3-5 Music Week 13

Drums and percussion play a really important role in all kinds of music. From military marching bands. To funk music. In most of today's popular music, you're definitely gonna be hearing some beats. And percussion instruments are not just for rhythms and beats, they can also play melody and harmony. Percussion started thousands of years ago, with sticks, logs, and animal skins. Ancient Africans use drums as a way to communicate. They would bang drums with sticks or their hands to send warning signals. Tell stories and to have celebrations. As time went by, new forms of percussion and drums were created. And by the early days of classical music, there was almost always some type of percussion instrument like the tympani, or symbols being used to add drama and excitement. 

Modern mechanical technology also helped make percussion and drums even cooler and more versatile. And one of the biggest inventions of the past 100 years or so was the drum set. It's also known as a drum kit. William F Ludwig and his brother theobald created the drum set in 1909. They did it by inventing a spring driven drum pedal that made it possible for drummers to play more than one drum at a time. Then they made a pedal that allowed drummers to switch the symbols on and off with her foot. That invention created the hi hat. It didn't take long for Ludwig and other companies to make more drum set pieces like Tom toms, which were inspired by the large drums from China. Today, drum sets are a huge influence on how many types of music are played. It's time for our first fun fact. Can you guess how big the largest drum set in the world is? Well, it's 340 pieces. I have cover over 50 different brands, companies on my set. 340 pieces, and I like different sounds. Sounds are powerful. 

We love music and who doesn't like drums. It takes about 15 hours to put the drum set up. That's with four of us working diligently. And about ten hours to break the set down and pack it away. People always ask, can you hit everything on this drum set? It seems impossible. When you have the largest set in the world, 340 pieces, you have to make sure that you connect every piece at will. And I can hit every piece, no problem. Make no mistake, I can hit whatever you can see. Now, let's listen and learn about the styles or families and percussion instruments. Good idea, Maestro, the percussion family is divided into two groups of instruments. The first group is called pitched percussion. These instruments make notes with a certain pitch. Some examples of pitched instruments are timpani, xylophone, vibraphone, and the piano. 

The other group of percussion is called unpitched percussion, and this family percussion includes all the instruments that produce a single sounder note. Some examples of unpitched percussion include the snare drum bass drum, bongos, and tambourine. So remember, pitch percussion can play melodies and harmonies. An unpitched percussion plays beats and rhythms. You can play a song on a pitch percussion instrument, and you can play a dance feat on an unpitched percussion instrument. Let's start by checking out some pitched percussion instruments starting with the tympani. Tiffany evolved at a military marching drum, and they're made of stretching a large skin called a head over a large bowl that's usually made out of copper. Now let's get a taste of a vibraphone. Under each note and underneath the fan is a resonating chamber and the fan alternately opens and closes the resonating chamber so you get a vibrating effect, hence the name, fiber phone. If I don't use the motor, this is the sound. But if I switch the motor on. A rather pleasing sound, I think you'll agree. 

The instrument was invented around about the 1920s. But since then, composers contemporary classical composers in particular have tried other effects. And one of them, which I think is delightful, is the use of the bowed vibraphone. This is a cello bow, but a double bass bow will work just as well. And you simply draw the bow across each note. Tubular bells are really cool too. They're long metal tubes of different sizes that hang from a post, and you hit them at different places along the tube with mallets that sometimes look like tootsie pops. Now, let's watch and listen to a few unpitched percussion instruments. Starting with another classic, the snare drum. Snare drums go way back to the days of soldiers marching into battle a different kind of crispness to the sound. 

Here's the snare-off. And here's the snare on. And we can sustain the sound of the snare. I'm using the sticks alternating them, bouncing them one to the other. Here's a role. That's what we call it. Here's a role with the snares off. And with the snare on, Bongo drums are another popular unpitched percussion instrument. Usually, you play a set of two so you can have two different sounds. And you almost always use your hands to create lots of different sounds. And finally, let's throw in a little tambourine. Tambourines are so much fun to play. And you get some great rhythms going just by a little shaking and a little banging. Oh wow. Okay, everyone. Time for a musical movement minute. So everybody stands up. All right guys, we're gonna be doing a little body percussion call-in response exercise today. You're all more than welcome to snap your fingers, clap your hands, stomp your feet, or even use your chests. 

