Submitted by Louise Eddington, Muncie, Indiana
Idea posted September 30, 2005
I wanted to share one of the neatest drum activities we did, and one of those "wow" moments that occurred. My sixth grade class had worked with our hand drums (a variety of sizes) for quite some time. We were comfortable with the fingertip technique, had been working on using the base of the thumb in the center of the head for accented sounds, and had been playing patterns which used combinations of fingertips and thumb. We had also tried putting drums between our knees so these techniques could be done two handed. The kids had been doing echoes and Q/A for years. So now we put it all together:
Everyone sat in a large circle and had a hand drum between his or her knees. The entire group played a soft background ostinato rhythm, EXTREMELY SOFTLY (pppp), of an eighth followed by two sixteenths, repeatedly. I explained that, "At some point, I will leave the ostinato group and play a solo. I will play a bit louder, playing QAQA or longer, then I will fade back into the (ostinato) group." When I was done, someone else (as the spirit moved) would take over and do at least QAQA before fading back into the background. This would continue so that each student could have a chance. I did not assign solos; they just came in and exited as they felt moved to do so. The soloist was to use the two hand technique, using accented beats as desired, playing at a volume that would make them "stand out" over the others. It was to be clear that it was in Q/A form. We did this for about 15-20 minutes, uninterrupted, and when I finally gave a group decrescendo signal and we just all faded to nothing, it was one of those unspeakable "wow" moments!!!
The other classes that also did this did well, but only once did the "wow" happen. Yes, this certainly was nonverbal communication at its best.