Drums

Having spent time with the Mi’kmaq I was fascinated to find this video about the ji’kmaqn, a uniquely made percussive shaker. In the past this instrument was illegal to use or own. This video helps tell the story and remind people of the part it has played in Mi’kmaq culture.

Drummer John Hendrickson from Kansas City took a drum idea I had captured on video and played his own wonderful part to the original groove. During this season of ‘being home’ it is exciting to see the incredible creative ideas that the internet allows us.

Incredible drumming and singing at the 60th Annual Eastern Shoshone Indian Days Powwow on the Wind River Reservation in Fort Washakie, Wyoming, from the Walking Buffalo Singers from Big River Saskatchewan, Canada. A new generation of young singers – most related to the original group who recorded three albums.

Jerry Chapman from the Stó:Lō Nation playing a Northwest Coast box drum

I love how rhythm starts with what you have around you. In some places it’s as simple as water! The Baka woman from Cameroon, Gabon and Congo use the sounds of water to accompany their songs – as do the woman of Vanuatu, a volcanic archipelago in the south Pacific.