Drum Stories

Ready to play the letter C.

On our fourth day of drumming, we learned the last letter of the week. 

To play the letter C, we lay our weak arm across the head of the drum and play the edge of the drum with our strong hand.

Then we combined all of our letters into new sentences and used these sentences to build our own drum story. Each class’s story is unique, with it’s own beginning, middle and end.

It’s been a lot of work, but we can’t wait to share our work with our families tomorrow!    

You are invited to attend your child(ren)'s class on Friday September 15th.  The schedule for the day is:

Time	Grade	Teacher
9:10	3	Ms. Libbey
9:30	3	Mr. Duggan
9:50	3	Ms. Bennett
10:10	3	Ms. Rutland
10:30	3	Ms. Sticksl
10:50	3	Ms. Craig
11:10	2	Ms. Devereux
11:30	2	Ms. Vogan
11:50	2	Ms. McDonald
12:10	2	Mr. Sandburg
12:30	2	Ms. Lagrana

Fitting our Drum Puzzle Pieces Together

On our third day of drumming we added a new rhythm called GG5, in which we play twice in the center and five times on the edge of our drum, like this:  Goon (space) Goon (space) One Two Three Four Five!  

Then we built our first drum sentence.  One side of the circle played the Goon Doe that we learned yesterday, and the rest of the circle played the GG5 - at the same time!  

As we started to listen more carefully to each other, we began to fit these two rhythms together like puzzle pieces.  We noticed that everyone on our team had to play exactly at the same time before we could fit our music into the music of the other team.  Quite the challenge, but what an amazing sound we made when we worked together!  

Check out this video of one of the teams playing Goon Doe at exactly the same speed:

Now as we all know, sentences need a capital letter to show the beginning and a period to show the end.  So Roger taught us a secret code that only drummers know.  When we hear this special rhythm, we know it's time to start our music, or bring it to close.  Unfortunately, it really is a secret - so all I can say is that it has something to do with milk and potato chips.  If you would like to know the details, you'll just have to ask the student drummer in your family! 

Speaking with our Drums

Our hands prepare for our first drumming word:
"Goon Doe"

In today's drumming session, students reviewed the first four sounds of the "drumming alphabet".  Here's what we learned:

When we bounce our strong hand (the hand we hold a pencil with) in the center of the drum, it makes a low bass tone called Goon.  When we bounce our weak hand in the center, we play the other bass tone called Doon.   

Then we pull our hands to the edge, so that only our fingers rest on the head of the drum.  When we strike the drum here we make the two high sounds of the drum, called Goe (strong hand) and Doe (weak hand).

After practicing these sounds in isolation, students then put these drum "letters" together to form our first drum "word" - Goon Doe.  If you look carefully at the picture to the left, you'll see our strong hands ready to play Goon in the center of the drum, and our weak hands on the edge ready to play the Doe.  



So much to remember!  But once we were settled into the rhythm, each pair of hands began to move in time with the other hands around the circle.  Soon, we were moving as one - one drum, one voice, one heart.  Together we began to forge a connection that went beyond words, and experienced the power of belonging to a community.

One World Drumming

Roger from One World Drum 

We have started the school year with a BANG - literally!  One World Drumming will be working Grade 2 and 3 classes from September 11-15^th , exploring the sounds and culture of West Africa.  

On the first day, students were invited to consider the implications of an "oral tradition".  How would you exchange information, or learn, or share stories without reading and writing?   We learned that music plays an important role in these communities, and that there is a rich tradition of song, dance and instruments.

A Tar, a drum from North Africa.

First, we listened to an Elephant song on a finger drum called a Tar from North Africa.  We noticed that the frame of the drum used only a little wood, and deduced that it must be made in a desert where trees are scarce.  As well, the desert people were traditionally nomadic, constantly traveling in search of food and water, so these drums were also very light-weight for easy transport.  

A Djembe, a drum from
West Africa.

Then the students examined and played the Djembes in front of them, made with a lot of wood and very heavy.  These drums are from the rain forests of West Africa where wood is plentiful and communities can settle in one place.  We sure can learn a lot about a community by examining the drums they play!

NOTE:

On Friday, September 15^th, parents and caregivers are invited to join us for a sharing of the student’s work from the week.  Families are encouraged to attend the class that their child(ren) is in.  The schedule for the day is:

Time	Grade	Teacher
9:10	3	Ms. Libbey
9:30	3	Mr. Duggan
9:50	3	Ms. Bennett
10:10	3	Ms. Rutland
10:30	3	Ms. Sticksl
10:50	3	Ms. Craig
11:10	2	Ms. Devereux
11:30	2	Ms. Vogan
11:50	2	Ms. McDonald
12:10	2	Mr. Sandburg
12:30	2	Ms. Lagrana

We are very grateful to the Royal Oak School Council and the Parent Fundraising Committee who provided the funding for this residency.  We know that our students are in for an exciting week of drumming and music instruction!