Drumming CD: listening to rhythmic music is a powerful technique, esp to get the body moving in ways you could not do with your own drumming. Some types are better than others. African is best because they have the 'pelvic' style of drumming. But it is difficult to get good examples because they don't seem to understand how to promote their own music to western audiences. The best example of African drumming is still an old album called Olatunji, Drums of Passion. You should try to get this, I don't know if it is on CD, but it should be. There is also a secret african rhythm on this album, along with much else. Otherwise, african derivatives - esp Salsa and Cuban music, though they don't achieve the real power of african drumming, but they do retain the sensuality beautifully. Also Whirling Dervish (Mevlevi Order) music is excellent for body movements. Try to get actual hand drum sounds as they carry an extra quality.
The body thrives on rhythm. Rhythm is a pattern of emphasises that cause the body to flow.The mind creates a rhythmic pattern (or interprets what is heard) then teaches it to the hands until the mind can shift its focus away and the hands move independently. The hands teach the body until a moment comes when the body says "I've got it!", which is such a thrill for all concerned. The body is a wild animal which need to be trained into extending it's natural range of action without losing its wildness. This is not too much of a problem for dancers, musicians almost always lose the wildness in a maze of technique, but the full body is never completely converted to tameness - even in the most trained/skilled dancers you can see the gleam of wildness laughing. I often refer to the European tradition of 4/4 3/4 6/8 etc, so you can communicate with trained musicians, but I have found that system almost completely useless for arranging rhythm. I spent a long time looking for a system to explain rhythm and eventually came up with my own, and a variation of the Indian classical system. The Indian classical system talks in rhythmic cycles which I also adopt, but they have a complex and arbitrary approach to this which I see no point in unless you want to spend years learning it. The rhythmic cycle I use is to identify how many beets there are in a cycle - 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 18 etc. This is the 'long' lope-loop which the body anticipates and knows when it returns to the beginning again. Indians use a long space, about half a second per beat, whereas I usually use a shorter space, but I will elongate it where necessary - just that I vary it, and they usually don't. Within the long lope-loop there are sub-loops. So within a 16 beet cycle, there may be 4 sub-loops of 4 beets each, and within each sub-loop there are certain notes emphasised. This may look complex, but actually it's quite simple in practice. My system is divided into three parts - pulse, male rhythm and female rhythm. What I want to start with is the pulse. (To explain male and female, I will first have to introduce you to the dramatic difference in the body and emotions of the downbeat and the upbeat - for another email.) Pulse. Start without an instrument. The Giant Redwood dance. The pulse is a 1/1 beat. That means it just goes 1,1,1,1,1 on forever, no lope, a pure pulse. Native American Indian music is almost all 1/1 beat. The Giant Redwood dance is done with feet apart - each foot comes down in about a 2 second interval, hands in front as if embracing a giant tree. A slow heavy primal dance - the dance of the earth. This is the beginning of time, the creation myth. This is where you call in all the spirits to join you in your dance, your ceremony (I call puja). *edit* Next, the Bounce. I discovered this late in my musical journey, and subsequently applied it to every musical aspect of my life. It is almost totally unknown outside of Africa. It is done by 'bouncing' on the balls of the feet using the ankle and calf muscles - also can be accentuated with the bent knee/thigh muscles. Look at any film of market places or political meetings in Africa where music is played. You will see the whole crowd gently bouncing on their feet. It so natural to them, and so unnatural to almost every other culture. After the Giant Redwood dance, begin with this gentle rocking/bouncing on the balls of the feet to an even relaxed pulse. Every subsequent movement should contain this as a base. It took me many years to embed this into all my rhythmic music with every instrument, and a reason why I emphasise standing to play music. I can't emphasise this enough, and it is so healthy, like horse riding and boat rocking - so good for the lymph system. The feet bounce holds the pulse. The pulse is the source of the degree of excitement of the dance. Always a 1/1, or 1 beat cycle rhythm and is present in every rhythmic variation beyond this base. The pulse is the real power of the dance and the penetrating connection to the land or room/house around. It is returned to again and again. m
Ice drumming
