Building a Rhythm

The North Unitarian Universalist Drum Circle (NUUDC) LIVES! Hey, if we called it the North Unitarian Drum Ellipse, it would make a cooler pagan acronym. On the third monday in april, a bunch of people and a bunch of instruments gathered in the back room of the church in Lewis Center to make some noise.

It was a small group, about six adults and three kids to start, that expanded to 14 as folks drifted in during the next hour, across a wide range of ages of men, women, boys, girls, musicians and novices. We talked very little, although a couple of people really wanted to talk more, and started with very simple rhythms to see (hear) what developed. It was a lot of fun.

This week, on the third monday of may, we met for the second time, and not as many people showed up, as one might expect. Just Jerry was waiting with his plastic buckets when I got there, and Episcopal Dale arrived shortly thereafter with his collection of percussion instruments. Jackie and her two kids and their two friends showed up next, followed by Mary Ann and her husband Mark in the wheelchair. So we were a circle of ten this time, not bad for beginners.

The kids were all over the place, of course, trying out all the wood blocks, tambourines, snare drums, big Irish bass skins, triangles, claves, a tree-trunk slit drum, and what have you. The boys got into some violent drumming on an empty plastic milk jug. The girls were somewhat more focused. The adults mostly picked up on whatever rhythm the kids generated, and then it grew, changed, swelled and diminished improvisationally. Once or twice we really had something going that enveloped the whole room.

Can't wait till the third monday in june.