Saturday, 16 May 2020

Communique #14: Home drum lesson 3 - the circle inside ourselves




Hey Gang,

This week I've been mucking around with a rolling pattern. I'm not going to notate it, rather it's better that you just listen and play along. The routine of shifting from one rhythm to the next is pretty essential stuff in terms of drum practice, and in this instance it's more important that you just practice whatever rhythms you enjoy playing, shifting as you please from one to the next.

I use the rolling pattern that I begin with, then shift to a Saiidi (always a favourite), then back to the rolling pattern with some variations, then onto a Chiftatelli...

To quote the popular meme, 'with all this shit going on...', I've not been drumming much. I play ukulele nearly every day because it is a source of never ending joy that I cannot put down. Or, as I put it in a poem, written some years ago....

*

Ukulele Trouble

the ukulele doesn't care about your troubles

just strum those lost-on-the-highway blues
those lonely-crowded-party blues

just play your heart's-sadness-away blues
just sing a song-to-unmake-the-devil blues

just play it again-and-again-and-again blues
the ukulele doesn't care about your troubles

but it will listen to you anyway

*

So whatever you've been doing with your time during this unusual time, I hope that you are being moved by rhythm, even if that rhythm is not played on your drum. I hope that you are dancing, even if it's not your body that is doing the dancing. I understand that it's difficult to motivate to play the drum outside the circle.

I guess we have to find the circle inside ourselves.

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