Experimental drum set clip

A couple of days ago I saw the documentary Touch the Sound; a sound journey with Evelyn Glennie the grand dame of solo percussion. To me it was an absolute mind-blowing experience how a deaf person can create such amazing music. 

Inspired by her work I introduced Johanna to a more complex drumming experience. I did set up an experimental make shift drum set for her, consisting of various jars and boards, to let her explore different drumming surfaces. 

I was quite astonished when she repositioned, a couple of times, one jar during her performance. Through hitting the jar it changed it's position slightly which she didn't like, so she brought the object back to the position it was before. I never saw her reaching out to locate an object in space so precisely as she did today about three times in a row until I stabilized the jar for her. 

 

Johanna's maldito clip

Johanna Rocha singing and drumming her currently most favorite song "maldito",

after having executed the single brushstroke painting "songline 5".

Brush & flat hand- drum-paintings

"songlines - hand drum 2 and 1" by Johanna Rocha 01.07.08, acrylic on paper

Johanna didn't want to use the drumsticks today, she rather preferred using her flat hands to play the rhythm accompanying her song. After a couple of weeks absence, I briefly reminded her of the project we had been working on before. Happily, she started off as usual, painting broad strokes in black on white paper, and then she started singing her song while drumming with her flat hands into the wet paint leaving hand prints in various color- saturations behind.