The University of Idaho Argonaut

Home Front Row Muscovites keep the beat with hand drum course

Muscovites keep the beat with hand drum course

Written by By Abby Anderson -Argonaut

Tuesday, 11 October 2005

At the corner of Third and Washington, after missed beats and scattered rhythm, Bunnie Lawhead put down her west African hand drum. “John’s Alley, here we come!” she joked. Lawhead, a chemical dependency counseling intern, is one of two students in Quentin DeWitt’s University of Idaho community enrichment program, “Drumming for Everyone.”  The small group will make loud noises at 7 p.m. every Thursday night for three weeks in the front room of Keeney Bros. Music Center. Lisa Wareham/Argonaut Ever since Sue Morrison was a kid, she has wanted to learn how to play the drums. “At the time in middle school when kids could join in the band and I wanted to play the drums, my parents said, ‘No, we’re too poor,’” said Morrison, UI greenhouse manager. “None of us were able to be in the band at school.” Now, decades later, Morrison is getting her chance through DeWitt’s program.   Lawhead was a little apprehensive about showing up to the drumming lesson. “I was expecting teenage boys and a lot of rock and roll interest,” she says. “I was so relieved and very much enjoyed it.” Before Lawhead and Morrison walked through the door, DeWitt had no idea what to expect. “The folks that came I was super happy with and it went really well,” he said. “My mom was telling me that she heard that there were some women’s drumming groups for middle-aged and older women that were starting to be a big thing.” During the 90-minute hand drumming session, the two women learned how to play the bass, open, slap and muted tones, how to count and keep rhythm and how to perform the “kassa” and “cha-cha.” DeWitt encourages “jamming,” where each student gets the chance to play freely and to hit the drum as they please while the other students follow the piece. For Morrison, who admits she doesn’t have much musical ability, randomly hitting notes seems to happen by default, not by choice. “The very last time during the jamming, I was way off,” she says. “I was just drumming to make it sound good and I was thinking, ‘Oh, I better go home and practice.’” Morrison, who doesn’t own a hand drum, plans to practice at home with a pan from her kitchen, flipped upside down. Add as favorites (131) | Views: 2823 Be first to comment this article Write Comment Please keep the topic of messages relevant to the subject of the article. Personal verbal attacks will be deleted. Please don't use comments to plug your web site. Such material will be removed. Just ensure to *Refresh* your browser for a new security code to be displayed prior to clicking on the 'Send' button. Keep in mind that the above process only applies if you simply entered the wrong security code. Name: Title: Comment: