Lara Triback

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Visit the Blog page for drum solos, performance footage and my latest musings.

Lara is a 2009 RACC Grant recipient. She will travel to Istanbul and Cairo in February and March to deepen her study of the doumbek.

Join Lara for the Doumbek Technique Clinic!

A MUST for all doumbek players!

In this transformative workshop you will learn to play a resounding Doum, a ringing Ka and the perfect Slap! Prepare to play beautiful pops, snaps and rolls.

Get a head start on excellent doumbek technique or, as an experienced drummer, reduce risk of injury and hone your skills to perfection.

You will learn proper alignment and body mechanics to
*Play with optimal comfort, precision and tone.
*"Fit the drum to your body" and "make your drum SING."

Sunday, February 8, 2009, 12-2pm
Euphoria Studios, 1235 SE Division
$25 in advance, $30 at the door.

Contact Lara for more info and to register:
rhythmandmuse@yahoo.com

Lara Triback is a wonderment! Others teach, she infuses. In her doumbek workshops, she lures you from the known and easy to the unknown and difficult without you realizing you made the transition. Long after the workshop or private lessons have ended, the body memory still holds the drills she taught -- but now they are your teks, doums, and slaps, not hers. In the end, the students own the techniques.

Unlike musicians that try to teach others what they have learned, Lara started as a teacher and brings all the patience and training of an instructor to bear on her art, infusing it with her love of drumming, and using kinesthetic techniques from massage and dance to create an integrated and holistic approach to teaching the doumbek.

As much sensei as teacher, Lara constantly thinks of new ways to convey a technique or rhythm when a fresh approach is called for. She uses a whole bag of tricks from metaphors and kinetic comparisons to visual, auditory, and tactile cues to help the student understand at a visceral level rather than on a purely mental plane.

Hers is no mere classroom where the students can sit back and absorb. Her sheer joy and love of Middle Eastern drumming imbues her teaching with a boisterous enthusiasm that is downright infectious.

One of her greatest strengths is in tailoring her teaching for each student, recognizing that one-size-fits-all doesn't work. Each musician has a unique body construction with different aspirations, abilities, and training. Lara targets each student's strengths, providing them with constructive feedback to build on those assets so they emerge from the lesson empowered by knowing what they do well as what needs more focus. In a group setting, Lara can "hear" or pick out your drum(ming) from the mass and can fine tune your playing within the group setting. While working with the group to produce a cohesive sound, the contribution of each member is refined to bring out the best individual performance.

Her workshops are, in a word, fun!
-Terri Moles, AK

*Spring 2009. Portland. Mad Puppet Show! Musical Director for a show by Mudeye Puppet Theatre, my favorite dark puppet theatre company.

*Sept. 2007. I was featured in the arts section of the Jewish Review. Click here for article