experience playing by the campfire. Until then, happy drumming! Videos to get started: PROPER DJEMBE TECHNIQUE BUILD YOUR DRUM SKILLS TWO POPULAR DJEMBE RHYTHMS
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I'm a big believer in learning to read music, just as Simon says. But drumming is also, I believe, flexible. Adaptable. The more experienced you get (and/or familiar with a song) the more free style can happen. Dr.Vartan, one of my drum teachers, told me that playing the drums is like driving. Let's say you're headed to the library. You think about how fast you need to drive, where the other cars are, and when you should signal that you want to switch lanes, move over, and turn into the parking lot. There are rules to the road, but you've got to think about where you're headed and how fast. Drumming is like that. You've got to keep tempo, move around other instruments if you're playing in a band, and think about where you're headed in your fill, etc. She always encouraged me to read/look at the bar ahead of the one I was playing. (It's harder than it sounds.)
Which is another reason, I guess, to love the drums that much more! In a way, drummers are pirates. I believe, like Simon says, that reading music is an important skill. But it's also important to be flexible, be creative and learn to free style!
I'll be honest. I haven't practiced very much this summer. Family vacations, a teaching gig I wasn't planning on, CampNano and creative writing classes, and family emergencies have left my calendar with about two or three stars a month. (Yes, I put stars on my calendar when I practice. Don't be judging.) But with a new semester starting, I had the opportunity to move some things around and re-commit to a drumming routine, perhaps 15-30 minutes, Monday-Friday before dinner like I used to. I'm not taking lessons right now; I haven't practiced enough during the summer to justify paying for them, so I decided to learn a couple songs on my own. I asked drumscores.com to help out, and they sent me the drum scores for a couple songs I've wanted to learn for a while. It's been really fun, but only one week into this new routine, I found that as I hit the high-hat, my fingers and wrist started tingling. When I hit the crash, my whole arm vibrated, from my fingers down to my elbow. Ow!
While he wrapped, I said, "This stinks! I just got back into a good drumming rhythm (pun totally intended!) and this is what happens. I was looking forward to having all stars on my calendar this month." (Hubby takes me about to eat when I get all stars in a month, and I can justify taking online lessons!) I asked, "What am I doing wrong? Simon says drumming should never be painful, so what am I doing wrong?" "You type at weird angles," Hubby said. I thought about that. Yeah, I do. Sometimes I get lazy, especially when I'm typing on the couch, and my wrist(s) shift in strange ways. This is especially true on my iPad.
My wrist feels like I rolled it. (Is that possible?) So I'm babying it a bit and waiting for it to heal itself. I hope it heals quickly so I can get back to drum rolling. In the meantime, this has been a good time to review the drumming basics, like posture, grip and technique.
Do you remember that game from your childhood? Someone would stand in front of the classroom and say things to do, but you were only to do them if Simon says. Simon says... touch your nose. Simon says... clap your hands. Do jumping-jacks. --- Ohhhh...Simon didn't say! You're out!
In case you didn't know, the drum teacher for Drum Ambition is Simon. So, for the past year or so, I'd go into the practice room, watch some videos, play for a bit, then come out and tell my husband, "Simon says this and Simon says that..."
For this blog, I've compiled my four favorite things Simon says: Simon says, "Count out loud" This is probably the number one thing he stresses in all of the videos. Why? Because drumming is all about rhythm. It's not good if we're speeding up or slowing down all the time. Simon says, "Start with slower tempos" Drumming, to me, always sounds cooler when it's faster, but what I've learned with Drum Ambition is that learning to play new beats slow builds control. I've always appreciated the way Simon teaches in slower tempos. I can't tell you how many times I got frustrated (before Drum Ambition) trying to learn something online and the person teaching plays, maybe, the first example somewhat slow, but then speeds up. It's like they're showing off! Arrgggh! Simon's not like that. Sometimes he'll show you one of the beats faster, just to show you "where you can take it," but he always stresses the importance of starting with slower beats and working your way up. He'll say, for example, start with 50 bpm and then go up in increments of five. Simon says, "Learn to read music" A lot of Drum Ambition right now is geared towards beginners. Because of my piano and choir background, I can read music fairly well. But I've found these early lessons, especially the notation lessons, to be really helpful. Sure, I may have been able to identify eighth notes from quarter notes, and I can count basic beats, but can I play them? Can I do eighth notes with my right hand and quarter notes with my left foot? Re-learning to read music has helped me with my coordination. Also, it gives me power. It's like learning to read books for the first time. It's opening a whole new world to me, which brings me to my last Simon says for this blog post... Simon says, "This will give you some musical options" That's what these lessons are all about. I can build grooves and fills from the lessons to create my own solo pieces and play to my heart's content. The things Simon teaches are the basics or core lessons every drummer should know. Simon says other things, but these are the ones I hear him repeat the most. I can almost hear him over my shoulder when I'm playing, "count out loud," or "start with slower tempos." Drumming is difficult. Don't get me wrong. I still have a long ways to go, but I think as long as I do as "Simon says," I'll get there. The door opens with a "bing-bong." I wasn't expecting a door bell, like I'm walking into a dentist office or something. This is far from a dentist office, though (thank goodness!). Two soft sofas sit on aluminum flooring with a bookshelf filled with music books. One of the shelves holds a box filled with drum sticks. It's labeled: Weapons of Mass Percussion. I hear a Beatles song playing from an iPod or stereo somewhere behind a big black reception desk. A Jimmy Hendrix poster grins at the poster of Luke and Leia holding light sabers. On