Fascinating drum performances by young people from the rice fields

Huy Thu• March 22, 2019 12:39

(Baonghean.vn) - The attractive drum performances performed by children attract a large audience.

In recent days, at Gam Pagoda, Xuan Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District, there has been an exchange and drum beating competition between hamlets and communes, creating an exciting drum festival, attracting the attention and participation of many people.

Before the competition, the local drum teams had organized thorough practice. Each team usually had one person playing the big drum and many people playing the small drums, gongs, cymbals, zithers, flutes, two-stringed fiddles, etc.

Participating in the drumming exchange at Gam Pagoda this year, the commune-level team has 5 teams from communes with a tradition of drumming in Yen Thanh district. What is more special than last year is that the team has many “drummers” who are women and teenagers.

It is known that in the rice fields, many children from 4 to 5 years old already know how to play the sacrificial drum, 13 to 15 years old are already skilled "drummers", ready to "lead" the competition teams.

According to the judges, listening to the sacrificial drum with many instruments, but in fact listening to the main drum being played, the other instruments only coordinate in harmony, so the person playing the main drum must grasp the rules of the sacrificial drum, to play it most accurately, like a conductor leading a band.

The good news in this year's competition is that there are many teenagers playing the big drum.

The ritual drumming requires the coordination of many instruments. When the big drum is played, it must create rhythms, beats, and variations, forcing the gong, small drum, and cymbal players to beat it in a rhythmic manner. Because the ritual drumming is not too bound by rules, even in the same locality, each drum team has its own style of playing, depending on the creativity of each person and the coordination of the team members.

It seems that in drumming competitions in the rice fields, the "drummers" are getting younger and younger, many of them are very young, which proves that the youth are continuing and promoting the cultural traditions of their homeland.

Nguyen Dai Phuoc (15 years old) - holding the drum team of Bac Thanh commune said: "I feel very happy to receive encouragement from everyone. Through this drumming competition, I have learned a lot of experience and always feel that I need to try harder to practice and be creative to play the drums better."

Scoring the drum performances, the judges had a "headache" when assigning rankings because all the teams "played" well. The drum team of Bac Thanh commune was chosen to receive the first prize, the team of Long Thanh commune received the second prize and the team of Xuan Thanh commune received the third prize, some outstanding individuals were also awarded.

The drumming competition ended in the excitement of both players and spectators. Drumming is a traditional cultural activity that is characteristic of the people of Yen Thanh rice land.