Drum Circle Culture

[Quinto Governor II]

Was wondering what anyone thinks of drum circles? Have you, or do you participate in them? Do you consider yourself part of the culture and if so how would you define or describe it? Do you have any history on its origin and development? I participated on a regular basis, the first few years of playing a drum. I don't attend much any more, however; still have some friends and associates, who I will attend with, when invited. I have grown, so to speak beyond that type of drumming, and now pursue more traditional forms of drumming. Some here, I believe, feel that drum circle drummers are an affront to the traditional culture of drumming. I understand those sentiments, but don't necessarily agree, however; I believe drum circles are a legitimate drum culture. Its evolution is, and will be different from previous cultures, having come about in this fast paced and highly technological society. Even though I believe in its legitimacy I'm still not sure I fully understand it, or accept all of its aspects. My experience has been that most people attend for varying reasons., but there is this core group who hold the belief, that there is a spiritual component to the activity. The circle concept I believe was borrowed from Native-American culture. Also, other spiritual practices are incorporated into it, such as Paganism. Drumming as a form of therapy is also a part of it. There is a corporate type of organization to drum circles. They do retreats, where they teach you how to direct a circle - a facilitator is what it is called. They also take drumming into corporations, as an activity to relieve stress on the job. Do you have any thoughts on where drum circles may go in the future and the impact if any on traditional drumming?

[CongaTick]

QG,

I'm not a circle drummer. Not by choice, just not that easy to get to the active ones in the cty from the burbs where I live. Must tell you though, that I believe in the concept, and think it's definitely worthwhile and looks to be a helluva a lot of fun. If it is directed well and the participants are reasonably adept at their rhythms and can work within the structure established by a leader, the results in many cases are extremely cool. Also believe, though have no personal experience, that the social (and undoubtedly, spiritual) impact is nothing but good (if its a decent circle). Communal drumming is an echo of our tribal roots and opens the door to a primal humanity.

[congamyk]

The circle concept I believe was borrowed from Native-American culture. Also, other spiritual practices are incorporated into it, such as Paganism.

As far as "sitting in a circle" Native Americans and pagans didn't invent that. If any group of people want to see each other they have to sit in a circle to facilitate any kind of group activity. Rumbas sit in a circle as do any people that want to see each other. People have been sitting in circles forever for all kinds of reasons. Sorry to have to write something that is so apparently obvious but it had to be said after you initiated the circle thing.

What, did some hippie tell you they sit in a circle so mother earth will hear them better?


This is something I said in another post and it sums up my opinion of "drum circles" so I'll just post it here.
I also invented another name for "drum circles", I call them "white boy shuffle".

The "conga pretenders", those people who basically just want to "jam out" without any respect for rudiments, technique, tradition, etc. These people are content with always being a "conga or djembe wannabe" just to look cool, ethnic, and hip. They don't study and they will be playing the same cheesy patterns in thier basement without ever having learned anything because they don't care.

Edited By congamyk on 1184113984

[bdrbongo]

I wouldn't call them "conga pretenders", that may just be the drum they happened to pick up when they "decided" to join a drum circle. I myself learned a tremendous amount of traditional form from playing in some drum circles(via the Grateful Dead lots) from some very knowledgable people. I was also bored to tears during some of them. I got in the habit of not bringing a conga( I've never been a djambe guy) to some of the later drum circles/ Dead shows I attended and instead took talking drums/ frame drums/ dumbeks/ various brazilian percussion and any thing BUT the conga. I noticed when you introduce something other than a conga to the circle, if the group is listening, the grove will ebb and flow and not just pound away. Around 1989, when the Dead scene"exploded" the whole drum circle thing died for me, as everyone and their brother had a conga or djembe and you could have 100-200 people desperatly trying to keep a groove. It happened, but rarely.
Lately, I've not been impressed by the drum circles here in St Louis. While the rumble of rhythm will always catch my ear, it doesn't take long to notice if it's just another pound session, or something that actually has some feel to it.
I think the idea of teaching someone to facilitate a drum circle takes away form the true communal nature of it. While there does need to be some "leadership", facilitating a drum circle almost sounds unnatural, as if you can buy it at WalMart :laugh: .
In some ways I also blame the drum circle for giving people the idea that "any moron can play a drum so I'll just go pound on that congo drum during the set break." :angry:

They have thier pros and cons, and you make of it what you will.

[davidpenalosa]

I have found drum circles to operate on a considerably lower level of musical integrity than the informal, amateur folkloric-oriented drum groups found in North America. Drum circles are an invention of the late 20th Century and tend to serve as a form of New Age recreation or therapy that shouldn’t be confused with drum traditions. I suppose it’s egalitarian to suggest that if you can clap, you can play a drum, but that’s about as true as saying if you can rub your belly, you can play a cello.

