Drumming for Spinal Injuries

 Slappingskins is my business. Slappingskins is my passion! When I was booked to lead a day of drumming, percussion and sound relaxation at the UKs primary spinal injuries unit in Stoke Mandeville I was  excited yet daunted at the same time. Thoughts of uncertainty over my ability to engage every member of the group were present but outweighed by feelings of  excitement at being given the privilege to lead these music sessions for some of the bravest people in our land.

I’ve had the pleasure of working in several different hospitals during my 8 years of running ‘Slappingskins drumming and percussion’ but it was not until I began working with Chrys Blanchard of Abergavenny on her Soundscape project in 2009 that my eyes were fully opened to the possibility of using sound to assist in the healing process . Subsequent study under Simon Heather of the College of Sound Healing has given me the impetus to further my own study, develop my own sound and take my work out into the community.

Brave and resilient souls they are! The patients who attend the spinal injury unit are a mixed bag. Some old, some young, some severely handicapped by poor movement in their limbs and some so strong and confident that it would make the most sure of us wonder about our own competence.

My remit was to run a morning of workshops lasting one hour long to two groups of patients of between 8-12 participants followed by a lunchtime performance/showcase and an afternoon of textural percussion and softer, relaxing sounds that would be appropriate on the wards for patients that were bed bound.  The day was to finish off with an open drop-in session for anyone who had not had an opportunity to attend any of the days sessions.

More than half of the patients would make their own way to my morning workshop space. Others were assisted and wheeled into the makeshift drumming and percussion parlour for the length of the session. Most patients were able to play a djembe drum and so were encouraged to choose from a selection of West African hand drums and they were attached to the backs of their chairs. One or two patients had bells and shakers attached to their wrists so that they could join in the session and enjoy the light hearted fun and games along with some therapeutic drumming and grooving.

Tibetan singing bowls and a selection of my favourite gongs were also played during the session as too was my beloved balafon (west African wood and gourd xylophone) and a selection of percussion including the lovely pentatonic vibratones which produce a beautiful wah wah effect. Our lunchtime performance went down a treat as one young patient joined us, playing the balafon and djun djuns (west African base drums). He strapped on his favourite drum sticks and began playing some lovely melodies and rhythms which I played over backed up by some of the onlookers on shakers and other assorted percussion. A surgeon on his lunch break joined in as did another few members of staff and the sounds of the drums, gongs and other percussion was again drifting through the corridors and attracting curious onlookers and participants.

The morning sessions were really well attended and it was lovely to be able to facilitate the music sessions for those who were able to come. The hospital chaplin, David Elliott,  who was instrumental in booking Slappingskins was with me for the whole day and he really came into his own in the afternoon as the both of us moved from bed to bed playing sansulas (thumb piano) for patients who were bed bound and unable to leave their wards. David is a gifted musician in his own right and he played the sansula with a lovely touch as we drifted through the corridors from bed to bed and ward to ward. Some patients were able to join in with gongs and vibratones, especially on the childrens ward where we met with some enthusiastic participants.

                Our day drew to a close with a final drop-in session where people could come and go as they pleased. It was pretty quiet at that time on the Friday afternoon but we played a few improvised pieces and were able to draw an interested crowd for a good deal of the session. My experiences that day were truly humbling and I’m really looking forward to my next visit to Stoke Mandeville and my next opportunity to liven up a hospital ward!

                Later this year I’ll have the privilege to take part in my 4^th annual soundscape project will take place at Neville Hall hospital, Abergavenny. For more information please visit:

http://www.collegeofsoundhealing.co.uk/pages/hospitals.html

I've had an exciting week of drumming here in South Wales and beyond. I've finally, with the help of my good friend Alun, filmed the first in a series of drumming tutorials for Youtube. We've been talking about it for years and have finally made the first step into what is an exiting new project. We're going to show you some handy bits of percussion knowledge filmed in some of the most georgous settings in Wales and beyond.
           Our first destination for lesson #1 was a clifftop location not too far from Southerndown beach, near Ogmore on the South Wales coastline. The clouds parted to allow us to film in the last of the evenings light and the guls were in fine voice as the waved lapped at our feet over a hundred feet below. Sheep came and went voicing their (dis)approval at times. Alun and Haf positioned themselves perched on the rocks filming a slightly wentswept drummer. My djembe was strapped on and I was savouring the moment that I could play to the open sea.
            We filmed a few experiments and soundchecks then we went for a few takes. The light was glowing and the surfers on the beach miles away were pulsating on the wases. Pretty soon time caught up with us, though, so it was off home to put the veggie burgers on!
            The edit a few days later produced the first djembe tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XL7osan2rPs

              Enjoy. Let me know what you think. A a r o n x
             

DrumcampWales2012 was a lovely weekend of drumming, dancing, singing, gonging and frisbee! Plenty of gongoma could be heard across the campsite along with frequent hang drumming and the lovely playing of  bazouki, guitar and other wonderous sounds. The weekend was packed with workshops and performances from drumming groups from Bridgend, Cardiff, Swansea, Llanelli, Ammanford, Cardigan and Llanidloes.

It was the biggest collection of drumming groups this year and it was absolutley lovely to see all of the different rhythms being played and performed infront of very enthusiastic audiences.

The weather wasn't too kind to us but we had plenty of cover to keep warm and dry and the tipis provided us with great spaces to keep our instruments dry!

Visiting tutors Roberto from www.gongomaplanet.com and Jackson Lapes from the Bristol samba scene provided great workshops and tasty melodies and rhythms throughout the weekend.

We had a beautiful day for the sound journey. The sun shone as Andy, Barry and myself set up our gongs and singing bowls and other textural percussion. Tim played didg. for us and we managed to create a beautiful sound journey for relaxation.

Sam led wonderful singing workshops every day followed by lovely yoga sessions. I must say that I wish I could be woken everyday by the singing of lovely folk. Some lovely guitar and bazouki too this dcw! So nice to hear beautiful music in beautiful settings!

Watch this space for news of DCW2013!