Hi, folks! Just please know that I most highly recommend Mike as a wonderful teacher and an amazingly creative, experienced and stellar musician! You will LOVE the personal creative expansion that will take place as you deepen and broaden your experience of percussion and rhythmic expression through these new tools ( or the new use of your old tools!) Let me know if you want me to put your name on the list!
Peace and gratitude,
Sherry



RHYTHM MAKERS TAKE HEART.....

and please join multi-percussionist extraordinaire, MIKE MEADOWS, at DRUMZ , 3700 ½ Kerbey Lane , for a series of four all-level workshops taking place from 7pm-9pm four Monday nights in February starting on Feb.6th through Feb. 27,2012!
Each workshop will have it’s own percussive focus and Mike will share the knowledge and insight, skills and magic he has studied, developed, and perfected over the course of his lifetime! Don't miss this opportunity to expand and evolve as a rhythmic being as you learn from someone who has become a master of his art! Come for one or come for all! Please register in advance by emailing Sherry at: sdrumz@austin.rr.com or call Drumz at 512-453-9090. Workshops are $30 each for two hours of invaluable instruction and hands-on experience!

Monday Feb. 6 …Shekere/Shaker/Tambourine

This workshop will focus on both traditional and modern techniques that can be applied to any shaker and tambourine. Some of the shakers covered will include: shekere, caxixi,televi,egg shakers,and cylindrical shakers. You will also learn how to combine some of these shakers with each other to create grooves to support other musicians. There will be an overview of different styles of tambourines, from the half moon tambourine to pandeiro and kanjira! Learn how to spice up your tambourine playing and even use them with your feet! We will then combine the shakers and tambourines together to give you some unique tools that can be applied to any musical situation!

Monday Feb. 13…. The Cajon

This workshop covers both traditional and innovative techniques for Cajon. You will learn about the evolution of this instrument and a variety of applications. Techniques covered will include brush techniques,heel toe, slaps, pitch bends & muting with the heel, and even reverse bass drum pedal technique. Learn to create your own grooves and improve your timing with some of the concepts that will be covered in this workshop!

Monday Feb. 20th ….Frame Drum techniques & vocalization

We will cover the oft dreaded "split finger technique", how to develop it and it's application on a wide range of instruments. We'll also cover vocalizations that will improve your sense of time and give you more confidence with odd time signatures. These vocalization concepts will improve your playing and understanding of rhythm no matter what instrument you play!

Monday Feb. 27 Supporting an acoustic band/artist with a hand percussion setup.

Learn how to use your current instruments and techniques in unique ways to support any musical group or artist. Whatever instruments participants bring, we'll explore a variety of techniques to utilize them in a modern context! Learn how to build unique grooves with your djembe ( or other hand drum) by adding shakers and brushes into the mix! this workshop will help you unlock your own creativity and come up with your own style and set up as a drummer/percussionist!

COST: $30 per two hour workshop.Visit drumzaustin.com for details. Call 512-453-9090 to register or for more information or email: sdrumz@austin.rr.com



Visit: www drumzaustin.com

Our new session at DRUMZ has been hugely popular and most classes are full to capacity! The Beginner Classes even have a waiting list this session! We have a couple of spaces available in the Beyond Beginner Class on Thursday evening and the 11:15am Beyond Beginner on Saturday morning! The children's class on Thursday afternoon at 4pm has two spaces open. What a great way to start off 2012! Please check our website again soon for the next session's schedule ( which will begin March 7th,2012). The Spring Session is always very packed so do call us early to get your name on the list for the class or classes of your choice! y If your space is reserved you can always pay the first night of class or pay in advance over the phone with a credit card or come by Drumz in person! I am also doing private lessons during the day and early evening so please call and set up an appointment for a private lesson if you are so inclined! You can really advance quickly with just a few private lessons! Private lessons are $17.50 per half hour or $35 per hour. Thank-you so much for your interest!

Beginner's Hand Drumming Workshop at DRUMZ on Friday evening, January 13th, at 7pm!

Please join us for an introductory workshop where we will explore the magic of hand drumming, learn basic hand technique on the West African Djembe, learn the " Babatunde Drum Language" in the Yoruba language, and some rhythmic exercises to practice to help develop good pronunciation on your drum, some rhythm basics, a traditional West African rhythm and song, and an opportunity for an in-the-moment, improvisational, closing rhythm ala "drum circle" style to have the experience of participating in a facilitated drum circle. Lots of rhythmic instruments will be available for this closing piece! NO PREVIOUS MUSICAL EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED! If you have a heart beat, you HAVE rhythm!
COST: $25 per person or $2o each if you bring a friend!
Time: 7pm-8:30pm
Date: January 13, 2012

day, April 24, 2011

RECONNECTING WITH EARTH, A NEW DRUMMING AND DIALOG SERIES AT DRUMZ begins Tuesday evening MAY 10th from 7-8:30pm! Join us for this exciting new series at DRUMZ for a six weeks discussion course created by the Northwest Earth Institute!

Some of the themes we will cover in our discussions are Nature and Spirit, The Universe Story, Ecopsychology. Our Course Guide Book includes provocative and informative readings, interviews, and articles by John Muir, Thomas Berry, Rachel Carsen, John Seed, Joanna Macy, Arne Naess, Brian Swimme, Starhawk, Wendell Berry, Bill Plotkin and many more!

