CLASSES/LESSONS

Study the modern Drum-Set and Afro-Percussion w/ Nicholas Brabhan        

Register for GROUP or INDIVIDUAL lessons (in person & online)

POINTS OF STUDY:

-Stick/hand control

-Traditional and modern percussion technique and rhythms

-Develop rhythmic and musical sensibility

-Build the foundations to express and communicate with percussion

UNLOCKING PRIMAL RHYTHMS

Join us every Monday 7pm CST / 8pm EST for a 90 minute workshop on ZOOM

Connect with the natural rhythms of life through breathing, movement and drumming. Rhythmic patterns compose our lives in many ways. We walk, talk, eat and breath in rhythm. Our hearts beat in  rhythm and will flucuate depending on if we are anxious or relaxed. Circadian rhythms guide our sleep wake cycles. Days, weeks, seasons all cycle in patterns. Our relationships dance in rhythm too. Life sustains itself out of finding a balance with the complexity of rhythms in and around us. Our Primal selves have a deep need for healthy rhythms, which are direct expressions of nature itself, built into our DNA. 

-In this weekly workshop we draw on meditative breathing and movement techniques as well as traditional drumming practices from around the world to Unlock our own Primal Rhythms.

Clave (KLAH-vay) is the basic defining rhythm of Afro-Cuban Jazz and other types of African, South American and even Australian Aboriginal music. The claves are the wooden sticks used to produce the rhythm. “Clave” means “key” in Spanish. It’s the heartbeat of the music and dances of the world.

Cross-Rhythm

“Polyrhythm is the joining of two or more rhythms. The regular and systematic superimposition of cross-beats over main beats creates a specific sub-set of polyrhythm called cross-rhythm. All clave-based music is generated through cross-rhythm.

From the philosophical perspective of the African musician, cross-beats can symbolize the challenging moments or emotional stress we all encounter. Playing cross-beats while fully grounded in the main beats prepares one for maintaining a life-purpose while dealing with life’s challenges. Many sub-Saharan languages do not have a word for rhythm, or even music. From African viewpoint, the rhythms represent the very fabric of life itself; they are an embodiment of the people, symbolizing interdependence in human relationships.”

-From the book CLAVE MATRIX 

  by David Peñalosa