One Hour Drummer

Imagine this: a place that can transform even the most musically challenged person into a drumming enthusiast without learning how to read a single note. In Atlanta, such a place exists with One Hour Drummer, an interactive music studio which leads drumming lessons, workshops and biweekly drum labs for inspired, local musicians and teaches with a simple WorkPlay system. People longing for a musical experience with little or no music background can join together to form a drumming community to relieve everyday stress. The studio also has wellness programs that are designed for families, seniors, special needs children, soon-to-be moms and cancer patients--for whom drumming has actually been proven to increase levels of cancer-fighting t-cells.

Peter Marino and his gang of talented percussionists are not about making professional musicians out of their students at One Hour Drummer; they just want to play music and connect with each other by creating a sense of community within every class.


“To see the joy on people’s faces is such a rewarding experience,” says Marino. “You can see it in their eyes when they get it… it’s such a joyful experience.” The satisfaction that drumming brings to students has led One Hour Drummer to create a new class, the Urban Taiko Experience, which enables students to make music together as well as get a great workout.

Started by a Japanese village woman, Taiko is a drumming style that has been around for centuries; however, the first American Taiko group was started in San Francisco in the 1960s. A main difference between Taiko drumming and tradition hand drumming is the use of wooden sticks to play the instrument instead of drumming with your hands. As a style of drumming, Taiko has many variations but is always portrayed as a very passionate and powerful approach to playing the percussion instrument.


At One Hour Drummer, Marino has pushed the limits of Taiko and has incorporated a sort of STOMP-like atmosphere and class by incorporating movement and percussion music together. The upper body really gets a workout with the broad range of arm motion paired with high rhythmic speeds. According to Marino, the Taiko art-form is constantly evolving and is currently on the verge of exploding. There are even some groups that are adding electric guitars to the mix to make their music sound even more gripping.

A six week Urban Taiko class will start at the Little Tree Studios in Avondale Estates on November 5 at 11 a.m. Visit the One Hour Drummer website to learn more about Marino and the other drum classes offered. Also, check out their Facebook page and follow them on Twitter.

×Eleni Snider

Comments

[Diana]

Great article!

[Linda]

Thank You for this interesting Link