Sure, Bambam Drumfun is mostly about sharing the joys and benefits of syncopated rhythm-making. We learn and play simple coordinated rhythms together. Lots of them.

We also make and decorate our own sticks, shakers and drumpads together. So you can take your drumfun kit – the sticks, shaker, drumpad and rhythm cards – home and practice, practice, practice!!!

After all, it is the practicing the many fun rhythms and beats we learn that does a drummer good … for the mind, body, heart and spirit. I guarantee it!

Only Bambam Drumfun lets you make, decorate and take home your rhythm instruments.

No other drum program combines drumming and artsncrafts so artfully.

Here are some Bambam Drumfun program materials:

There is nothing else like it anywhere in music therapy, art therapy, recreational drumming, traditional drum circle programs, or any related programs.

Anywhere. I’ve checked.

And there’s songs.  Simple, catchy little ditties that are fun to sing, short and sweet, and tell Drumfun classes what we’re doing & how to do it!

Like this shaker maker song …

More songs … more sticks … more shakers … more more more!!

Almost 6 years later, it’s patience.

Patience to get it right. Patience to wait for the right opportunity. Patience to allow handicapped clients to get to their seats. Patience to wait for a check months over due. Patience to give an EZBeat rhythm design the time and concentration necessary to make it right for printing.

What you see below are collections of various BBDF program elements that took me but a few hours or so do arrange and design. It’s your basic presentation layout.

The creation of the individual elements and the thinking, research, trial and error development time it took me to get all the particular components just right for my brand … we’re talking hundreds of hours, folks.

Creating something truly out of the box like Bambam Drumfun requires patience. Sacrifice. A vow of poverty. At least a temporary one.

BELOW, FACILITATOR AND STUDENT PRINTED PIECES IN SUPPORT OF AN IN-CLASS BAMBAM DRUMFUN MUSIC-ART MAKER KIT.

BELOW, CONTENTS OF AN INDIVIDUAL BAMBAM DRUMFUN BOX – PART OF A GROUP SET OR SOLD SEPERATELY

During every Bambam Drumfun class, we make things …                  Music, rhythms, shakers, memories, wholesome interactions. Here’s a little instructional ditty I wrote featuring the basic steps involved in making and decorating our standard 2″ cubed cardboard bean-filled shaker.

You can read it like a poem, sing it like a song, or rap it like a rap.

Let’s drum.

Let’s practice our Latin dance rhythms.

Let’s decorate our shakers. Together.

MAKE, PLAY, SHARE . . . So many ways to connect through rhythm & arts’n’crafts, together.

That’s Bambam Drumfun … learning and playing simple rhythms and drum patterns … making and decorating sticks, shakers, pads, and various rhythm print pieces, and sharing what we’ve made and played with others …

1800+ CLASSES SINCE 2013!

The idea for Bambam Drumfun came about during my year as interim music instructor at Colbert Elementary in Hollywood. After some trial and error, and some broken paper-plate shakers that resulted in dry beans being spilled on to the floor in hallways across campus (with apologies to the custodial staff), I eventually came up with a simple, fun and low-cost drumming / arts’n’crafts activity that has worked well for all ages and abilities.

‘We make a triangle with our sticks, touching the tips at the top with our hands a foot apart. We keep that shape as we bring our hands down and our elbows back.’

Group drumming does the same for a group of people and to individuals within the group.

By combining music-making & arts’n’crafts in one activity, Bambam Drumfun provides an ideal sensory engagement activity for all ages and abilities, especially exceptional learners and seniors in independent living, memory-care settings and adult community centers.

Below, a writeup from Palm Villa of Covenant Village, where my wonderful client shared a little about my program in their monthly magazine.

My drummers call me Drum Captain Scott, but I am open to a name change.   Scott Bambam sure has nice ring to it, don’t you think

BE A SHAKER-MAKER! FOLD, FILL, TUCK AND TAPE … NOW IT’S TIME TO DECORATE!

Our shakers can be utilized in many creative ways, for instance as blank canvas for message delivery or as a learning tool (think of a 6-sided white bean-filled 2″ cardboard cub covered with various themes). The decorative and artistic possibilities are endless. And, at about 20 cents a piece raw cost, our homemade shaker raw costs are as budget-friendly as they are fun to make and decorate!

Interested? Here’s my card.

business card

It was the spring of 2014, Mondays at 11 a.m. at Seaside Retirement on Hallandale, Beach. Each week, we would transform the activity room into a scene from a senior version of ‘Drumline.’

This wonderful, lively group of golden oldies included at least a few folks in their 90s, and one lovely lady who I believe at the time of this photo had recently celebrated her 103rd birthday.

I remember when Karen, my client, mentioned this to me. I felt a chill thinking that I had been blessed to share my personal joy for drumming with this entire group, and of course with Rose.

The regulars were loyal. At least a dozen each week. I remember them all so well because from day 1 they were always glad to be there. And I treated them like family, making sure they were all comfortable and engaged with me, each other, and my little rhythm class.

Some were not always up to the drumming. After all, though we kept things simple, Bambam Drumfun requires basic hand-eye coordination, fine- and gross-motor activation, and memory-tasks from pattern recognition, call and response, and stick technique.

Each week, we’d learn and practice the same basic rhythms with subtle variations and new wrinkles every now and then. And in between the practice beats and songs we’d eventually be drumming to there were riddles, trivia questions, and chit-chat.

For some, it was the chit-chat they most enjoyed. Me too. I learned so much from these folks. They were eager to share their lives, and I was a good listener.

Bless them all.

This facility would later be sold to a powerful Canadian family looking to develop high-rise condos. The residents, I later learned, would all be relocated to facilities across South Florida. Some had lived there for years, and as their minds and bodies declined, I can only imagine how confusing and traumatic the move might have been for them.

Our weekly classes together became 2x a month, then once monthly. Then  . . . one dark day, no more Bambam Drumfun. No more Drum Captain Scott. No more door knock beat. No more silly riddles. It was a sad day for me.

But the memories will last a lifetime. For a while, that activity room was jumping. The staff would show up just to see it all. It was everything I’d planned for Bambam Drumfun, and more.

They loved Bambam Drumfun, and the feeling was mutual. I can still remember Roses’ big smile as she shuffled into the room, asking me every week as I greeted her, “Excuse me, what’s this?”

It’s Bambam Drumfun time, I’d tell her with a smile.

Bless Rose, bless this group, and bless Karen the Activity Director at Seaside for hiring me and making sure I got paid.

The latest business card for Bambam Drumfun features the graphic theme elemental to my EZBeats rhythm music notation.

Dots.

It’s not rocket science, and certainly not worthy of a TED talk. Yet dot-based EZBeats provide a simple, bold rhythm notation system that’s a snap.

I’ve searched long and hard for a similar graphic language used to communicate basic rhythms. So far, Scott’s Dots has no competitor.

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