I find myself going to the drum more and more frequently at the moment. I’m concerned with what is happening in the world… the corruption, hate, intolerance, blaming… It feels hard to watch. I get frustrated, then angry. And I’m one of the lucky ones, living in relative cushiness.
Playing on my drum… what will that achieve. What is the point? But still I play, still I practice.
Maybe you’ve had the same thought cross your mind. Is this really the best contribution I can manage? We have an energy crisis, a lack of key workers, logistic supply chains, and demotivation in all sectors. Do we really help by sitting and doing drumming?
This lesson looks at a simple practice of centring that you can use to bring balance and connection.
The centring drum practice shifts our state… our consciousness. From this we can tap into an embodied peace and joyfulness. A sense of balance and understanding - a centred state.
When we move from our drum into the world we communicate this to others. They pick up on our equanimity; it flows from us like a gentle rumble from the edges of the drum circle into the hearts of everyone.
So get our shit together first, then we can bring our harmony to wherever it is needed.
To our family, our work and our community… it starts first with you at your drum.
Try this exercise when you need some centring or some grounding.
Simple 8 note variations for centring
You can try this on any drum, with sticks or hands. You need to have a minimum of two contrasting sounds - the open tone at the edge of the drum and the bass tone at the centre for example. On a kit you can use the snare and toms for the same effect.
We are going to create a continuous 8 beat pattern group in twos.
Start at the edge with two beats then move to the centre for two. Be sure to leave no gaps between the notes, let them flow continuously. Move back to the edge to play two more even notes then into the centre for the last two.
2 2 2 2
You can count these notes 1 to 8 or just feel them in 4 pairs - edge/centre/edge/centre.
Now when you practice this sequence you are going to remove 1 or more of the pairs. Let’s say we take out the centre pairs.
2 - 2 -
Now you have introduced space into the sequence and you will need a little more focus to keep this flowing without losing the flow or rushing. Remember the 8 beat cycle keeps on repeating but now with the spaces.
Here’s another sequence:
-22-
I’ve removed the edge tone pair at the start of the sequence and the very last centre pair. You might find it easier to think of it as rest,rest,3,4,5,6,rest,rest.
Continue trying different pair combinations. Stay with each one for some time and repeat the cycle with a steady focus. Remember to breathe and feel an awareness of your feet on the floor as you play.
You can repeat this process starting your pairs at the centre of the drum and then moving to the edge - experiment and play with it as you go.
Also, try different drums for different effects on your state; large, low drums or smaller high pitched drums or even trying a number of different drums for true deep dive focus.