Classes - Drumz Austin

2009-07-12T17:38:00.001-05:00

NEW FALL SESSION BEGINS SEPTEMBER 2nd!

Summer classes are drawing to a close and I am going to be traveling a bit the last two weeks in July and also the last ten days in August! I look forward to returning to the regular six week class sessions in the Fall and hope to see your smiling faces again in September ( along with a lot of new ones!). It has been another amazing year of teaching and I believe my trip to Guinea in West Africa in January to study again with Mamady Keita will be an experience that will deepen and enrich my teaching and drumming skills for ever more. Getting to experience Africa first hand and learn this music and the traditions while actually feeling, breathing, smelling, touching and tasting this rich and beautiful culture, was a powerful experience for me and I will be forever grateful for all that I learned. I am excited about teaching you all much more of what I learned in Guinea in the Fall and I thank-you each of you for your dedication and commitment as students of the drum this last year. Thank-you for supporting me as a teacher and thank-you so much for your continued support of DRUMZ during this challenging economic time! Shopping locally in these times is more important to small Austin businesses than ever before. I will be teaching several workshops during the remainder of the summer here at DRUMZ, including an Intermediate/Beyond Beginner Djundun workshop on July 22, a Wednesday evening from 7-9pm and also a Beginner's Discovering the Magic Workshop from 7-9pm on Friday evening July 24th. Please call DRUMZ to register for either of these or for more information, or check out "Workshops" on the website! Also check in with www.rhythmconnection.net for updates.
May all of our rhythms be in celebration of diversity, may all of our rhythms be bridges to understanding, and may all of our rhythms be instruments of peace, of healing, of joy, and of hope! Axe Axe
In love and gratitude,
Sherry

2009-07-12T17:10:00.002-05:00

WEDNESDAY EVENINGS:
"The BASICS: BEGINNING ON THE DRUMMER'S PATH", a class for beginners! This class meets from 8-9pm on Wednesday evenings at DRUMZ, 3700 1/2 Kerbey Lane in the purple Cottage behind "Caroline's". This is a six week session for $90 or classes are $17 each drop-in basis. Begins September 2nd. NO PREVIOUS MUSICAL EXPERIENCE IS NECESSARY AND DRUMS ARE PROVIDED FOR THE BEGINNER CLASSES! Come join us for a fun, creative, musical experience where we learn a new language , the language of the DRUM, with which to communicate and connect with other's and to express ourselves and our spirits in a vibrant and joyful new way! Rhythm is our natived tongue and we can all learn to speak expressively with our instruments through the Universal language of music. We will learn and explore West African style rhythms and songs as well as improvisational pieces! Join us and reclaim the musician inside YOU!

BEYOND BEGINNER CLASS , FOR THOSE STUDENTS WITH PREVIOUS DRUM EXPERIENCE . This class Meets 6:45pm-7:45 PM, SIX WEEK SESSION, Six classes for $90 or $17 per class drop-in at DRUMZ .Teacher, Sherry Gingras STARTS Sept. 2nd. Join this class for a faster pace, more complex rhythm patterns, and beginning experience with soloing.

THURSDAYS
Thursday Morning Women’s Drum Circle/Class, “ Remembering Rhythm” will meet from 10:30am-11:30am at Drumz! This is an all level class but the beginner’s session is recommended first to cover the fundamentals! $90 for six weeks session. Begins Thursday,Sept. 3rd!

**(NEW!) Thursday evening: Serious Drummin’ Djundun Classes for Beyond Beginner/Intermediates! 6:45pm-7:45pm Please bring your own sticks! (sticks are available for sale at DRUMZ or you can find large drum sticks at music stores) This class is new and will be a weekly class which will take place the first six weeks in the Fall session. I will then determine if this class needs to be an on-going class or just an occasional option for a six week session periodically. Limit 12 students. Please let me know if you are interested in
this class.

Thursday evening INTERMEDIATE Level Djembe Class. 8-9pm. This class will focus on more advanced rhythms and the djembe, though djuns will be played in this class as well.
We will work with more complicated intro pieces and breaks with djembe and djuns and some traditional solo work on djembe as well.

SATURDAY MORNINGS

Saturday morning Beginner Class- 10-11am begins September 5th.
Saturday morning Beyond Beginner – 11am-noon begins September 5th.

All classes with teacher Sherry Gingras

2007-02-19T17:39:00.000-06:00

Spring II Session begins at Drumz with Sherry Gingras on March 21st, the week following Spring Break! The schedule will remain the same:

Beginner's Class- Wednesday from 8pm-9pm and Thursday from 6:45pm-7:45pm

Beyond Beginner- Wednesday from 6:45pm-7:45pm

Intermediate ( with djun class/djembe class for 1 1/2 hours)will meet on Thursdays from 8-9:30pm.
Please call to register at 453-9090! Beginner classes fill early so please reserve your space as soon as possible so we can get you started on this amazing drummer's path!

