Charter School Drum Teacher: Each Child a Gift, a Joy

Whitewater teacher drums up fellowship
Edwin Scherzer | September 13, 2015

EP-150919946.jpg&MaxW=332“I have a passion for working with children; each one truly is a gift and a joy in my life,” [Christine] Hayes said.

Hayes is…past president of the Wisconsin Music Educators Association.

Hayes’ passion for drumming as a musical art form and a means of musical education helped fuel her desire to travel to Ghana.

“My goal was to bring back to the students a deeper level of understanding of the culture of a beautiful people — their song, dance, stories, living, environment, speech, the children, the food — all to truly comprehend the drumming that comes from Ghana,” Hayes said.

She will pass on the techniques that she learned to her students, to the drum choir she started at her church and to local residents through community education classes that are in the works.

“A child given the skills and opportunity to create and perform meaningful music will possess the ability to express their inner and true self,” she said.

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Neil Peart: 50 Years Experience, One Drum Solo

Neil Peart on His ‘Final Drum Solo’ with Rush
“My vague design for that solo was deceptively simple.”
September 10, 2015 2:38 PM

Photo by Michael Mosbach
Photo by Michael Mosbach

August 1st at the LA Forum marked the last show in the supposed last tour. A lot of lasts, including one last drum solo from Neil Peart while on a major Rush tour.

Peart explained how hard he worked on constructing the solo through months of rehearsals.

As Peart rehearsed his solo, he receive no feedback from the other band members or those on the crew. The silence stunned him, making him second guess his aims.

….Peart explained the concept, “My vague design for that solo was deceptively simple. I would approach it as if I was just sitting down at the drums to start playing — to exercise the improvisational skills I have been working on for, oh, about ten years now. Technically, I was determined to exemplify everything I thought I knew about drumming, and everything I love about the drums — almost 50 years of experience and passion had to go in there somehow.”

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Buddy Rich/Louis Bellson Remo Ad 1971

Remo Ad, Down Beat, 09/12/1971

Remo Ad, Down Beat, 09/12/1971

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Dave Tough’s ‘Opus 1/2’ – On My ‘Must Hear’ Drumming Short List

goodman_bennyLong before every bit of recorded music known to man was available on the internet, I sometimes dubbed History of Jazz Drumming audiocassettes for a few drummer friends. My music source was my personal record and tape collection — which was pretty good.

For drummer Dave Tough I always steered clear of Tough’s more oft cited work with Woody Herman‘s big band, and instead used Opus 1/2 from my LP of the Benny Goodman Trio, Quartet, Quintet.

I love Goodman’s Trio and Quartet. Gene Krupa was the usual drummer. The original trio was Goodman, pianist Teddy Wilson, and Krupa. Later, Lionel Hampton on vibes made it a quartet. These were truly groups of star, innovator musicians who always swing their tails off!

Dave Tough

Dave Tough

Listen carefully to Dave Tough backing the Goodman Quartet as a group and behind the individual soloists. Swinging? Yikes! And on what parts of the drumset — if Tough is even using a full drumset — is he playing??? A hi-hat, for sure. Then what? His hi-hat stand? Snare drum rim? I’ve never figured it out. Which, I think, is part of the fun listening to it.

Whatever Dave Tough is playing — I love it. It’s beyond straight timekeeping, but he’s super supportive and musical.

This remains on my short list of must hear drum records. Bon appetit!

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Art Blakey: God Has Given Us Another Chance

Art Blakey: Photo © Carol Friedman

“Art’s tough-love leadership style gave each band member the chance to find and prove himself, as Wayne [Shorter] remembered: ‘Blakey told us that every time we go on the stand, we should remember this one thing: We should always remember that God has given us another chance to come out and clean up the mess we have made the night before.'”

Source: Footprints: The Life and Work of Wayne Shorter, by Michelle Mercer TArcher/Penguin 2004.

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