This set of materials developed by Cheryl Grosso isan excellent addition to the hand drumming repertoire. Her compositions (Rhythm Chants)for hand drummingensemble draw upon ele-ments from western artmusic and several non-western musical tradi-tions. Their structure andinstrumentation offermuch versatility withfreedom for moreadvanced players toexperiment and impro-vise. The resultingmusic is unique,appealing, and reward-ing to performers withdiverse interests andexperience. The HandDrumming Essentialsmethod book thought-fully approaches thedevelopment of tech-nique on many instruments and ensemble rehearsalactivities. Cheryl’s materials are a valuable resourcefor percussionists and the non-percussionist musiceducator.
John Bergamo
acknowledgmentsacknowledgments
I am thankful for the many people who have encour-aged me and nurtured my musical growth. I ambeholden to David Charles, Michael Geary and DaneRicheson for sharing their insights with me and forproviding valuable contributions that made this bookpossible. Thanks also to Peter Schmeling andGregory Thornburg for serving as models. I amespecially grateful to John Bergamo who has been,and continues to be, a significant influence in mylife. I am endlessly appreciative for the generosityand kindness of my sister Jeanne.
C. A. Grosso
biographybiography
Cheryl A. Grosso has been a member of the musicfaculty of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
since 1985. She teaches studio percussion,contemporary percussion
ensemble, new musicensemble, hand drummingensemble and music theory.Professor Grosso hasserved as Music Chair, Vice
Chair of Communicationand the Arts (COA), andhas just been electedChair of COA. Sheearned the degree ofDoctor of Musical Arts in
Percussion Performanceand Pedagogy from theUniversity of Iowa, Masterof Fine Arts in Percussion
Performance fromCalifornia Institute ofthe Arts, and Bachelor
of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.Dr. Grosso studied western percussion with JohnBergamo, Thomas L. Davis, Karen Ervin Pershing, RonGeorge, David Charles and Tele Lesbines. She studiednon-western percussion with artists Pandit TaranathRao, Alfred and Kobla Ladzekpo, Sowah Mensah andK. R. T. Wasitodiningrat.
Dr. Grosso is active as a percussion soloist, chambermusician, composer and clinician. She has performedlive for Wisconsin Public Radio as a featured soloist onSunday Afternoon Live, and Concerts from Around theState. Two of her compositions for contemporary per-cussion are published by Smith Sonic Art Editions, andher incidental music for the David Ives play All in theTiming won a Kennedy Center ACTF Award of Merit.The UW-Green Bay Hand Drumming Ensemble, whichshe founded and directs, regularly performs at festi-vals and schools throughout Wisconsin.
Hand Drumming essentials 3
The aesthetic of groove-oriented drumming appealsto a primal instinct in many people and has madehand drumming popular around the world. Vast dif-ferences exist among hand drumming traditions;styles, performance techniques and the instrumentsassociated with them are too numerous to mentionin this text. It is important to note that althoughdrums are found in many different shapes and sizes,all drums are capable of producing many differenttones. The drum sounds and strokes presented inthis text and the accompanying ensemble composi-tions can be applied to any hand drum. Each type ofdrum has its own unique timbre, but all drums canproduce the variety of tones utilized herein. Themusic will simply be characteristic of the drumsemployed. The formation of drumming groups hasincreased dramatically, and the desire to organizeensembles in educational and professional settings israpidly growing. A drumming ensemble can beformed with almost any combination of hand drums.
There is little music published for hand drummingensemble. A limited number of transcriptions ofAfrican and Afro-Cuban drumming music are avail-able. I have composed about forty pieces for handdrumming ensemble during the fourteen years sincefounding my own ensemble. This text is designed toprovide fundamental information regarding instru-ments, performance techniques and exercises toform and develop a hand drumming ensemble; it rep-resents one school of thought. The conga drummingtechniques presented reflect a style developedthrough the study of West African and Afro-Cubandrumming. Rhythm Chants, compositions for handdrumming ensemble, are included at the end of thistext. A supplemental volume of Rhythm Chants,grouped by level of difficulty, is published separately.
4 Hand Drumming essentials
chapter one
Introduction to HIntroduction to Hand Drummingand Drumming
The goals of each ensemble will likely be different.Ensembles formed for educational purposes willhave different goals and standards for membershipthan ensembles that will be performance oriented.Music and non-music students will get exposure to atype of music that has non-western roots. In juniorand senior high school settings, hand drumming candramatically improve the rhythmic strength, timekeeping ability and cohesiveness of the percussionsection, in addition to providing an exciting newmusical outlet for students. Non-percussion studentshave been readily able to achieve basic coordinationand the development of strokes. Participation in ahand drumming ensemble by music-program stu-dents will improve ensemble performance in regard
to the development of listening skills, rhythmic train-ing and accuracy, time keeping, and the forming ofmusical bonds between students who are not usuallyin the same small ensemble or section. Instructorscan also use a hand drumming ensemble to buildconfidence in students regarding improvisation, asmany students are more willing to explore their ownmusical voice when using an instrument other thanthe one they have been studying for years. Handdrumming ensemble also offers the opportunity toexplore rote teaching techniques that will improvememorization and listening skills, and can be aneffective tool for getting students to use their voicesto count and vocalize percussion patterns.
benefits of a hand drumming ensemblebenefits of a hand drumming ensemble
chapter f ive
DDevelopment of Hevelopment of Hand Drumming and Drumming TTechniqueechnique
The conga exercises on the following pages are cat-egorized as tone production, warm-up, and dexteri-ty exercises. These categories indicate which aspectof hand drumming the exercises will best support.In each category, exercises are presented in order ofincreasing difficulty.
Tone production and warm-up exercises shouldbegin each rehearsal. Tone production, as a result ofproper technique, should be given attention everytime a drum is struck. Investing time in improvingtone production is a necessity with inexperiencedplayers. In addition, performers should always prac-tice while keeping steady time, no matter whichaspect of hand drumming is the focus of a given
exercise. Developing a strong sense of inner time issomething that can be worked on regardless of whatelse is being practiced.
Dexterity exercises develop coordination beyond thehand patterns students learn from their individualparts. Dexterity is important to a drummer’s techni-cal development. It will increase the speed at whichlearning occurs and improve consistency of toneproduction. Improvisation requires technical ease.The hands must be able to play what the mind cre-ates. Practice each exercise with all indicated stick-ings. Initially, performers will most likely be moresuccessful when the strong hand is leading.
