During the school holidays, NECOM’s music therapy and percussion teacher, Fumie Takahashi, had the opportunity to attend a Teacher Training Course in African Drumming that ran for two days at the Tamworth Regional Conservatorium.
Fumie told us about her experience at the workshop:
“It was a very fun time. I learned lots of useful techniques, and there was a lot of really intense drumming. It felt like I had travelled to West Africa for two days!
On the first day we learned basic drumming technique and a traditional song from Ghana. On the second day, we learned the structure of drumming and tried to play a song from Burkina Faso.
There were five participants and the facilitator Brianna Slattery. Although the numbers were small, the sound of drumming was so energetic and rhythmic. We played a variety of percussion instruments including djembe, dundun, kiss kass and shekere.”
Drumming is a great way to connect with people regardless of their ability and can be enjoyable for all ages.
Fumie is looking forward to including African drumming as part of her Music Therapy sessions and percussion ensembles. Let’s beat the drum!!