Protest Drumming Rules II
Catagory: diy
As a respectable Protest Drummer, you cannot just jump into the crowd and do your thing. Like competitive drumline, protest drumming requires discipline. It is an art and has its special rules.
Protest Drumming – Chanters
The message of drums is often ambiguous, so leave space for people who want to use words to make demands. Attempt to work with someone who has a good sense of rhythm. This person can be used to lead chants that match your rhythms. Make sure the chant leaders understands that they have to stay near the drums. Try practicing a repetitive three measures pattern. Then, stop for a short chant of one measure (three or four syllables), then go back to drums.
Just like brass players, unless your fellow protesters are used to chanting with you, they will usually be out of sync with your beat. It’s a good idea not to try to follow the chanting. Don’t stop drumming, keep playing your rhythm and hope the chanters catch on. Playing the exact rhythm as the chant keeps you in sync, but it makes it hard to understand the words, which defeats the purpose of the chant. Once you’re solidly locked-up with the chanters, try playing in the spaces where they are not chanting: “The people [da-gak] united [da-gak] will never be defeated [da-gak].”
Because drums tend to overwhelm most instruments, it is courteous to always ask before playing along with other musicians, unless of course, you intentionally want to disrupt them! Other drummers can be easily drowned out by a quality well projecting drum. According to protest drumming etiquette, you should never jam along with Native Americans, or chanting monks.
If you see a group of drummers who all have a uniform, you should probably assume that they have rehearsed something ahead of time. If they are on your side, don’t join in until you have asked them for permission.
Protest Drumming – Less Is More
Protest drums are most powerful when they are played sparingly and with discipline. It’s annoying to hear drums during moments of silence, candlelight vigils, when people are speaking, or even when people are clapping (it’s like saying, my expressions are more important than yours because my sound is louder… hmmm, perhaps e need to rethink that one.) Drummers who aren’t constantly evaluating their surroundings and the effect their drumming has on people, risk being totally obnoxious. It’s a good habit to put your sticks away until you’re ready to play as a group.
Protest Drumming – Marching Rules
Keep the drum section together. Don’t let protest drummers spread out. Playing in unison requires being able to hear the other members of your group, which becomes more difficult the farther away you get. The rows and columns of a marching band are difficult to maintain and give the group a militaristic look, but they serve to distinguish the drummers as a separate unit from the crowd, and keep them in physical proximity. A more organic way is to focus the drummers on a front or a center: a banner, a flag, a puppet, the biggest/loudest drum, etc. Try to set some boundaries: a ribbon that goes around the group, between two banners, dancers in costume, etc. The people in front need to glance back to make sure they’re not going too fast. The people in back need to keep up at all costs, even if it means not playing for awhile.
Drums move people forward and should be put towards the front of the march. But march organizers need to understand that drummers move more slowly than most, because they have to play and walk at the same time. Don’t split up the group unless each sub-group will have enough drummers to function independently, and they can be far enough away not to hear each other.
If you have to move through a dense crowd with a large drum, hold it over your head or try walking backwards so you don’t smash people with the drum.
Non-drummers attracted to the music tend to seep into the group and push the drummers away from each other. Sometimes it’s necessary to politely define a space that is reserved for drummers. Don’t hesitate to push drunken idiots out of the way. If they’re drunk, don’t waste your time reasoning with them. When you reach your destination or stop for a long time you can switch to drum circle mode. Try forming a semi-circle and encourage people to dance in the middle. But when you’re marching, don’t let dancers enter the drummers’ space. Keep them in front or behind. It’s nice to have a few non-essential drummers roam around interacting with the crowd, occasionally moving into the dancers’ space to do a solo. If things get too rowdy, try backing up ten feet. This lets everyone cool down and reorganize.