Bandon Grammar School, Co. Cork. 2007 St. Bridgit's Vocational School, Loughrea, Co. Galway. 2000 St. Brogan's College Bandon, Co. Cork. 2003

C.V. Thomas Wiegandt

Feedback + References
by participants and organizers

Shop+ Mail-order
Quality drums + ethnic instruments with good sounds at fair prices

Drumming - the heartbeat of God
an article by Thomas Wiegandt

Contact Us
by phone or e-mail

African Drumming + Rhythm
Workshop or course

Drumming is one of the oldest form of music on our planet and is a sophisticated community art.

Rhythm comes natural and people of all age groups and backgrounds just love playing drums and learn it very quickly.

Drumming is both, a lot of fun as well as educational, and it has successfully been used in schools, team building, festivals, community and youth projects as well as in therapeutic groups.

Drumming is also about working and relating in a group, about participation and social integration which is an important aspect in education.

Everybody can do it, it is a lot of fun and is also energizing as well as relaxing!

African drums and percussions from around the world will be provided

The course/workshop will cover some of the following theoretical and practical aspects:
— introduction to the musical instruments and their cultural background
— playing techniques of the Djembe and other drums and percussions
— rhythms from West-Africa
— playing together as a group (poly-rhythms)
— improvisation skills through creativity and spontaneity
— making our own percussion composition
— working towards public performance

Age groups:
— 6-10 years (rhythm exercises + games)
— 11-14 years (basic skills)
— 15 years and older (basic skills and complex training)
Group size: normally around 20 people, but can also be smaller or bigger, please talk to us.
Times and schedules can be arranged individually.
Venue: The course/workshop can take place in schools, community halls or any big room with chairs, or in the Drumming Centre West Cork(drums and percussions provided)
Rates: Euro 40 per workshop hour plus Euro 80 for transport (up to 100 km) and setting up. If further away, please get a quote. Concessions (only, if really needed!): please talk to us.
Info and booking:
Please contact us (Mon–Sat, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) if you have any queries, or want to book a workshop or course.


Music of the World

Performance and workshop by multi-instrumentalist Thomas Wiegandt

This course/workshop is highly informative, educational and presented in an entertaining way. It contains two parts:

Performance and talk (theoretical part, 2-3 hours)
Thomas will perform on many different “ethnic” or “non-western” instruments from around the world and will inform about instruments, music and the traditional and cultural backgrounds. The music demonstrated will include:
African Drumming, Indian Ragas, Balinese Gamelan, Tibetan Singing Bowls, Ritual Music, Sufi Chanting, Blues, etc.
The instruments used are wind instruments, string instruments, drums, metallophones, xylophones, etc., and voice.

Music workshop (practical part, 2-4 hours instruments provided)
In a group, the students will learn:
— to play various instruments from around the world (or play their own instruments)
— to play together in a group
— about structures, such as rhythms, scales, phrases, etc.
— to create a music composition
— to work towards public performance
— improvisation skills through creativity and spontaneity

Age groups:
— 6–10 years (performance only)
— 11–14 years (basic skills)
— 15 years and older (basic skills and complex training)
Group size: by arrangement, please talk to us.
Times and schedules can be arranged individually
Venue: The course/workshop can take place in schools, community halls, etc., or in the Drumming Centre West Cork(drums and instruments provided)
Rates: Euro 40 per workshop hour plus Euro 80 for transport (up to 100 km) and setting up. If further away, please get a quote. Concessions (only, if really needed!): please talk to us.
Info and booking:
Please contact us (Mon–Sat, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) if you have any queries, or want to book a workshop or course.


Drumming and instrument making
using recycling materials found in our environment
Workshop or Course

Stage 1
Collecting materials (home work, ca. 2 weeks before the workshop):

The pupils/students will be asked to collect materials found in their environment, many of which are normally thrown away or are rarely used, and bring them to school in order to make percussion instruments such as various drums, bells, shakers and other sound objects.
Details: please see and use material list below)

Stage 2
Instrument making workshop (in school, normally 1 or 2 days):

The collected materials will be displayed and put into categories to build the different instruments in small groups. We will explore the different sounds of the collected materials and objects to choose which ones are the best to be used. We also will listen to the sounds of the original drums and percussion instruments which I will bring with me. During the instrument making process we will already start to learn how to play some of the made instruments and we will also do some rhythm games and exercises.

The course/workshop will cover the following theoretical and practical aspects:
— information on musical instruments from around the world
— information on recycling and environment
— developing listening skills and sensitivity for sound and music
— developing manual skills
— being creative exploring and using different materials
— being co-operative and supportive by working together as teams in a playful way
— last not least: having fun!

Stage 3
Drumming and rhythm workshop (in school, normally 1 or 2 days):

This course/workshop will systematically explore the world of rhythm and drumming.
Drumming is one of the oldest forms of music on our planet and is a sophisticated community art.
People of all age groups, given the chance to play percussion music themselves, just love it and learn very quickly. As drumming is a lot of fun and educational, it has successfully been used in schools, festivals, community + youth projects and therapeutic groups.
Drumming is also about relating in a group, about participation and social integration which is an important aspect in education.

The course/workshop will cover some of the following theoretical and practical aspects:
— introduction to the musical instruments and the African approach of playing      music (some instruments provided)
— playing techniques of drums and percussions
— playing music together in a group (poly-rhythms)
— making our own percussion composition
— working towards public performance
— improvisation skills through creativity and spontaneity
— being co-operative and supportive by working together as teams in a playful way
— last not least: having fun!

Tools, materials and quantities:

please ask for list.

Age groups:
— 6-10 years (rhythm exercises + games)
— 11-14 years (basic skills)
— 15 years and older (basic skills and complex training)
Group size: normally 10-20 people, but can also be smaller or bigger, please talk to us.
Times and schedules can be arranged individually.
Venue: The course/workshop can take place in schools, community halls, etc., basically any big enough room with chairs.
Rates: Euro 40 per workshop hour plus Euro 80 for transport (up to 100 km) and setting up. If further away, please get a quote. Concessions (only, if really needed!): please talk to us.
Info and booking:
Please contact us (Mon–Sat, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) if you have any queries, or want to book a workshop or course.