Stamina is the force that drives the drumming; it’s not really a sprint. – Neil Peart
Drums all have their own particulars – each drum has a place where they sound the best – where they ring out and resonate the best, and the head surface isn’t too loose or too tight, mainly so you get a good rebound off of the head. — Chad Smith
SONGS about DRUMMERS:
- Little Drummer Boy performed by Pentattonix (acapella): https://youtu.be/qJ_MGWio-vc
- Distant Drums by Roy Orbison (R&B): https://youtu.be/xTdNHaf4K5I
- Let There Be Drums by Sandy Nelson (R&B): https://youtu.be/zC9okWm8A6o
- Feng Yang Flower Drum by Silk Road Music (Chinese folk): https://youtu.be/vKezqI4iaTk
- Different Drum by Stone Poneys (rock): https://youtu.be/w9qsDgA1q8Y
- Funky Drummer by James Brown (R&B): https://youtu.be/AoQ4AtsFWVM
- Heartbeat Like a Drum by Flock of Seagulls (rock): https://youtu.be/8xsc5E4E0Kk
- When a Drum Beats by Big Country (country): https://youtu.be/1WmJk2lT4Oc
- Bang on the Drum All Day by Todd Rundgren (rock): https://youtu.be/7Uc0hjUzWlg
- Land of a Million Drums by OutKast (hiphop) – caution:: explicit): https://youtu.be/vMED7GERpeQ
- Don’t Bang the Drum by Waterboys (R&B): https://youtu.be/GMe3jdhXA3E
- Drum So-Low! by Buck Owens & His Buckaroos (country): https://youtu.be/x0Tk8EukYx0
- Drum Song by Earth, Wind & Fire (R&B): https://youtu.be/a5doRGU5N3s
- Me and My Drum by Swingfly (rap): https://youtu.be/lIq5WvNxKvo
- Beat a Drum by R.E.M. (rock): https://youtu.be/h0HyGn41UY0
CONTEXT of the TWELVE DAYS
Today is the Twelfth Day of Christmas, 5 January. We have reached the end of the Christmas festival, and tomorrow we celebrate the Epiphany.
The Twelfth Night parties in the middle ages could be quite rowdy. It was the Feast of Fools in which the order of the world was turned upside down, with fools reigning as kings and people taking on roles that were contrary to their true character. Shakespeare used this night as the setting for his play, Twelfth Night, in which he gives us a picture of such a topsy-turvy world as Viola masquerades as a man, people fall in love across class lines, and the lowly indulge in ridiculous delusions of grandeur.
It would be foolhardy to deny the Christian significance of all this. By the time the Wise Men arrive in Bethlehem, the Holy Family is living in neither a stable nor in an inn, but in a house. They find the King they have been searching for, but he is not living in a palace. The mediaeval Feast of Fools reminds us that Christmas celebrates nothing less than a world turned upside down in which God becomes man in order that man might become divine.
The Twelfth Day of Christmas is 5 January, and our celebrations of Christmas traditionally end tonight, on the Twelfth Night, which is then followed by the Feast of the Epiphany on 6 January. The Twelve Days of Christmas are a festive period linking together these two Great Feasts of the Nativity and Theophany, so that one celebration leads into another.— Patrick Comerford
VALUE of TWELVE GIFTS —PNC
Prices in the service economy also jumped in 2022, reflected in the cost of the performance-based gifts at the back half of True Love’s shopping list. Wage and labor cost growth drove prices higher for the Nine Ladies Dancing ($8,308.12), Eleven Pipers Piping ($3,021.40) and Twelve Drummers Drumming ($3,266.93.) The Ten Lords-a-Leaping – priced on the cost of hiring a ballet company – grew an astounding 24 percent year over year to $13,980, supplanting the swans as the most expensive single gift in the index. — PNC, full article: https://www.pnc.com/insights/our-commitments/customers/pnc-s-christmas-price-index–soars-for-true-loves.html
SYMBOLISM THEORIES
Some historians think the song could be French in origin, but most agree it was designed as a “memory and forfeits” game, in which singers tested their recall of the lyrics and had to award their opponents a “forfeit” — a kiss or a favor of some kind — if they made a mistake. — vox.com, full article: https://www.vox.com/21796404/12-days-of-christmas-explained
Twelve Drummers — The Newman Center at Keene State College
The twelve drummers drumming stand for the twelve doctrinal points of the Apostles’ Creed, which are:
1. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
2. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
3. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
4. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
5. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again.
6. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
7. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
8. I believe in the Holy Spirit,
9. the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,
10. the forgiveness of sins,
11. the resurrection of the body,
12. and the life everlasting.
_____
Beat! Beat! Drums! — Walt Whitman
Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles! blow!
Through the windows—through doors—burst like a ruthless force,
Into the solemn church, and scatter the congregation,
Into the school where the scholar is studying,
Leave not the bridegroom quiet—no happiness must he have now with his bride,
Nor the peaceful farmer any peace, ploughing his field or gathering his grain,
So fierce you whirr and pound you drums—so shrill you bugles blow.
Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles! blow!
Over the traffic of cities—over the rumble of wheels in the streets;
Are beds prepared for sleepers at night in the houses? no sleepers must sleep in those beds,
No bargainers’ bargains by day—no brokers or speculators—would they continue?
Would the talkers be talking? would the singer attempt to sing?
Would the lawyer rise in the court to state his case before the judge?
Then rattle quicker, heavier drums—you bugles wilder blow.
Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles! blow!
Make no parley—stop for no expostulation,
Mind not the timid—mind not the weeper or prayer,
Mind not the old man beseeching the young man,
Let not the child’s voice be heard, nor the mother’s entreaties,
Make even the trestles to shake the dead where they lie awaiting the hearses,
So strong you thump O terrible drums—so loud you bugles blow.
_____
The Drum Major of the Freedom Parade — Margaret Burroughs
(For all children who wondered about the tragic event of April 4, 1968 at Memphis.)
My children, my children, remember the day
When the Drum Major of Freedom’s parade went away.
Stop crying now little children and listen
And you will know for the future what really did happen.
You will know why your father was solemn and grim
And why mother’s eyes were wet at the rim.
You will know why the flags flew at half mast
And why all the buildings were shut tight and fast.
The Drum Major was down in Memphis that day
Helping the workers to win a raise in pay
When an evil assassin’s bullet
Snuffed his bright young life away.
That’s why we were all so saddened that day
When the life of the Drum Major was taken away.
Who will come forward to stand in his stead?
Who’ll be the Drum Major in the Freedom parade?
My children, our Major was such a good man
Whose life was based on the divine plan.
He loved this country, its people black and white
And believed that all should be imbued with the right.
That’s why we were all so saddened that day
When the life of the Drum Major was taken away.
We are looking for someone to stand in his stead
We now seek a new leader for the Freedom parade.
Do you know my children that he bore the brunt,
He marched unafraid right up in the front
He marched for Justice for children like you
And a bountier life for your parents too.
That’s why we honor Martin Luther King
He tried with love to make Liberty ring.
He wished everyone in our tortured country
To live together in peace and harmony.
That’s why we were all so saddened that day
When the Drum Major’s life was taken away.
Do you know someone who can stand in his stead?
Do you know someone to lead the parade?
I hear you my children. I hear what you said.
That you children yourselves would lead his parade
That you’ll carry the banner of the Drum Major dear
And march on to full Freedom without any fear.
Our spirits are lifted, our sorrows subside.
You children shall lead us with Dr. King at your side.
You children of Freedom will stand in his stead.
You children of Freedom will lead the parade.
March on my children to his distant drumbeat.
March on my children, keep alive his heartbeat.
When this Peace and Freedom is finally won
Then will Martin Luther King’s work be done.
______
Drum Dream Girl — Margarita Engle
On an island of music
in a city of drumbeats
the drum dream girl
dreamed
of pounding tall conga drums
tapping small bongó drums
and boom boom booming
with long, loud sticks
on big, round, silvery
moon-bright timbales.
But everyone
on the island of music
in the city of drumbeats
believed that only boys
should play drums
so the drum dream girl
had to keep dreaming
quiet
secret
drumbeat
dreams.
At outdoor cafés that looked like gardens
she heard drums played by men
but when she closed her eyes
she could also hear
her own imaginary
music.
When she walked under
wind-wavy palm trees
in a flower-bright park
she heard the whir of parrot wings
the clack of woodpecker beaks
the dancing tap
of her own footsteps
and the comforting pat
of her own
heartbeat.
At carnivals, she listened
to the rattling beat
of towering
dancers
on stilts
and the dragon clang
of costumed drummers
wearing huge masks.
At home, her fingertips
rolled out their own
dreamy drum rhythm
on tables and chairs…
and even though everyone
kept reminding her that girls
on the island of music
have never played drums
the brave drum dream girl
dared to play
tall conga drums
small bongó drums
and big, round, silvery
moon-bright timbales.
Her hands seemed to fly
as they rippled
rapped
and pounded
all the rhythms
of her drum dreams.
Her big sisters were so excited
that they invited her to join
their new all-girl dance band
but their father said only boys
should play drums.
So the drum dream girl
had to keep dreaming
and drumming
alone
until finally
her father offered
to find a music teacher
who could decide if her drums
deserved
to be heard.
The drum dream girl’s
teacher was amazed.
The girl knew so much
but he taught her more
and more
and more
and she practiced
and she practiced
and she practiced
until the teacher agreed
that she was ready
to play her small bongó drums
outdoors at a starlit café
that looked like a garden
where everyone who heard
her dream-bright music
sang
and danced
and decided
that girls should always
be allowed to play
drums
and both girls and boys
should feel free
to dream.