The snare drum

Let’s continue the journey into the world of percussions, that began with the article "Body percussion”. Today I’d like to speak of the snare drum. The snare drum is a component of the drum kit, but it can be used alone in the orchestra or in band. The typical sound of the snare drum is produced by strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the bottom drumhead. The sound of the snare drum also depend on the material by which the stem is made. The snare drums made by metal have a brighter sound, while wooden ones usually produce a warmer sound.
To give you an example of what can be done with the snare give a look at this video by Bruno Vitolo (funkybru), who I greet and thank:

The gift of marriage

During the last weekend I received two gifts: the first one came from Alessandra and Stephen, who invited me to their wedding, the second one by my uncles Emanuela and George celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. 
Participate in the marriage of a couple of friends is always nice: you take part in their joy, but you also have the opportunity to renew your own. From the celebration on Saturday, I brought home a passage of the homily. The priest invited the newlyweds to wonder every day: what should I do today because my husband (my wife) is happy to be in the world? I remember what another friend of mine, who is also a priest, said: we got married every day, not only the day of wedding; every day, you have to choose your spouse again and begin a new page of love. How can people get bored in front of such a perspective? 
A lot of pages of love have certainly been written by the couples that together with my uncles have celebrated last Sunday an important anniversary: 10, 25, 40, 50 and 60 years of life together. 
I like that every year we find  a special moment to recognize the value of the choice of these people, to thank them for the love they give each other and also demonstrating the courage to remain united. The faces of love are beautiful  at any age.

Body percussion

Last autumn my friend R. asked me if I wanted to play with his wind orchestra for the Christmas’ concerts: they needed somebody who could play the glockenspiel. The glockenspiel is a delicious instrument that can easily hurt your ears (to the uninitiated it looks like a xylophone, but it is made by metal). It’s a percussive instrument, but it needs a player that can read a musical staff. So my friend thought that a pianist might, after all, get by quite well. And indeed I was quite good, and I became curious about the world of percussions, so funny and varied. 
Having spent years practicing on the keyboard, every time I try to play a new instrument I look for information of all kinds: what is it, how it is used, who plays that instrument and what kind of music ... Browsing YouTube I was literally ecstatic looking at the performances of true masters. 
So today I’d like to inaugurate a series of post on percussion instruments, talking about a curious and interesting practice: the body percussion. Body percussion - as its name indicates- is a rhythmic type of music that uses the body of the musician as an instrument. It is used in schools to drive the children to the world of rhythm, but it has all the characteristics to be considered art. Just look at what Keith Terry does in this video. Enjoy!