The image above is a photograph of the drum circle in Asheville, NC. I have enjoyed going to the drum circle for quite some time now. I play the djembe, an African drum which you can see most people are playing on the front line. It is quite an intense environment for the drummers because everyone really gets into the rhythms. One thing that makes this particular circle an interesting one is all of the dancers that show up. The drum circle is free for anyone to observe, play, or dance. What you cannot see in the photo are about 30 people dancing to the beats that we come up with. I love adding my part to the beat and I go all out with my playing. Below is an image of my drum before I started playing it and another image of my drum after one night with it.
Before
After
What you see on my drum after its first use is blood. Why are their blood stains on my drum head? Well the answer is quite simple: I play till my hands bleed. Wanna see what that looks like for a djembe player? Well I’m going to show you either way! 
This is my hand. This is what happens when you love drumming so much that you play non-stop for 4 hours. This is pleasure amidst pain.“Didn’t that hurt?” This is the question I get most often. YES it hurt! haha DUH!
“Well why did you keep playing?”
I kept playing because I love playing. Spending time at the drum circle is very enjoyable for me, and it only comes once a week. If I am going to go, I am going to beat out as much fun from those 4 hours as I can. The pain is worth it!
Are my fingers still like that right now? Absolutely. I went to the drum circle last night! Does it hurt to type? Yes, it does hurt to type; and typing with my fingers wrapped up is a very difficult task, but it is worth the effort! I love blogging too much to let some blistered fingers stop me! 
Moral of the story: Sometimes you have to endure pain in order to do the things that you love most.
Very cool, and also very disgusting.
ReplyDeleteWow.
That is some dedication.
I'm very, very impressed. c:
There is no reason to be impressed unless you know if my skills reflect my dedication :P but thank you for the compliment! (by the way- the disgusted reaction was one that I had hoped for)... check that one off the list!
ReplyDeleteYeah that is very true, it's good to find something that you are passionate about doing indeed
ReplyDeleteewwwwwwwwwww :)
ReplyDeleteI sometimes get sores on my neck after playing my violin a long time, but never that bad... but I agree to some extent...for example with running it is worth pushing through the pain barrier to get to the other side...then it becomes much more pleasurable :)
RJ (dropintheocean11) - not letting me log in!
You seem to have a heck of a lot of dedication to devote to something you enjoy doing, and I admire that! I came upon your blog via The Coffee Shop, and I thought I'd take a gander and follow! :) Hope your fingers heal up soon!
ReplyDelete-Melody
http://inquisitivethinking-melody.blogspot.com
@RJ- I wouldn't have guessed that you play the violin! That's very cool. I played the viola in middle school and left it at that. Haha
ReplyDelete@Melody- thanks for stopping by and following! Most of my followers have come from Coffee Shop interaction. It's a great resource! I'll be sure to check your blog out ASAP. Thanks for the kind wishes!