Research has shown that drumming can relieve stress and boost the immune system. And besides that, playing percussion instruments is just plain fun!
The "All One Tribe" site at http://www.allonetribedrum.com/ has several articles on the connection between drumming and wellness. Hand made Native American drums can be purchased at this site.
Rhythmweb is a rather commercial site where you can find about different types of hand drums, where to buy them and instructional materials. Find it at http://www.rhythmweb.com
For information on Middle Eastern drums, visit the Middle Eastern rhythms FAQ at http://www.khafif.com/rhy. Here you find a great introduction to rhythm patterns, notation, as well as a history of percussion. You will find rhythms diagrams as well as midi files to go with them so you can hear the patterns. You can also create and play back your own rhythms!
The bodhran is a popular Celtic hand held drum. You can learn more about this instrument at http://www.bodhran.ie where you'll find lots of history and tutorials. At http://www.ceolas.org/instruments/bodhran/beginner.shtml you'll find a good beginner's guide to the bodhran.
If you're in the Chicago area, you can find on-line listings of a variety of drumming classes offered by the Old Town School of Folk Music at http://www.oldtownschool.org/Adult. Click on the Percussion link.
A percussion instrument a little closer to home is the spoons. Playing spoons is great fun, whether you play the the ones from the kitchen or buy some "musical spoon" type gadget. A good tutorial can be found at http://home.insightbb.com/~ferguson/spoonplayer.html/~ferguson/spoonplayer.html http://home.insightbb.com/~ferguson/spoonplayer.html Be careful with this site, however - it has background music that starts as soon as you load the site, so be ready to mute the sound on your computer or hit the small button at the bottom of each page to turn it off.
Happy Drumming!
If you have any favorite sites or topics you'd like to see mentioned in Cyberfolk, please let us know. Write to me care of Common Times, or email me at chris.mcintosh@usa.net. See you in Cyberspace!
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By Chris McIntosh Copyright © 2002 Chris McIntosh All Rights Reserved.