To the beat of a different drum?

 TO THE BEAT OF A DIFFERENT DRUM?

Well ... Christmas Day is rushing toward us like a hord of Black Friday shoppers who just heard  Target got in a limited shipment of XBoxes on sale now! Or like the rest of us who heard the local party store was giving away extra strong eggnog.  So here we go...

On the 12th Day... here comes the band... 11 pipers and 12 drummers!

Now it’s not clear what pepes we are talking about.  Pipes are sort of a generic term given to a variety of long narrow woodwind instruments so you could have Kenny G and several of his pals cranking out Christmas tunes live and that would be cool...although some might prefer Mannheim Steamroller or the Trans Siberian  Orchestra really turning in up to 11.   Then there is Mary Did You Know by the Pentatonics and no instruments pipes or otherwise.     Eleven pipers should get you a very rich sound.... and what if ...just what if... they are the one type of pipes nobody really considers—BAGPIPES.

Performances of kilt-adorned marchers are often incredibly moving and our imagination  can put usd just over a hill waiting for a determined Scottish army announcing their arrival at the battlefield.  Now as beautiful and haunting. As these pipers can can be, it is hard to imagine getting up around Christmas to hear them.  Oh and do you think these pipers just picked up these things and were good?  There’s not a headphone jack of these “constipated cow” sound-a likes so living through someone learning to play requires the patience of the wise men traveling far and then some.  If you are going to have pipers inspiring lords a-leaping and ladies dancing they are going to need some folks laying down a driving backbeat or at least a St. Louis Santa Blues shuffle so in come the drummers.   

Like the pipers the song doesn’t specify what the nature of the drums are.  Is it a drum line-that would be really awesome.  Is it a drum circle where some drummers lay down a driving bass and others freelance melodic rhythms that rattle your bones on the metropolitan plazas of many cities.  

For seeking peace and joy reasons I hope the pipers are squeezing the air bag and letting it rip because you can’t half-play a bagpipe and thus fear gets shoved aside and the players play the tune so we all can join in their expression.  It seems seeking peace with others sometimes and maybe often requires rising above fear and sharing so let’s go bagpipe on 2022 shall we.  

Now as much as we enjoy precise and thunderous  drumming some of the drumming we like the most are the dramatic fills and solos that almost always seem to be improvised by the great drummers.  These artists combine a set of techniques with a healthy does of unrestrained joyful pounding.  Maybe we all should take a page from their playbook by learning technique, however  adding some fills and solos that show some joy and inspire  all the creative folks around us... we all need to spend some time creating the perfect pocket for others to play in.  The best drummers know how to be different in a way that is understand by the rest of the band so there is. Mix  of creating the beat of a different drummer and still bringing others alon.  Being able to create or march to the beat of a different drum adds to the richness of life and if you have 12 drummers one or to  can always be exploring  ways to take the sound.... Step up and be one of those two from time to time.  

Well there you have it ...your twelve days of Christmas from a peace and joy perspective and  like a couple of my favorite Christmas artists Bob and Dog... and Sir Getty from Rush... it’s time for me to Wish you all a fabulously blessed holiday as I’m going to take off in the Great White North for the actual calendar day.... but I’l be back you hosers... Oh and like these folks I use that term in a loving manner... You readers have no idea how inspiring you are by sharing comments through phone calls  and thumbs up.  Like a child born  in a manger and wrapped in a Green Bay Packers Blanket (oh wait that would be what would happen in our house). Seriously ... spend the next day or so thinking of others who need to wrapped in a bundle of swaddling love bubble thoughts... I will be feeling that way about all of you and hoping the peace and joy of the season falls upon  you.  

Stay as humble as a baby born in a barn and light up the world... Merry Christmas!