Students learn Afro-Caribbean rhythm

    Afro-Caribbean rhythm pulses through Terrell Hall every Monday night as members of the college and local community participate in a drum circle sponsored by the music therapy program.
    “Drumming has gained popularity, especially where there is a need in a community for people to get together and celebrate together and to have a sense of social interaction,” Director of the Music Therapy Program Dr. Chelsea Mercado said.
    The group is led by senior music therapy majors Troy Yannell  and Rasheda Jones.
    “We’re just trying to get people to come out and do music stuff,” Yannell said. “It gets their heads off school; sometimes it just feels good to beat a drum for a little while.”
    Jones agrees that the drum circle provides a needed break in the hectic schedules of students.
    “A lot of people come to drumming circles to reduce stress,” Jones said. “Our highest attendance is during finals or during the week before midterms.”
    The structure of  the drum circle allows both novices to participate. Leaders begin with a simple beat; participants can either play that beat or add an improvisational beat of their own. Other percussion instruments may be introduced into the circle to produce a variety of sounds.
    “It’s really interesting; the drum circle begins and it’s rather chaotic and everybody’s playing,” Mercado said. “There is something in music therapy that we call entrainment. Pretty soon people start playing together and then start breathing together and they start feeling the rhythms together-then everything goes together in drumming harmony. It’s a really nice feeling.”
    Junior Jayme Henderson appreciates the opportunity to learn the origins of the beats she’s playing.
    “A  lot of people like to play drums but they don’t know where the culture comes from and the actual real rhythms,”Henderson said. “They just like to take drums and bang on them, but there’s a lot more tradition and culture behind drums. (The drum circle) gives people an opportunity, if they want to play drums, to actually learn where things come from.”
    The traditions that Henderson refers to are Afro-Caribbean  rhythms, a genre born of influences from African and Caribbean percussive music. According to Bilby, Largey and Manuel, authors of  “Caribbean Currents: Caribbean music from Rumba to Reggae,” the slave trade  brought traditional African rhythms to the Caribbean. Many components of Afro-Caribbean music began as religious and secular tribal practices in Sub- Saharan Africa and continued to evolve as the culture and influence spread. This genre continues to impact many forms of modern music like rock and jazz.
    The drum circle is held every Monday in room 122, the Improvisational Music Room, on the first floor of Terrell Hall. Students, staff, faculty and members of the community are encouraged to attend. The music therapy program provides a variety of drums and other percussion instruments, but participants may bring their own.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 6 2006. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry