Percussion is a collective term for all the material on which people play a rhythm. Think of various handdrums such as the djembe, darbuka and the conga. Rattles, bells, gongs, graters, shakers and cymbals too belong to percussion instruments.
What will you be doing?
We will be playing percussion instruments from around the world: the cajon (Spain), the darbuka (Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa), the djembe and the doundoun (Western Africa) and all manner of hand instruments and stick instruments from Brazil.
Through playing you will be learning (traditional) rhythms. You will spend time learning hand techniques and stick techniques, coordination, timing, intention of play and additionally useful: how one writes down the notation of rhythm.
During the last few classes you will be applying rhythms. What would it be like to accompany a masked dance or harvest ritual with a djembe? And how will a melodramatic Romany-orchestra sound with the accompaniment of a darbuka? Or will you be making a sonorous journey to the North pole or to the South pole? You can be certain of one thing: this course will be varied and festive!
