Rhythm Seekers

We're moving...

2009-11-17T02:23:00.001-08:00

Hi folks,

For any of you who follow the blog through the blogspot address, just wanted to let you know that we are moving!

I've got a proper website up and running now. www.rhythmseekers.org.

I will be closing this blog within the next couple of weeks...

Happy drumming!

Best Sunday Circle yet!

2009-11-08T09:07:00.000-08:00

My first week back after a mad trip to Scotland to take my facilitation skills to the next level...

Monday saw me at the Anne Sullivan Centre. It felt like every client I saw was not pleased to be there. I figured it had to do with a shift in my energy that they could sense. I plodded on, but wasn't feeling too successful.

On Wednesday I was at NCBI. We worked more on our listening skills and focusing on listening to the spaces in between the beats. We worked on layering in rhythms and evolving the music by changing the instruments we played. I changed my strategy, setting up the circle in advance and providing each person with a woodblock, shaker and bell in addition to having a few drums out. I invited the participants to change instruments at will and find their way back into the music with each new sound.

Thursday started with a trip to the Central Remedial Clinic. Again, I worked to get the group playing together. After having such tight grooves the week before in Scotland, the chaos was a bit overwhelming. Again, I set up the circle in advance to see what impact it would have. It did serve to get a few people playing something new, which was good. I also got the group to initiate a call & response; each person giving a call and the group responding to the call.

I next headed to Rehab Care where I changed the set up of the room all together. We had been working in one large circle, I switched to two concentric circles and again, put out the instruments in advance...or at least started to. This group really likes their drumming and were filtering in the room before I'd finished. The music didn't flow as easily this time, and the inner circle was a bit too tight to facilitate from. I did offer time for a switch up twice, allowing new people to try the bigger drums. While the music was a pretty constant train wreck, the group was having fun. Giggles were erupting from one side of the circle and everyone was keen to get into the groove.

Today we ventured to the park inspite of the damp ground and chilly wind. I am so so glad we did. The crowd was considerable, lots of parents with small children for the first hour and a half. A few adults turned up in the second half and we really started rocking! I couldn't believe how many people were drawn into our sound. I think it was the biggest crowd yet. Thank you to everyone who helped to make it happen!

Away to Scotland I go...

2009-10-25T07:49:00.000-07:00

Thursday's sessions went really well. I discovered at the CRC that I had the perfect drum for C. C was born without arms and has been playing a djembe with a soft mallet since we started. I've been concerned over the potential strain on her back from having to lean over to reach her drum.

I was showing the group some of the new gear that I had ordered when I got a bit of inspiration. One of the new drums I bought is a Talking Drum. It's usually played under the arm. The drum is shaped like an hour-glass and has strings running between two heads. When pressure is applied to the strings, the pitch of the drum is drastically changed. It occurred to me that while C wouldn't be able to use the drum in the usual way, she could achieve the same result by using her legs. She was skeptical at first, but as soon as she tried it, it was love at first squeeze ;)

Just goes to show that there is a drum for everyone!

On Friday I found myself at St. Tiernan's Community School for our introductory session. I was expecting about 60 students and arrived to discover 70! I had a great group of young people help me set up the room in 3 concentric circles and spread out the instruments. I had students from ages 12 to 18. There was one deaf girl in the mix as well as some students with known behavioural difficulties.

I'll admit it, I had a plan and it became obvious very early on that it was not going to work. The staff were anxious to get the students seated and I figured it was probably best to do that.
I was booked for a 2 hour slot and I forgot my earplugs...this I will not do again.
I worked a lot of call & response, did a 1 beat domino around the room, played with rumbles and volume dynamics.

We stopped for a 10 minute break after an hour and I brought everyone back with a simulated rainstorm, all 70 students in a big circle around our chairs.

In the last half an hour I finally got the group into something resembling a groove. That was very satisfying.

What did I learn?

70 students is way to many. Ear plugs ARE ESSENTIAL for gymnasium gigs, embrace the chaos, and 2 hours is far too long for an intro to drum circles, 4-3-2-1 SWITCH is a life saver, most people will have no idea what percussion bits go with what, figures of authority can really kill the spontaneous creativity of a group of students and just because students aren't really following instructions, doesn't mean they aren't enjoying themselves.

I got some very positive feedback from staff, most expressing astonishment at my level of energy. The plan is for the music teachers to check in with students after mid-term break to see who is still interested. From here we're looking to get a group of a maximum of 20 to do a regular circle at the school. If funding can be secured it will take place weekly, if not, bi-weekly.

On Monday I head for Scotland and the 6 Day Intensive Facilitator Training by Arthur Hull...so excited!

Half way through a very busy week!

2009-10-22T07:48:00.000-07:00

This week has been the busiest yet, with 8 sessions booked...yahoo!

It started with my regular slot at the Anne Sullivan Centre. One of the children came back for another session and I now realise why so many teachers say that they learn as much from their students as their students do form then! If you had no sight and no hearing, how would you explore the world? This boy uses his tongue...makes perfect sense to me!

I had a good chat with Jack, the education coordinator there and we talked about how Sound Perception sessions are under-utilized by the staff. Jack is planning to hold a seminar with staff to help train them in how to use the equipment and to educate them on the benefits.

Tuesday was my "day off", which meant I spent it working to get the new website up and running then putting together a funding proposal for the Dun Laoghaire Youth Service. If all goes well, I'll be telling you about an exciting project in the new year...but for now, you'll have to wait ;)

Yesterday afternoon I was back at NCBI where we continued work on our listening skills by having the group split into 3 rhythms, then split. Some people were "Pie", some were "bis-cuit" and some were "tir-a-ma-su". It worked so well that after awhile I invited them to switch deserts. I was really impressed at how they stuck together. One participant wanted to explore a Reggae rhythm and I was grateful for Josh, a staff member who has been sitting in. Josh started us up and we had a great session going. I could feel the music was ready for a transition, so I encouraged the group to find the heartbeat and to start changing it up. The group was able to transition smoothly and keep the groove going. We'll be doing more work on transitioning next session.

In the evening, I headed for the city centre where I did a 2 hour session with ECO Unesco. I had a group of about twenty 15-16 year old. Aside from the near constant chatter, they were a really great group to work with. Their music came together nicely and a few of them really took to the drumming. So much so I was amazed when they said they'd never done it before. I had a realisation that I really need to relax more when I'm in the circle. I discovered that while I feel I have to "teach" I'm tense, but when we had a jam session during the break, I was able to just relax into it and relate to the people there like people...not people who needed to learn something. I'm going to run a bit of an experiment to see if I can speak less during my facilitations and have a very powerful, yet simple analogy at the end of the session that leaves the participants something to think about.

Right! Off I go! We're not through this week yet!

Time flies when you're having fun

2009-10-15T05:14:00.000-07:00

So it's occurred to me that I need to actually book in time to update the old blog. Lots of stuff happening and I keep forgetting to share it! Alright, so most recent to least...

I'm just about to head to Rehab Care for our intro / taster session...really looking forward to working with this group. It's a 5 minute drive down the road and if all goes well, could lead to more work.

This morning I was at the CRC where I am happy to report we had a great circle :) Two new participants today, one of them seems to be new to the centre...both really seemed to enjoy the session. We started off by jamming, then by show casing different instruments. I then moved to getting everyone in the group to have a go at facilitating and we finished off with a Rumble Roar. Good stuff!

Last night I got an email from one of the lovely people who come to the Sunday Circle. He explained that he and his wife really enjoy drumming and that they have some friends who are also interested. He was asking if I would be interested & available to set up a Wednesday circle. My answer naturally was OF COURSE! Hopefully we'll meet to discuss soon.

We've been invited back to the Funky Seomra. I was a bit silly and made travel plans that conflict with the night, but luckily Conor & Zsé have offered to save the day. They will be running the circle on the night...which reminds me, I should probably remind them it's a fancy dress theme in celebration of Semhaine!

NCBI went great again this week as I continued to build on the groups listening skills and understanding of how music fits together. We wound up with a funny analogy of how many beats fit in a bar...which turned into how many pints can you fit on the bar before you fall off your chair...it worked surprisingly well! I explained whole notes/ half notes/ quarter notes and we did a really fun exercise where the group split into sections some playing whole, some playing half and some playing quarter notes, then switching it up. They did really well. At the end of the session I introduced a Samba rhythm we've been working on in Sonna Samba, and they took to it quite well.

The Anne Sullivan Centre continues to teach me new things every week. This week I had 2 children come in for the first time. It was a whole different ball game. I had no idea what I was doing, but worked with what they gave me. Aparently, this was their first exposure to Sound Perception...wow! More insights from this experience to come at a later time.

The Sunday circle went well again. Thank goodness for Zsé, who offered to come and help me run the session. A big thank you as well to Michelle, who also pitched in. The crowd came fast and furious this time, and tapered off toward 3:30, so we wrapped up early.

I finally ordered some more equipment last week and expect it in by Monday. Hurah!

There, I think we're all caught up :)

This Week's Adventures...

2009-10-04T12:57:00.000-07:00

So two of my drum circles were canceled this week, leaving me with The CRC, Kilbarrack CDP and a taster session for the Dun Laoghaire Youth Service.

On Tuesday evening I headed to Shankhill to do an intro to drum circles with a group of young people aged 13-20. I had 15 people turn up, three of whom were staff. The group was really great to work with. Arriving late, I quickly invited people to take an instrument of their choice and we went over the basics.

I had planned a few ice breaking activities with egg shakers and boom wackers, but soon realised that I didn't have enough...prompting another reminder to myself that it's time to put in another order at Thomann.

We moved on to do some call and response, and then I split the djembes into two groups, one doing a simple 4-beat rhythm, the other playing a nice counter-rhythm. From here I worked on show-casing some of the smaller percussion instruments and the group really got into it.

They seemed to be having such a great time that I invited them to come have a go at facilitating, and a few took me up on the offer. It was fascinating to watch how each one had a different style.

We continued working on listening skills at the CRC, again trying to bring the music to a more cohesive place. We did a game that I've been working on, where individuals choose a partner on the opposite side of the circle, and they do a call and response. This is then built upon by the next pair and so on until everyone is playing. I learned that for this activity, it is best to assign each person the same rhythm to play. Otherwise, the group gets confused on how to fit their rhythm in. Good learning!

I next went to the Kilbarrack CDP. I'm sad to say that a phone call earlier that day informed me that the project had chosen to pull the drumming due to current political issues...primarily that all community development projects in Dublin are fighting to maintain the funding they need to do their work. oh well, better luck next time.

This week at the park was busy, while we lucked out yet again with the weather.
Gaz & I had the intention of a slow start, taking our time and maybe even having a cup of tea...not a chance! We no sooner got the drums out of the bags then people were coming over. The most exciting part about this week's circle was that one family even brought their own instruments to share! (Thank you to Tracy's dad for the park photo!)

The Latest & Greatest

2009-09-29T01:06:00.000-07:00

Well folks, last week went by a lot quicker than expected!

Monday saw me back at the Anne Sullivan centre. I'm continually amazed by my sessions there and by what my students teach me. Working with deaf-blind people is totally different than with my other groups. The Motto is "keep in touch"- touch is incredibly important for someone who otherwise would not know you were there. It's taken me awhile to get comfortable with this idea as it goes completely counter to the way society has been heading for the last few years. Everyone has become exceptionally conscious of touch: From teaching to coaching touch has been made nearly taboo. It's taken some time to get used to, but I am already seeing positive feedback.

On Wednesday I was back at NCBI for our second session. We had a staff member come and sit in for the first half of the class and he really seemed to enjoy it. I seemed to be missing a few people this week, and I had to round up a few of the smokers as they were lingering outside, but we got started more or less on time.

This week we worked on listening. I got the djun djun players to keep a steady beat and invited people to join in. We worked on a few simple rhythms and I did a little bit of work on playing on the beat then playing off-beats. Overall, a good session.

Thursday found me at the CRC with a small group. Many had gone away on a group trip, which made it difficult to build on our composition that we started last week. We worked more on playing together and one participant had a go at trying to facilitate the group in the process. We had one new participant this week and one long absent returnee, which was really nice to see. We went around the circle taking turns facilitating and overall it was a good session.

From the CRC I headed to Kilbarrack CDP. I was hoping after our first session, (where 3 people turned up), that word would have gotten around and we would have a few more. That was optimistic. This week there was no one!
I learned that the sessions were booked during lunch hour and were completely voluntary. With 5 sessions to go, I'm not sure where we will be going from here...

I received a phone call from Mary at St. Tiernan's Community School. She was looking to hold 2 intro sessions with a view to establishing a weekly circle for the students at the school. We'll be having a meeting soon with the music teachers to discuss details.

Finally, the Sunday Circle!
The Sunday circle wasn't as busy this week as last, but that is not to say that we didn't have fun! There was definitely still a good crowd of folks there and it was great to see more adults getting involved. We even had a junior facilitator come play :)
Had a chat with Adam, the man in charge of the market. He had some concerns over the gratitude bucket, but we talked it through and came to an arrangement. I explained to him that I would like to develop a more formal relationship with the county council. He shared that he and the other people responsible for the market have really enjoyed having us there. I'm hoping that we'll be able to open a dialogue and come to an arrangement that works for everyone...especially since I'm hoping to get permission to put up a tent for when the weather becomes less cooperative.

An Amazing weekend...

2009-09-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

I am excited to tell you all that drumming at the one year anniversary of the Funky Seomra was a wild success!
We arrived amid a bit of chaos, no one seemed to know where we were to set up, and there were no signs up to direct people. We sorted this out soon enough and again I was so so grateful for my wonderful friends who helped me carry the drums, set up the room, throw up some signs and invite people in to join the music.

A head count revealed 36 people packed into the room at one stage- we had a wide variety of folks, some had drummed before, others were new...but everyone had a great time :)

Sunday saw us back at the park and I was amazed to see the amount of people who came to join in. Even the adults were picking up shakers and drums and getting involved. The gratitude bucket was well fed and I nicknamed our troupe the Mobile Musical Creche... there were so many young musicians in the crowd! Another 9 people signed up for our mailing list too!

A big thank you to Gaz and Zse for managing the mayhem and to Tracy for taking photos. You are all great!

2009-09-18T04:41:00.001-07:00

ASC:
I was back at the Ann Sullivan Centre on Monday for the last session of our 6 week trial. I've changed my attitude from worrying whether I am being effective, to being openly creative in how I deal with the service-users. It's making a big difference. Mary came in to me this week, for only the second time. I saw a huge difference. The first session she wouldn't even stay in the room. This time, I just played the piano for her. I could see her looking out of the corner of her eye at me and edging closer. If she caught me looking at her, she would back away, so I just carried on playing.

NCBI:
On Wednesday I had my first session back with NCBI. It was a bit chaotic, as some of the students there had a meeting that over-lapped with our session. People were wandering in for the first 20 minutes of the session and it meant I had to take time to go back over things. I took the opportunity to ask the students what they could tell the people who just came into the room. This seemed to work well.

