HOW TO START A DRUMMING CIRCLE
WHAT IS A DRUMMING CIRCLE?
What is a Drumming Circle? In its simplicity, a drumming circle is a group of people seated or standing in a circle playing drums together.
No music. No conductor. No previous experience required.
Although the very earliest instrument is the human voice, very soon, the earliest humans learned how to make drums from whatever they had available…hollow tree stumps that evolved over time to include animal skins and mallets.
The Djembe, the most common drum for drumming circles, is a replica of these earliest instruments.
GETTING YOUR FIRST DRUM
Everyone’s story is different when it comes to getting that first drum.
Several years ago, I decided I wanted a drum. (Photo by Paul-Zoetermeer on Unsplash)
A djembe, to be specific. I had never played drums, nor had I listened a whole lot. There was just something deep inside of me that said, “Drum!”
I did a little bit of research and found a drum with a bright orange African design, together with a stand, on eBay, and before I knew it, I was roommates with my first Djembe.
For a couple of years, I didn’t do a whole lot of drumming, though I watched dozens of you-tube videos.
They didn’t help much.
My drum became more a piece of the decor instead of a living, breathing, vibrating essence in my home. I hadn’t yet discovered how to bring it to life.
GENESIS OF A DRUMMING CIRCLE
One day I met a new friend who had a similar ‘roommate,’ and we decided to introduce our drums. Together we tapped out some rhythms with beginner enthusiasm.
We had no idea that we had started a ‘Drumming Circle,’ but we had FUN!
We joined several others in an 8-week adult-ed class at the local high school to learn African Rhythms. Today none of us can remember the rhythms we learned there.
It doesn’t matter.
One by one, a few other people joined us until we had to move from home to St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, where there was a lot more space for our growing circle.
And a warm reception by other groups sharing the building on the same night we meet!
Our drumming circle began like an unintentional pregnancy, which gave birth to a beautiful, and noisy, infant who wants to express himself but has no words.
As a group of older, musically conservative (and untrained) New England women, we are just beginning to find and nurture our inner rhythms.
We start with the most basic— our heartbeat. Sometimes the drumming can get quite arhythmic, but as we continue, there is a miracle of Oneness and Community as the sounds begin to lean into each other and find a cadence that begins to pulse with togetherness.
WHAT DRUMS ARE NEEDED FOR A DRUMMING CIRCLE?
As new people come to play with us, drums seem to appear as if by magic once people get a taste of the experience. Most are Djembes, but we have the added sounds of bongos and a couple of Native American hand drums. Sometimes we add a woodblock, maracas, and shakers when our numbers exceed our available drums. Occasionally a Native American flute may join, giving texture and warmth to the quiet rhythms beneath it.
WHAT DO DRUM CIRCLES ‘DO’?
Drumming Circles since the earliest times have been about an expression of inner truths, communication with others, or the Divine, as well as voicing joy or accompanying dance.
Not much has changed in thousands of years.
In our group, we may have a few minutes of “call and response,” in which each person takes turns tapping a few beats of their own creation, and others match the rhythm.
This is helpful to bring us to a place of listening and centering—letting go of the concerns that came with us and beginning the process of being present to the group.
Next, one person will “lay down a beat”— a single, somewhat slow, beat from the center of the drum that sets a cadence to which the other drummers begin whenever ready.
It may sound like footsteps falling or perhaps running in the background. Many eyes close as each drummer follows an inner pulse.
Other times one person may begin ‘brushing’ the drum softly with fingertips, others join, and soon a beat begins quietly, emerging from an ethos of contemplation and prayer.
One of the miracles of drumming is the blossoming of Community as several individuals bring myriad personal rhythms to one circle and move through a period of arrhythmia to Oneness.
The circle becomes a cohesive organism that moves and breathes together.
This cycle from chaos to order will repeat itself throughout the hour and is reminiscent of periods of disorder in our own lives.
We leave with a felt sense of restoration of order and hope in our lives.
DRUMMING AS A KEY TO WORLD PEACE?
There is no way to do this wrong, which may be the most liberating aspect of our drumming circle.
People who have never held an instrument sit equally with skilled musicians.
People with deep spiritual convictions drum together with agnostics.
Drumming was born long before theology or ideologies…and will continue when our belief systems tremble and fall.
We arrive as individuals and bring separate inner rhythms to the table.
Joy and grief. Busyness and boredom.
Anxiety and anticipation. Desire and Hopelessness.
We tap or pound from different wells until a pattern arrives, and a great Oneness emerges, and we become ‘Community.’ (Photo by Jose-Ruales on Unsplash)
I can’t help but wonder how drumming might change our world if it were a daily practice in our homes, schools, and workplaces.
DRUMMING AS PRAYER
One evening, one woman shared that her adult daughter had just been hospitalized with a severe condition.
Many traditions have recognized that prayer is more than words.
They burn incense to lift petitions to God.
Timbrel and harp express thanksgiving and gratitude in the psalms. (Photo by Nate-Greno on Unsplash)
Intercessions as energy pass through the laying on of hands in practices like Reiki and Reflexology.
At the same time, Liturgical Dance puts motion in the expression of our supplications.
That evening our drums offered vibrations of prayer into the Universe, and after we drummed our pleas for her daughter, concerns from around the circle were shared one by one.
We sent tremors of supplication into the heavens for the homeless, climate change, personal as well as national fears.
Individual needs and unspoken burdens that had come with us to the drumming circle were also lifted up.
Some of the rhythms were soft and embracing.
Others were heavy, almost demanding, as they released personal pleas more effectively than any individual would have dared express in words.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The bottom line is, it’s not about the drums! It is about miracles.
- Restoration of a sense of grounding.
- An experience of transcendence beyond the concerns of the moment.
- Connection with something bigger than self.
- An experience of Oneness when drumming begins and ends with unspoken guidance from within.
- The creation of Community.
- And Healing. In the words of one participant – “Drumming loudly and then letting go to the peacefulness was VERY therapeutic for me as I truly FELT the “letting go” drain out of me from head to toes. Thank you for all you do to enrich my life, dear friends.”
You may also enjoy reading “Is There a Right Way to Pray?” (click on the title link)
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