2007-01-08T16:46:00.000-06:00

MOUSSA DIABATE, master dancer and drummer from Guinea, West Africa, now residing in Dallas, Texas, will be here in Austin the first weekend in February for dance workshops and drum workshops! Save that weekend! The schedule is as follows:
DRUM CLASS-Saturday morning from 10am-noon- all level class including beginners

DRUM CLASS-Saturday afternoon -2pm-4pm- Intermediate
DANCE CLASS- Saturday Afternoon 4:30pm-5:30pm- All level

DRUM CLASS- Saturday evening-8-9:30pm- Advanced

2006-12-15T11:41:00.000-06:00

HAND DRUMMING CLASS SCHEDULE 2007!
The New Session of Hand Drumming Classes at DRUMZ begins on January 17th! Please join us and learn to play the drums in a supportive and nurturing group setting. Drumz has the largest selection of hand drums, hand percussion, and world instruments in the city of Austin( probably even in the state of Texas!) and here we explore the possibility of creating in-the-moment music together in our classes in the closing rhythms, as well as learning the fundamentals of rhythm and drumming, hand technique, drum circle ettiquette, how to select "your" drum, as well as learning a wide range of Traditional West African and Afro-haitian, Afro-Cuban rhythm songs and patterns. Classes are available for a range of skill levels! Everyone is welcome, regardless of musical background. If you have a heartbeat, you have rhythm! Group drumming brings us together and teaches us about BE-ING in community with one another in a healthy, cooperative and open way. In these classes we come together in a spirit of cooperation and community rather than competition. Everyone is honored and encouraged to BE WHERE YOU ARE in your development as a drummer. Repetition and commitment, practice and playing, and moving to the next level only when you are relaxed and ready and truly accepting of where you ARE, are all part of the process of learning to drum, and of living life. Open the channel to your creative spirit and liberate your inner musician as you play these beautiful and magical West African hand drums! Enjoy a new level of listening, and self-expression as you play these amazing rhythms in a group of enthusiastic and open-hearted new friends. Drumming provides us with a gateway to our own spirit and the spirit of a community. What the world needs now is drums, sweet drums!

Wednesday evening, The Magic of Hand drumming for Beginners, starts January 17th, 2007. This class is for those of you just embarking on the drummer's path, as well as those of you who have taken a session or two and still feel this level is the appropriate level for YOU! This is not PASS/FAIL, this is about learning! Learning to drum, and learning to honor your own unique rhythm in this life as well as honoring your learning style and tempo! There are TWO beginner class times this session.
WEDNESDAYS from 8-9pm (Beginners) Starts Jan. 17th
THURSDAYS from 6:45pm-7:45pm. (Beginners)Starts Jan. 18th.

Wednesday evening, BEYOND BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE Class meets from 6:45pm-7:45pm and is for those students who are ready for a faster paced class, have learned and practiced hand technique on West African djembe, are relaxed and playing with ease in the beginner level classes and feel comfortably ready and able to move on to the next level with their playing. More complex rhythm patterns and more bell/djun combinations will be added in these classes.Begins Jan. 17th.

THURSDAY evening INTERMEDIATE level, will meet from 8pm to 9:30pm. The first 30 minutes of this class will be focussed on Djundun/bell playing. Djembe focus will begin at 8:30pm. This class will be $95 per six weeks session. For students who feel they are Intermediate level who wish ONLY to participate in the djembe portion of this class and cannot make the Wednesday evening class, this class will be available for the regular $75 per session for 8:30-9:30pm class.*Begins Jan. 18, 2007.
*I strongly encourage everyone to come for the whole class because the relationship between the djunduns and the djembes and the understanding of that relationship is so crucial to the understanding of these rhythms and this music we play! This music is intricate and incredible and filled with magic and we are only scratching the service of what it holds for us!

THURSDAY MORNING WOMEN ONLY CLASS "Remembering Rhythm" 10:30am-11:45am This is an on going all-level class for women only. Please join this very spirited and enthusiatic group of women in playing the rhythms and singing the songs that open our hearts and free our souls to soar! *This class rocks! Begins Jan. 18th, 2007.
* I urge the women who take this class to first take a beginner's session as we do not cover the fundamentals of rhythm and the beginning instruction on hand technique in this class. If you feel you should be considered as a possibility for an exception, please call Sherry at Drumz at 453-9090 and we'll talk!
I look forward to sharing a rhythm with you soon! Please remember that ALL of our current popular music in the United States has it's roots in this amazing music from Africa.
It is out of great love for this music and with great honor and gratitude for my teachers, the makers of these drums, and the rich and beautiful traditions from which this music has evolved that I humbly teach what I know in these classes at Drumz. You, the students, have made them most remarkable and I thank-you!
In Peace,
Sherry Gingras

Please call DRUMZ at 453-9090 to register. Call early to insure a space as these classes usually fill to capacity early. MC/VISA accepted. Sessions are all six weeks in length and classes are one hour each and the cost is $75 per session or $15 per class drop in ( with the exception of intermediate class which is 1 1/2 hours and is $95)

2006-03-21T10:30:00.000-06:00

NEW CHILDREN'S DRUMMING CLASSES BEGINS Feb.17th.These classes will be taking place for 4 Saturday mornings in a row starting on Feb.17th. Please email me ( or call the store at 453-9090) if you are interested in these classes! These 5-9 year old classes will meet from 10AM-10:45AM. These classes will cover the FUN-damentals of drumming and rhythm , with the real emphasis on FUN! We will play rhythm games, learn about a wide range of rhythm instruments and drums and their origins, learn about drumming as a language and a tool for self-expression and communication, hone our LISTENING skills, and learn about creating spontaneous music in a group setting. We will use music to tell a story, learn an African song and rhythm and learn to speak our names with our drums.We meet in a circle and learn about being in a community where everyone is equally respected and honored and everyone's voice is as important and valuable and beautiful as everyone else's. Parents can enjoy a late morning breakfast at Kerbey Lane Cafe ( next door) while the kidz get to play at DRUMZ! Cost: $50 for four one hour classes. MC/VISA accepted. Please call to register or find out more at :453-9090 Teacher: Sherry Gingras, Drumz proprietress.**