Mark Shepard’s DrumSongStory

Posts Tagged ‘multicultural’

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 Music Is A Bridge by MarkShepard: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Music is a Bridge | February 2008 | Song #380

I look at you and see different
You look at me and see the same
I look at you and see magic
You look at me and see the world explained
Out of the fog and distance
We can find a way to dance
Out of the cold and darkness
We can find warmth and happiness

Refrain:
Music is a language
That connects us like a bridge
Meet me in the middle
Meet me at the edge
Music is a story
That connects us like a thread
Meet me in the middle
meet me at the edge

If you sing with words
That I don’t understand
Still my heart will comprehend
Whatever’s been torn or broken
Music always helps to mend
Whatever is too straight or rigid
Music always helps to bend
Our love of music makes us friends
Our love of music makes us friends

Refrain:

If you are alone, far from home
(Still the song remains)
Whatever you’ve lost or broken
(Still the song remains)
If you’re a stranger
In strange land
(Still the song remains)
Won’t you join me
In the melody?
(Still the song remains)
Now let’s add
A little harmony
(Still the song remains)
La la la la la
(Still the song remains)
Nu Waba Walangi
Chi Mazi Maya Tu Gatta
Still the song remains

Refrain:

You look at me and see different
I look at you and see the same
You look at me and see magic
I look at you and see the world explained

Commentary: I wrote this song while visiting a friend in San Francisco. It was commissioned by Bill Rodman for the Letters To Daddy Musical. The story I was given for the context was that the main character of the musical has just gotten into trouble for something at school. As a result she ends up in the principals office where she meets a new girl. The new girl is an orphan from Uganda, Africa who has been adopted by an American family. The two have nothing in common…except their love of music.

The larger idea here is that we can find cultural connections in a lot of ways. Music is one of the best. Irish musicians are using African percussion, African drummers are including the Irish tin whistle. And on it goes.

To hear more of my songs visit: MarkShepardSongs.com

- Mark Shepard, New Haven, CT

p.s. please “digg” or “stumble” or “Facebook” or Twitter this okay?

p.p.s. Follow me on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/MarkShepard

As the students begin to file in to the auditorium. I begin to do Overtone Singing, African Yodeling and Throat Whistling accompanied by a large frame drum. As you listen notice how naturally they begin to join in and quiet down. By the end of the piece you can hear a pin drop.

Also called Throat Singing, overtone singing is a vocal technique that originates from Central Asia, particularly the countries of Tuva and Mongolia.

I first came into contact with it through Glenn Velez who played frame drum with the

Paul Winter Consort. I also found a great book called “Tuva or Bust” which was about physicist Richard Feynman’s

attempts with his friend Ralph to get travel visas to the then forbidden Republic of Tuva which was part of the old Soviet Union.

I like to start my concerts with overtone singing running the vocals through a digital delay.

I also added something that to my knowledge, no one else does and that is Throat Whistling. Which is literally a whistle I create from deep in my throat. I can get 3 distinct notes at this point…

The other vocal element is African style yodeling…

I’m also playing the Siberian Shaman Drum as well as “Bob The Big Drum”, a huge log drum I carved out of a Sycamore tree.

A Talking Drum made by Mark Shepard out of a piece of house column

Drums, Songs and Stories Celebrating Africa and the African Diaspora

Please Note: You’ll notice there is some overlap between this program and Trickster Tales

An interactive program for all ages featuring:

Drums:

• Djembe
• Djun-Djun
• Talking Drum
• Congas
• Tar
• Riq,
• and other percussion instruments from Africa and the the African Diaspora as well as cool sound effects instruments played by the audience (where and when appropriate)

Songs/Rhythms:

• Funga Alafia – welcoming song/rhythm


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• The Samba
• Congo Square
• The Rhumba – and other infectious rhythms

Stories:

• “Monkey & Leopard” – why monkeys live in trees, why leopards eat meat & why you never mess with a drummer’s drum without asking permission.


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• Anansi & the Talking Drum – Anansi discovers the secret name of the king’s daughter but is so shy he can only
  

  Mark Shepard telling "Monkey & Leopard", African Trickster Tale

  play it on his talking drum…

• That’s Ridiculous! – Various vegetables, animals and inanimate objects talk to people.

• Why Lions Don’t Have Wings – Frog puts an end to Lion’s flyin’.

Sound Effects:

• Thunder Tubes
• Thunder Drum (the Djun-Djun)
• Cuicas
• Shakers
• Ocean Drum,
• & more…

Please Note: This program can be combined with drumming and/or instrument making workshops for maximum educational impact

To book this program now call 1-888-598-7709 or e-mail mark[at]markshepard.com

See what other DrumSongStory Programs are available for:

• Schools, Family Concerts
• Colleges, Universities
• Corporations, Non Profits, Conferences

Mark Shepard Tells A DrumSongStory with the help of a young audience volunteer

Drums, Songs & Stories Exploring The Trickster Archetype In Many Cultures

Of course this is the funniest program I do. It is after all, stories celebrating tricksters: Fox, Coyote, Rabbit, Anansi the Spider, Monkey, Crow, Turtle…all of these non-human characters have much to teach us about ourselves. Almost always the trickster gets tricked. Coyote always gets bested by roadrunner. But some tricksters like Bugs Bunny always seem to come out on top.

