Twilight, day 2 [morning]
Oct. 15th, 2003 10:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mattlistener[10/11]
Part of my work so far today has been, what to do with attuning to my clan members better than the clan leader.
Our clan is seven people: the clan-leader, another experienced drummer, Redleaf (who only has the use of one hand but is an experienced percussionist with it), myself (advanced beginner), and three others at the beginner level.
During clan time this morning we did an extended play of the rhythm we're going to use in the trance dance tonight: bass, tone, muffled-slap, [pause], bass, tone, muffled-slap, [pause]... Simple, but nicely swingy.
I noticed that the three beginners weren't able to do the muffled slap, which requires putting a hand on the drum on one beat and leaving it there through the following beat. This can be difficult thing to do if you only have muscle-memory for hitting a note.
One of them kept getting it and and losing it, and the other two gave up after a while and focused on the other two notes in the pattern. I was surprised that the leader didn't slow it down for them, or give them a drill on muffled slaps so they could start making the muscle-memory for it.
Clan leader had expressed a desire to play for a long time without talking, so I didn't feel there was anything I could offer then. What I eventually came to was asking at lunch, "how do people feel about the rhythm we were practicing this morning?" The clan leader answered first, saying he thought we were doing really well with it and he'd already gotten good feedback about us from others who heard us practicing. One of the others then asked me if I had something to say about it -- I did, obviously, but I was wanting to create space to check in about it for those I thought were struggling, so I just said I was interested in hearing from everyone.
Then the beginners started to speak up, one of them saying she always has trouble coordinating her left hand, another saying it was hard for her to pick up the part she was supposed to play with all the extra stuff the experienced drummers were throwing in. Clan leader then clued in and did some more teaching about muffled slaps there at the lunch table. Go us!
Myself, I had picked up the rhythm right away, but fell apart every time I tried to add in the ghost-touches the advanced guys were doing, which looks like: bass, [touch], tone, [hand-down], muffled-slap, [pause], [touch-touch]. (8 beats there.) I tried to practice that on the lunch table while clan leader was demonstrating, and suddenly it came together! I got out my drum to get the rhythm fixed in place on it, and shortly thereafter the two advanced drummers got theirs out and turned it into a jam with me, which pulled in players and dancers from other clans, and we proceeded to take over the sonic space of the dining hall for the last 30 minutes of lunch!
I was worried that people would be unhappy with not being able to talk easily, and was looking around making eye-contact. This turned out to be a good trick, because looking outward is an excellent way to be while drumming -- it connects you up with other participants, and pushes the making of the rhythm further into your unconscious. That afternoon was the best fun I've had with drumming to date.
All the looks I got were positive, as it turned out, and when we closed there was a great deal of applause. Lovely feeling.
Part of my work so far today has been, what to do with attuning to my clan members better than the clan leader.
Our clan is seven people: the clan-leader, another experienced drummer, Redleaf (who only has the use of one hand but is an experienced percussionist with it), myself (advanced beginner), and three others at the beginner level.
During clan time this morning we did an extended play of the rhythm we're going to use in the trance dance tonight: bass, tone, muffled-slap, [pause], bass, tone, muffled-slap, [pause]... Simple, but nicely swingy.
I noticed that the three beginners weren't able to do the muffled slap, which requires putting a hand on the drum on one beat and leaving it there through the following beat. This can be difficult thing to do if you only have muscle-memory for hitting a note.
One of them kept getting it and and losing it, and the other two gave up after a while and focused on the other two notes in the pattern. I was surprised that the leader didn't slow it down for them, or give them a drill on muffled slaps so they could start making the muscle-memory for it.
Clan leader had expressed a desire to play for a long time without talking, so I didn't feel there was anything I could offer then. What I eventually came to was asking at lunch, "how do people feel about the rhythm we were practicing this morning?" The clan leader answered first, saying he thought we were doing really well with it and he'd already gotten good feedback about us from others who heard us practicing. One of the others then asked me if I had something to say about it -- I did, obviously, but I was wanting to create space to check in about it for those I thought were struggling, so I just said I was interested in hearing from everyone.
Then the beginners started to speak up, one of them saying she always has trouble coordinating her left hand, another saying it was hard for her to pick up the part she was supposed to play with all the extra stuff the experienced drummers were throwing in. Clan leader then clued in and did some more teaching about muffled slaps there at the lunch table. Go us!
Myself, I had picked up the rhythm right away, but fell apart every time I tried to add in the ghost-touches the advanced guys were doing, which looks like: bass, [touch], tone, [hand-down], muffled-slap, [pause], [touch-touch]. (8 beats there.) I tried to practice that on the lunch table while clan leader was demonstrating, and suddenly it came together! I got out my drum to get the rhythm fixed in place on it, and shortly thereafter the two advanced drummers got theirs out and turned it into a jam with me, which pulled in players and dancers from other clans, and we proceeded to take over the sonic space of the dining hall for the last 30 minutes of lunch!
I was worried that people would be unhappy with not being able to talk easily, and was looking around making eye-contact. This turned out to be a good trick, because looking outward is an excellent way to be while drumming -- it connects you up with other participants, and pushes the making of the rhythm further into your unconscious. That afternoon was the best fun I've had with drumming to date.
All the looks I got were positive, as it turned out, and when we closed there was a great deal of applause. Lovely feeling.
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no subject
Date: 2003-10-15 10:48 pm (UTC)Hello!
Date: 2003-10-16 05:58 am (UTC)So thank you.. and I hope that you don't mind that I added you. :)
Re: Hello!
Date: 2003-10-16 08:20 am (UTC)Re: Hello!
Date: 2003-10-16 08:24 am (UTC)Re: Hello!
Date: 2003-10-16 09:59 am (UTC)Re: Hello!
Date: 2003-10-17 05:32 am (UTC)Re: Hello!
Date: 2003-10-16 01:30 pm (UTC)Shakers are really easy to work with. They're simple to use, and they follow the basic beat. There's almost no technique required to play. I find I don't have to think about them much once I hear the beat I'm after -- they just follow my dancing feet. It's a very low-stress way to participate in the drum beat. Try it out sometime.
no subject
Date: 2003-10-16 08:22 am (UTC)I was surprised that you guys ended up with beginners in that clan...
Wish I were there too
Date: 2003-10-17 09:08 am (UTC)Re: Wish I were there too
Date: 2003-10-17 12:32 pm (UTC)Probably because Twilight doesn't do open-ended fire circle drum&dances.
I have seen them several times at Rites but not the most recent one, because the Earthspirit staff wasn't able to guarantee that there'd be unfettered drumming late at night. (Neighbors had called police on us due to noise several times the year before.) M&S took that as a sign that they should be devoting their gathering energies to community-building closer to home for them (Las Vegas). And indeed, the fire circles at the most recent Rites were a disappointment.
The next Rites will be back at High Rock -- yay! I don't know whether to expect M&S to return though...