Playing With Spirit - A Guide

You may drum for many reasons. Perhaps you enjoy the feeling of social togetherness when you drum in a circle. Or maybe you are a musician at heart and enjoy performing for people within a group. You might have a goal of mastering complex African polyrhythms. It may be that you simply enjoy drumming, that the rhythm moves your body and spirit in ways that not many other things do in life. Whatever the reason, becoming aware of how you play and improving your playing skills in relation to your state of mind and spirit can help you to gain more from your experience. In this article I will share some of my own personal drumming wisdom which may help you in your own drum journey. Learning to master these skills may help you to grow in both drumming, and in other areas of your life.

Just Try It
When you are beginning your rhythm journey, the most important quality you can bring to your drumming is the willingness to try. Sometimes, that attitude may be the only difference between a person who becomes a confident player, and one lacking confidence. Kwasi Dunyo, master Ghanaian drummer says, "You can only fail by not trying". He believes "that music is in everyone, a gift from the Creator", and he is an inspiration for me to watch teaching patiently with love to people of all ages and skill levels. So step number one, pick up your drum and play it. Do not simply "tap it", but play it with heart!

Judging
It is usually easy to feel when someone else is being judgemental about something. Sometimes it is a lot harder for us to see within ourselves how we are judging of ourselves or others. Sometimes judging results in a person developing a "better than attitude" about themselves in both drumming and in other areas of life. Even more common though, is people who are just beginning to learn how to drum comparing themselves to those who are more experienced drummers. To give power to this judging attitude can be fatal to your progress. Community drumming is about connecting, not competing. The spirit you bring to your drum is just as valuable as another's. So please don't compare and please don't judge when you drum, for your own sake.

Heart and Mind
When you are first learning to drum, your mind will initially be actively engaged in the process. You may be trying to stay mentally focused on a rhythm, or keeping count of a beat. If you drive a vehicle, remember when you were first learning how much mental attention you put into consciously applying the right amount of gas, or how your hands turned the steering wheel. Now think about how you drive today with minimal attention to those details (but hopefully attention to the other drivers and pedestrians!). It is the same with drumming. By continued playing (some call it practise), the details of the rhythm will become absorbed into your body so that you can play without much of your mental capacities being engaged. Using logical thinking while playing will slow down your drumming, not only in terms of tempo, but also in your ability to play straight from the heart. So keep playing until you no longer need your learning tools, your gamela taki's, your taketina's, and your gundun godo pata's. Then play direct from your heart and spirit, and as Arthur Hull says, go to that magic place where you are no longer playing your drum, but your drum is playing through you. Trust me, when you get to that place, you will know it. It is the place where you truly feel like a drummer.

Intention
The intention you hold in your mind as you drum is the single most important aspect when you are drumming in a healing or spiritual circle, far more important than musical technique or skill. In that scenario, the drum is simply a tool to transmit your intention vibrationally into the spiritual dimensions. Intention is also important when drumming in other drum circles that may be focused more on musical qualities. When you drum, try to focus on holding an intention of peace, love and community to your fellow players. This will add to the richness of your experience immeasurably.

Feeling The Rhythm
When you are playing in a drum circle of any size or purpose, listening to the individual players and to the group rhythm is as important as your own playing skills. It is important not to simply "space out" into your own world. The listening may not happen just on a mental level, but also on a more feeling level. Your body will tune in to the key rhythmic pulses allowing you to become entrained to the rhythm. To some degree this will be an automatic process, but will be more effective when you develop your awareness consciously. In musical terms, become aware of where the pulse is. A common pulse to look for is the first beat of four notes in a 4/4 rhythm (majority of modern western rhythms), or the first beat in a set of three notes in a rhythm based on 12 (common in African based music). When you feel this pulse, orient your playing to it. It will become your musical landmark to guide you and to help you from feeling lost. If there are bells or bass drums being played, pay close attention to their voices. As your awareness develops, you should be able to hear the interplay of different parts, the call and answer of different player's beats. Also become aware of the "groove" of the rhythm, how different beats accent the groove, and how your body responds to the rhythm.

Technique
Playing technique is not very important in healing circles with frame drums and repetitive rhythms. However, if you wish to be effective with playing a drum such as a djembe or conga in a more confident fashion in a drum circle or perfomance group it is important to have at least a basic sense of technique. I recommend that those who are more "serious" seek out a qualified hand drumming teacher to develop technique. Always strive to at least clearly differentiate the different voices of the drum. The bass tones should resonate deeply, the open tones should sing clearly, and closed tones should be muted. Slaps are more challenging to learn so keep practising and don't be discouraged if it takes some time to develop. Technique will gradually improve with playing, so just keep playing and have fun. Your playing will improve in time.

Breathing and Relaxation
To be most effective in your drumming it is important to relax your body. Try to economize your hand and arm motions using as little physical movement as possible while still producing the desired effect. Play the drum with enough force to make it sing, but no more than that. When your hands contact the skin, let them fly off quickly and lightly. Breathing is also very important. Learn how to breathe deeply from the abdomen as in yogic breathing. This will bring oxygen (energy,chi,prana) into your body to allow you to relax into a deeper state and play from a more relaxed mind and body. Proper breathing is especially valuable in a healing or shamanic circle where you are basically attempting to reach a meditative state.

You Don't Need a Drum
Well, despite the caption, I strongly suggest that you do acquire a drum or other percussion instrument to fully enjoy the benefits of hand drumming. However, it is possible to "practise" drumming in many daily situations when it is not possible or practical to have a drum handy. In some cases, it simply can't be helped as you may find yourself playing out rhythms in your mind automatically anyways (yes, you are very much sane if you do this!). Using your hands to tap out a rhythm on your a desk, table, using your body, or by clapping, is in many cases an effective way to learn and practise a rhythm. If you are around other people in non drumming situations, you may want to use a little discretion here in order to avoid strange or annoyed looks (then again, maybe not).

Spirit
When you are drumming, your spirit is engaged. This happens whether you are conscious of it or not, and is not related to any particular set of spiritual, cultural or religious beliefs you may hold. Your spirit wants to play, to experience healing and to feel joy, and drumming provides a means for that to happen. In a healing circle or shamanic circle by it's nature, you will typically be attempting to connect with your spirit more consciously. In this case the drum becomes more of a vehicle for the spiritual connection and less of a musical instrument. In my mind, the only "real" purpose in playing a drum, or any musical instrument for that matter, is to engage your spirit and to celebrate life, your own, and that of others. It is from spirit that the feelings of creative expression and communion arise. When spirit is more actively engaged, a sense of "oneness" begins to emerge, and a sense of pure joy. That is why community drumming has been such a universal presence in so many traditions and cultures over time.

Be A Master
A master drummer is typically defined as one who is not only proficient in many drumming skills, but also brings a treasure of knowledge, culture, leadership and teachings in all aspects of rhythm, song, dance and tradition from personal life experience. Usually, one is born into life to become a master drummer, and is not something that someone strives to become. That being said, I believe it is our personal mission to all becomes masters of our own lives. The attitudes and energy we bring into drumming are merely a reflection of the bigger picture of ourselves. So don't try to become a "master drummer" in order to gratify some aspect of your ego, but do strive to master who you are. To master the spirit and energy you bring not only into your drumming, but into all aspects of your life. That will happen to the degree of consciousness you have of your own spiritual path, and of your fellowship with other spirits on this planet. Many blessings to you as you continue to play in your drum journey, and as you walk your earth journey.

Namaste ~ David

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