Beat of her drum: UWindsor professor receives Grammy Museum grant
A University of Windsor professor has received a grant from the Grammy Museum Program.
The money will help study the physical demands of playing the drum.
“Such teachers have a big potential for impact on student behaviour, so I thought this was pretty intriguing,” says Nadia Azar, a kinesiology professor.
She’s received a $20,000 USD grant to delve into the reasons instructors do or don’t offer their students training on how to prevent playing-related injury.
“I’m hoping to be able to interview 30 drummers and analyze the data and present it at a few conferences,” Azar says.
She says injuries develop while spending hours training intensively.
“The two most common injuries that I’ve seen reported are tendinitis and carpel tunnel syndrome. You could be putting yourself at risk because you’re just doing the same thing over and over again repetitively,” Azar says.
Drummers around the world are beating a path to her door.
More than 900 drummers have participated in her past research projects.
“They were reporting a moderate level of interference, meaning with their ability to play or in their day to day activities,” Azar says.
Jeff Burrows, a drummer of 40 years, considers himself lucky.
“You know that they’re coming, but I’ve been blessed compared to many of them,” he says.
But that’s not to say the instrument hasn’t taken a toll on his body.
“Lower back. I’ve got bone chips in this elbow. I’ve had ganglion cysts on this wrist,” he explains.
Nowadays, the drummer of the Tea Party only experiences some pain in his right shoulder, and believes instructors need to teach proper positioning to help avoid injuries.
“Move properly and functionally without over extension and crouching and leaning back,” Burrows says.
The project is one of five funded by the Grammy Museum Grant Program and is expected to take two years to complete.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What's a Barnacle? It's yellow, sticks and screams if you try to pry it off your car
Barnacles, bright yellow devices used to make sure parking scofflaws pay their tickets, could soon be making their way to cities across Canada.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
A Nigerian chess champion plays the royal game for 60 hours - a new global chess record
A Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate played chess nonstop for 60 hours in New York City's Times Square to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.