I generally don’t have a problem with drum circles, unless some circle thunder drummers show up at a rumbon, expecting to join in. That can be awkward. I’ve seen it happen more than once.

When I was younger, my friends and I used to play bata and conga drums in the central plaza of Arcata, California (see link at the bottom of this post). The police would slowly drive by, but they never stopped us. There are businesses on all four sides of the plaza, but to my knowledge, none of them ever complained. My theory is that the surrounding community tolerated us because we were playing music.

Move ahead to the year Jerry Garcia died. That summer there was only a two-week separation between Humboldt County’s Reggae on the River and Mendocino County’s Hog Farm music festivals. Hundreds of Deadheads hung out in Arcata between the festivals. Many of them incessantly played the “Grateful Dead beat” (“boom-boom-bak”) on their djembes in the plaza.

That prompted the ordinarily ultra-liberal Arcata City Council to pass an “anti-bongo ordinance”. Of course the largely former-hippie Council members had mistaken the djembe for the beatniks’ hand drum of choice from an earlier era. Every week now, the local paper, “The Arcata Eye” includes bongo violations in its Police Log:

“Tuesday, October 24 12:26 a.m.
The throbbings next came to resound
At ’nother tav two scant doors down
The beat carried well
Down to the hotel
But cops found no drummers around

1:01 a.m.
Complaints came in, newly redoubled
When once more bongosity bubbled
The awesome trancegrooving
Was spiritually moving
And that can mean nothing but trouble.”

http://www.arcataeye.com/index.p....at=full

-David

http://images.google.com/imgres?....rl=http

[bongosnotbombs]

You Guys Have Nothing On Me!

I live in the Haight Ashbury, one block from Golden Gate Park,
there we have the famous drum circle at "hippy hill". It is possibly the largest and most continuous and maybe "significant" drum circle in the world.

It is almost every day when the weather is good, and more so on
the weekends.

I can hear the drums when I am in my apartment.

Let me tell you, say what you want, but it feels nice to hear a drum beat from far away lilting in though your windows as the evening sun goes down.

It is good to watch people from ALL walks of life enjoying the sounds coming from the circle.

The drum circle here is not an organized rumba, or a class or whatever else you have.

Sometimes it is 20 people all playing different beats, sometimes it is 20 people all playing to the same beat.

You take the circle for what it is at that time. It's pure improvisation and creation. Sometimes it pure groove and sometimes it pure chaos.

I really like it, and it for sure makes me a better drummer. If you can keep your beat there, you can keep it anywhere. The collection of participants creates a vibe that keeps you going for a long time, maybe 3 - 4 hours, that improves your stamina and technique.

Sometimes the homeless bum that smells bad with rotten teeth is playing with you perfectly, and you play off him. Sometimes the little rich girl whose outfit costs more than most make in a week gets caught up in it all and starts dancing for a while.

You get African drums. Brazilian drums, Cuban drums, bells, horns, guitars, Drums sets, bass, everyone coming together using or adding to the sound.
I never know what I bring myself, somedays it congas, other bongos, sometimes just claves and maracas and sometimes I bring a shofar (people seem to really dig the shofar, and I blow a mean one!)

A guaranteed audience everytime......I love it, I go about once a week and have met a lot of cool people that always give me a smile when I show up.

As a drummer that practices and has timing and some technique, I can really feel how I influence others by staying solid on my timing. It's like my experience facilitates their desire.

Of course you know, you always get the clueless and the lame sometimes, no doubt about that. I was negative on the whole thong myself until I moved to the neighborhood and opened my eyes.

It's like a safety in numbers thing, you don't need a lot of experience for a circle or technique, because there are so many other drums, if you mess up the beat keeps going, other percussion groups are'nt as forgiving. The circle lets everyone participate for free, if you can hit a drum your in, the better you hit it, the better it gets.

For certain, I am not a hippy, I am an architect I play percussion as a jazz musician as a hobby, and I have been a band leader. I take regular classes from very respected teachers, and practice regularly. I really enjoy the drum circle, I get a lot of enjoyment and benefit from it.

I also don't go for any of that pag*n or pseudo religious stuff, if people want to feel something or whatever thats their thing, not mine. I do like the "democracy" of it all.

Sorry for the long post, I just had a gig and I am a little drunk, but also I feel strongly on the subject and have thought about it a bit.



