See Tom Teasley playing the frame drum using different drumming styles from various countries


See Tom Teasley playing the frame drum using different drumming styles from various countries
See Tom Teasley playing the frame drum using different drumming styles from various countries
Frame drumming techniques, as demonstrated by musician Tom Teasley.
Courtesy of Folger Shakespeare Library; CC-BY-SA 4.0 (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING] TOM TEASLEY: This is the frame drum, and if there is one instrument that I use in the show that's probably indicative of the inclusiveness of Sufism and the show in general, it would be this drum.

There are thousands of different types of frame drums used throughout the world and it's interesting to me that thousands of years ago people were playing a variety of these drums without each knowing what the other were doing.

In Ireland, the drum is called the Bodhran. In Northern Africa, it's called the Tar. Native Americans used to play a drum very similar to this called a Hoop Drum. And there's many, many different playing styles. One of the ones I use, is derived from Ancient Mesopotamiam drumming, where I snap my fingers to create the sound.

[DRUMMING]

Another technique I use, is from South Italy, where I'm going to play three strokes.

[DRUMMING]

And another one, that I use from South India, where I create a pitch bend with my holding hand.

[DRUMMING]

And this is a stroke I borrowed from Flamenco guitar playing.

[DRUMMING]

And this is a stroke from North Indian tabla playing.

[DRUMMING]

--combined with the Mesopatamian stroke.

These are some pods that I got while doing a festival in Argentina. That were given to me by some guys who are researching what they found Ancient Aztec music to sound like. So this is a little solo that combines all of those.

[PLAYING MUSIC]