All right, are you all ready? All right, here we go. Here's the first one. Now repeat. Nice job. That was great, everyone. All right, but I'm pretty sure you all can be a little bit louder. All right, let's go ahead and try the next one and see if you can get that to be just a bit better. Repeat. Wow, you guys are really loud. Maybe we should make it a little bit softer. All right, here. I'm gonna tell you guys to switch it up a little bit. If you were just snapping, try clapping, or stomping, or even using your chests. Just switch up your body percussion. But our next one is going to be soft. So listen closely. Fantastic job, guys. You guys are all amazing. 

Thanks for joining me today. You guys all rock and keep on rocking. Now let's take a look and listen to some great percussionists of the past. Sounds fun, Maestro, and let's get started with Lionel Hampton. Lino is called the king of the vibes, boss of the backbeat, and mister excitement. Here he is on Vibraphone. Check out Viola Smith viola was one of the first female professional drummers. Tito puente was a salsa musician and a Latin jazz composer. And here's one of the early stars of the drum set, Buddy Rich. But he is one of the greatest jazz drummers ever. He started playing at a very early age and was a regular performer on Broadway stages at the unbelievable age of four. In the early 1970s, Karen Carpenter was playing drums and singing some of the biggest mellow pop hits of the time. Karen and her brother Richard formed a band called the Carpenters, and they even had their own TV show. 

Max Roach was an American jazz percussionist drummer and composer. He was a pioneer of bebop jazz, and many people consider max to be one of the most important drummers in history, because not only was he a great drummer, but he also worked hard on civil rights for all Americans. Gene Krupa was an American jazz and big band drummer, actor, and composer. And he was probably the first star or celebrity drummer because he had such a flashy style of drumming. And people loved watching and listening to him. Hey, there's the fun fact alarm. Well, here's a fact you should all know by now. You can make a percussion instrument out of just about anything. These kinds of percussion are sometimes called found instruments. You can even play percussion while you're doing the dishes. 

Now we'll take a few moments to look and listen to some great percussionists of the present. Right on Maestro, let's start with Sheila E. chila E started her professional percussionist career at the early age of 15 playing gigs with her dad, and she's continued to be a top drummer and percussionist for everyone from Herbie Hancock to Beyoncé. Neil pert is a Canadian drummer in The Rock band rush. The way he plays the drums has been an inspiration to many young drummers today. He has a unique way of combining hard rock beats with jazz and big band rhythms as well. Evelyn glenny is a Scottish percussionist and composer who's won many awards for her orchestral performances. She's worked with all kinds of artists and even appeared on Sesame Street. 

David Vance is an American percussionist and composer who's best known for the way he turns almost anything into a percussion instrument. Check out some of his found instruments. Keiko Abe is the Japanese composer and marimba player. She started playing the marimba in elementary school, and by the time she was 13 years old, she was playing professionally. Hannah Ford is an exciting young drummer, prince discovered Hannah by watching her YouTube videos. And last but not least, let's watch this classic battle between two of the greatest drummers in the world. Dave Grohl and animal. Yeah, when. Well, that's all for now. We hope you plan a little more about the wild world of drums and percussion. There's all kinds of ways to make rhythms and get people dancing. And even though this music workshop is over, the beat goes on. 

America in case you haven't heard. Hotel lock you up. Fuck you up uptown fuck you up tell them come on up time fuck you don't tell me what you want sound you a hundred uptown monkey up ladies dance jump on it if you say it morning if you freak out and I own it your life is about to come show me come on dance jump on it if you say something floating. Just watch it all. The way just watch. Me just watch.