the far wall of the reception area, I see large pictures of kids playing guitars and drums on stage, like they're the opening act for Muse or Queen. "I have a 2:45 appointment?" I tell the two people sitting behind the desk. The girl has curly long hair, and the guy is wearing a red-orange beanie, like he might go skiing later.The wall behind them is bright orange with calendars and sticky note reminders all over it. Last week, I called for a lesson because I got a coupon for a free lesson with School of Rock by submitting to the Hit Like A Girl Contest. "You're Kassie," the girl says. She smiles as brightly as the wall behind her. "Have a seat. Eddie will be ready for you soon." I notice that she's carrying an awkward square box. "Yeah-- the bass drum head needs replacing," she explains. "We have a 17 year old who--- well, he's a great drummer! He's just... well?" "Hard on drums?" I guess. She nods, and I sit in the sofa that looks like a zebra. "Eddie will need to replace this, and then he'll be ready for you." "I'm early," I say, and pull out my book. She takes her box down the hall and returns to her desk before I can finish one page of my book. She asks me questions: where I live, what I like playing, etc. I'm not usually shy, but for some reason, I keep my answers quick and quiet. She seems really genuine, but I have butterflies in my stomach. She said something on the phone about Sum 41. Was I having a lesson with the drummer from Sum 41? "How long have you been playing?" she asks, and the guy in the beanie leans his elbows on the table, listening for my answer. I hesitate. I'm not sure how much of my story they want to hear, and I'm not sure how to answer. "Consistently?" I ask. They both smile and shrug as if saying, Sure! Whatever you want to tell us. We're cool! I decide to tell them that I've been playing for two years, but afterwards I wonder if I should have told them one year because that's how long I've been with DrumAmbition. The boy asks me who my favorite band is, to which I say Foo Fighters. We talk for a bit, and before I know it, a tall skinny guy wearing a black tank top and jeans comes in the room and smiles at me. "Kassie?" he says. "Eddie?" I say back. He nods and invites me back into a music studio down the hall. I watch his tattoo arms lead the way, while I fidget with my sticks and stuff my book into my purse. There are two identical black drum sets in a room with padded walls. Eddie tells me to pick one. I choose the one away from the door so I'll have my back to the wall and be able to see him teaching me better. (Really, it doesn't matter!) I regret my decision later and don't tell him. Imagine you're driving a friend's car, and your friend is much taller than you. His seat will be much farther back, right? It makes for awkward driving, right? That's how it was for me. Because his snare was so high, his seat so far back, etc.... it made for awkward playing. He asks me questions about myself, and I try to be less shy and quiet than I was with the front desk people. He asks me what kind of music I'm "into right now," to which I tell him that Foo Fighters are my favorite, but I'm going to a Shinedown concert in April. Before I know it, he's looking up "The Crow and the Butterfly" by Shinedown on YouTube on his phone, which is connected to two headphones.
Even though Eddie hasn't heard the song before (which I think is crazy!), he's able to tell that the time signature is 12/8. He gives me a quick lesson on time signature, using a whiteboard, and then he maps out the general beat of the song.
He helps me count it, and before I know it, we're practicing the beat together and figuring out the bridges. By the end of the lesson, I'm able to keep with the time and hit at least one of the bridges, but I'm itching to get to my own set where I'm more comfortable. The butterflies in my stomach laugh when I make mistakes, but I laugh with them until they finally fly away, and I'm able to just enjoy the drums. Eddie's "secret weapon"? He taught me to bounce my left foot in time as an additional metronome. He says, "If you watch Neil Peart from Rush, you'll see his left foot is always bobbing to the beat. That's because he does some crazy things with his his hands, and he's got to keep time." The lesson ends with Eddie saying he's got another appointment, but he talks to me like he'll see me tomorrow or something. (I wish!) Live lessons are great, but super expensive! (For good reason, of course!) I think I'll stick with DrumAmbition a bit longer, but I'm looking forward to submitting another video with HLAG so I can get another free coupon. In my book, I've already won the contest. That free lesson was awesome! I'm learning to play Coldplay's "Yellow," by actually reading music. It's much more effective than stumbling around the set, guessing the tempo, drum to hit, etc. If you ever have the opportunity to learn to read music, I highly recommend it! I learned to read basic music notation from my piano playing days, but drum notations are sometimes different, so I reached out to my drum teacher Simon, from DrumAmbition via Skype. He and I discussed each measure, how to practice, etc. It was super helpful! The way Simon explained it is, "segnos take you back" while "codas take you forward." These little symbols work similar to "repeats," in the sense that they tell you to either go back to the previous measures or move forward in the music. Pretty clever guys, I think!
Segnos and Codas in Practicing The summer is coming to a close, and life is starting to pick up again for me, so it's becoming more an more difficult to maintain my practicing schedule, especially over the weekends. At the beginning of each week, I do a "self-segno," or self assessment. I go back and review what I remember. Then, for the following days, I try to "coda" as much as possible--- I move forward with my learning. Segnos and Codas in Life I can see segnos and codas used in my daily life. I believe that life on this earth is a test. We're meant to make each day better than the one before. The mistakes I make in life often cause me to "segno" or take me back. I go back to those I've hurt and say sorry; I evaluate my actions and think about ways I can handle situations like those better in the future. Then, I "coda." I move forward. I try again and move forward. Whether you're a drummer, teacher, writer, daughter, son, wife, husband, father, mother, or some other title, I encourage you to recognize times to "segno" and times to "coda." |
I'm what you'd call a "hobbyist" drummer.
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