Quitiplás: Deep Listening and Rhythm Building with Afro-Venezuelan Bamboo Drums From Barlovento

Part of TeachRock's LADAMA collection, this lesson teaches students to investigate the meaning of rhythm and the importance of polyrhythm (the presence of multiple, patterned rhythms) in the cultural life of the people of Barlovento, Venezuela. They will discover how Quitiplás, traditional bamboo drums, are idiophones (instruments that resonate on their own by being struck) and how Quitiplás were constructed from materials found in Venezuela’s natural environment as a way to emulate the rhythms and songs of enslaved people brought from Africa. Students will also examine how music is a tool used to celebrate and preserve cultural heritage by vocalizing polyrhythmic patterns and conversing with each other in song.

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