The drum circle is becoming a popular way for students and teachers to set shared goals and have fun. Drum circles expose students to traditional African and Caribbean rhythms and a variety of percussion instruments, from congas, bongos, frame drum, talking drum, and djembe, to various bells, xylophone, and marimba.

“From the kids’ standpoint, [the drum circle] makes a class unlike anything they have ever had before,” says Will Schmid, founder of World Music Drumming (worldmusicdrumming.com). “Even in music classes, there are very few opportunities in the day when students get to be as in control of their outcomes as they are in a drumming class. And that motivates the teachers. They don’t have to fight the battle; they are working with the students, going the same direction.”

The World Music Drumming program trains teachers in drum circle methods. “We use an open tone and a bass tone stroke, which works well with the West African and Caribbean styles,” Schmid says. He recommends classes of 25 to 30 kids, with everyone learning all the parts. “They learn to understand and hear the other parts and work with each other. That is crucial. It is about teamwork and respecting each other.

“Once [students] get into it, they realize it is not so easy,” Schmid continues. “To make it sound good they know they have to work really hard. Some of the rhythms require tremendous concentration. The students get the immediacy, and they also can dig into the depth of the rhythms.”

When students understand the basic rhythms and how the instruments fit together, they often create their own ensembles, sometimes with hip-hop rhythms and raps. “That shows us that they have absorbed the learning,” Schmid says. “That is a magical thing.”

As young percussionists develop technique on snare drum, mallet instruments, and drum set, they usually go through a “trial and error” process. Students may experiment with various methods before making a final choice regarding how they hold their sticks/mallets.

How can teachers influence these choices and respond appropriately to the music at hand? One point to keep in mind is that there are many ways of holding a pair of sticks, and a technique that might work well for one student may not be beneficial for another.

Regardless of which hold a student chooses, it is important to maintain a comfortable form when holding the sticks/mallets to eliminate body tension. The wrist, forearm, and fingers should remain relaxed in order to execute an even flow of dynamics, accents, and tempos. To help achieve this, have your students practice their technical exercises in front of a mirror. You can also try videotaping each practice session. This will allow students to self-analyze their form and make adjustments quickly.

Matched hold (see above left picture): Most educators teach the matched grip because it is easier for younger students to develop a consistent sound with hand to hand. The matched grip is also used when playing mallets and timpani, so teaching it initially will permit the student to develop endurance and technique that translates to other members of the percussion family.

Left hand traditional hold (see above right picture): The principal alternative to the matched grip is the traditional grip. The motion the wrist makes when playing traditional is a rotation, the degree of which depends on the desired dynamic level. Traditional grip can be used as an alternate hold when playing snare drum and drum set. Many jazz drummers use this grip because it works well for acoustic situations and with brushes.

“I spend a good deal of time demonstrating good technique versus bad for my students,” says Christopher Zwarych, percussion coordinator at North Warren Regional High School in Blairstown, New Jersey. “For example, I’ll tense up at the elbows and try playing with just my wrists and fingers to demonstrate muscle tension and how it affects sound production and facility. The expression and performance of music cannot be made into an absolute of ‘this grip is right and this grip is wrong.’ As long as we’re expressing the music with proper intent, dynamics, and not playing with tension, we’re making good music.”

As students continue to build a strong musical foundation, investigate as many approaches as you can and encourage them to organize their ideas in a practice log. If a certain technique works for your musical situation, apply it. If not, disregard it. However, it’s advisable to examine all aspects and be open-minded to each approach.

After nearly a decade in the music industry, Talib Kweli has scored his first top 10 entry on The Billboard 200 with “Eardrum,” which enters at No. 2 this week–and he reaches that mark without the album’s first single, “Hot Thing,” cracking the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Boosted by touring and a creative new-media campaign, “Eardrum”–which also checks in at No. 2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart–sold 60,000 units, 9,000 of which were digital, in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Kweli attributes his chart success to playing live and perfecting his craft.

“Radio and street buzz are important but they don’t entirely determine sales,” Kweli says. “I do almost 200 hip-hop shows per year.”

He admits, though, that he was nervous about promoting “Eardrum” via the Internet. “I hadn’t used my laptop until a year ago,” Kweli says. “Now, I’ve taught myself how to use the Internet and crack my laptop open every morning.”

In January, the MC released “Liberation,” a free, Internet-only Madlib-produced EP, on a whim. Once the release had catalyzed a significant buzz with hip-hop consumers on the Web, it was Warner Bros. new-media senior VP Jeremy Welt’s turn to digitally promote “Eardrum.”

“We developed cool new things in wireless, Web and video,” Welt says. “But we made sure all of the new media tied into the theme of the album and fed into the record with the messaging and art.”

Welt’s department created a widget for Kweli’s Web site, which allowed fans to learn more about “Eardrum” through key words. Fans could also embed the widget onto their own MySpace page or blog. Kweli wrote long “text message novellas” that were distributed to his mobile listserv, and which shared more personal information on the album. Welt also set up and listed a phone number that fans could call to hear voice messages from Kweli. “Blacksmith TV,” a reality show tracking Kweli and labelmates Jean Grae and Strongarm Steady, was developed into a 10-part series distributed on YouTube. Kweli’s DJ Chaps also taped their performances and the pair posted the concerts on Kweli’s Web site in real time.

But what Welt is most excited about is Warner’s partnership with Meebo.com, an online chatting conduit whose recent “Eardrum” promotion partnership is the site’s first music-related tie-in. Warner banked on Meebo’s 2 million unique daily visitors and 750,000 registered members to virally promote “Eardrum” while expanding Kweli’s consumer base. Together, these online campaigns increased Kweli’s Web site traffic by 3,000%.

“We started his campaign more traditionally but we weren’t happy with the buzz we garnered,” Welt says. “So we went back to the drawing board and came up with every crazy idea we could think of and put it into action.”

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