I love drumming and drummers. I was looking for Mah Na Mah Na by the Muppets (as you do) and found a video of Animal ‘battling’ Buddy Rich. Mr Rich was one of the greatest jazz drummers of all time and his soloing was the stuff of legend. He definitely gives Animal a run for his money.
And hear’s Mah Na Mah Na just in case you have not seen it.
Phenomena!
As well as adding colour and interest to the sound of a band, drummers are supposed to keep the time. Rock’n’Roll music tends to operate at about 120 bpm (beats per minute) and it has been suggested that the reason this tempo is so pleasing is that it syncs with your resting heart beat (about 60 bpm). A good example is Chuck Berry’s – No Particular Place To Go (119 bpm). It has quite a laid back feel. Some psychologists have suggested that faster music increases your heart rate and produces some other physiological responses.
Some recent pop music has shifted up a little to about 130 bpm. For example…
- Moves Like Jagger – Maroon 5 is 128 bpm
- Hot N Cold – Katy Perry 132 bpm
- Turn Up The Music – Chris Brown 130 bpm
(I realise that these aren’t that recent, but you know what I mean!) 130 bpm (up to about 145 bpm) is a popular tempo for Trance and Techno tracks. This slightly quicker tempo pushes ahead of your heart rate so it is also a popular tempo for people wanting to exercise to music. Of course, there is a huge range of pop music out there with tempos ranging from 80 bpm to over 200 bpm so the above is a very general observation.
Questions…
- Chuck Berry’s song No Particular Place To Go takes about 2 minutes and 40 seconds to play at 119 bpm. I want to do a Techno remix of it at 135 bpm. Assuming that I don’t add any new notes, how long will my new version be? (Show your working!)
- If you listen to a heart beating, there are two distinct sounds (lub dub) with each beat. What causes these two sounds?
- Why does heart rate increase when you exercise?
- How is oxygen transported around the body?
- Why is carbon monoxide so poisonous?
- What is your favourite song of the moment, and why. (Post a link in the comments?)
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