By Paul Roberts
Special to The PREVIEW
Join musician and music therapist Paul Roberts for a free hand-drumming class at the Pagosa Lakes Clubhouse on Tuesday at noon.
The class is a family-friendly activity in which joy, fun and playfulness abound. No previous experience is necessary. Drums are provided for those who do not have one.
“I really enjoy the class,” said Logan. “I think it’s a great way to kick off your week and fill you with joy.”
Logan is a Pagosa Springs seventh-grader.
He added: “It’s definitely worth coming. You don’t have to know how to play drums to be here, you just kind of play, and everyone goes along with each other. You can do what comes naturally. Everybody is really united. We all come together in a drumming circle and see what happens. I don’t know why, it just ends up flowing.
“We do a few songs. I like the transitions; they’re really subtle. We’ll be doing one song and sometimes I don’t even notice it’s the next song. It’s a different song, but you don’t even notice a change. Everybody is still just doing their thing. It’s just great.”
He continued: “I like that there are varieties of drums that make different sounds. It’s not like all of us are playing the same exact sound, over and over. We all have a little bit different drum, which makes a little bit different sound. And, people are bringing things like plastic cups and stuff, and we get those going, and it just blends right in, into a beautiful song.”
Do you do any other music?
“I play a little bit of piano. I like music. It’s a great thing. You don’t have to make it a career, but if you ever have spare time, which everybody does, then you can grab anything to drum on, like the cup. You finish your water, or your juice, or something — you can just start tapping on your cup, or the wall, even. It doesn’t have to be a drum. It can be anything you can play on.”
What do you think is the value in that?
“I think it’s pretty nice because if I’m in a bad mood, the two things that like really cheer me up are drawing and playing music. If I’m in a bad mood, I’ll start tapping on my night stand or something like that, and then you forget about how you’re feeling and you’re all into the music. That all goes away and you’re happy, just into the music and what you’re doing. You can drum on anything that’s nearby. It can help cheer you up. That’s why I think it’s a great way to kick off your week.”
Have you always been into tapping on things?
“Yeah, ever since I was little. Like if I was walking down the stairs to get a glass of water or something, I’ll tap on the staircase with a pencil or something. I like making noise, seeing what kind of sounds this thing makes, or, ‘Oh, this makes a different sound,’ and put that together and see what it sounds like.”
Do you plan on continuing with your music?
“Yeah, I do. Once school starts, I’m going to get into some piano lessons, again, probably, and I might do a little bit of drumming. I’ll take music as an elective. What I’ve really been working on, for the past couple of times that I’ve chosen music, is the piano. I did do a little bit of drums in the music class, also.”
Do you have anything you’d like to add?
“Not really, just that it’s great.”
For more information about the hand-drumming class, call 731-3117. The Pagosa Lakes Clubhouse is located at 230 Port Ave.
