"Raw Beginning" Drum Classes

2019 Schedule

BEGINNING HAND DRUMMING CLASSES

DAYTIME class held on Tuesdays, 10:00 --  11:30am

Where:  23rd Ave. in Seattle's Central District  (address given on request)

Tuition: Drop-In rate: $25 per class.  Cash, check and PayPal accepted.
Monthly Pre-Pay Discount: If you pre-pay for 4 Tuesdays in a month, I offer a substantial discount. Talk to me about details.

Who It's For:  Adults, 18 - 80. Older folks welcome!

Level: "Raw Beginners" -- Absolutely NO prior music experience required

What you will learn:
The "blueprint" of rhythm: the all-important UP, DOWN and OFF-Beats. 
How to feel rhythm rather than just count it.
Technique on West African djembes and Cuban congas.
Hand percussion: How to play bells, shakers, etc.
Playing multi-part rhythms with others
How to create your own rhythms,
and much more...

REGISTRATION: By phone or text: (206) 841-5169, or via email: simone@ladrumma.com

DANCE-WHILE-YOU-CAN!

One day you will not be able to dance anymore. You will be too sick, too old or too dead. So it stands to reason that you should…

DANCE-WHILE-YOU-CAN!

A Dance Workout

facilitated by Simone LaDrumma

to a Wildly Eclectic Mix of Music

for Every   Body

At DANCE-WHILE-YOU-CAN people of every age and ability move to a wide variety of songs and tempos, everything from Tchaikovsky to the Charleston, from 50’s Rock n’ Roll to Rhythm n’ Blues, to jazz, Broadway show tunes, classical, hip-hop and World Music… and back again. The dramatic change from one style of music to the next keeps us on our toes (ba-dum-bum) and off-guard (in-the-moment).

There are opportunities to move creatively, and also to find the humor in music (and ourselves). Free expression rules! Feel like singing while you dance? Be my guest! And you are encouraged to tap into your imagination via your inner child in order to let your body move in new and unusual ways.

What to wear: Loose-fitting clothing is best. Footwear: I suggest shoes that don’t grip the floor; socks-only is good, too. Bare feet discouraged.

PART ME/PART YOU:  Everyone gets a chance to be the leader at DWYC!

• Standing in a circle, each person takes turns moving as they like; everyone mirrors that.
• We take turns leading the group in across-the-floor movements.
• Not every dance is facilitated. There is plenty of time for dancing FREE-STYLE.

LOOK AT ME! Some of us have secretly craved the limelight. We have dreamt of dancing before an audience. There is a place for us at DWYC. If, at any time, a participant wants to show-off (and here, a “show-off” is a term of respect), they have only to say, “Look at me!” and we will happily watch them dance.

The WORKOUT:  The goal here is to come fully alive in the moment − and to get healthy. Working up a sweat is good. But when the soul is involved (as it is in dancing to music one loves)…that’s when miracles happen!

Do you know of a population that needs to move? I have brought Dance-While-You-Can to retirement and nursing homes all over Puget Sound. Contact me for more information! (Also see my website under Dance.)

REGISTRATION: Contact Simone at (206) 841-5169 or simone@ladrumma.com

Piano Meditations: Lessons by appointment

Have you always wanted to play the piano but have been a little intimidated?

Or maybe you studied the piano for a while when you were a kid but gave it up because it was a drag?

If there's something in you that still longs to feel at ease on the piano keys, please give my Piano Meditations a try.

You can't play a wrong note!
Click on "Piano Improv" at the top of this page.

Registration:  Contact Simone, 206-841-5169 or simone@ladrumma.com

Learn to Play Piano By Ear! Lessons by Appointment

Do you have some piano background but feel like you're a "slave" to the written music and would like to learn how to play piano by ear? 

I can help you do that!

RATES:  $40/hour

WHERE: My home in Seattle's Central District

* If you have a piano, I might come to you. Call me to chat.

REGISTRATION: Contact Simone at (206) 841-5169 or simone@ladrumma.com

DEFANGING MUSIC: A new One-Hour Private Class.

Are you afraid to play musical instruments? 

Do you think something bad will happen if you hit a “wrong” note? When you were young, did they (teachers, etc.) perform a “joy-ectomy” on the music? (When I was a kid, in the Dark Ages, educators had the nerve to call this torture “Music Appreciation.”) Were you led to believe that you were “hopeless” when it comes to singing or playing? 

In Defanging Music, you’ll have an opportunity to explore several different instruments, and to PLAY them as an uninhibited child might. Besides making sounds on a variety of percussion instruments (congas, djembes, bells, shakers, etc.), you’ll also strum a ukulele, noodle on a keyboard … and more. And most of it, improvisationally. That means there is nothing to read, no “right” or “wrong” notes, and the music lives only in this moment.

I hope I can inspire you to explore the wonderful world of music, and to realize that you’re never too old to learn to play a musical instrument.

REGISTRATION: Contact Simone at (206) 841-5169 or simone@ladrumma.com