Maqsum, which we meet this week in our “Everything is a Drum” season of music class, is one of the foundational Arabic rhythms….

Taiko drumming is theatrical on purpose. Modern taiko performances are big and bold, with drummers performing intricately planned routines that are exciting because of confident choreography…..

Eastern European folk music, especially music from countries like Bulgaria and Romania, is known for its unique "additive" rhythms, rhythms that are composed of small groups of beats added to one another to make an exciting phrase. …

Afro-Cuban percussionist and producer of the All Around This World: Latin America CD, Arturo Stable, is an encyclopedia of Caribbean rhythms. In “Rhythms of Latin America” Arturo gets us drumming.

In Indian classical music the tabla player is usually responsible for holding down the Taal -- essentially the rhythm in an Indian Classical composition, though in truth the concept is more complex -- while a vocalist sings or other instrumentalist solos…though the tabla player almost always gets a chance to shine with improvisation in the course of a piece.

Babatunde Olatunji and his Drums of Passion brought African rhythmic drumming to an international audience for decades, traveling the world as ambassadors for Olatunji’s native Nigeria, and as an inspiration to a generation of would-be percussionists.

The Ewe people of West Africa — Ghana, Togo, Benin and more — are revered for their traditional drumming and music, much of which features multiple rhythms that playfully cross one another throughout expansive and energetic drumming sessions.

Olodum is an Afro-Brazilian samba drumming “bloco” that not only makes marvelous “samba-reggae” music during Salvador’s Carnival but also shines as a social group that fights for the rights of marginalized people in Bahia and beyond.

Wanna be really happy? Meet samba by enjoying samba reggae with Marcus Santos.

Get ready for our “Everything is a Drum” season by pointing your browser at the truly helpful Bounce Metronome.

The “Everything is a Drum” season of All Around This World takes us into our comfort zone — sitting on the floor of the living room pounding on an Amazon Prime box with a stick.

Tropicalia is a Brazilian cultural movement that developed in the late ’60s as a fusion of Afro-Brazilian traditional music, experimental poetry, ambitious visual art and rock ‘n roll….

Forró is a rapid and lively collection of music genres intertwined with dynamic European-inspired couples dancing from Brazil’s northeast….

Pagode originated in the early ’80s as a festive, fun, highly danceable subgenre of samba that has come to be associated–not always favorably–with lighthearted pop….

The Arpa Llanera is essential to llanero music of Venezuela, the songs of ranchers from the Venezuela plains….

Meet All Around This World’s friend Angi, who is cooking one of Venezuela's favorite foods -- AREPAS….!

As we visit Venezuela in music class this week we absolutely must tip our hat to El Sistema, Venezuela’s extraordinary music education program…..

Prince Koloni (Page de Prince Koloni) is a musician from Stoelmanseiland, Suriname, who performs reggae, kaseko, bigi pokoe and aléké music. Here we see him jamming aléké-skle with his band, Fondering.

Kaseko is Suriname’s own Caribbean dance music that arose from a local genre called Bigi Pokoe which sounds whole lot like New Orleans dance-hall jazz…..

Let’s start our musical week in The Guianas with De Draver Boys from Suriname…. And why not?