The percussion class was design for students as a way to experience live music through drumming. We want it to be much fun as if people are listening to music and even more fun to play. The students will drum on bongos, djembe, conga, cow bells shake rays and talking drums which will  help them with coordination rhythms and polyrhythms . All types pertaining to world drumming music west African middle eastern afro Cuban Haitian and Brazilian dance. Drumming and all music and culture originating from the African diasporas from the Caribbean American and African. The kids will come to class 2x a week equally to 4x a month with our master drummers Larry Gibson and Walter Walker. The students will perform in rhythm and roots class on stage at performances and festivals.

Staff
BaBa SIlkie

Percussionist, John Earl Robinson affectionally known as “BaBa SIlkie” was introduced to his instruments in the early 1970’s. Later in the early 90’s… he was introduced to the Djembe. With his newfound passion, Baba Silkie Co- found the First World Drummers and Dance Troupe in Orlando Florida. He was taught by master drummers from the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Tampa Florida and Kansas City, Missouri. Along with traditional African drumming, he was exposed to their culture and customs of those afrikans who composed the international rhythms. Although he never traveled to Afrika…. Afrika came to him. He has performed and has been featured in many venues in the US and has received numerous awards. After leaving Florida and returning to his home in Virginia, he founded the Akebulan Ensemble. Baba Silkie is one of a few artists in Hampton Roads who repairs, re-strings, re-heads and tunes the Djembes and Dun-Duns. Now at the age of 69, He is still playing, teaching and studying his craft. His presentations are entertaining as well as educational.

A high-quality, arts -based after school program that uses the drum circle as a way to provide students opportunities for emotional development, skill mastery, self-expression and mentorship.  The drumming circle is a hands-on rhythm, based class which the facilitator leads people in playing drums and hand percussion instruments. Beauty for Ashes is proud to partner with local drummers who brings both experts knowledge of drumming and experience working with community youth. 

Staff
BaBa SIlkie

Percussionist, John Earl Robinson affectionally known as “BaBa SIlkie” was introduced to his instruments in the early 1970’s. Later in the early 90’s… he was introduced to the Djembe. With his newfound passion, Baba Silkie Co- found the First World Drummers and Dance Troupe in Orlando Florida. He was taught by master drummers from the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Tampa Florida and Kansas City, Missouri. Along with traditional African drumming, he was exposed to their culture and customs of those afrikans who composed the international rhythms. Although he never traveled to Afrika…. Afrika came to him. He has performed and has been featured in many venues in the US and has received numerous awards. After leaving Florida and returning to his home in Virginia, he founded the Akebulan Ensemble. Baba Silkie is one of a few artists in Hampton Roads who repairs, re-strings, re-heads and tunes the Djembes and Dun-Duns. Now at the age of 69, He is still playing, teaching and studying his craft. His presentations are entertaining as well as educational.

A drumming circle is a hands-on rhythm based weekly Saturday class during which a facilitator leads people in playing drums and hand percussion instruments. No musical experience is necessary! It is an open class forum for a diverse group of people to create synergy through a rhythm. All people from all walks of life, all colors, have various things they can do together to create harmony, and it is the simplest thing to make music and sing together. The Beauty for Ashes drum circle allows students to share their rhythmical spirit and create the power of unity through music. In the drumming circle experience participants are encouraged to express their individual rhythmical spirit, and at the same time adhere to some basic principles found in drum circles. As a rhythm-based class, drumming is a natural way to provide students with an opportunity to creatively channel and release the pent-up emotions and frustrations that accompany the process of growing up. Beauty for Ashes uses West African drums and percussion instruments can be handmade  to create a fun, playful, energizing, activity for ages 5 to adults, which gives immediate gratification and feedback while encouraging self-expression.

Staff
Papa Paco

Felix E. Valderrama (AKA Paco or PaPa Paco) is a hand percussionist with Forte’ Jazz Band. He has performed at the Norfolk, Hampton and Richmond Jazz Festivals. He also has performed at the Ferguson Center, and other local festivals in the Tidewater and Richmond areas. As a member of Forte’ Jazz Band, He has opened up for many Nationally recognized artists like, Gerald Albright, George Benson, Kim Waters and Karen Briggs, just to name a few. Paco’s passion for hand drums started at the age of 5, when his grandmother game him his first set of Conga Drums. Since that time, he has devoted himself to playing and teaching hand drums. Between the years of 2003-2009, Paco toured with Grand Master Drummer, John “J.C.” Carter, form Hampton, Virginia and Sylvia Tabb Lee, from Williamsburg, Virginia. Paco loves to interact with other drummers and dancers. He has a passion for learning new rhythms and enjoying the company and spirit of those he calls brother and sister, in Drums. 

Class Schedule

Session One: Monday and Wednesday 12:00-1:00pm

Session Two: Tuesday and Thursday 1:00-2:00pm

Student will learn:

• Promotes unity and team-building!

• Health and Well-being!

• Diversity and Tolerance!

• Sparks creativity!

• Fun and Educational!

 Student will learn:

TIMBRE-the quality of sound, by exploring the contrast between sound group.
DYNAMICS - through following a conductor and varying their volume
RHYTHM and IMPROVISATION by improvising a one bar pattern.

What you need?

Our drum circle class is to make sure that you have adequate instruments available for our students.

What instruments can you use?

Pretty much anything!

It'd be great if you had a good quality Jambi for each and every student, but of course we all know that something like that is next to impossible. You can do this with pretty much anything you have available to you in your classroom.

Even if you have NO instruments at all - you can use some imagination and come up with a few “junk percussion” ideas which you can implement from items you may have lying around.

What instruments are best? What is good to do is have a MIXTURE of four groups of instruments:

DRUMS Djembes, Bongos, Conga drums are the most commonly associated drums for this type of drumming. Basically and drum that you play with your HANDS are ideal for this type of activity. Traditional “drum kit” drums are really not that useful, as they really are designed for sticks. You can use the floor tom as a low drum, and try and find a nice big soft mallet for it. Other types of drums like old fashioned “Tambors” are useful, as are “frame drums” and any other skinned instrument.

WOODEN SOUNDS

This includes Wood Blocks, Temple Blocks, Claves, Jam Blocks (which are modern, plastic wood blocks), Rhythm Sticks and Tapping sticks. You'll need a stick to hit these instruments. Try and find a SHORT stick - that way it can't make too much noise!

METAL SOUNDS

These include cowbells of all shapes and sizes, tuned bells, triangles and small gongs. Once again, if you can get SHORT sticks they are limited in the volume that they can produce.

SHAKERS + SCRAPERS

These include maracas, egg shakers, guiros, tube shakers, home-made shakers from tubs of rice and gravel, and rainsticks. Anything can fall into this group! This is obviously going to be the quietest group, so we need to mix them around into the rest of the group so that they are heard.

How many do you need?

For this lesson you'll need one instrument per student. You can have as many instruments as you like, but the minimum is to have one “something” for everyone in the group to play. Students will rotate regularly, so they won’t spend the whole session playing one instrument.. 

What you need?

The first thing you'll have to think about before attempting a drum circle class is to make sure that you have adequate instruments available.

Drumming: https://pdf.ac/1hfxI2

Vocal: https://pdf.ac/1DIVIv

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