I was really excited to see a group of about 13 people. This is a huge improvement from the last round of classes we did. It was also great to see one fellow, who asked if he could come "to watch", as his hands are quite bad, stay for the entire session. There seems to be a fairly broad range of ages and a good balance between men and women. I dedicated most of the first session to explaining how the drums were played, the sounds one can make and how to be safe. We did a small amount of call and response. It was interesting to get used to this new group and to catch myself realising that I was having expectations of how they would play.

STAG:
Later that same day, I headed to run a circle for the Southside Traveller Action Group. This booking was made back before the summer. I was a bit disappointed to see a very small turn out of children. I was asked to come later, specifically to accommodate the driver who was to be collecting participants. When I arrived, I was told that there was no transportation that day and we would not likely have too many.
In the end we had 3 staff and 5 children. I was feeling that the energy was really low for some reason, and was really struggling to get it going. The children seemed to enjoy themselves, but the staff were much more restrained.

There was one boy who startled me with the level of violence with which he played my djundjun. I actually stopped the circle to ask him if he was ok. I found more than once I was talking over a well-meaning staff member, who was chastising the boy. I tried to explain to the boy that he didn't need to play quite so hard, as it might damage the drum and no one would be able to play it.

I've realised that I really will have to find a way to explain to staff in advance, that I need to be the only one giving directions in the circle. In fact, I think this is probably why the energy of the group suffered.

CRC:
On Thursday, I headed to the CRC for our regular slot. Many people were away, but our numbers eventually got up to 11 people. A new staff member came in for a few minutes to have a go and got a good kick out of sharing out the task of facilitating.
I started to put more structure onto the plan of composing and recording our own music. I explained to the group that we would need to decide who would play what, and then we talked about the different responsibilities. How would the group know the tempo to play at? How would they know when to start and stop? We delegated many tasks, and then did a test-run.

I have no idea if this project will work, but I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops.

Kilbarrack CDP:
After the CRC I headed to Kilbarrack for our first session. I'm really not sure what happened here. I had 2 people turn up. Someone mentioned a miscommunication...I really hope it's resolved for next week.
I've got to say, the two folks I had were really great. I explained to them about how to djembes are played, the sounds you can make and then introduced a few simple rhythms. One of the two really wanted to play the djun djun so we did some brief lessons on it to.
About half way through we were joined by another staff memeber, and our music was getting into a good groove.

As it turns out, that staff member is connected to other folks in the drumming world, as well as with the orgnanisers of Your Naked Voice. She told me that a Friday night drum circle is set to start somewhere near St. Stephen's Green soon.

Funky Seomra:

Finally, I got a message on Thursday from David, the organiser of the Funky Seomra. FS is celebrating its one-year birthday this Saturday and David wanted to know if I would come along to do some drumming. My answer of course was YES!
So, tomorrow night I'll be at the Funky Seomra in the RDS from 9:30pm. Really looking forward to it!

It's been a busy week...

2009-09-18T04:13:00.000-07:00

Sunday Circle

2009-09-14T02:09:00.000-07:00

Sunday Circle is always busier when the sun is out. I also find people are much more willing to show their gratitude by making a donation in the bucket. Yesterday was no exception. The one thing that was different was that instead of coming in ebbs and flows, the crowd was steady. We chose a new location, nearer to the playground, and this seemed like a good move.

I had a moment of absolute magic yesterday. There was a girl who came in to the circle, she was probably 11 or 12. It was obvious that she had some kind of intellectual disability- but was still very high functioning. She was very careful, both in her appearance and in the way she touched the different instruments. I could hear her mother behind me, encouraging the little girl to play.

I spoke to the girl, asked if she would like to drum with me. She turned to face me and stuck into drumming right away. She closed her eyes and had THE biggest smile on her face as she banged away. After awhile, she decided she was finished and moved on to explore what else she could find in the circle. When it was time to go, mom encouraged the little girl to say thank you, but that connection was gone...and that was ok :)

I had a moment again, of being so grateful for my drums. I can connect with so many people on so many levels.
We had more "big kids" yesterday too...which made for some really fabulous music.

We decided to pack up at 4, but it was awhile before we could get everyone out...there was an influx of children just as we gave the last call...I think I might put up a sign that lets people know how long we will be there...It also occured to me that I need to speak to someone at the Dun Laoghaire Co Co...whomever is in change of events. The Book Festival was on this weekend and we could have been on the program...live and learn!

Two groups signed on, and CRC

2009-09-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

I spoke with Stuart yesterday and we are confirmed for this terms session with NCBI. We start next Wednesday and have our funding secured until at least Christmas.

Today at the CRC the group launched into taking turns facilitating. It was brilliant to see how each person chose to tell us to stop or go. At first, we tried to keep the signals fairly consistent, but as we went on I tried to encourage their self expression. each time someone took a turn as facilitator, they took a mallet so we knew who to look at for the instructions. .Some really funny gestures came out such as "wind screen wipers", "hills" and "circles". one participant even opted out of using the stick in favour of her small piano. It worked!

We did some work again on playing together. We went around the circle, each person doing one beat, then 2, 3 and four. Next we tried to all play the 1, 2, 3 & 4 beats together.

The group was in really good form and lots of laughter went around the circle. I asked the group if they would be interested in composing and recording music and they were...really looking forward to exploring this further.

After I'd finished, I headed over to Kilbarrack Community Development Project. They managed to get funding through the VEC for staff training. We have to confirm, but we are fairly confident that we have 10 hours to start. I am very excited about working with this group, because it will be my first block session with a non-disability group. We start next Thursday!

More things to write about...

2009-08-29T01:58:00.000-07:00

This week's session was meant to be the last at the Central Remedial Clinic. I couldn't believe how quickly it had passed! I was meant to meet with the Centre Manager to do an evaluation of the program and figure out from there where to go.
The meeting got postponed to next week, which is ok, because we have a tentative agreement to extend the program for another 10 weeks!

I continued my work this week to get the group playing together. I started out with a game I adapted from Joe, " I was walking through the jungle and I saw a...". I passed around a bag filled with plastic animals and after each participant had one, I asked the folks who are hearing impaired what the sign was for each one. I then started the group by stamping their feet as though they were walking. I said, I was walkin through the jungle and I saw a... from here I pointed to a participant, who held up their animal. As a group we did the sign for it, the owner of the animal did a bit of a solo, then I brought everyone back in.

It was a little rough around the edges, but overall it worked quite well.

I also split the group in two and worked on some coordination activities. We started by playing 4 beats while alternating hands. Next we did two beats with the left hand then two beats with the right. Finally, we did 4 beats with the left hand then 4 beats with the right. The smaller groups did seem to help get people playing at the same time.

I was really excited to see a new participant come in this week. I've invited her several times, but this was the first time she actually came in. She really enjoyed herself and said she would be back next week. YAY!

When I got out of the CRC I noticed a missed call on my phone.I soon learned it was from a social worker based here in Dun Laoghaire. She got my name from one of the Southside Youth groups and was wondering what I did and if it would be appropriate for a child who was in care. We have arranged to meet on Monday.

That evening, Gaz & I headed for the Kingston hotel where we played with our Samba group for a charity function. It was so great to have people up and dancing and enjoying our music!

I think I've mentioned that the Festival of World Culture is on this weekend and that I will be busking from 2-4pm on Sunday at the East Pier. I'm hoping we'll have a good turn out. I've invited a lot of people to join us, so maybe just maybe we'll get some good rhythms going....

House Warming, ASC update and Word of Mouth

2009-08-27T01:45:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I was so excited to have my very own backyard drum circle! We through a long-awaited house warming party and lucky for us, there was a good show of people who were musically inclined. It was so amazing to be able to create such a space in my very own home :)

This week at the Anne Sullivan Centre T, what many would call a more high-functioning service user was a happy man. I really enjoy working with him on Sound Perception. His face lights up with the biggest smile when he is really enjoying his own music making. This week was more of the same: figuring out who this new group of people are, how to communicate with them, what they like, what aggrevates them. I have an increasing amount of respect for the Social Care Workers who interpret the world for these folks.

I got a call from a mum yesterday who was asking about sessions for children with disabilities. She had gotten my number from a music therapist in the Crumlin Hospital. The MT had gotten my number from a parent who regularly attends the Sunday Circle.

Realisations that came from the phone call:
* My biggest task is to get my name out there. Once people know I exist, it's just a matter of time.

*My reality is very different than say, that of someone with children. I have no idea what kind of schedules families have, what days work for people, what times are most appropriate.

*I need to look a little wider. I had never even considered specifically targeting children with special needs.

I was very pleased that this particular mum was open to engaging in a dialogue. She agreed to speak with some parents she knew and to come back to continue the discussion.

I want to serve my community. I can't do it alone!

Womens Drum Circle

2009-08-20T07:46:00.001-07:00

What rhythm does your life move in at this moment?

Come together with a small group of women to explore your inner rhythms through mindful- music making.

Explore a space of creativity in the present moment. Wednesday evenings from 7-8pm at Urban Junction in Blackrock. No previous musical experience is necessary. Drums provided. Group maximum is 12, so please book early to guarantee your place.
Cost: 95 euro

For more information or to book your place, please contact Kelly Boutilier:
Email: Kelly@rhythmseekers.org

Moving and shaking...

2009-08-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

(Thanks to Gaz for the photos)
Today I had two very productive meetings. I first met with Maire from the County Council. She's an Education Officer for the Arts Department and we talked about the work we were each doing and the possibilities for collaboration.

I next met with Lorraine, the Youth Arts Officer. We teased out the idea of what we could do together along the theme of Communication and how we might be able to engage young people in the converation. I've just begun the whole Garda Clearance/ Criminal Records check procedure so that I should be able to start doing some sessions with the youth workers in this area by the end of September.

This week was session #3 at the Anne Sullivan Centre. I tried some different techniques after reading an article online about music therapy for deaf-blind children. I decided to try a Call and Reponse technique that was explained. I asked a PA to sign to one of the participants "faster", "Louder" and "quieter". He seemed to respond. I will explore this further next week. The PA made a very good point, that it was important to physically demonstrate the differences to the participant.
I finally remembered to bring a bracelet this week. This is how the participants identify who they are working with.

I got confirmation from Stuart on Monday that I will be doing another 12 week block with NCBI starting in mid-September.

Over the weekend, some friends and I went up to Belfast to help Joe from The Gathering Drum hold a drum-a-thon in support of the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children. We held three circles over the course of the day and had a good turn out. It was fun to watch people get caught up in the magic of the music we were creating. Joe doesn't have the final count yet, but he thinks his event raised somewhere in the vacinity of 600 pounds for the charity. Great!

And finally, I've booked a venue for the second week of September to hold a 6 week Drum circle workshop for women. I'll be posting more about this once I get my flyer put together.

Anne Sullivan Centre & CRC

2009-08-14T10:43:00.000-07:00

This was week #2 at the ASC, and I can't say I have a whole lot to report other than it's all a bit of an experiment at the moment. I had an interesting thought that I figured I would share: If you were born deaf and with a visual impairment, what would music be like to you?

I discovered that T, one of the more receptive residents at the ASC really likes the keyboard. He sits with his back against a very large amp, (so large, that I have to wear ear protection), and mashes the keys with both hands. I tried to get T to use his fingers and to explore the different keys. He willingly followed, but in the end, went back to the mashing. When I stopped interfering and "listened" to what he was doing, I realised that the keys he was so focused on were the ones that produced the most vibration.

This week at the CRC I started off with the use of the white-board to explain a bit of the new learn to play the djembe CD I've been listening to. It uses this really easy to understand system to explain the different sounds you can get out of your drum, and then teaches you rhythms vocally. The listener can then take the sounds and translate it into action. I've really been working on trying to get the group to play together and this technique worked really well.

I then turned the facilitation of the circle over to the group and it was a brilliant session.
I could actually see the self confidence rising in the room. Fabulous!
Each time someone tok a turn, they chose the next person to follow. It was interesting to see how each person had their own style, and what they remembered from how I do it. Most chose stop cuts, but some chose to play with the volume.

I'm learning more and more sign language and am gaining confidence in using it- much because of the encouragement I get from the non/little-hearing folks in the group.

Drumming for Equality

2009-08-09T11:18:00.001-07:00

I'm glad to tell you all that the protest march organised by LGBT Noise to highlight issues around the new bill about gay civil partnerships was a success. Te Gardai estimated approximately 5000 people turned out to show their support.

It was amazing to be a part of the energy, making a little noise for equality and making new friends.

A big thank you to everyone who came out to show their support for equal treatment of LGBT couples and families!

Laughing so hard my face hurt...

2009-08-06T13:11:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned lately how grateful I am to have this work to do?

Today I was with my CRC group and we had so much fun. We worked on the Washing Machine, and then moved on to other activities to improve group coordination.

We started with a 3/4 count, where two beats went on the drum and the third beat was a clap.

Next, we moved to 4/4 count where again, two beats went on the drum, then the 3rd and 4th beats were claps.

Time to get into partners!

One, two, clap your parter's hand. Partners were sitting beside each other.
Next, we changed partners to the person sitting opposite us in the circle, keeping the same rhythm.

Now we went back to 4/4 time: two beats on our drums, two beats clapped with partners. This got a bit tricky with the drums in the way, so we put the drums to the side and clapped the first two beats on our thighs, and then clapped our partner's hand. Perfect!

We did a few rounds of clap your hands, slap your thighs, stamp your feet, each time I tried to slow it down to see if I could get the group in sync.

WE had a round of pass the instrument, a few Orla Specials (a.k.a. Rumble-Roars) and a lot of laughs with other improvisations happening in the group.

I'm really enjoying the dynamic of these folks; they are always so eager to get playing and quick to smile. I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with them. Thank you all!

Music as a universal language

2009-08-04T04:11:00.000-07:00

Hia folks!

Three things to update so far this week:

The first is that Rhythm Seekers has been asked by LGBT Noise to help out with a peaceful protest this coming Sunday, August 9th. In a nutshell, the organisation is tryin to raise awareness about a proposed bill that will have a significant impact on gay and lesbian families. The bill is set to finally recognise civil partnerships for same-sex couples here in Ireland, a long waited for action. There's one slight problem: while the bill recognises these relationships, it does not give the same family rights as heterosexual couples. We've been asked to come help make a little noise during the protest and wrap it up with a celebratory circle. For more info on the event, please check out LGBT Noise's website.

We were back in the park this past Sunday and were lucky that the rain held off. It's occured to me that we might not be fortunate with the weather for much longer and an indoor venue will soon be necessary. With this in mind, I put out a sign up sheet for two programs I hope to launch in the autumn: Music for Parents and children and a Women's Circle. A few people signed up, and with the comments I've been receiving since I started the circle, there appears to be interest.

