Boom-boom-boom...thats the sounds of hula drum music.

The base or pau is one part of hula drum music, beating out the rhythm and speed, the large pate drum the leader of the pack, the strongest, the decision maker, the one you can trust to lead you. Then there is the second large pate the back up to the lead doing the off beats, but wait here comes the king drum the smallest of all and the fastest. The king drum is played in double and treble time, the sticks are a blur because of the speed generated by the drummer, lastly you have the bongo , in the old days the skin of a shark was stretched over the bongo body, hence the name pau mongo, mongo is the name for shark.

"Hula Music"

So when you put the different sounds of drum dance music together you get a sinfonie of sounds with all the various melodies that create music. This music calls you like the sirens that called Jason of the Argonauts trying to force him to ship wreck on the rocks. Yes drum music is enchanting, it is your heart beat. Put you hand on you chest, feel your beating heart like the pau base drum .. boom- boom- boom.

Unlike home grown drummers of the pacific islands I learnt my hula drum music craft here in New Zealand. I started drumming later than most because I was a male hula dancer first at a young age. I was always interested in drumming, and any chance I had I would have a go, I taught my self my own technique and style of playing and progressed from hula dancer to hula drummer.

The different sounds of the drums brought out the gentleness as well as the beast in me. I was able to control a sound of uniqueness not herd on any other parallel. When I play I don’t demand attention, I get attention

(Lennie – Soifua village Polynesian Performer)

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