• “Monkey & Leopard” (Africa)


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• “All Stories Are Anansi’s” (Africa)
• “Coyote & Cicada” (N. America)
• “Coyote & Turtle” (N. America)
• “The Lying Contest” (Armenia)
• “Anansi & The Talking Drum” (Africa)
• “The Pointing Finger” (China)
• “Djuha Borrows A Pot” (Syria)
• “Fox, Crow and the Piece of Cheese” (Aesop)
• “For Sale: The Eiffel Tower -Tale Of A Modern Trickster” and more…

To book this program now call 1-888-598-7709 or e-mail mark[at]markshepard.com

See what other DrumSongStory Programs are available for:

• Schools, Family Concerts
• Colleges, Universities
• Corporations, Non Profits, Conferences

Mark Shepard plays Irish Bodhran accomapnied by audience volunteer on ocean drum

Drums, Songs and Stories Celebrating Cultural Collaboration

Starting and ending with the haunting sounds of Overtone Singing from Central Asia and making stops around the world, “Beyond the Borders” celebrates how cultures come together and influence each other.

A World of Vocals:
A combination of several different vocalization styles from Tuvan/Mongolian Overtone Singing, to Tibetan Undertone Singing all mixed in with Throat Whistling and a kind of African Yodeling, accompanied by Siberian Shaman Drum

Curiosity: An old African story that I’ve turned into an “Olde” Irish song. Accompanied by Irish Bodhran and plenty of audience participation

Funga Alafia: an african welcoming song and rhythm. I invite several audience members to join me on stage and with the help of the audience we create an African Polyrhythm.

Jack N The Beanstalk: Traditional European story turned into a song accompanied on guitar with traditional Mississippi Delta Blues (an African derivative style)

Mark Shepard Tells A DrumSongStory with the help of a young audience volunteer

The Silkie: This is an old Irish Story that has a lot in common with many Eskimo (Inuit) tales. Primarily seals that turn into human being and vice versa. I play the wooden whistle at the beginning and the end accompanying the chorus with Bodhran. I usually ask for a volunteer from the audience to play the ocean drum as accompaniment.

 

 The Silkie by Mark Shepard: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Depending upon the situation, time available, the theme, the age mix of the audience and my intuition, I may move at this point into a spoken (rather than sung) story: Picking one of several possible choices:

Monkey & Leopard:
A very funny African story which I tell in a very modern way. It works for all age groups but especially well for younger audiences who may need to lighten things up at this point in the program. (It is also lighter on the sound effects so there is no time spent handing stuff out etc).

Skeleton Woman:
An Inuit tale about personal transformation. It is fairly serious but has a few funny parts that make for perfect comic relief. It has a lot of Sound effects possibilities.

Coyote & Cicada:
A Native American tale explaining why Coyotes howl and have sharp teeth and why Cicada’s shed their skin. quite funny with a modest amount of sound effects. Most audiences enjoy the opportunity at the end of the story to get in a good “Howl”.

Overtone Singing to finish…

Instruments Used: Djembe, Djun-Djun, Bodhran, Shaman Drum, Guitar, Wooden Whistle/Flute
Sound Effects: Wind Tubes, Thunder Tubes, Thunder Drum (the Djun-Djun), shakers, Ocean Drum & more…

To book this program now call 1-888-598-7709 or e-mail mark[at]markshepard.com

See what other DrumSongStory Programs are available for:

• Schools, Family Concerts
• Colleges, Universities
• Corporations, Non Profits, Conferences

DrumSongStory at CT Storytelling Festival w/ young audience volunteer

An eclectic, ever-changing, shape-shifting, globe-circling, archetype-exploring, bridge-building, boundary-breaking, mind/heart/ear opening, combination of Drums, Songs & Stories.

This is a totally flexible format where I mix a little of everything I do to create a performance custom tailored to each audience.

Depending upon what I pull out of my DrumSongStory bag, this program can be a celebration of Creativity, Language Arts, Multi-Culturalism, Nature, Tolerance, Character Education, etc. Or, it can be adapted to whatever theme you might be working with.

Featuring -

• Songs: From a repertoire of over 300, a lifetime of subjects. Example: Porcupine Ice Cream


.

• Stories: From all over the world featuring drums and cool sound effects instruments as well as audience participation. Example: Coyote & Cicada


.

• Drums: African Djembe & Djun-Djun, Irish Bodhran, Siberian Shaman Drum and more. Example: Funga Alafia – Western African Welcoming Song & Rhythm


.

• “DrumSongStories”: Silkie (Ireland/Eskimo), Curiosity (Africa/Ireland), Jack ‘N The Beanstalk (Europe/N.America), Pool Rap (suburbia), and more. Example: Curiosity


.

• Overtone Singing & Throat Whistling: You just have to hear it…


.

Program Length: 45-60 minutes (or longer if appropriate) Appropriate ages: K through 12 and on up to Adults Can be Combined with: Drumming, Songwriting, Storytelling, or Instrument Making Workshops

To book this program now call 1-800-378-4971 or e-mail mark[at]markshepard.com

See what other DrumSongStory Programs are available for:

• School Assemblies, Family Concerts
• Colleges, Universities
• Corporations, Non Profits, Conferences