A favourite moment from our Sunday Circle this week: a woman from Hungary, whom, as I was later told by a family member, spoke very little English joined in this week and had a great time. We didn't speak much with words, but we had a great conversation with our music :)

One of our lovely drummers this week was kind enough to pass my details on to Rehab Care. I received a phone call from one of their managers today, and we are in the process of negotiation a free session in September with a hope to do a 10 week block session soon after. Hurah!

Ballyogan Resource Centre & CRC

2009-07-30T14:26:00.000-07:00

My project has been a bit slow moving since I got back, but that is entirely to do with me and my focus...or lack there of. That being said, this week has been interesting!

It started with being hired to run two 2-hour circles for the Ballyogan Resouce Centre on Monday. I may have mentioned in an earlier post tat I had a panic when I got back- work documents didn't get transferred over before the move etc. etc.

I thought I was in the clear, but I came to a sudden and shocking OH NO! When I realised that my first circle for this group was to be a group of twenty 6-11 year olds. I'll spare you the details, but it was a very challenging experience for me. I was able to keep the group engaged for most of the time, but 2 hours is simply too long to expect to hold the attention of this age group.

My learning:

This was probably too big an age range to work with effectively as a group. The younger ones had a lot of difficulty with following basic instructions, (mainly because they have yet to develop the listening skills. This is not an age group where giving room to decide works well, (i.e. choosing a partner) and there was a lot of drama.

For the future: Remember it takes a long time for this age group to get organised, keep instructions simple and direct, choose games that get everyone participating actively so they can't let their minds wander, (Traffic Lights worked really well for this). Oh, and make damned sure I can open the booking forms to know what my group is going to look like!!!

2nd group: Teenagers. 3 lads and one girl.

I gave them a choice of learning rhythms, or doing silly games. They chose the games. The lads left after an hour, they just lost interest. I'm still thinking about what I could have done better.

The circle at the CRC was a pleasure as always. I've really been trying to work with the group lately to improve their ability to play together. As I've mentioned before, this is a challenge as there are a number of participants with hearing impairments. Still, they are a joy to work with each week. I tried out the new game we invented: the washing machine, and it worked surprisingly well. I think I will try this one again in the future.

Anne Sullivan Centre, CRC & Drumming at home

2009-07-26T13:11:00.000-07:00

Last Monday I went to the Anne Sullivan Centre after a request to come and see if I could work with their service users. The Anne Sullivan Centre deals with adults who have multiple sensory disability, deafness & blindness to varying degrees. Some of the service users have other complications. All have a staff member which they are with at all times. Staff communicate through hand-sign.

The last person to work with the group left a paragraph on each service users, which gave me a bit of a starting place, but realistically, I'll be starting from scratch. This gig is different. I'm working one-to-one, through the staff member. We explore different sounds, different instruments and if the service user isn't interested, that's all folks. The manager, Finola, has signed on for a 6 week block beginning August 10th. I'm looking forward to this latest opportunity.

I was back at the CRC on Thursday and again thoroughly enjoyed my time there. The group is always game to try new things. This week I brought a bag full of plastic animals I bought while in Canada. I had each participant chose an animal at random, then we drummed the animal sound. I then got the group to pass their animal to the left and start again. Next came trying to make gestures or other sounds to go with the animals. Everyone got a big kick out of this game.

I've been trying to think of ways to get the group playing better together. It's a challenge with the diversity of the participants. I worked a bit on call and response and passing out parts. We've got a ways to go. Good thing Louise, the manager has agreed to extend until the end of August. I expect after an initial evaluation the circle will be extended yet again.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of hosting an impromptu drum circle in my back garden. Gaz and Curtis were ready to jump in, but our new friends needed a bit of encouragement. Soon enough though, we were drumming together and laughing. We even invented a new game which I am really excited to try out!

Music Together and back to the Park

2009-07-19T23:24:00.001-07:00

Hey there folks,

Yesterday was a busy day indeed! We brought drums back to the People's Park to continue the Sunday Circle and had a really great time. I few familiar faces and a few new ones two. Babies to grandparents this week. I facilitated a game of Traffic Lights with the help of the under 10 crowd and wrapped up by 2:30.

Next, Gaz & I headed for Bray to play along with Music Together in this years' concert.

Music together is an amazing 3 day music workshop for people with disabilities in which original pieces are composed. Dance, drumming, technology and singing are all brought together with the help of volunteers, musicians and of course, the participants themselves.

The culmination of the workshop is the performance, which we try to link with a special event happening at a local level. This year we were in luck: The Bray Summer Festival gave us a spot.

A big round of applause for Marion & Andy who organise this event each year, putting much time and effort into sorting all the logistics. Many thanks to all the other brilliant volunteers who helped to make my 2nd year with Music Together so enjoyable :)

Circle 2 of the week: Southern Ability

2009-07-17T10:01:00.000-07:00

It turns out that so far, the best marketing technique I've used has been to offer free drum circles. It was a free circle that I ran for the Southside Partnership that led to yesterday's gig.

Southern Ability is a relatively new group, which seems to be a social group for people with disabilities. Seven members of SA were there plus two support staff. We used the Loughlans Community Rooms, which turned out to be quite a good venue.

We began with my usual introductory "fastest djembe lesson in the world", then explained about the grandmother drum (we even had a grandmother to play it!). We then went around the circle doing an intro with hello my name is + rhythm.

We then moved on to do some basic call and response follwed by Traffic Lights.
There was one participant who just sat in front of her drum. When I passed around the Boom Wackers I was delighted when she enthusiastically took them up and started facilitating all on her own.

Next I went around the circle whispering a different animal in the ear of each participant. The participants then drummed out a representation of their animal while the rest of the group tried to guess what it was.

We were midway through another call and response session when a mobile phone went off. I take responsibility for this one- usually I remember to request participants switch off...oops.

So the mobile goes off, and I continue with the session expecting the participant to end the call...nope! In fact, she spoke for at least a minute, during which time I got up to all sorts of antics with the group, first getting them to say hello, then getting them to drum quietly, because, well, couldn't they see someone was on the phone?!

All in good fun.

I got the group to then create a platform with the rhythm " I like peanut-butter pie" while we went around getting each person to solo on top of the group rhythm. We then moved on to 4-3-2-1 Switch!

We finished off with Vocal/body percussion...the group wasn't too sure about this, but they went along with it anyway and there were a few giggles.

We wrapped up the session with the group wanting more...which is a great way to end a session!

Sandra, my contact from the Southside Partnership and the liaison to Southern Ability said she would like to book another session in the future. Hurah!

Back to Dublin, back in the circle!

2009-07-16T13:53:00.000-07:00

So, not even 24 hours back in the country I found myself back at the CRC for our weekly circle. I was surprised with a big Welcome Back! message on the white-board. We had a small circle, it seems that some of our regulars have moved on from the centre to do other things.

We were joined 3 new people: One was a young lad of about 15, the others, two lovely ladies who were on work experience. All really seemed to enjoy their first experience in our circle. It was fun to see who the dynamic changed with the new participants. The young lad "sparred" a bit with the drummers on the opposite site of the circle and had them in stiches.

We played some of our regular games, such as Traffic Lights and Play By Number, but we also added in some variations.

I gave the participants 2 numbers and had them play on their numbers. Then I had everyone find the person who had the same number and do a call and response. Then we Bounced the rhythm around the circle. It was a bit messy, but everyone seemed to enjoy it.

CRC is booked in for the rest of the month, after which time I hope to meet with the manager to continue the circle. I'll keep you posted!

It's all in the family

2009-07-12T19:04:00.000-07:00

Hello again from Nova Scotia!
It's almost time to head back across the pond, and I'm excited about what that will mean. There are new and existing groups ready to get back to drumming and I am looking forward to meeting new budding musicians :)

This weekend, as is becoming tradition on my visits home, we had a family dinner complete with lobsters, mussels and our usual musical escapades. This year it was a little different: I had percussion instruments and a drum to spare, and this time everyone got in on the music. Even my nan!

Hello from Foggy Nova Scotia

2009-07-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to leave a quick note to let readers know that the blog hasn't died, it's just on holidays :)

In Quebec I had a fun few minutes introducing a 7 month old baby to drumming and was really impressed when she took so quickly to the agogos.

So far here in Nova Scotia, my home province, no drumming excitment, but we still have a good few days to go.

I've had a few more emails from folks wanting to make bookings or wanting to know about availabilities. July is filling up, but August is still pretty open...Guess we'll see soon!

Changing ideas

2009-06-24T19:17:00.000-07:00

Today I write from Albany, New York, but that's not where the story begins- and definitely not where it ends.

In a fun twist I found myself volunteering to drive a friend on a 6 hour journey to see her love. We drove from the Eastern townships of Montreal, through Vermont and into New York.

During a pause in White Water Junction, my friend pulled out her banjo, and me my drum and we had an impromptu jam session in a parking lot. A woman walking by stopped to say how great it was to hear us playing. She really liked my drum. I invited her to come try. Oh no, she said, I have no rhythm.

How many people have I heard say this same thing? How did we all get so disconnected?

I used my standard reply: Have you got a heart-beat? Have you got 5 minutes?

I had her drumming along in no time. It's very repetitive, she said.

Sure it is. There's nothing to it.

She mentioned that there was a local womens group that did drumming- she often heard them playing and loved the sound. I encouraged her to go along, to give it a go.

I love how music has the power to connect complete strangers and hopefully, to change ideas too.

Howdy from Vancouver!

2009-06-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Sarah for snapping this shot of me joining in with some drummers at the Car Free Vancouver Day. What a fantastic group of musicians to play with! I quickly realised that I was way out of my league with this bunch, but they didn't seem to mind. I spoke briefly with one of the drummers asking what the drumming scene was like here in Vancouver. I figured there must be some action what with having passed two separate drum shops on one street today. She told me that there was indeed a lot going on and that there are a few really great teachers....might have to wander back this way at a later stage :)

A big hello from sunny Colorado!

2009-06-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

Well folks what I trip this has turned out to be so far!
I've been to my first professional baseball game, I've flown down waterslides at one of the largest water parks in the United States and I've kayaked through canyons on the Colorado river.

Of course, I couldn't go on holidays without bringing some music with me! I'm pleased to say that the drum circle planned for the Sunrise Ranch was a success. We were treated to a campfire, a full moon and lightening streaking across the sky, (thankfully at a good distance away). My circle was made up of people young and old and everyone had a good time. There were probably about 15 people there at the height of it and we had some pretty sweet grooves going on. I'd like to go back and visit the Sunrise Ranch again sometime in the future. It was a really great community to be a part of, if only for a short while :)

Glasthule Centenial & more...

2009-06-06T02:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we packed up the car and brought the gear down the road for the Glasthule Buildings Centenial celebrations. The schedule was flexible, and while we showed up at 2pm for the start, I didn't actally hit the stage until nearly 4pm. As always, the drums were a hit with the kids and I had a mini orchestra set up in a flash. Gaz held us together with a steady rhythmn on the djun djun and much fun was had by all.

Central Remedial Clinic went really well this week. We had a staff member from another section sit in on the session and I guess he liked what he saw- said he would like to know if I could work with his group.

This week's session included the Rhythm Machine, Clap-down-the-line and group sections, (splitting the group into smaller groups and assigning them rhythms...I've discovered that this does not work!)

Wrapping up With the CRC and IWA

2009-06-01T08:43:00.000-07:00

Hey there folks, bit of a delay on this post, but what can I say, I'm in Colorado :)

My final circle with IWA was fairly uneventful. I tried as usual just to keep the music going. We were late starting, but the every level was ok this time. Instead of programming in games, I just let the circle flow, stopping now and then to talk about different things. I asked the group whether they would like to do drumming again, what they liked the most and least. G said he liked everything, but wouldn't want to do it again. D, true to his easy going said he'd give it another go. M, the one who speaks the least seemed to have the most enthusiasm for continuing.
I met with Bronagh afterwards and she has asked me to do an evaluation of the project. I'll be putting this together over the next 2 months.

Conor came along with me for the wrap up with the CRC. We can a good crowd in of about 12, all enthusiastic and ready to do. We did some free style grooving and had some really great rhythms happening. It makes a huge difference to have another drummer sitting opposite in the circle. I never laughed so hard when we played a game of traffic lights. The group has definitely gained confidence in their abilities. This time, the boomwackers were handed around the circle with each participant taking a turn giving the Red/ yellow/green signs. Everyone was laughing and generally enjoying themselves.
We did a few of our usual stress busters, rumbling in waves until coming to a roaring crescendo. When it was time to go, a few were asking when I would be back and I got the feeling that drumming with definitely continue into the foreseeable future when I get back to Dublin in mid-July.

Sunday Circle and another booking!

2009-05-25T07:52:00.001-07:00

So yesterday was the final Sunday Circle until after July 15th and what a circle it turned out to be!
We were blessed with summer sun and lots of enthusiastic drummers young and old. I even had 4 people from my weekly circle and the Central Remedial Clinic join us!
I got organised this week and put together an information mat,(like a big plastic folder) that explained what we were doing and a little more about the project). Sixty-five euro and change in the gratitude bucket by the end of the session.

A good few familiar faces this week, including one of the lads who turned up about a month ago. The change in his attitude was amazing. When I first met him, he was slagging his friend and it took a lot of convincing to get him to have a go. This time he sat down beside me and dived into the rhythm. He even told me that he had recently been to Africa and was shipping drums home!

I am going to miss doing this circle during my six weeks of travel...I'm already looking forward to coming back ;)

I got a phone call from Finola of the Anne Sullivan Centre today. This came as a bit of a surprise as I had only recently spoken to another staff member there who I'd organised to touch base with when I got get back. Finola explained that their music therapist is leaving and she would like to continue the program. I expected her to shy away when I explained that I wasn't a qualified music therapist, but instead she booked me for the first Monday I get back with a view to establishing a regular weekly session. Great!

Updates: Bookings, meetings and things to come

2009-05-23T03:22:00.000-07:00

Busy week! Here are the highlights, in no particular order:

I spoke with Alison from STAG and have booked in a date to work with a group of 12-15 year old boys in September. She wants to see how the fist session goes and will look at extending if it works.

I've organised to meet with Cathleen of the Kilbarrack Resource Centre on Monday. She wants a session for staff. More info to follow.

I went to a Buddha Bag meeting at Oscailt in the city centre on Thursday night. Nick Twilie was there and he did a session on drumming and consciousness. I was really glad for the opportunity to meet him. I saw he was running some courses on drumming a few months back, but as funds are a bit tight at the moment I had to give it a miss. He seemed like a really nice guy and a very talented musician. We were treated to a guided meditation, a spoken word segment and an opportunity to create our own spontaneous music.

Wrapped up my last session with NCBI until September. I can't believe how quickly 10 weeks went by! Held the 2nd last session with the CRC until I get back in July. It went very well.

