First real post. Lets talk drums.

Well well. Today is my first real update to da blog. So I’ll tell you about the art of drumming!

I love percussion because its possibilities are endless. Think about it. Tons of things we hear everyday are really percussion. Hitting the alarm clock, falling out of bed, slamming a door, the rain. The first heartbeat of the first multicellular organism was percussion. It always been around, and will always be. Its unavoidable, so why not join?

Now I bet some think: “Oh, drummers are those trashy looking long haired guys with no personal hygiene” or “He is just a drummer because he is stupid and couldn’t read the notes of the piano or trumpet” or “But I’m a girl, there aren’t any girl drummers out there!” The first, is just a stereotype. Yes there are some drummers that look, act and think like trash…but there are 10 fold that number that aren’t. The second is just plain ignorance of the person thinking. A percussionist has to read just as complex music, with combinations of note values, accents, dynamic and other technical modifiers (more about that later). Also, did I mention percussion includes the marimba, xylophone, and vibraphone. These are instuments just like a piano, except you tap the keys like mallets, instead of pushing them with your fingers. These instruments require are great deal of reading music, thinking and coordination…which can be very hard the “dummers.” 🙂 And lastly, about the girls. Yes, there are girls that drum. Yes, some are reeeeeaaalllllly good. Yes, some suck. Yes, some play drumset, others play marimba, others play auxillary percussion. Good or bad, they’re all just like the guy drummers.

Sooo, percussion is huge. It covers piano (hammers hit strings), drumset, mallets (vibraphone, etc.), marching percussion, timpani (kettle drums), african drums (bongo, djembe), cowbells and anything else that hits together to make sound. Its for anyone. And its just totally awesome.

More next time!!