Drum Control

As mentioned last post, I attended a high school world music concert last night. It began with some 30 high-energy teens playing powerful Japanese taiko drums with such energy and precision and joy, Once the door to musical celebration was opened, on they traveled to Balinese gamelan, Brazilian drumming, Philippine kulintang, Latin jazz, Guinean dance and drum, each style unlocking another facet of spirit and soul. It was three hours of a deep healing vibrational massage.

Throughout the evening, many testified how this program changed their lives and so simply— just a dedicated teacher, access to diverse traditions, peer support, time and disciplined effort. I am convinced down to my bones that every kid in every high school in the land would benefit from such a program. Not that they choose to become professional drummers— very few will— but that they feel the jumbled chaos of their human self (amplified by the complex confusions of the teen years) brought into a life-giving order and structure and meaning and power through the simple act of coordinating drumbeats with fellow flawed humans. Such programs could make all the difference in the world.

And yet. Apparently, this is the only such program in a public school in the entire nation. Of course, many schools have jazz bands and orchestras and choirs and art studios and drama programs and dance programs and all of these contribute to the health of the students and the culture. But many of the musical choices above depend on access to expensive instruments, the willingness to master notation and practice alone while your friends are out partying, on merely duplicating the notes on the page that others have written down. This kind of program— wholly aligned with the Orff approach with its accent on music and movement as one piece (those kids last night were dancin’  with their drums!), with improvisation, with diverse cultural expressions, with group learning that practices music by making music together, — is something accessible to all and beneficial to all. 

I can’t even open the door a crack to the horror of school shootings and the unfathomable statistics of how many there have been and how many continue to happen without feeling thrown down into the pit of despair. And there is not a sliver of doubt that actual gun control, the kind they responded to in New Zealand, for example, after one mass shooting, will make all the difference in the world. It is absolutely essential and necessary, no discussion needed.

But eliminating the negative is not enough unless we restore the positive.  We need both gun control and drum control. Give children the tools to master something on behalf of life, love and laughter. Costs very little and no research necessary— the children are happier, the school is happier and won’t we all look forward to the day when the only explosions we hear walking the school halls are those masterfully expressed on drums. 

May it be so!