I've put down my deposit for the next level of drum circle facilitator training I plan to do in October. Very excited about this. We'll train over 6 days in Scotland. I'm going to try to find a way to post the flyer for the event somewhere here on the blog.

Last night the weather was nice (for a change!) and I convinced Gaz and Pavel to come drumming by the water. I love drumming into the sunset! A young girl came up and was listening and I invited her to come try. Soon after her brother joined in and mom and dad weren't far away. I got to chatting with the dad and invited them all to the Sunday Circle. Eventually, they had to leave and many thank yous were said. Soon after we started packing up and the young girl came bounding back and put a fiver in my hand. Here's a small donation, she said. Thanks! and off she went. Have I mentioned lately that I love my life and all the beautiful people who pass through it?

Finally, I attended a free course about Online Marketing put on by the Southside Partnership yesterday. I learned some new things, but mostly it was a discussion on how social networking sites, (and even blogs)are becoming very powerful marketing tools. Good, I guess I'm off on the right foot :)

Drumming in the People's Park is on tomorrow from 1pm (weather permitting). All welcome! This is the last one til I get back in July :)

Another booking hurah!

2009-05-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

I just signed up the Ballyogan Resource Centre for 2 two-hour sessions when I get back in July. Standard drum circle program, first group will be six to twelve year olds, the second twelve to fifteen year olds. This is the first booking I've got from the Freebee session I ran last week for Southside Partnership. Giving it away is still the best marketing tactic I've used so far.

I'm sure I've undercharged on this one, but I'm trying to balance getting local groups with profitability and my knowledge of community project budgets. My regulars are all on the Northside right now. Traffic being as it is, I spend a lot of time in the car going to and from these groups. It would be much more sustainable to have local groups.

In other news, I've spoken with Southside Partnership and they are running a series of 3 hour courses for start up businesses. One of the courses next week is "Pricing your product". I've also signed up for "Marketing online" and "Taxation for the Self Employed".

Really looking forward to getting some practical knowledge behind me...the accounting course I scraped through in Uni is a long way away at this point...

IWA, 2 leads, and other things drum related...

2009-05-20T11:37:00.000-07:00

Ran my weekly circle with IWA this morning. Had no idea what I was going to do when I went it, but we managed. I decided to try a guessing game with the group. I asked them to think of a family member and play a rhythm that they associated with the person. The group then had to guess how it was. It was interesting to see that the rhythms for male family members were much stronger sounding...

This is the second-last circle for the IWA group. I reminded the centre manager of this and we both had a moment of incredulity at how quickly time passes.

In other news: I spoke with Leonora O'Reilly of the VEC yesterday, we started by sorting out what needed to happen in order for me to get paid, (gotta love outstanding paperwork) and then moved on to discuss possibilities of new groups. She gave me a contact for a woman in Kilbarrack, Cathleen. I had a brief conversation with Cathleen today and we've organised a meeting for next Monday. She's looking for circle work for her staff- should be a good change.

Leonora had mentioned a possible group in Artane a couple of months back and I followed up on that today. Spoke to John Ryan, he's a Coordinator for the Resource Centre. He's interested to know more, so I've put on my "marketing director" hat and am working on a flyer to send out. We'll be discussing more once I get back in July.

I'm pleased to say that after 2 weeks of trying to find an insurance company that would cover me for public liability and insure my equipment I am now insured!
I went with Holistic Insurance Service. They've classified me under music therapy and their rate was really reasonable. I was also really pleased with the customer service. They're based in the UK, but cover Ireland, so yay!

Drum STrong South Dublin Cancelled- at least for now

2009-05-17T01:28:00.000-07:00

It's occurred to me that I haven't really posted that this event was a go ahead...which might be a good thing as I've got to cancel. I was organising this fundraiser for the Irish Cancer Society with very little time to spare, and was unable to get ahold of an outdoor tent. Weather being as it is...well, here, it's raining today.

The forecast looks messy for the rest of the day and the ground is likely to be saturated from all the rain we've had this week. I've decided to cancel for now, with the intention of giving it another go in August. Thanks to everyone who's offered their help to make Drum STrong South Dublin happen :)

IWA, CRC & NCBI

2009-05-15T02:02:00.000-07:00

IWA Circle:

Had a bit of a late start as there was a problem with transportation, but after awhile we got ourselves sorted. I used the Rhtyhm Conversations game again,breaking the group into pairs and then having the rest of the group guess what was being said. They seem to like this game. We also talked a bit and grooved a bit together.

CRC Circle:

I had a great experience this week. The teacher for the deaf service users came in, wanting to know more about what we were up to. She sat in and took to drumming right away. I've discovered one clear way to get the group really playing together: Rumbles. I use over the top body language to get the group to go from quiet to loud to quiet again. I teeter-totter the volume and do dramatic stop cuts. The group really loves it!
The group was small again this week, but my three regulars, the ones with the hearing-impairments were there. They've been teaching me sign. It's amazing.

This week the Manager, Louise, came in and asked if we would go out into the main foyer to play for the last ten minutes. She was hoping this would encourage more people to participate- and she was right. Soon our circle was much bigger and we were playing away. I got one of the staff members to try facilitating and he had a good laugh.

I explained to the teacher sitting beside me that there are specific rhythms one can play, and that sometimes we use words to help us with the rhythm. Soon I had a small group doing "Chaka chaka" and another playing "Ticka ticka boom". It sounded fabulous!

NCBI Circle:

Again, a low turn out. We had three this week and I was very grateful that Gaz decided to tag along. Mostly we just grooved, but I also got the group doing the dual rhythms: row row row your boat and hickory- dickory dock.
The group is still playing very well together and I'm wondering what I might be able to do to give them more of a challenge. I think I'll investigate some new rhythms on Youtube this week.

Ann Sullivan Centre

2009-05-15T01:51:00.000-07:00

Got a call from Sinead of the Ann Sullivan centre this week.
I had linked in with them briefly when I was working for Irish Blind Sports. They deal with deaf-blind people.

I was very surprised at her call! I had mentioned to her months ago that I was getting into the drumming work. She said that their music therapist was leaving and they thought of me. They have one service user who really likes music and they would like to get him involved.

Unfortunately, as I don't have a regular running group here yet on the Southside the only thing I could offer her was an invitation to the Sunday Circle. She was happy with that and we agreed to touch base again when I'm back in July.

I'm starting to re-consider taking a course from the Therapeutic Drumming Association in the UK...could be very useful.

Freebee Circle for the Southside Partnership

2009-05-14T01:35:00.000-07:00

I was pretty excited when Vivienne, from the Southside Partnership asked if I would do a short session for a networking meeting she had planned.
The Partnership was hosting the meeting to launch its new underground youth space, (a funky converted corridor with bright red paint, purple sofa benches, several computer stations and a flat-screen TV) and it's Cool Dudes Healthy Eating Program. We had initially planned to do the drumming outside, but of course it was raining so we had to get creative.

I've never held a drum circle in a corridor before, so when Viv asked if I thought it would be ok I said, Sure! It'll be grand! It's an experiment!
I set out all my kit around the low stools in the corridor and people started to filter in and head for the kitchen. I stifled giggles as people smiled and said oh! You'll be holding the drumming demonstration? ...Yes, I suppose, that is sort of accurate ;)

Onve everyone had their tea and bickies they came back out to the corridor. I invited them to explore the instruments, touch them, try them out. Most people were great about this, but some needed a little encouragement.
I grabbed my cowbell and stood up on one of the short stools and did a classic call to attention. Once I had everyone with me, I introduced myself, talked a bit about the Djun djuns and got everyone playing some music.

I did some call and response, some up/down volume, increased the tempo, sculpted by instruments etc. We took a break, I described a little more about the work that I do and then we played a final set.

I've gotta say, I was pretty suprised at how well it worked! I had about 15-20 people all in an "L" shape in front of me, so some couldn't really see what I was doing, but we managed and in the end I had a few people wanting to know more information.

Of course, even though I'd planned to bring business cards and be organised, my printer went fiddly the previous day. Not to worry though, Vivienne had an interest sheet that she circulated and planned to catch people that way. I've already gotten one phone call out of it so yay!

Sunday Circle

2009-05-11T00:57:00.000-07:00

The Sun shone and the people came :)
Headed back to the People's Park after taking a break last Sunday and was quickly surrounded by children ready to make music. I got Henrik to give me a hand unloading. We brought 4 djembes, the doumbek and an assortment of shakers/bells & woodblocks.

I started about 1:45 and stayed until half-passed four. I easily could have gone on as the crowds were not subsiding, but my persistent head cold was begging for rest.

It appears that word is getting around about this crazy drumming event that takes place each weekend. More people coming up and asking if I am part of a band, one woman asked if I worked with children with disabilities,(handed her my card), more parents confirming that there's not much around for young children in terms of music and a few really good drummers stopping by to share their rhythm. (One Polish guy stopped by and as it turns out he's a local...great!)

I'm recognizing many faces now, of both parents and children who come back each week. It's such a great feeling to see the excitement on their faces. One parent told me that their (3?) year old couldn't get enough of the "Ruuuuumble STOP!" and they'd been doing it all week.

Forty euro and change in the gratitude bucket, a donation of a fiver for next week's DRUM STRONG SOUTH DUBLIN fundraiser (more info on this to follow), and the not-quite-intended sale of two of my egg shakers...ah well. It was a good day :)

Round 2 at the Tallaght Youth Cafe

2009-05-09T13:25:00.000-07:00

We had a very small group turn up to this session. Two girls from the last session, one new boy, the Youth Worker and myself. Well, as has been my experience, five is enough to keep the music going...or at least it should be, if everyone is participating. That wasn't the case.

The new boy was a curious individual. I could tell he wanted to be there, but when I asked him to play, he wouldn't. If I gave specific instructions, he would follow them. If I ignored him, he would play, but very quietly.

How interesting! I wanted to make sure he felt included, but he didn't see to want to engage... I just let him be and invited him to join us when he wanted to.

We ran through a couple of games, such as picking playing cards and playing on that beat, passing your instrument to the right and a few others.

When the session eventually wrapped up and the group disbursed, the Youth Worker said in a low tone, Sorry! I should have told you about the new boy. He has Aspergers Syndrome. He's usually ok in groups, but...anyway, you handled in really well!

So that made a whole lot more sense, and it served as a reminder that one never knows what one will find in the group and to go with the group gives you.

The Youth Worker seemed very happy over all with our two sessions and said she would be glad to recommend me to other projects. Can't ask for more than that!

This week...so far

2009-05-07T12:38:00.001-07:00

I had to cancel my circle with IWA yesterday. I came down with a headcold and I couldn't bring myself to go out to the group for fear of a constant dripping nose.

Today wasn't much better. After a bout of insomnia (I reckon I had about 3 hours sleep in total), the show must go on! I packed up the car and headed to the CRC.

One of the best parts of my job is arriving at a centre to smiles and greetings. Today was particularly exciting as I learned that our taster session had been covered in the CRC newsletter, The Grapevine. I'm going to scan the article to put up here, but in the meantime, I'll share some of the comments printing on the page:

"I feel so relaxed after that...it was great..can we do it again?"

"I have not played a musical instrument since I was at school- it was brilliant."

"Sometimes I get frustrated by things and I find it hard to relax. Drumming is a great way to de-stress without having to take any pills."

Yahoo. Mission accomplished !
Today's session was great as usual. Sniffles aside, we experimented with rhythm + 1 (someone starts, then the next person adds to it and so on until the whole group is playing). We also experimented with theme-based drumming. Some of the themes: winter, the jungle, a match at Croak Park, dancing at a disco. The group really got into it and let loose.

After the CRC I headed to NCBI where I had a healthy group of 5, with a sixth person joining in for the last few minutes. I was glad to see that the staff member who popped over last week was back again. Once more I was really impressed by the quality of music the group was producing. This was the first time I've noticed really active listening as I set out to dialogue with a few of the others and got into a great call and response groove.

Back to the Area 24 Youth Cafe in Tallaght tomorrow...

Bluebell Youth Project's 10 year celebration

2009-05-02T01:16:00.000-07:00

Long time no post! All I can say is that headcolds and drumming do not mix. Moving along, last Saturday I was invited to run drumming at the Bluebell Youth Project's Community celebration. It was to be part of a rush of activities including face-painting, a climbing wall, a bouncy-castle, free BBQ, DJ tent and bungee-run.

The crowd came in ebbs and flows, some people wandering over to try drumming for a few minutes, then off to the next activity. Most of the people that came over were probably under 12s, but I had a few teens and adults.

We were blessed with good weather for the better part of the day, but the skies started to grow heavy at one point so we moved the circle inside. This whole process did not go very well. I wanted to speak to the project manager about whether to continue inside or to call it quits for the day. Before I could do this, the decision was made for me and the drums were being put away. This was where I ran into problems. The project is run out of a portakabin; the main room has kitchen facilities, a few sofas and for the day, an information table.

I set up the circle and talked with a friend waiting on people to come in, when one particularly difficult young person (he'd been in the circle earlier with a very poor attitude), took one of the chairs. His friend then took another. This was followed by me going over and asking for the chair back, explaining that I needed to have the seating ready for people. Let's just say the conversation that followed involved a lot of cursing on his behalf, a lot of frustration on my behalf and a thought later that I should have just let him take the chair and not be bothered.

A volunteer came over, probably a parent, who knew the boy, and sat in the circle. By now we had a few more people in the circle, trying to play in spite of the disruptive behaviour coming from the side. I actually got very frustrated at this point because the volunteer started giving out to the lads outside the circle while she was sitting inside, and then making comments to another boy in the circle.

Essentially, I couldn't get a word in edgewise.

And I was very glad when the sun came back out. We moved back outside.

It was pretty quiet for the rest of the afternoon, a few stragglers, but very difficult to get the group playing together.

Learnings of the day:

- In this type of scenerio, an outdoor free-event I have very little control over anything. The most I can do is ask someone to leave. If they do, great. If they don't...?

- I definitely need to improve on my conflict management skills.

- Five hours is a very, very long time to be running a circle in that kind of setting

- Two people definitely needed at all times

- I need to communicate my role to volunteers and let them know my expectations for facilitating the circle

There's a first for everything...

2009-05-01T03:20:00.000-07:00

I had a big wake up call today
I was facilitating a drum circle for the IWA and things didn't go as well as they have thus far.
I've been trying to modify our sessions to make them more interesting and suitable for the group. As I've mentioned before, this is the most challenging group I work with. Not behaviour-wise, just in terms of the wide range of abilities and interest.

One thing I have been doing it to bring in more discussion to the group, get people to share about what they are doing and what they like. This seems to be working and the group seems to be getting more comfortable sharing within the group.

Self-expression is challenging for some of these folks. In come cases it's a question of the means by which they have to communicate, in others it's self esteem. I've been realising that some of these folks aren't in the habit of speaking up to share their needs, so I encourage them to do so.

