Multi-Culti Rhythm Ensemble
This is a hands-on session lead by Tony, in which participants learn to play a percussion composition. The instruments involved usually include djembe drum, balafon, tuned bells, shekere, talking drum, gongs and drum set. Students and faculty usually work together, and all skill levels are welcome. By virtue of the instrumentation and the sensibility of the composition, this workshop is equally about the phenomenon of World Music, as it is about developing an awareness of our interconnectedness, in this song, and in the world around us.
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Rhythm, Word, Drum
"From the rhythm of our heartbeats to the rhythms of the natural forces that surround us, we shape our music and our stories. We have passed these stories on from generation to generation since the moment when language began. Putting our words to the rhythms of the drums, and putting our minds to the business of culture-building and spiritual survival is the highest province of the poets and drummers." So in this workshop we create poetry and spoken word pieces together. We then add music and/or chant around their words, and see what develops. We demonstrate, teach and encourage participants to call on, test, and develop their language skills, and their understanding of the rhythm-word connection. It's about finding your voice, telling your story, knowing your history, and embracing your responsibility to yourself and your community.
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The Science of Sound
Here we explore not only the nature of sound and vibration in the creation of music, but also the powerful effects that the sounds we call music have on our bodies and minds. We use giant Paiste gongs to demonstrate vibrations so huge that you can hear, see and feel them, and then we create a gong composition to apply and experience what we've discovered. This is truly an above-and beyond kind of experience.
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The Math of Rhythm
We're built to experience the physical power of sound, but it takes a mathematical awareness to build sound into rhythm, rhythm into songs, and songs into a powerful experience. So here we start with call-and-response mimicry, and then move into more literal mathematical representations of what makes rhythm so attractive to us. We use simple symbols and numbers in a graph-paper grid to demonstrate rhythm, syncopation and polyrhythm, and then apply this by "writing" out and reading rhythms that we invent. We then weave these into a short composition. The goal is to create an awareness of the clarity and exactness that is required for a rhythm to be effective, and for the player to comprehend how it is built, and therefore how to use it wisely.
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