This unusual performance would be best described as a mixture of beatboxing, singing, stomping, and clapping, and I was quite intrigued by the different types of sounds produced by the hands and feet. Whistles, melodies, and rhythms floated from the world’s most common “instrument”—the human body. In my preview, I wrote “new form of art,” but since humans have been around far longer than any other created musical instruments, it’s safe to say that body music is one of the oldest forms of music and dance. Knowing that the violin sounds the closest to the human voice, I wonder what other instruments were created to replicate sounds made by the body.
To draw a connection between the body and musical instruments, there was an interesting diagram in the kid’s brochure which said “Your body = Drum set.” This unusual comparison drew a connection between a handclap and the high hat (similar to two cymbals), a chest strike and the highest rack tom (a drum), a thigh strike and the middle tom (another drum), and a foot stomp to the bass drum (biggest drum, you step on a lever to play it). Now I wonder if the drum set was created to amplify and prolong the amount of noise the human body can create…
While I enjoyed the performance and the improvisation, I don’t know that this is my type of art. The eclectic mix of sounds and rhythms caught my attention, but I wasn’t captivated the way I would normally be in an orchestra concert. Perhaps the little kids running up the aisles distracted me. But I did find myself smiling when the kids sang along and when prompted, enthusiastically called back to the singers. I found this performance to be mildly strange, but I enjoy watching different types of performances every once in a while.