This week I had my first outburst during the session. It really caught me by surprise and shook me up. Out of no where one of the participants threw his egg shakers and shouted that he didn't want to do this anymore. Then stormed out of the room.

Thoughts resulting from this experience:

- First thought was whoa! Where did that come from?
- Second thought was...did I do something to set him off?
- Third was ok, is the rest of the group alright?

We continued the session and I asked the group if they were ok. By their responses, I'd have thought I was the only one who saw the outburst. Right so.

After a few minutes, the participant came in with a staff member and apologised. I asked him if he was ok, he said yes, then left.

When the session had finished I met with another staff member. She wanted to discuss what had happened. I could tell that she was very displeased with the outburst and she repeated that the behaviour was absolutely not ok and that I had the right to inform participants that I would not accept that type of behaviour.

I was very pleased at her support and the fact that she had taken the time to speak with me about this...but I had a more pressing thought..

If I'm dealing with people who don't know how to constructively express themselves, is it really fair for me to tell them that they are wrong for having an outburst and that I won't accept that behaviour?

What can I do to make the session more enjoyable, and participants more comfortable at expressing their dislike in a less violent way?

It's also occured to me that I have been absolutely spoiled- three months in and this was my first negative experience in the circle.

Lots to chew on...

Tallaght Youth Café

2009-05-01T01:33:00.000-07:00

Roisin, a Youth Worker asked if I would come into the Area 24 Youth café to facilitate a session on stress last Friday.

I set up the session to run as part group discussion (using mind-mapping technique to help the group get a visual on feedback), and part rhythm activities to illustrate certain points.

I started by explaining who I was, why we were there and what we were going to do. We then talked about ground rules and after, I opened the session by sticking four pieces of paper to a table with the following questions:

- What is stress?

- What are the causes of stress?

- How do we know when we are experiencing stress?

- What can we do to prevent/ reduce stress?

There were five young people in the group, and one was nominated to write down the answers that the group came up with.

This was not a new topic, so ideas came out pretty quickly. I asked questions like: does everyone experience stress in the same way? and is stress internal or external?

I was really, really surprised at the answers when we got to the last question: What can we do to reduce/ prevent stress
Here were some of the answers....:

Yell at teachers
Scream
Self Harm
Break things
Make fun of friends
Hide in your room

I was very careful not to judge the answers the group gave, and encouraged them to put down anything they wanted since it was a safe space. We then moved into the circle and did a few different activities. I started with an activity to bring awareness to the breath. I asked the group if they noticed what happens to their breathing when they experience stress. We discussed how tensing muscles prevents proper breathing and then adds to stress levels.

Next I explained stress in terms of energy that gets stuck up in the body and needs to be released. Here we did a series of rumbles into roars. I explained that there are many ways that we can release this energy, but that we have to make a conscious choice about how we do it. Will it cause stress to another?

Finally we did "Walk the donkey", to get the group up and moving. I talked about how exercise is very important for releasing endorphins.

We also did "pass your instrument to the right" for a final groove. They didn't seem to want to stop! Finally wrapped it up and they all helped bring out the drums to my car. I'm going back this Friday.

I'd like to build on the last session, see if I can introduce the principles of non-violent communication and talk about constructive ways to relieve stress.

NCBI

2009-04-30T03:11:00.000-07:00

I went to NCBI and again, very small numbers. Not sure what is happening here. Went from a group of 8 down to 2 and 3.

Anyway.

I tried the card game I experimented with at the CRC. Since the group was so small, I got them to chose 2 cards and made sure that they knew to have two different cards. I then counted us one, two, three, four and they played on their assigned beats. To mix things up a bit, I then asked them to send the lowest number card in their hand to the person to their left and then start again. It was great to see how the music changed.

One of the staff members popped in for the last few minutes of the class. He was very interested in trying drumming and learning about all the instruments. Apparently the manager, Stuart, put an article in a recent in house magazine about the drumming and a few staff members have expressed interest in having a go. We've been talking about the possibility of setting up a lunch time session for staff. Stuart had concerns over funding, so I suggested we put on the session for a recommended donation. This was the second staff member to come in in as many weeks, so we will see how it goes.

CRC and a comedic facilitation flop

2009-04-30T03:03:00.000-07:00

I wanted to try to introduce some new activities to my group at the CRC this week, so I thought I would experiment a bit.

I tried a game with egg shakers where I handed out shakers to everyone and had them shake their eggs up high, down low, in the middle, to the side. This got a good few giggles.

I also tried using playing cards to get the group to play on a specific beat. Participants chose a card at random: ace, two, three or four and I had them sit together with those who had the same card. I then started the count of one, two, three, four and tried to get them to play together. When they got this, I tried calling out the numbers at random. Lots of smiles here as a tried to trick them.

Next I put the group into two lines facing one another. The idea was that group B would play one beat, then group B would play one beat. Group A would then play 2 beats and group B would respond and so on until we got to 4. I tried to give visual cues with this and my fingers got tied in knots. The whole room cracked up and we went back to our circle to finish out the session with a jam.

I was glad to have failed so spectacularly with the last game. It reassured me that it's ok for me to make mistakes too!

Irons in the fire

2009-04-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

So! A few irons in the fire that I felt I would share on the 'ol blog...

After some encouragement from my friend Sharon in Colorado, I contacted Helena from the Sunrise Ranch, an intentional community focusing on spiritual development and sustainability. I wanted to know if there would be a possibility of either drumming within the community, or of leading a drum circle. So, I sent an email, and hurah! Helena said there are some drummers in the community and she would love for me to come out. She suggested a few possible dates and invited me to attend one of the programs that will be running during my stay. I expect to have a better idea of how this will all work soon.

Today was exciting!

I had just finished a hike in the beautiful Glendaloch with my friend Pavel and we while we sat drumming by the lake, (yay for leaving drums in the boot!) I got a call. It was Kevin from the Irish Cancer Society. I had sent an email earlier this week to ask if they would cooperate in helping me to launch the first ever Dublin Drum Strong. I've mentioned Drum Strong before, but a quick recap- it's a drumming marathon to raise funds for cancer research.

I've got two weeks to make this happen. I have no idea if I can pull it off, but I'm going to do my best! I'm going to need lots of help, so keep May 17th free in your diary, and contact me for more info!

Later, I received a call from Sarah at Volunteering Ireland. She was ringing to ask would I be interested in holding a gig to help launch Dublin city Volunteer Week on May 27th. This will probably be a freebee gig, but will be great for publicity.

That's all for now! Tomorrow I go to se the Enterprise Officer...I'll let you know how it goes!

Just a cloudy day in the Park

2009-04-26T12:43:00.000-07:00

I almost didn't go today. After the weather we had for most of yesterday, and little hope for improvement I wasn't sure I should really even bother. Some people come out when it's cold and threatening rain, but it's not the same.

In the end, I went to the park with 3 small drums, a few egg shakers, a guiro and tibetan chimes. It was pretty quiet. There were people around, but it wasn't the mob from last week. There was a pretty constant threat of rain, but I got lucky and only a few drops fell.

A few families stopped by, one guy wanted to know where he could buy a new djembe skin. A few familiar faces. I was organised enough to bring the sign up sheet this week and I've got seven more names.

My ponderings over whether to launch a program for small children got a boost when I talked to a mother who said she was on a waiting list for 10 months to get into a Kindermusik program. I definitely need to investigate this more.

CRC, NCBI and rain

2009-04-25T01:52:00.000-07:00

I got an amazing gift this week at the CRC. One of the regulars J, is deaf, he does not speak and he does not read lips. I've been muddling along with gestures and the help of some of those who sign within the group.

As there were a bunch of people back this week who missed out vocal / body percussion session last week, I decided to give it another go. J surprised me by choosing the vocal percussion group. I've never heard him utter a sound, so you can imagine my delight when he started making our gesture for "speak" and using his voice. He had the biggest smile on his face and was really getting into it.

Over to NCBI where I experimented with 4-3-2 and switch, where everyone gives their instrument to the person to their left and we start back into a groove. After awhile I rotated some instruments out and replaced them with new ones. The changes in the music were brilliant. The group really seemed to enjoy this.

Today I was supposed to do a drum circle fundraiser with a scout group. I've canceled because of the weather forecast. Looks like rain all weekend :(

IWA, Sharavogue & the Enterprise Officer

2009-04-22T10:36:00.000-07:00

Back at IWA after a weeks holiday and what a lovely way to start my day. I got out of my car to a squeal of delight. Mary saw me coming and was all smiles. Have I mentioned that I love this work?

We did a lot of talking today during the session. Generally trying to get people to share a little more about themselves. We played a guessing game of birthdays (drum volume increases/decreases for hot and cold), we played a game of "Have you Ever?" and we talked about where we would visit if we could visit anywhere. One new face this week. He really seemed to enjoy himself.

After the circle I was finally able to touch base with Gillian of Sharavogue Montessori school. She's interested in doing a program over the summer, needs to convince some colleagues about pricing and wants me to ring back in July. Done.

I received a call from Helena, my local Enterprise Officer. I've been hoping to meet up with her to get some advice on what I need to do to set up as a business. I've got a tentative date for next Wednesday. Just need to move a circle and I'm sorted.

I'll be heading to see the Ballybrack Scout group in a few minutes to discuss the fundaiser we're planning for Saturday. Hope this works!

Urban Junction

2009-04-21T13:41:00.000-07:00

I met with Belinda of Urban Junction Today. They're based in a former Methodist Church now used as a community space. I took a quick tour of the place to see whether it would be suitable for a community drum circle.
There are two rooms, the one on the main level has seating capacity I'd reckon for 50. It's pretty echo-y, but otherwise a nice, accessible space. There is a second room upstairs, probably seating for 20 people there, and definitely not as much echo.

At present, there are dance classes, a play group, a band and a Montessori all using the space. Fortunately for us, there are still some time slots available. The next step is to sort out Public Liability insurance.

If all goes well, the seven people who signed on for more information on Sunday will be available to take advantage of a weeknight circle.

Watch this space...

Sunday Circle...emphasis on the SUN

2009-04-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

Went to the People's Park today as planned and had the biggest crowd yet. The sun brings out the throngs...a little overwhelming actually. Was very glad to have friends along and a big thank you to Curtis for sorting out the car. Conor came a little while in and did some facilitating.

Mostly we just played. There were just too many small children coming and going. We did manage some rumbles, a quick game of Traffic Lights and some Call and Response.
I forgot my sign up sheet, but Conor saved the day with a notebook. Seven people signed up for more information on drumming lessons or a weekly circle. Another two took my details.

I got asked if I did children's parties and also if I had a regular band...ideas, ideas!

At one point, I saw the Park Warden standing over, looking rather ominous. I checked in to make sure we were ok. He seemed a bit surprised, and said he was just coming to check it out, that it sounded great from the other side of the park. We got to chatting and I learned that he is a drummer too! He might come next week with his drums :)

The gratitude bucket was put to use again and had 56 euro and change by the end :)

Things I will do differently next time:

1. Bring fewer percussion pieces. I want to have lots of participation, but there were so many this week that it was more chaos than drum circle

2. Make sure I bring my bloody sign up sheet!

3. Business Cards!

4. A sign to let people know that I'm doing, how it works and a bit about the rules (Good idea, Curis!)

5. Give the Gratitude Bucket more publicity :)

Sunday Circle is on!

2009-04-18T16:24:00.001-07:00

Hi all!

Looks like the weather will be good for the 3rd Sunday Circle on the People's park. I've been telling everyone I know to come to the circle and it sounds like we'll have a good turn out. We'll be kicking off about 2 if you want to call down :)

In other news, I met with Vivenne from the Southside Partnership on Friday. We discussed some more about where to go from here and she helped me speak to someone who will put me in touch with a local Enterprise Officer. This is the first step to setting up a business officially like. I was also told about some free courses that are coming up: Pricing your Product, Marketing online, Book-keeping for small businesses and something about taxes.

I rang Sharavogue Montessori school last week at the prompting of Vivienne. I've been playing phone tag with Gillian, from the school, so I don't have any details yet, but I do know that she is interested.

Drumming with the Bluebell Youth Project

2009-04-17T05:24:00.000-07:00

I was a little bit apprehensive about this circle, after talking to the Project Manager and learning that I would be lucky to get the kids to sit still longer than 20 minutes...oh and it'd be best not to leave personal belongings out as they may be damaged.

Conor came with me to co-facilitate and I had 9 games lined up to cover theh 2 hour period. We were expecting a group of ten 10-12 year olds plus one of the youth workers. We were off to a bit of a rocky start, with only three young people there and time ticking away. I decided we would start with a jam session and pick up with the program once the others arrived. Fifteen minutes later, another two straggled in and that was our group.

This was the first group of this age and the first group with behaviour issues as well.
We ran into a few issues, such as one girl being glued to her mobile phone, a lot of course language, and one lad who did everything he could to interrupt and get attention.

I learned a lot from this session:

- The attention span of 10 year-olds can be quite short, so it's good to keep games short and sweet.

- There are some undesirable behaviours you can do something about, and others that there is no real point in addressing.

- Praise, Praise, Praise

- Conor had a really interesting insight- there are very few positive male role models in the lives of these young people. They seemed to relate well to having a male-female dynamic.

We spoke a bit to the youth worker asking about the community centre that was next door. She explained that they run programs for young people as well, but that the relationship between the centre and the project are strained. Apparently, the programs run through the centre are not for the "bold" children. That's the projects job.

The two buildings are RIGHT BESIDE EACH OTHER!

I was left wondering if drumming could be something that could knit these two groups back together.

I can see so much potential with these kids...with the community.

In the end, the group did pretty well. They got into the drumming and some were really taking to it. They all took turns to play with Call and Response and I even got a few thank yous afterward. What if we did a 1 hour circle over 6 weeks? What could we accomplish then?

This week at the CRC... and other news...

2009-04-16T09:23:00.001-07:00

Conor joined me this week at the CRC circle, and I've got to say, having a second facilitator for this group was really great. We had fewer participants this week, 11 down from 15, but they were as enthusiastic as ever.

We started by playing "Have you ever?", then moved on to "Traffic Lights", which is a clear favourite so far. Next, we played with the Boomwackers. I tried to assign parts based on colour, but it didn't quite work as planned. Not to worry, there were smiles all around.

We finished off the session by trying voice and body percussion. This was when Conor was so great to have around. We divided into two groups, one for body and the other for voice. I started by getting the body group to start the beat. Conor lead the voice group into making all kinds of crazy sounds. Animal noises were a favourite. After awhile we asked who would like to switch groups and Conor and I traded places. The group really seemed to enjoy it.

In other news, Conor and I will be meeting with Vivienne from the Soutside Partnership to discuss where we're go from here. She's asked me to do a freebee for a network meeting of youth workers on May 14th. Hopefully this will be a good way to get my face known, and maybe some more work for October.

