Rhythm is the Cure - Southern Italian Tambourine Techniques

Ciao a tutti,

It is amazing to me how so many ancient rituals and beliefs actually had truth and or merit to them. I think, at least for myself, in our "modern" society thinking, I have been "encouraged" to discount so much as "old fashioned" that I didn't always give credit to how much the ancients really knew about many things. In some cases I am learning that some tribes, cultures, peoples, etc., knew more than I think we even know now about some things.

In the book "Rhythm is the Cure, Southern Italian Tambourine" Alessandra Belloni, the world's leading Tambourine artist, teaches healing modalities using the centuries old techniques of tambourining. The book is dedicated to the healing power of the Tarantella Rhythms specifically.

The book is available through MelBay Publishing or at Alessandra's website, www.AlessandraBelloni.com.

I was invited to the release party for the book for many reasons. First of all, over the past couple years, Alessandra and I have become friends.

Secondly, the book is accompanied by an instructional DVD. Well, that DVD features none other than yours truly as one of her three students learning how to drum right along side of her.

About a year ago Alessandra approached me with this project and asked me if I would be interested in helping her out. I was surprised she asked me because, I had taken one of her workshops before and I thought it was obvious at the time that I would have needed much more practice before making a sound come out of the tambourine like she made.

The truth of the matter is that my grandmother used to tambourine and, let me tell you, it is a beautiful thing to grow up with that music in the house. Talk about healing music. Us children would gather around her whenever she would play the tambourine. And no matter where we were in the house, if we heard her playing, we would all come running.

I always did want to learn how to play like her and I thought the workshop would be a good place to start. And it was, but it was also so much more. In the workshop we learned dancing and chanting and connecting with our bodies, etc. You would think we were in a "modern" class, but these were all ancient rituals Alessandra was teaching.

Unfortunately, the hours we spent together learning how to drum were not enough, and I never took the time afterwards to practice. So when I agreed to do the taping of the video for her I took it as another opportunity to improve my tambourining skills, and the viewers can watch me learn right along with them.

And so it was.

At the release party at the Remo Center in Hollywood, Alessandra performed some of the pieces from the book and DVD, as well as many others, with the help of some of her friends and audience members. I took refuge behind the camera and took pictures instead. Here are some of the fun ones, including a couple friends of Alessandra's, actor and director Randy Vasquez and fellow Italian-American Actor Milo Bianchi in this second to the last picture.

By the way, yes that is me. What, you don't recognize me with my hair greased up and pulled back?

He, he, he...

Filippo

P.S. Here is a short video of a tambourinist in Italy demonstrating one of the techniques very similar to one of the ones that Alessandra teaches and demonstrates in her video. (Music Only)