New places and activities #13 and #14: I’m with the band

A couple of years ago I went to a music festival in Hitchin where I live called Rhythms of the World, and saw this great drumming band called Toque Tambor. They said that they hold classes and I thought that would be fun to do, but upon checking timings I wouldn't have been able to go as I was working in London at the time, and the commute meant I would miss the classes.

In September I heard about the band again and now could make classes, so I signed up to an 11 week introductory course. Toque Tambor is a Brazilian carnival drumming band, and a variety of different drums and percussion instruments are used to create the sound.

Over the first few weeks I decided to try each instrument; these included the Surdo which is a big bass drum. Although this drum is providing the back beat, it’s quite heavy to carry for a 90 minute class, and because the sound is so low and you’re the only person providing that beat, it’s easy to hear if you make a mistake! I then tried a Caixa which is a small snare drum, but making a beat with 2 sticks is more difficult then it seems. The Tamborim, the smallest but the loudest drum is the one that I settled on, and I picked up the rhythms to this instrument pretty quickly.

After the 11 weeks we joined the band (that’s the first new activity.) And yesterday I took part in my first parade (the second new activity) in Ware. It was part of a Dickensian festival, and even though the band and Dickens is a strange mix, the band said that people in Ware think it’s the highlight of the night.

Before the parade started I was a little nervous as the Tamborim players (of which there were 4 of us) are right at the front. Would I remember all the rhythms, would I stay in time? As soon as I heard the initial beat I was fine.

                               Me with Sue and Toni, some of the other newbies of the band.

Although it was freezing, the atmosphere was great and people in the street did start dancing and taking pictures. I've definitely got the bug now, here’s to the next parade!