FRAME DRUM Oberek rhythms after Budzisz, Wlazło, Koperkiewicz

Led by: Mateusz Dobrowolski
For: All levels, including first-timers

What to Bring
Your own frame drum, sticks/beaters, and tuning key.
Earplugs (if you have them).
Note: Twelve drums will be available on site

The Radom–Opoczno borderland is one of the last strongholds of the frame drum in Poland. Forgotten in many other regions, it remained a key element of local music well into the late 20th century, with drum-making traditions kept alive in family workshops.

Using Andrii Levchenko’s frame-drum notation system, we’ll explore rhythmic patterns and techniques documented from leading 20th-century drummers: Stanisław Budzisz (who played with Józef Zaraś, one of Friday’s honorees), Stanisław Wlazło, Józef Lipiński, Piotr Sikora, Stefan Kędzierski, Józef Kamiński, Władysław Koperkiewicz, Józef Ksyta, Jan Uraziński, and Jan Włodarczyk.

We will delve into specific techniques: the “shamanic” style, back-beat, combined strokes, and variations of the gallop (including the Wysokiński style) – all vital for playing the local oberek.

About Mateusz Dobrowolski

Drummer, musician, journalist, and manager.

Co-founder of the award-winning Polish–Belarusian group Hajda Banda / Гайда Банда. Instructor at the Traditional Music Centre “Duże Mazurki” (Praga Cultural Centre, Warsaw), where he leads workshops in Poland and abroad.

He has performed with Warsaw Village Band (Kapela ze Wsi Warszawa), US Orchestra, R.U.T.A., and Kapela Piotra Kaznowskiego. His frame drum can be heard in the film “Our folks. The beginning” and in the electronic project Naphta.

Contributor to Songlines Magazine, Polish Radio’s Folk Culture Centre, and Jazz Forum.

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