Friday Afternoon Music Therapy

I spent this afternoon playing drums with my new musician friends from kirtan, for two different local groups of disabled people. I have never actually played with this group before, so I’m not sure what to expect. Although I’ve been [intlink id=”751″ type=”post”]playing drum kit[/intlink] for a while and used to play tamborim in a samba band, I’ve never played the drums I’m playing today before either (a cajón and a dunun), for more than a few minutes. So really all I can do is wing it on stage in front of our captive audience.

How Hard Can It Be?

How Hard Can It Be?

The first gig is for a group of adolescents with Down syndrome. Despite my lack of practice, experience or rehearsal, they love it. If there’s one thing to be said for people with Down Syndrome, they sure know how to let loose and have a good time. Before long they are up dancing, jiving and laughing, showing far less inhibition than I have. One of the guys gets down on the floor and breaks into a spontaneous rap dance. We aren’t even playing hip-hop. But that isn’t about to stop him. Before long, one of his mates joins him; both of them writhing around on the floor unselfconsciously to our beats.

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How To Stay Safe In An Earthquake

The folks in Japan are basically living in the earthquake capital of the world, what with being perched atop the pacific rim of fire and all. So you’d expect them to know a thing or two about surviving earthquakes. And you’d be right. So today’s life-saving tip on how to stay safe in an earthquake comes courtesy of the safety instructions that came with my Japanese-manufactured drum kit:

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