Have you ever drummed in a community drum circle and felt time has flown by? Have you experienced a deep connection to yourself and others?
As a certified meditation teacher and percussionist, I have seen many people changed through the power of meditation and the drum circle experience. Meditation has the ability to improve our state of mind, taking us to that inner space within of our original qualities that are full of peace, silence and joy. So too does music.
Kids are amazing, creative and resilient, however families, classroom teachers and communities have been pushed to the limit with what is happening across our globe at this moment. Have you noticed things are changing rapidly? There are people of all ages from children to older adults who are struggling emotionally and wellbeing is at a low.
Drum circle music reduce negative thinking
Can drumming offer the benefits of meditation? More and more community leaders are using drum circle music as part of wellbeing programs and creative tool to reduce stress and anxiety. So, you might think… yeah but drumming, isn’t drumming supposed to fill us with energy and excitement and how can drumming be meditative? How can it be relaxing? Well, the short answer is yes to all those questions.
Did you know that there are all kinds of drumming? Research has proven that when we drum at around 80 beats per minute (BPM) it slows down our thoughts, reduces blood pressure and regulates mood. For centuries drumming has been used in many cultures for healing.
There is something very special with drum circle music. It’s not culturally specific and it’s not a performance piece, no reading of music required and it is totally in the moment music making or improvised... spontaneous. This is where it gets really interesting. When we improvise, we use part of the brain that is creative. When this part of the brain is in action we naturally let go of self judgement, the past, the future, we come from a place of silence, wisdom, purity and joy. When was the last time you got to be creative? Take a few moments just imagine that right now… experiencing that lovely silence within.
As a percussion teacher I’ve facilitated lots and lots of kid’s school workshops over 20 years and very rarely did I see kids not want to drum. Kids couldn’t wait to get their hands on a drum. So how can we use drumming as a meditation tool for our kids and help children connect with that inner silence. As a teacher trainer who runs drum circle facilitation for classroom teachers and community leaders, I teach a variety of games, tools and techniques to help them run their own school music and wellbeing programs. So, let’s look at a few ideas for setting up kids group for drum circle meditation music.
Intention: setting the intention for the session is the first step. What are your outcomes, is it to relax or to energise? This will help determine how, what and when to facilitate. Make sure this is clear before the commencement of your kids’ program.
Instruments: Choosing what kind of instruments for the drum circle is important. I like to imagine that every instrument represents each player, with their own personality and caricature. Everyone is unique right. Think of each instrument that way. Each instrument with their unique tone, pitch, texture. Diversity is the key here. Creativity and diversity go together.
When I’m working to help a group relax and connect, I like to use at least one low pitch drum (the facilitator plays) and stay away from too many really high pitch frequency instruments such as triangles and bells. For the emotional context I like to add a melody instrument such as xylophone (with soft mallets), Hapi Drum, kalimba with pentatonic scale.
Simple facilitator tool: one simple facilitator technique is using volume or dynamics to enhance listening within the group. Without listening there can be no cohesion.
Fun game: remember drum circle music is improvised. The role of the facilitator is to guide the group. Here are two games with one tool. Choose a picture or a series of pictures. It could be a serene lake or trees in bloom or a sleeping baby. Now the group becomes composers of the scene in front of them. This could be time rhythm based or group soundscape with no time. The group creates sounds, tones with instruments to paint a picture with sound. This is a wonderful creative process and instantly puts payers in the creative side of the brain.
As a drum circle facilitator its good to understand a few rhythms that you can use to help ground the group rhythms. For those wanting to get into rhythm-based wellbeing programs I’ve created some educational resources to help you build rhythmical confidence.
Have you found this post helpful?
If you found this post helpful, please help support my blog and music-making by purchasing from the store (there are NEW Positive Music t-shirts and other goodies), student resource or download music. Or leave a comment in the comment box below, so others can find this post helpful. Every bit helps. Thanks so much for your love and support, it means a lot and inspires me to continue helping people like you.
Thanks so much for your love and support, it means a lot and inspires me to continue helping people like you.
You can download the meditative music to help boost personal wellbeing at Energise Your Life album.
A little gift for you as you continue to build your djembe drumming skills.
I want to help you out as much as I can so I’ve added some great hand drum beats for beginners and ensemble drums that accompany the djembe, called 7 Easy Steps to Develop Rhythm, Technique, Timing and Feel ebook. It’s filled with lots of tips on technique and how to improve your timing and feel, to really take your playing to the next level.
This is my gift to you and something that can accompany you on your drumming journey.
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