I spoke with Ailbhe today- she said there is a problem with the scout fundraiser. The location on Grafton Street is being used by another group on the date we wanted. She's going to see what alternatives are available.

I also spoke with Jenny from Irish Blue Cross. I let her know about the planned fundraiser for the scout group and asked if she thought drum circles migt work as a fundraiser for IBC. We're looking at doing something October 3rd.

Doug has finally got the bones of Rythmseekers.org together. I've started giving my feedback and making a few changes here and there. Hoping to have the website live in the very near future.

Like the t-shirt says...

2009-04-15T02:08:00.000-07:00

So I've been learning a lot of the fly in my new chosen profession. Most recently it's been about maintenance of drums (i.e tightening the heads), and about getting the confidence back to make things. I used to make things all the time when I was a kid. As an adult, I seem to be quick to buy or replace before creating or fixing.

But, lately this strategy is unusable. See, I've been noticing that a lot of the instruments I have bought just aren't cut for people with bodies different from the norm. Music shops don't seem to have any readily available options for my online shopping cart, so I've been cruising hardware stores, scrounging bits of materials and always keeping an eye out for alternative uses of objects.

I mentioned before about one of my participants who has no arms. The mallets I'm holding in the photo are ones that I DIY'ed in an effort to make it easier for this person to reach the drums. We field-tested them last week and they turned out to be a bit too long, but that's what it's all about: finding what works. There are no one size fits all solutions in this gig.

It's also about sustainability. I had a few empty spice containers littering my shelves for weeks. I've just turned them into shakers. We don't always need to buy new!

Incidentally, after a search on Google, I found a really great looking resource:
International Forum on Musical Instruments Adapted for Persons with Disabilities

Looking forward to investigating later. For now, I'm off to Greystones to join in on a jam session.

Music, Community & Health

2009-04-11T23:53:00.000-07:00

I'm reading a book called "Outliers: The Story of Success" by Malcolm Caldwell at the moment. An outlier, according to Wikipedia is "...an observation (in statistics) that is numerically distant from the rest of the data." Or, in every day speak, someone or some place that is not quite like it's counterparts.

One of the first examples he gives is of a town of Italian immigrants. The immigrants all came from the same town in italy, Roseto, and named their new home the same. In those days it was very easy to have neighbouring towns completely isolated from each other, and so it was with Roseto.

Somewhere along the line, a doctor realized that the people living in Roseto were very healthy people. They had half the rate of heart disease of those living in neighbouring towns, there was no alcoholism or drug abuse, no suicide and very little crime. The doctor was fascinated and wanted to know more.

With the help of the residents of Roseto, the doctor went about checking the medical histories everyone, he took blood samples, looked at diet, exercise and even the physical location of the town. He could find no reason for this anomaly. Next, he looked at other immigrants from the original Roseto living in other parts of the USA thinking that maybe he had come across a particularly hearty stock of people. Nope. Those immigrants living outside New Roseto were not gifted with the same levels of good health.

Finally, the doctor started to look at how the society of New Roseto worked. He noticed how residents would stop in the streets to speak with one another, how they would cook for one another. He noticed many families had three genenrations all living together in the same house. Everyone attended the church run by a minister from Old Roseto. There was a huge number of community and civic organisations for the population of 2000 people. They followed a very egalitarian philosophy of community, obscurring tthe failures and minimizing the financial successes of the residents.

In other words, the people in new Roseto were healthy because of their community.

I like the idea of measuring health in terms of community. It makes sense to me. I've worked in several community projects; some in areas of significant disadvantage. The social problems are often the same: drug abuse, crime, vandalism, high drop-out rates...

We seem to have this idea of community as a shared geographical space, but it's obvious that community is so much more.

I wonder... Could drumming improve the health of these "disadvantaged areras?" could it be one of the tools for getting people sharing more than just a geographical location?

So much to update, so little time!

2009-04-09T00:42:00.001-07:00

I leave for Sweden in a couple of hours, and I've still not finished packing so I need to make this quick!

The meeting with the Southside Partnership went really well. I put together a brief Powerpoint presentation, expecting two staff and wound up with four. I like it when there's a crowd to rant to ;)

Anyway, the meeting went really well. The staff there seemed genuinely interested in the project and how it could be used. They even had some ideas of where to go from here. We talked about the general issue of funding and how we might get over it. The Arts Council was mentioned and I suggested SSPS put me forward as a candidate for Artist in the Community grants. The Enterprise Officer and the person in charge of children & youth services were also interested, but unavailable to attend the meeting. I've forwarded on my presentation.

Yesterday was a crazy day. I had to put all my circles together to allow for traveling today. I started at the IWA and was anxious to speak to Bronagh. Yesterday was the final date for the 6 week pilot project and I had no idea where we were continuing. After the circle I met with Bronagh and she said that they had secured VEC funding and would like to extend a further 10 weeks. Excellent...except that I've only got 6 weeks left to give! She was ok with that.

Next I went over the the CRC. There was a bit of confusion as the message hadn't been passed on to everyone that we had changed the schedule for this week. We sorted it out eventually and had a good show of 15 people. I was really pleased to see that more of the hearing-impaired crowd turned up (we went from one, to two to four this week!) They all had such a great time. We played Traffic Lights using red/yellow/green boomwackers to give the signals and it worked really well. I tried a game where I divided the group into 4 smaller groups and assigned a rhythm...this did not work so well. I think I probably need to make it a bit easier to start with.

After the CRC I headed for NCBI. We had 2 new people this week and Conor came to join us. We got to play around with introducing new rhythms and their counterparts. We had some really sweet grooves going on. I did the 4 part split with this group and after awhile they got it.

Last night after my crazy day, you know what I did? I went drumming some more :P
Yes, I must be mad, but it was so worth it. We went down by the waterfront near where I live and were gifted with a beautiful evening sky. There were 4 of us drumming in total and promises to do it again. Pavel showed me how to tighten my djembes, for which I am very grateful!

Drumming on the Pier

2009-04-06T05:31:00.000-07:00

A big thank you to John Yoder of Yoder Photography for sending along some photos he took of Pavel & I drumming on the Pier last week.
I heard a rumour that John has some drums and may come along to our next circle in the People's Park ;)

Now if the weather would just cooperate....

Weekend Drumming

2009-04-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

This has been one busy week for drumming!

Saturday saw me pile into the car with my friend Gaz for a trip to Belfast. Joe, from the Gathering Drum organised a facilitators day where we shared games, stories and the joy of drumming. We started around 3 and were gaping at our watches in disbelief when someone said it was seven-thirty. Hey, time really does fly when you're having fun.

Back to Dublin this morning with a plan to run another free drum circle in the People's Park. It worked so well last time I thought I would give it a go. This time I came prepared. I brought more instruments, some flyers and a "Gratitude" bucket. I like the idea of running free circles and giving people the option to contribute. Hopefully it helps them become conscious of my efforts.

Great music coming from the ever changing circles today, including a sweet call and response rhythm with one of the girls from last week, and some mean djun djun playing by a newbie. A few questions this week about where you can go to learn to play the djembe...hmmmm ;)

Highlights of this Sunday's circle:

- Having my flatmate come and join in the drumming. He was convinced he couldn't play the drums and wasn't going to try. I eventually convinced him and he took to it like water. He says he'll be back next time.

- I think I have a contender for youngest ever drum circle participant: 5 months!

- Seeing familiar faces come back for more

- Having people ask when I would be back.

Tallaght Youth Service (Foroige) and a trip to Belfast

2009-04-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

I got a call today from Roisin at the Area 24 cafe, an initative of the Tallaght Yout Service. I had spoken to her about a month ago, asking if the cafe might be interested in running some circles. At the time, she said that funding contstraints would make it impossible. Today, she was ringing to say that she'd found a way to fund. She's asked me to do two dates (to be confirmed), on a stress reduction/ relaxation theme. There are a lot of papers that need to be filled out, but I think we are good to go.

I'll be traveling to Belfast tomorrow to meet with some other facilitators to share games and wisdom. Looking forward to it!

NCBI & Southside Partnership

2009-04-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

Today we had a women's circle at NCBI. It wasn't intentionally so, but just how it worked out. We also had a new participant who I hope will come back in the future.
We started by doing a similar activity to the CRC, a drum circle in honour of Spring. Again I asked the participants what did they think of when I said the word spring. Birds, wind, and rain were among some of the answers. I then asked them to choose an instrument or a sound for their ideas and we started a groove. One participant had the entire group in stitches when she chose "Dolphin" and made the accompanying sound. It was brilliant...and it gave me another idea.

When we wrapped up the Spring groove I thanked the ladies and then asked them if they would like to try something new: some voice work. I explained that we've been exploring different sounds with drums and percussion, but never before with our voices. The result was fabulous! I kept a steady rhythm on the djun djun while encouraging the others to explore the ways their faces moved and how it changed the sounds. We had animal sounds (including the dolphin), we had squeals and laughter, oohs and buzzing tongues, hoots and howls. They really got into it.

After, we explored 3/4 and 6/8 rhythms briefly. Good session!

***Update on Southside Partnership: I will be meeting with them this coming Tuesday!

CRC Week 1

2009-04-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

Hello hello and welcome to the blog!

Today started out with a trip to the CRC for the first session of an 8 week program they have signed up for.

Today I planned to start with "hello my name is" (participant says their name, then makes up a rhythm, rest of circle says "Welcome!" and repeats the rhythm), move on to do a Spring themed groove (in honour of the arrival of April), Traffic Lights and Olay-Oh.

The first activity went along as planned, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. The Spring Groove changed a bit and became more interesting. The circle divided itself up into sections djembes, bells, shakers, woodblocks and djun djuns and took on an aspect of spring. The djembes were the rain, the bells were the birds, the shakers were clouds, the djundjuns thunder and the woodblocks were lightening. I talked us through a spring rain storm and it was wonderful!

I'm pleased to say that this week we seduced an extra five participants with our rhythm and our circle grew to 22 participants!

My creativity was called upon when Cora* came into the circle. I'm not sure what the medical name of her condition is, but the result is that she has no arms, but the use of her hands. I saw her sitting in the doorway and waved her to join in. At first she said she would watch. Then asked what I had that she could play. I watched her move, asked her if she had use of both hands and went off to raid my percussion basket. I came back with three options and she chose the Agogos. She later moved to the grandmother drum and showed that she has excellent rhythm. The one challenge was the length of the mallets. I explained that we would "MacGyver" a solution for her if she planned to come back. She said she would.

I had two individuals with hearing impairments in the group today. At first, I was concerned about whether I had appropriate instruments for them...but all concerns were quickly put to rest. They both seemed to be having a great time.

I showed the group the Orla Special, the series of rumbles leading to a roar. This got a lot of laughs.

The group was generous enough to agree to let me take video of some of our session. I explained that I wanted to use it for this site, and for our proper website, (which with a little luck will be live very soon), to show people that anyone can make music. I've got to figure out how to edit, but once I have, more video is on the way!

Networking

2009-04-02T01:08:00.000-07:00

I was finally able to speak to someone from the Southside Partnership yesterday, something I have been trying to do from the beginning of the week. I got ahold of Sandra, a Community Development Officer. I explained to her what my background was, what I was doing and that I was looking for help to link in with the many community groups connected to the partnership. She was very supportive and we set a preliminary date to meet next Monday or Tuesday. She's also going to see if she can get a staff member responsible for training and another for childcare to attend.

Busking on Grafton Street, IWA Week 5, Brainwaves & Japan

2009-04-01T04:19:00.001-07:00

I think I may have a contest with myself for the most bizarre Post title...this one is in the top 5 I'd have to say.

Went busking on Grafton Street yesterday with Conor and Sev. I really enjoy busking; there is something about the atmosphere of performing on the street that demands you pour everything you've got into your music. The melodies are always shifting, the rhythms move on waves. When you're really lucky, you'll see your efforts reflected back to you in the smiles of the people who pass by.

I had my second-last circle today with the IWA. We were eight and I was suprised at how quickly the time went by. We did a guessing game, where I asked the group to think of a feeling or emotion, then play it on their drum/percussion instrument of choice. We did the rhythm machine and we played a bit with volume dymanics. We played pass the rhythm and we did some short groove sessions.

I spoke with the manager to see what her thoughts were regarding continuing the program after the 6 week pilot is up. She is interested and hopes to be able to bring the Day Centre into the fold for a joint project. The only question remaining, as always: funding. She said she will have an answer for me next week.

I've been thinking of what other groups I can approach in my remaining time here. After the experience in the People's Park this weekend, I got to thinking about parent/toddler groups. I've been asking a few of the parents I know what their thoughts are and so far it's encouraging. I learned today that there is a group called Jamnasium or Jamboree or something to that effect. They do music for children. I would like to find their website and see what they are doing. I've sent a couple of emails around to play groups, we'll see if it yields any results.

Finally, found an interesting group today: The Koshu Roa Taiko Team consists of a group of hearing-impaired Taiko drummers in Japan. I'm doing some research at the moment into what instruments will work best for people with hearing loss...all recommendations welcome!

Scouting out new opportunities ;)

2009-03-31T01:30:00.000-07:00

I just confirmed last night that I will be helping a local Scout group do a fundraiser on April 25th on Grafton Street from 11:30. They're raising money to work on a project in Uganda. Drumming seems appropriate!

Drumming in the park

2009-03-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

I found a website awhile back called Meet Up. It's a site where you can create a profile of your different interests and then organise meet ups with people who share your interest. Naturally, I went looking for drumming. I was pleased to find that there was a group there, but a bit disappointed when I realised it was not very active. I made a suggestion to the administrator of the group that we hold an outdoor circle and he was more than happy to let me organise it.

I sent word out that we would meet today at the People's Park in Dun Laoghaire at 2pm. I figured it was an ideal location as the Farmer's Market would be on and it's easy enough to access by public transport.

I arrived with my friend Gaz at 2pm and there was no one there. We set up and started to play a few rhythms. Soon we were joined by Mike, a member of the drumming meet up group. Another MU person texted to say he was late, but coming, but in the end said he wouldn't make it. Three drummers is better than two, and we were still expecting a few other friends, but I need not have worried as it turns out. There were LOTS of people around who were dying to get into the circle.

Today I learned that drums and percussion instruments are magnetic forces for young children. They drew towards us in throngs, parents in tow. We had children of all ages and even a baby come join in the music. Parents mostly stood back and watched, but some also joined in. I could not believe the sheer volume of people we were attracting with our music. I also learned that drums are great for getting children out of trees ;)

We played for 3 hours.

Today I am grateful for having the ability to share the amazing gift of music with my community.

I am grateful for the smiles on the faces of the children who stopped by.

I am grateful for the parents who gave in when their child tugged on their arm excitedly when they heard their music.

I am grateful for the friends new and old who came to create the music.

I won't be able to play in the park for another two weeks, but you can be sure I'll be back...with more instruments!

