Drumming with Mohini

I work as a Special education assistant and I'm also a Drummer. I have found that rhythm has played a very important part in learning. It’s all around us. From traffic lights to the window wipers on our car these things help us flow and see clearly. To discover our own rhythm/s one only needs to look inside ones self and see the oceans of possibilities. Practicing the drums can help to develop good coordination of body mind and spirit and to enable quantization. Playing drums helps to defragment just as you do on a computer. It helps organize thoughts and emotions so that you can function at a higher degree of self and to utilize SPACE. Scientists and  Musicians have discovered that SPACE the molecules and the silence in between the note and the beat is where the “magic” is. It’s that gap that creates the force of creativity and self realization.    
        

I had the privilege of working with one student in particular named Mohini. A grade 7 student looking forward to High School next year. Mohini has Cerebral palsy and never really thought about playing the drums before until the school Talent show. Since I'm a drummer, I thought I could teach her to play the drums. I wasn't sure how we were going to do this so we just went for it. Mohini choose a song called 'Breakthrough' by Lemonade mouth. We got organized with the position of the drums and the physical  mechanics of hitting them. Boy! could Mohini hit them! With Cerebral palsy the muscles in her left arm were tight but that actually worked to her advantage. She had a powerful hit on the drums. I was envious. She practiced everyday for 2 weeks during lunch time. Mohini's determination to play the drums inspired me to video tape the practices. I taught her drums but she taught me something far greater, that music truly does comes from the heart.