teaching at Tambouri Mundi, Germany

The frame drum originated in India and the ancient Middle East more than three thousand years ago, and reached medieval Europe through Islamic culture. Today, frame drums can be found in almost every culture in the world, and are being used in classical and contemporary music, including jazz, rock and chamber ensembles.

One-Day Frame Drum Intensive Workshop

Marla Leigh’s Intensive Workshops — which can range from three-hour to full-day clinics—introduce university-level students to frame drumming techniques, rhythms and improvisational and compositional skills.
Students learn:

Techniques
● Hands-on playing techniques in the Lapstyle, Freehand and Upright frame drum styles.
● How to play snaps, rolls and other extended frame drum techniques.
● Introduction to other types of frame drums, including the Middle Eastern Riq and South Indian Kanjira.
Rhythms and Vocalization
● Traditional Middle Eastern, Indian and Persian rhythms.
● An introduction to the world of South Indian “Solkattu,” traditional vocal exercises that strengthen the understanding of rhythm.

Improvisation and Composition
● Techniques to help students easily improvise in all meters, based on theories from the traditional North and South Indian drumming repertoire.
● How to develop frame drum compositions for solo, duet, group and ensemble.
● Notation for frame drumming: getting it down on paper so others can understand.

Marla’s one-day intensive workshops can be tailored to students’ levels and specific areas of interest. She provides handouts, including notated compositions and etudes, which are invaluable resources.

Workshops can be scheduled to include a solo concert in which Marla demonstrates the sounds and styles of the many varied and fascinating types of frame drums.

 

Frame Drum Residency Programs

 

Marla Leigh’s Residency Programs — which can range from two days to a week — are designed for serious percussion students who wish to enhance and deepen their understanding and skills in improvisation, soloing, composing and performance.

The Residency Programs cover all the material described in the One-Day Intensives, PLUS:

Advanced Improvisation and Soloing
The ability to easily create an improvised solo in any meter is the mark of an accomplished and in-demand percussionist. Nothing speeds success more than the understanding of Indian Solkattu, which is based on mathematical divisions of time. This skill can transform students’ understanding of rhythm and their ability to improvise, especially for those with a classical music background. We will also explore Yatis (South Indian shapes), Tihais (rhythm patterns in traditional North Indian music) and more.

Advanced Approaches to Composition
Students will compose, notate and perform their own original rhythms for frame drums in solo and duet settings, based on the call-and-response concepts of traditional West African drumming and on North and South Indian drumming theories.

Performance
Prior to her arrival, Marla provides materials, including practice etudes and notation for an ensemble compo-sition for the students to preview and begin practicing. Students are encouraged to master the ensemble composition and perform in a percussion recital that can be scheduled for the end of the residency. Preparing for the performance helps students focus on and learn the material. At the recital, Marla will offer a solo composition that further demonstrates the frame drum techniques and compositional structures that were taught during the residency.

FOR MORE INFORMATION & BOOKING, please contact marla@marlaleigh.com

Sponsored by Cooperman Drum Co, where they provide Cooperman frame drums and the Cooperman AIS Marla Tar
are available to clinic students at a significant discount.

DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE PDF FOR MARLA’S CLINICS & RESIDENCY PROGRAM:
Marla_College Programs PDF