Confirmed dates for Bluebell Youth Project, NCBI shares & fundraising for scouts and a public circle

2009-03-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

How's that for the longest title ever? I've got lots to talk about it seems!

I spoke to Zsé today from the Bluebell Youth Project. She has confirmed two dates that she would like me to come in for stand alone sessions. I'll be going in April 14th and the Saturday of the May Bank Holiday weekend.

We had our weekly at NCBI and had fun exploring different sounds. I gave the group an assignment last week: bring in a favourite story or song to share. The group share didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped, first due to technical difficulties, then due to the fact that only half the group brought something to share. I think they enjoyed hearing the music that was shared though. We might re-visit this idea later on.

I've been corresponding with my Scout-leader friend. She says she's bounced the idea of using drumming as a fundraiser to whomever is in charge and there is definite interest. She asked me about dates, but I'm still waiting for confirmation.

F-Y-I to all you closet percussionists out there: I'll be in the People's Park in Dun Laoghaire this coming Sunday at 2pm. The farmer's market will be on and I'm praying to all the gods in existence that the weather will hold. I'm bringing drums and am extending an invitation to everyone I come across to come along and drum in the park.

Let's make some noise in the great outdoors!

Taster Session with Central Remedial Clinic

2009-03-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

Last week I wrote to tell you that I had spoken with Louise of the Central Remedial Clinic and organised a free drum circle taster session- today it took place.

I was a bit flustered, arriving later than anticipated and having no idea where I was meant to go, but after some initial confusion, we got the car parked, the drums unloaded and everyone sitting in a circle with an instrument in hand.

I had a group of 15 people, all adults ranging in ages and mobility. I even had my very first deaf participant today. There were 4-5 staff members hanging around the outside of the circle and I soon had them holding egg shakers.

We did the standard sculpting by sex, birthdays and colour clothing. I played with sound dynamics and tempo and introduced rumbles. The group listening was fabulous and the music coming out was really impressive. It let me know that we could take it up a notch. I asked the participants to find someone sitting across the circle from them and to hold a conversation using their instruments. What a sweet sound they made! The rhythms that bounced back and forth around the circle showed a really cohesion in the group.

At the end, I asked if anyone had any questions or comments. More than one person asked if I would be back- YAY! One woman said that the last time she had played music was in school. I asked her if she would like to get in to it again. With a big smile on her face she said YES!

Louise asked the group who would be willing to come back and do drumming again and it seemed like everyone was in. The group dispersed, I got the drums packed back in the Magic Micra and sat down with Louise to have a chat.

One of the staff members was snapping photos throughout the session. He later told me that he would be putting an article together for their newsletter. I gave him the address for the blog and asked if we would send along some photos. Hopefully we'll have some soon!

I'm pleased to say that the CRC has signed up for 8 weeks of drum circles. I'll be going to them on Thursdays which is perfect, because I can scoot over to NCBI afterwards.

Drumming with Eco Unesco

2009-03-26T02:17:00.000-07:00

This was my first youth group and I learned a lot. Graham, their facilitator had given me a list of themes to build the circle around and in the end I chose Communication & Facilitation Skills.

We were about 15 minutes late starting. I was warned that this might happen, so I was prepared, but a bit concerned as I had a pretty packed program...or so I thought.

We started with the Take it Pass it game which seemed to get everyone to loosen up. I then introduced myself and explained a little about what drum circles are and why people drum. We went over the health and safety aspects and proceeded to have the shortest djembe lesson in the world.

Next I set the intention for the day. I explained what we would be working on and asked the group to think about how what they learned could be applied to other settings.

From here we went into a groove session. I had made up some colour cards, a boy/girl card and cut up a calendar. All these would be tools we could use to sculpt the circle. I used the cow bell to get some call and response going, played with the sound dynamics, (using the wave and the sound sea-saw) and introduced some rumbles. The group was responding very well to my ques and I thought great! We're getting somewhere.

After I had finished in the middle, I asked the group what is needed for communication. I eventually got the answers I was looking for. I next asked, how did they know what I wanted them to do when I was in the middle? Then, how did I know that they got the correct message?

From here it was Jump Time. I had shown the group how it was done, now it was their turn. I expected everyone would want to have a go, and that we wouldn't have enough time to get through. This was not the case at all. In fact, I think I may have had 5 out of the 11 go in the centre. They had varying results. They made good use of the tools I left for them, but the group's listening skills definitely made it a challenge.

After Jump Time, we had a discussion. I asked what did they notice while they were in the middle? I was trying to get them to see the connection between communication and facilitation and how the skills could be transferred to other situations. For example: They used colour patches to get certain people to play, could they not make requests in groups for those who know about a certain topic to share their knowledge with the group? We talked a bit about the difference between a facilitator and a teacher.

We did the Rhythm Machine for a bit and had some very sweet sounds coming. I also played with getting them to play, stop, move one, two and three seats to the left and start playing again. I worked more with listening skills, trying to encourage them to make contact with someone across the circle from them and to have a musical conversation. This seemed to smooth out the music a bit.

Over all it was a very good experience for me as a facilitator. I learned a few things:

1. It's important to know the history of the group. I assumed this group had been working together and had already gelled. In fact, this was their second meeting.

2. I should have established listening skills much more firmly in the beginning of the program. The group was very chatty and naturally excited about making music. It made giving instructions challenging.

3. I could have clearly established what experience the group had had with facilitation and communiciation skills. Again, another assumption on my behalf that the group had some experience with this. I may have pitched the session a bit over their heads. I'm hoping to get more feedback on this soon.

A big thank you to Conor for coming out to help navigate city centre traffic, take photos and give general support, and thank you to Graham of Eco Unesco for giving me the opportunity to work with the group.

*Photos to follow once permission has been sought.

IWA week 4

2009-03-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

This session went really well. We had two new people this week, and 3 support staff on hand, to give us a group of 8. We did some groove sessions and then I split the group into teams of two for Rhythm Conversations. This activity worked better than I expected and I was gifted with many smiles.

We played a bit with egg shakers, and one participant wanted to make up a song, where we all added a line. It was a bit messy, but everyone seemed to enjoy.

We've two sessions left of the pilot. I am hopeful that we'll extend after the feedback I got from one of the staff. He said that the service users are often asking when drumming will be on again. Great!

Update

2009-03-24T02:42:00.000-07:00

Well hello there and welcome back to the blog!

Just a quick update on the goings on of Rhythm seekers. Last week a colleague of mine working for the Bluebell Youth Project asked me if I would facilitate two once-off circles for her group next month. I'm both excited and nervous about this one. Bluebell is known as an area of social disadvantage, and a lot of these kids will have had a rough go of it. I was told that there was a lot of resistance to doing drumming as the project had brought in a facilitator in the past and it was a disaster. Apparently, the last facilitator was trying to get the group to come up with an original composition for a performance the very same day. Well of course that wouldn't work. How can you ask a group of people who likely have very little self confidence to be masters of a new skill in a day? I'll be taking a much different approach.

I'm still corresponding with my Montreal-based friend Kyra about running a few circles during the month of June. I've booked my flights and will be there between June 22nd and 29th.

I've not heard back from Mental Health Ireland or from Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council yet.

I have been in a form of negotiation with St. Joseph's School for the Visually Impaired. Some initial challenges in the form of time slots and number of participants. Will keep you all posted.

Back in the Circle

2009-03-20T06:35:00.000-07:00

So started back up with NCBI yesterday and had a great session. I brought some new activities to try this time, and we were probably about 20 minutes in before I got the chance to use them. They group is making wonderful, spontaneous music together. They ease into a steady groove and I am hesitant to interrupt. Great!

The new games we tried were from a book I picked up by Kenya Masala: Rhythm Play. It's got a bunch of great activities for various group sizes. It even comes with a CD including a few songs....which I seem to have misplaced :S

We tried the Rhythm Machine first. This activity is done by having at least one person hold a steady rhythm in the circle. Someone is then invited to enter the centre of the circle and play a simple rhythm. Next, a second person is invited to enter the centre and join the first person with a complementary rhythm. The two are supposed to be in physical contact as well. Then you just keep building with as many people as you can. The group really seemed to enjoy this activity, and did well when I instructed them to speed up, slow down, change places with a partner etc.

Next we tried Rhythm Story. In this activity, the group is asked to either make up an original piece, or choose a story that everyone knows and then put percussion/drum sounds to it. The group struggled with this one. While one participant suggested Cinderella, the idea didn't really gel. In the end, another participant told a story from her home country about a little girl who drops a cup down a well and winds up married to a prince. I've got to get her to tell that story on video, because it was really great, and the group did seem to engage more, adding their own sound effects.

The last activity we tried from the book was Rhythm Conversations. The idea is to choose, with a partner, a conversation one might have and then to replace the words with percussion instruments. This was so funny. The first group chose to represent the airing of incense in church. Not quite following instructions, but still very effective.
The second group, which consisted of a participant and myself, decided to imitate a parent trying to tell a child to go to bed, and the child refusing. One small problem...we both ended up playing the part of the child! Oops! Still, good fun.

I'm not sure what inspired it, but I decided to get the group to do "the Hokey Pokey". This was great because of the different reactions. One participant had never done it before and loved it, another raved at how awful it was, and smiled the whole way through.

And that pretty much wrapped up our hour and a half session. I gave the group homework this week to celebrate my new status as "teacher": they must bring in a song or story next week to share with the group. I'm really looking forward to hearing what they bring and why!

Samba drumming, phone calls and emails

2009-03-18T03:32:00.000-07:00

Hello there folks and a happy St. Paddy's Day to you! Yes, I know, it's a day late, but I was a bit busy yesterday. I was Samba drumming in a parade in Mullingar. I've never been in a parade before. It was a lot of fun, but also very challenging...ever try drumming AND walking for a km?!

I spoke with Maureen O'Kane yesterday and she requested I send over an email with more information, which she will share with her colleagues.

I finally received an email from Phena O'Connor, my contact in the Dun Laoghaire County Council. I have sent along more information to her as well.

My drum circle with the IWA was cancelled again today due to a problem with transportation. We will start back up next Wednesday.

Looking forward to starting back up with NCBI tomorrow.

Word is getting around?

2009-03-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

Received a voice mail from Maureen O'Kane at St. Joseph's School for the Visually Impaired on Thursday. She wants to speak to me about drumming at the school!
Will ring her as soon as I get back from Lisbon on Monday...

Yahoo for extensions!

2009-03-11T01:39:00.000-07:00

I got a phone call from Stuart Lawlor at NCBI yesterday to tell me that he had secured funding from the VEC to continue their drum circle for another 10 weeks. YAY!

I think I just broke a record for shortest lived term of self employment. Leonora wanted me to fill out some forms and next thing I know I am now a part time teacher for the Dublin City North Vocational Education Centre. Har Har. They are going to love me at the tax office when I try to sort this one out.

In other news, I spoke with Louise from the Central Remedial Clinic yesterday. She is the manager there; I got her contact from Donal O'Conor, and I got his contact from Bronagh in the IWA. Anyway. Louise is interested and I have arranged to do a free intro circle for then on the 26th of this month. With a little luck this will lead to a 6 week block.

I have sent an email to the Dun Laoghaire Youth Service centre and I have spoken to a project worker for Area 24, a youth café in Tallaght. The latter is having issues with funding, so I am going to try to negotiate to something that will suit us both.

Going to Portugal for a few days tomorrow. Interested to see what awaits me there!

Drumming up some business

2009-03-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

With NCBI wrapped up and only 3 sessions to go with IWA, I've been working to get a few more groups interested in trying out drumming. It was looking hopeful that I would have a 10 week project with Mental Health Ireland, but that has since fallen through. There may be another project happening, but it's touch and go for the minute. I'm also still waiting to hear back from the contact I made in the VEC and from the Ashling Centre.

Today I have been making phone calls.

At the suggestion of Bronagh, from IWA, one of those calls was to the Central Remedial Clinic. The phone call went well, and I got the contact details for the manager responsible for training and development. I hope to speak with her tomorrow.

I also rang Area 24, a new youth café in Tallaght, the Dun Laoghaire Youth Information Centre, and the coordinator for the Rathmines Festival.

I have been speaking to my friend Kyra, who lives on a farm in Montreal. She and her mother run a retreat centre there called Heartroot. She asked if I would like to run a program for them on my way back across Canada this summer. I'm not sure how it will all work out yet, but it still sounds like a very interesting opportunity.

Over the weekend I went to a local park and was harassed by a group of teenagers...until we made friends that is. I talked to them about what there was to do around the area for fun. They didn't seem to have any ideas. I think drumming could definitely work. It's just a question of finding the space. I'm consistently amazed at the lack of public space in this area.

I met with my mate Conor last week to brainstorm for a business plan. I'm glad to have someone to work with on this project. After last week with NCBI I am even more convinced of the powerful community building and healing benefits of drumming.

Let's hope my efforts yield some results soon!

IWA: week 3

2009-03-06T10:07:00.000-08:00

The session today went pretty well, but we wrapped up a bit sooner than planned as the heating was off in the gymnasium and everyone was cold.

I learned that one of the participants used to study piano and got to a very high level before losing the strength in her hands due to MS. I got to thinking today that maybe she might like the portable glockenspeil (like a xylophone). Since the layout is essentially the same as a piano, but you use mallets, meaning the force you need to apply to produce is much less than for playing a piano.

She really liked it, so I suggested she borrow it for the week. She took me up on the offer. I'm looking forward to see what the result will be next week. I can't imagine what it must have been like to go so far with music and then to have it suddenly gone from my life. Maybe she'll be able to get some of it back...

I spoke with Bronagh about how things have been going so far and we've decided that we will try to move the session to Wednesdays for the remainder of the pilot. This is in an effort to get a few more participants for the sessions. We also discussed building in a discussion into the session to work more with self expression. I'm interested to see how this develops.

NCBI: Week 6...6 weeks goes by so quickly!

2009-03-06T09:19:00.000-08:00

What an amazing way to wrap up a pilot project! I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to work with the trainees from NCBI.

We merged the two groups for our final session and played for 2 hours all together. The music the group was making was magic. I sat back and played, they didn't need me to facilitate, they were working on what Arthur Hull calls "orchestra" level. Self governing and fully capable of managing their music.

What a great feeling!

One of the participants brought in a thank you card from everyone, and another brought a box of sweets. I was so touched by the gesture.

I shared out the sweets using a game of "pass the rhythm". Every time the rhythm made it the whole way around the circle, I passed out some sweets.

We did the traffic light game again and there was lots of laughter around the circle.

I got such a kick out of Orla, who I've now dedicated an activity to: The Orla Special. Basically, a series of rumbles that end in a loud roar. It's a great stress buster and always ends in laughter. It's amazing to see the difference in her from when we first started.

Everyone helped to bring the drums down after the session had finished, and all said they hoped I would come back soon. Stuart is looking at getting funding to extend the project and I really hope he is successful.