These programs are designed to encourage discussions that clarify personal values and attitudes, consensus is not the goal, and the group should not seek to reach agreement at the expense of diversity of opinion. As in a drum circle, every unique and individual voice is important and valued in these discussions and everyone's participation is encouraged and supported and welcomed! Each participant will receive a course book and the the discussions each week are based on our readings from the course book. The book is filled with powerful and deeply moving writings by leading authors and guides including naturalists, scientists, theologians, philosophers, and psychologists.
The small group discussion experience provides a unique framework for exploring personal values, attitudes, and habits while addressing the relevant issues of our times. All of these programs will be participant-led series of discussions held over a six week period. We will be meeting for an hour and a half each week for lively and often deeply heartfelt, always meaningful, discussions based on the readings included in the discussion guide. Everyone is invited to bring their own personal experience and critical thinking to the process! Each week we will close with a 30 minute Drum Circle, our closing rhythm to solidify and empower our group intention for our Earth.

Over the past 16 years, over 130,000 people have participated in NWEI programs, exploring ways in which citizens can make a difference in their communities. This course, Reconnecting with Earth, will be the first of several six week discussion sessions at DRUMZ and I am very excited to move DRUMZ in the direction of being a community center for DRUMMING AND DIALOG pertaining to issues of global importance and creating an environment to help empower people to make a difference in their own lives and in the world.

COST: $15 for the Course Guide Booklet ( yours to keep)
$10 per evening for Drum Circle & the space ( all instruments provided or bring your own drum)
Dialog and course is FREE!
Total: $75 for Six Weeks

I am excited about this opportunity to bring these powerful and deeply inspiring courses to the Austin Community and I look forward to an expanded path for DRUMZ as a community center to promote change and participate in a conscious evolution on our wondrous planet Earth!

With peace and gratitude,

Sherry

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THE DJEMBABES PLAY AT Ruta Maya ON FRIDAY NIGHT, April 1st! Join us for our show at 9pm, April First at Ruta Maya just off South Congress in South Austin for a FANTASTIC lineup of great bands with strong world beat influences! ATASH plays at 10pm, followed by IVORY GHOST at 11:30pm! This will be a night of DANCING and GROOVING to great music with great people! DON'T MISS THIS ONE!

THE DJEMBABES PLAY AT CENTRAL MARKET ON SATURDAY NIGHT ,MAY 7th, from 6:30pm to 7:30pm and then a second set from 8pm-9pm on the decks at the north Central MArket (38th St. and N. Lamar Blvd.). This is one of our very FAVORITE Austin venues as it invites children, families, and folks of all ages and persuasions to gather together on the decks , under the stars, next to the lively play ground, surrounded by huge oak trees, to enjoy the songs and rhythms of West Africa as interpreted by Austin's favorite All Women's DrumSong Ensemble, THE DJEMBABES! Dancing is strongly encouraged and we usually have folks from 1 year to 80 up on their feet moving to the hypnotic and enticing rhythms of the drums! Join us if you can at this show in early May when the weather is usually PERFECT! Come be a part of the "VILLAGE" and enjoy the vibrations, the people, the food, the stars, the community , and the beautiful connection to Spirit we experience together!

BEGINNER DJUNDUN WORKSHOPS ! The first workshop for those folks interested in starting on the djundun path is Friday evening from 6:30pm-8pm on February 25th and the second workshop is Friday evening March 4th from 6:30-8pm. These workshops are $20 each and you may attend one or both! We will learn how to hold the sticks, basic sticking technique for djuns, some exercises to develop technique, and several djundun patterns with bell. The bass drums are powerful and essential to the West African drum ensemble and learning to play and recognize the melodies of the djuns is an important part of understanding and learning West African music. Please come and experience the beauty and the power of these amazing bass drums!
COST: $20

Beginner DjunDun Workshops Feb. 25th and March 4th! Two consecutive Friday evening Djundun workshops will take place at DRUMZ aimed at those of you starting out on these wonderful bass drums that accompany our West African music in ensemble! The djuns are the power behind the ensemble...and the metronome..the pulse that keeps it altogether! The beautiful melodies of the djuns are the bass line of the music and the relationship between the djembes and djunduns is critical to the precision required to play these traditional rhythms well! Learning to play the djuns is very empowering and helps provide a valuable key to understanding and experiencing this beautiful music from AFrica! Please join us if you have always been attracted to these powerful stick drums or even if you just want to increase your foundation in the music! We will explore some bell/stick patterns and how to hold the sticks, some practice exercises, and even a Japanese Taiko Drum piece that I learned along the way! These workshops were originally scheduled for Feb. 4th and Feb. 11th and have been moved to the new dates, Feb. 25th and March 4th. TIME:7pm-8:30pm Day: Friday, Feb. 25th and Friday, March 4th. You may register for one or both workshops but the content will be progressive so if you are planning to take only one, the one Feb. 25th would be the ideal one to take!

PLEASE CALL DRUMZ at 453-9090 to register or email Sherry at : sdrumz@austin.rr.com