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Invigorating & Empowering: Get Your Heart Pounding to the Beat of the Drum

By Cynthia Saunders

February 2008

I was looking for an energizing activity that would get my blood pumping, refresh my spirit, and not necessarily require me to bundle up. Don't get me wrong, I love the snow more than most people, but once in a while it's great to try one of the many indoor options we have in the Berkshires. So, while perusing the class listing for Rhythms, the center for the movement arts in Lenox, I was intrigued to find an African drumming class on the list.

The more I thought about it, though, the more natural it seemed. A discussion with Rhythms' assistant manager, Maggi Sanderson, helped to clarify things even further.

"Movement is about understanding rhythms," she said, "and music is integral to dance."

I knew what she was saying was true, and I loved dancing, yet this was out of my element. Could I jump right in, without my own drum, with no experience? Yes, I could, and I did, and this is what it was like.

First of all, mood is crucial in artistic spaces. The place needs to feel like it is open to experimentation, like it's going to welcome you, judgment free. From the moment I pulled up, Rhythms felt good. On my way in, a dancing woman smiled at me through one of the front bay windows. Inside the door, shoes were tucked in cubbyholes. In the waiting room, a young woman reading a magazine was sprawled across the couch. You could hear soft dance music coming from the jazz/modern class finishing up in one room, and a casual glance in the other door showed a dimly lit quiet space—a vinyasa yoga session, I later learned.

Before the drumming workshop started, I was a little scared. I couldn't think of how this would be taught to me. What if it was a drumming free for all? What if I was expected just to tag along as best I could, or worse, what if I had to do a solo of some kind?

Are these the worries that would stop you? Let me assuage your fears right now. That was not what it was like at all. In fact, it couldn't have been more different.

In the room, we set up six yoga mats on the floor so that they made a rectangle, and black folding chairs went around the outside edge so that our feet would rest on the mats. There were four of us taking the class that night, all women. Some were regulars, and they said that every experience included new drummers. In fact, last week, they said a mother and her two sons had come to try it for the first time.

Once we were set up, our instructor, Joanne DelCarpine, an advanced drummer with more than ten years of experience, began things by explaining some of the basics about the drums for my benefit—what they were made of, how to hold one, etc. We went over how to make a bass sound by striking your flat hand on the drum's center, and how to make a tone by keeping your fingers together and letting them bounce off the edge. Lastly, she showed us the slap—similar to the tone, only with fingers slightly curved and more spread apart—a very challenging movement and sound to perfect.

These mini lessons were broken up by teaching us rhythmic patterns to try. For many of the patterns, Joanne had catchy phrases that would help us keep the rhythm. For example, "I want chocolate pudding," or "Take me to the sea, I want to swim."

You probably couldn't get it just by reading the page here—you'd have to hear it, see it, and try it first. But once you got it, the phrase could help you keep it in your mind. Later on, as we gained confidence, Joanne broke us into parts, saying, "Okay, this side, take 'chocolate pudding,' this side, 'take me to the sea.'" Before I knew it, we were all going strong together. I tried to listen to the whole sound and hear all of the parts without forgetting to keep my own, which was hard. I found that if I got lost, I could use those catch phrases to bring myself back.

The third part Joanne taught us was a bit trickier than the other two, but she made it easier to learn by breaking it down into smaller pieces and having us mimic her. Towards the end of class, when we were all feeling fairly comfortable with the pieces we had learned, Joanne gave us each a chance to stop playing for a second and stand in the middle or walk around, listening to each part and how it fit into the whole sound.

As a fun side note here, you should know that Joanne's musical choices were more than just arbitrary selections. The full pattern of sound we were learning had a name, "Kpan Logo." As she explained to us, Kpan Logo is a social rhythm created in Ghana as an answer to, oddly enough, Elvis Presley! Apparently, as his music made its way around the world and became popular, the people of Ghana grew concerned that future generations would lose interest in the music of their own heritage, and so this rhythm was invented to draw people back in, and it worked with incredible success!

Leaving for the evening, I felt invigorated and empowered—even more so than I would have predicted. Yes, I had toyed with a new skill, met some great, open people, and learned a little bit about the world, but it was more than that. Call me a romantic, but I just couldn't help thinking about the metaphor of what I enjoyed about the experience—this business of learning to focus in on one's specific role in a greater piece of music, the difficult challenge of hearing all of the parts working together, and how then when you do hear it, it's so beautiful! This is an experience I would highly recommend.

Even if you are not interested in African drumming (though I say try it if you've ever even thought about it) you still might want to take a glance at the Rhythms website. In addition to offering weekly African drumming classes, Rhythms has a wide range of other movement class options—Candlelight Yoga, Qi Gong, Ballroom, Tango, and Afro-Caribbean Dance, Tai Chi, and a whole range of classes for children and teens, too. They even have two different types of belly dancing lessons! Yes, two different types! If you go, let me know what you try.

About Cynthia Saunders  

Cynthia Saunders is a freelance writer and the  Director of Education for the Barrington Stage Company.  A North Adams native and current resident, she is excited to live within walking distance of her favorite restaurants, yoga studio, and movie theatre.  She can be contacted at cynthia.saunders@gmail.com.