Edited By bongosnotbombs on 1184142417

[chris hansen]

I did read that they found a certain type of group drumming boosts cancer killing cells and has other physical and emotional benefits.

[Congadelica]

I play with 2 Brazilian Samba comunity bands.
One of them is kinda strict miltarised style the other more loose feel , i do prefer the later . Imust point out I personally at my stage of learning find it of great benefit . Im looking forward to more gigs at festivals in my local area . All the people i meet in these groups are very warm feirndly pretty much like the people who post on here , All have a comon interest DRUM. .
I have started to understand music and clave rythm by attending these groups which can only be a good thing .
The loose samba band i mention have a very highly expierienced Director named Eraldo who is an inspiration to us all and knowledge a plenty .

If you feel the spirit thats good , I do but i understand when poeple say they dont get this side of feeling in the drum . im not a hippy Im a lover of music and at my later stage of life 43 yrs I now have more disposible time to enjoy a passion which has been inside me for a while Kids work and other comitments have in the past been in the way .

Its all good to me

marco

[burke]

I have long hair, a beard and smoke 'Drum'.
I also am low carb (hence practically anti-Vegetarian) drink lots oh rum and occassionally see the sense of some right-wing thinking.
Sitting by the ocean is spiritual. Playing percussion is a skill and a lot of fun (same reason I fence)...I have never been so bored as the times I've been in Drum circles (finding myself thinking things like..."Hey, look at all the dead flies in that window! Goodness did I forget to pick up milk? Man I never noticed the hole in this shirt").

But that's just one little bear's opinion.

Maybe its a character flaw on my part (if so I'm content to live with it).

[congamyk]

This has become an interesting thread.

From reading your experiences I see that there can be some positive things that come out of some drum circles. There is camaraderie, fellowship and some (few) people actually have become inspired to get serious about hand drumming - these are all positive things.

My experience has been negative so far; hearing too many lame rhythms (usually a derivitive of an 8th grade heavy metal beat) and patchouli oil stench! :angry:

[chris hansen]

I haven't been to a drum circle myself but I asked my teacher about it and in his experience it was: "A lot of tree huggers who don't know how to play and aren't interested in learning". He also talked about another person he knows who requires an audition to join the drum circle and it sounds like their level of playing is a bit higher so I suppose it depends a lot on the particular group you're with.

[burke]

unless of course the audition involves a crystal on a string being waved over your groin.

Sorry

Can't help myself (giggle)

[Quinto Governor II]

davidpenalosa wrote:


I have found drum circles to operate on a considerably lower level of musical integrity than the informal, amateur folkloric-oriented drum groups found in North America. Drum circles are an invention of the late 20th Century and tend to serve as a form of New Age recreation or therapy that shouldn’t be confused with drum traditions.

My Response:

But, at some point drum circles will have developed a tradition. How long will that take? Who knows?. Some of those so-called crappy rhythms seem to have already established themselves. Will some standard songs follow? The older guys in the park jam that I participate in always speak of the tradition to us newer participants. As much as I talk about trying to do something a little more structured, no one is willing to put in the effect. In spite on the fact that it is all spontaneous, I am amazed sometimes when the veterans of the group will some up with some amazing stuff. It could be that something unconscious is developing, but its too soon to know for sure. I keep mentioning the idea of adding vocals to the drumming. Some guys recite poetry which is fine, but I would like to see something more in the call and response style. Many drummnig traditions have transformed and developed in this hemisphere. I imagine another may develope at some point in the United States, however; with the mobility of people today on second thought it just may develope world wide.

[bongosnotbombs]

Quinto Governor,

Ah you should come to my drum circle, we have drunk homeless people dancing and trained african dancers.

We have people reciting poetry, playing harmonica, jazz musicians playing trumpets, people bring amps and play guitars and basses, 5 year old kids playing maracas, claves, bells, agogos.

Maybe in your puny 5 person drum circles you hear kindergarten rhythms, but I am talking about 25 drummers
playing whatever rhtyhm they want and whatever other instruments showed up that day.

It's strong too man, you see squares and freaks coming up, asking for a turn with your shakers or drum. Some people can't stop dancing, and on a sunny day there's probably a crowd of 250 people of all ages, shapes and backgrounds

Aaah the sheer craziness of it all. You can't organize this, you can't facilitate this? How do you facilitate a drunken homeless guy playing bongos with drum sticks?

It's good though, he's there, I'm there, we're playing. I might normally never interact with a lot of the people I play with at the drum circle.

Is it music, or good music......................maybe? I don't know, but its fun.

[congamyk]

see what I mean



Edited By congamyk on 1184204128