I took some video, which is proving more difficult to upload than I thought, so I will post it at a later date. In the meantime, at least there's a photo :)

More work coming this way

2009-03-04T02:05:00.000-08:00

I received another email from Mental Health Ireland. Subject to funding, which we should know about shortly, they want to do a 10 week program. Watch this space...

Sonna Samba

2009-03-03T01:07:00.000-08:00

I went to Samba again last night, this time I took my friend Gaz along with me. It was really great to share this with someone. I said it before, and I will say it again, I LOVE SAMBA!
I got Ciara's website for the group, who are looking for more members. They meet in Tallaght on Monday's from 7-9 (with the exception of every last Monday of the month). Joining is free, and the crowd there are really sound folks.

The website is under the "events and projects" section of the blog.

In other news, I got an email back from Michael from Mental Health Ireland looking for more information. I will take that as a good sign.

Update

2009-03-02T03:42:00.000-08:00

I finally managed to speak with Leonora from the VEC. She is waiting to hear back from her boss regarding what funding she will have available, but expects to know by the end of the week. She would like to continue the funding for NCBI and is also interested in trying a project with a group of seniors in Artane. I will likely be doing a free taster session in the near future.

I've left a voicemail with the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Arts office. Hopefully someone will come back to me about that shortly.

I spoke breifly with Michael from Mental Health Ireland who requested I send along an email with more information, which I have done.

Currently developing the program for Eco Unesco's circle on the 25th. Will be focusing on Communication and facilitation skills.

Doug is working away on the website. With a little luck, my computer will be functioning properly SOON and I will be able to send over some photos.

Still waiting on Conor to send me the photos he took last week. We are looking at the possibility of working together on Rhythm Seekers. I am excited about this because it will be a good blend of skills, Conor being a drummer and all. We are also looking at the idea of how to make this an international project. I'm currently investigating business start up information to see how this might work.

NCBI Week 5

2009-02-27T03:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a good day. Lots happening.
My circles went well. I tried a new game with the first group, Evolution. I had some concerns over the logistics of it, but it worked pretty well. The idea is that participants start with an instrument and when instructed to "evolve" they select another instrument from the centre of the circle. We only had one person in the group who has no sight at all, and so I put the small percussion on a chair about a step in front of her and it worked out ok.

I tried another game that I remembered from childhood with group 2. I think it was called "traffic lights" and the idea with the game it to distinguish between stop, (red light), slow down, (amber light) and go, (green light). As a child we played this as a running game. I adapted it so instead of running we were drumming. The girls really enjoyed it taking turns to call the colours and laughed when I yelled out "COW CROSSING!" I figured I had to mix it up somehow. We also played a quick game of Simon Says, where I would play out a rhythm and they repeated.

I let the group know that next week is the last session of the pilot project and that we are trying to get continued funding. I asked them how they would feel about putting together a more structured program for the next time around, where we use the medium of drum circle to discuss what it is like to have sight loss. I figure a video could be produced that would inspired people with sight loss and musicians working with groups a like.

Next week I will speak to Stuart where we will go over what went well and where we can improve.

I rang Leonora from the VEC yesterday, no answer so left a voicemail.

I also rang Bernadette from the Ashyling Centre. She is very interested in doing drum circles with her group, but as with most groups, is trying to figure out the funding side of things. I've asked Stuart to give her a ring to explain how he was approaching it. I think if we can convince just one person in the VEC it will be a lot easier to get future groups involved.

The Ashling Centre supports people who have experienced abuse in institutional settings. I am playing with an idea of how to use drumming for healing in this instance and am considering how to blend in the work I have been doing with Reiki and he chakras with drum circles.

I got a phone call from Michael Flemming of South Dublin County Council. He's the Music Development Officer there and was responding to an email I'd sent to the arts officer a week ago. He explained that they are currently running percussion classes for young people and he would like to explore ways of getting an afterschool group going where the young people would have an opportunity to showcase what they have learned. He said it will be a month before anything gets set up, but I am very excited by the idea.

My drum circle with IWA has been cancelled for this week as not enough service users were going to be in the centre. I have some concerns at this stage about how long this 6 week pilot is actually going to run on for. They have had to cancel twice, and I have had to move two dates forward. Live and learn!

Progress

2009-02-26T04:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was great!

I had my concerns at first that everyone would eat their lunch and run, but I must have had over 20 people coming in and out of the room to join in on our circle. I did a lot of simple sculpting with the group at first, but after awhile, I just let them go to it. They didn't need me!

Two very good networking moments:

Claire, who teaches braille at NCBI and who has sat in on the circle in the past asked me to ring a friend of hers who works in the Ashyln Centre. This centre helps people who were victims of institutional abuse. I rang Bernadette from the centre and had a chat with her to explain how it all works. She had concerns about noise levels and about funding, but she sounds very interested and promised to ring me back as soon as she had spoken to her supervisors.

Stuart introduced me to Leonora O'Reilly who was visiting from the VEC. Stuart was hoping to convince Leonora to continue the funding for our project and I think we may have her convinced. I nearly lost her, when I had to wait for 15 minutes to get bums on seats, but people eventually filtered in and Leonora joined in the circle and seemed to have a very good time. She gave me her card and asked me to ring to talk more. I've left her a message.

A big thank you to my friend Conor O'Hara who joined me as photographer on the day. We'll have even more shots to share once the website is up and running.

There was also a film crew present for the presentation and they filmed the circle in action for a good 20 minutes. Stuart said that he will be able to provide me with a few segments of the film later on.

I just got off the phone with a former colleague from Irish Blind Sports who works at St. Joseph's School for the Visually Impaired. She will forward me a contact for the family resource centre.

All in all, good networking!

(Photo courtesy of Bianca Muller)

Update

2009-02-25T02:24:00.001-08:00

Spoke to Douglas yesterday. He has purchased the domain name. Soon we will be moving to Rhythmseekers.org. Hurah!

P.E.I. school first in Canada to use drums as teaching tool

2009-02-25T02:20:00.000-08:00

Kids with special needs can gain self-confidence, learn everything from following instructions to using memory
By MARY MacKAY Charlottetown Guardian
Mon. Feb 23 - 6:34 AM.........

Handmade Music

2009-02-24T07:10:00.001-08:00

An article on an idea that I am very interested in exploring...

week 4 NCBI

2009-02-24T03:43:00.000-08:00

The sessions this week at NCBI were a little bit chaotic. We were moved to a different room and we had to do some last minute preparations for the presentation tomorrow.

I feel like a made a huge breakthrough with one of the participants. I've been struggling with what to do about her from the very beginning. Getting her to actually participate and not just sit with arms crossed can be a challenge. I was so surprised when she asked if I would like help bringing the drums in.

We had a guitarist with us to practice a song for the presentation. We juggled instruments about, trying to get the right combination of fill without overpowering the acoustic sound.

The girl I spoke of had assumed her usual pose of arms crossed when I asked what instrument she would like. She shrugged her shoulders and said "whatever". I usually hand her something. This time I said, right then! off to the table with you (I had laid out the percussion instruments on a table this time). She raised an eyebrow at me in reply, then got up and selected a pair of shakers. I think I actually saw her smile.

We ran through the song a few times and when we were satisfied with what we had, we moved on to sharing the grandmother drum and cow bell around for a call and response session. This worked quite well and by now the guitarist had joined us and was loving the drums.

Our session was up and it was time for the next group. The group always puts me at a bit of a loss as it generally consists of 2 people. It has a person from Zambia in it, and I try to use this to my advantage. I asked if she could tell me about drumming in her home country. She told us about growing up next to a village that had a different drum call for each mealtime. She was about half way through a story about traditional male circumcision (without anesthetic which results in many young boys becoming very ill...and here is where a cultural gulf opens up for me), when we were invaded by staff.

They wanted to do a run through of the song. That was fine, but for the fact that I had 2 people and everyone else had gone off to their next class. No matter, I (eventually) managed to get the staff to pick up instruments and sit in the circle.
Stuart had ideas on how we would run the song, and I had to explain to him that this was different than your traditional orchestral setting. He eventually understood and we ran through the song.

It's always funny to get staff members involved. They start with a polite curiosity, then move to a "I couldn't possibly" when invited to join in. Once they've ticked that box and actually join in, there is a tentative few moments of trying to find the groove, before they are launched into the drumming experience.

The staff members who were meant to come and see how the song would run stayed for the WHOLE session.

It was brilliant. My two-person group actually got to experience a proper drum circle...and did they ever enjoy it!

I love watching people's faces when they stop worrying at just let go.

I also enjoyed seeing the staff watch the trainees and being visibly surprised at what they saw.

We ended the circle with an idea that just popped into my head: stress buster!

I asked the group to take all the stress of the week and picture is as a ball in their hand and then to bang it all into the drum. Soon there was a steady whomp, pause, whomp, pause and it grew louder and faster and ended with the group giving a giant ROAAAAAAR!

**************

Received a phone call from Stuart today saying that the time table had changed for the presentation tomorrow and that we might not be able to do the song, but that he still wants a drum circle. He said that a representative from the VEC will be there (the one who will say yay or nay to continued funding), and that this person will be wanting to speak with me. Guess I'd better help to put on a good show tomorrow!

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt

2009-02-18T07:08:00.000-08:00

I picked up my T-shirt today. They messed it up the first go around, but it was salvageable.

In further negotiation with Eco Unesco about what kind of program I will run on March 25th. Graham gave me some themes that the group is working on, now I've just got to get my creative juices flowing.

A friend sent me a very interesting link today. It was for Benda Bilili, a Congalese band made up of musicians effected by Polio. They are using their music as a way of increasing public awareness of the necessity of immunization for the disease. Music for raising public awareness is a good thing!

Click here for a clip of their music on YouTube.

Today I ...

2009-02-17T04:35:00.000-08:00

...Emailed the Organic Centre to let them know I am running drum circles. I did a course in Wicklow last summer and asked if drumming might be something they would be interested in doing. They seemed receptive to the idea.

...Emailed South Dublin County Council's Arts Officer with the same spiel. She will be out of the office until Feb 25th.

...Remembered that I still have not gotten back to Matchets about my djembe bags. Must sort this out TODAY.

... Received an email from Eco Unesco requesting a meeting to discuss details for the drum circle on Mach 25th. I couldn't answer because my diary seems to have taken a holiday...damn.

...Emailed Bianca to see about getting some of the photos she took for the new site.

...Organised to meet with Gaz to sort out whether this Microsoft for Small Business web hosting business is going to be suitable.

...Rang Conor to see if he can accompany me to take photos at the event for NCBI on the 25th of this month.

...Made a small change on the blog to reflect what I am actually doing *now*.

...Emailed Ruiri from SpunOut.ie. They are looking for collaborators and are in line with the mission of Rhythm Seekers.

...Sent Stuart in NCBI the link to the Artist in the Community grants scheme...might be something we can access.

It's good to have contacts :)

2009-02-16T01:51:00.000-08:00

I got an email from Joe at The Gathering Drum over the weekend. When I rang him, he wanted to give me a job! Hurah!...well, except for the part where I'll be in Germany and unable to assist. Joe has started a group on Facebook and I have been considering whether doing the same might be an option for Rhythm Seekers. I think it's probably a ways down the road yet.

We talked a little more about holding a professional development weekend with other facilitators in the area. Looking at the second weekend of March at the moment.

I got an email from a contact in the South Dublin Sports Partnership. I'd sent him an email to let him know I was leaving my job and what I was getting up to. He gave me the email address for the county arts officer. Nice!

Still looking into options for website development. My friend Gaz sent me a link to a new product being offered by Microsoft- something to do with websites and hosting for small business. Hopefully we will have time to look at it this week.

Week three at IWA and more...

2009-02-13T07:09:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Ciara who agreed to have her photo taken for the site!
This week has been a bit crazy. Yesterday seemed to be the culmination day.

Firstly, I received an email from Graham at Eco-Unesco asking if I would be available to do a drum circle for them on March 25th. I've booked him in and will sort out details on Monday.

Secondly, I got a phone call from Machets in Belfast to say that the djembe bags I had ordered have arrived. I need to ring back today to organise posting.

Thirdly, I missed my drum circle with NCBI because my car picked that moment to throw a fit. I couldn't get my mechanic to look at it until later that afternoon so I was a sitting duck. Stuart was great, as always, telling me not to worry about it and we'd pick up where we left off next week. Missing this week's session means we'll only have one circle to get ourselves organised for the celebration on the 25th. EEP!

The car, fortunately, is now up and running again.

I also ordered a t-shirt yesterday. I'm having it printed with the name Rhythm Seekers on the front and the blog address on the back. I plan to wear it on the 25th.

The circle with IWA was challenging today. I had a number of activities planned, but only 3 people to work with. While the three are great, I find it very challenging to keep up the energy level needed to really make the drumming a success.
We tried "have you ever", "rhythm Pizza" and the shaker game. One participant wanted to make a love song in honour of Valentines day, and while we tried to remember lyrics, it just didn't seem to really fly.
We played around a little with "what is your name" as a rhythm.

I can't help but feel ineffective when the circle doesn't flow. I think the participants were enjoying themselves, but I know it could be so much more if we can more bums on seats. Hopefully we'll have a few more next week.

I LOVE Samba drumming.

2009-02-10T01:16:00.000-08:00

Last night was my second night at the Samba group in Tallaght. I decided I would give this a go to expand my rhythmical abilities and well, out of sheer curiousity. I've seen Samba groups perform before and was enthralled every time. I'm pleased to report that playing is even better. I've been put in the hand drumming section, the photo is the closest example I could find on the net to what I've been playing.
For those who haven't done Samba before, you play it standing, with the drum strapped either around your waist, or over your shoulder. I'm thinking of investing in a good padded strap.

Last night I was asked if I would like to perform with the group on Paddy's Day in Mulligar. I've never been to a Paddy's day parade, now it looks like I'll be in one!

Update on Rhythm Seekers:
This week I'm going to try to price a t-shirt with a logo on it to have for the 25th.
A chat with my contact in NCBI yesterday lead to a more detailed discussion of the how-to of the event. They want to get someone to sing a song and the circle will either join in at the end or part way through...still not sure on how this will work.

As I mentioned last week, 2 of my circles got canceled last week due to poor weather conditions. This lead me to realise that I have no terms and conditions at the moment. This is something I need to chat to both organisations about. I know we're probably over the worst of winter, but the question of when I do and do not get paid is much more important now that this will be my primary source of income.

Website coming soon....I hope!

2009-02-06T04:44:00.001-08:00

I spoke to my friend Doug last night about getting a website up and running for Rhythm Seekers. He agreed to sort it out for me. My hope is to integrate this blog into the website eventually. I'm conscious that while the blog is great for documenting sessions, it's definitely got some limitations.

I'm also going to price some t-shirts as I'd like to have one that says "Rhythmseekers" for the event on the 25th....

NCBI: Week 3

2009-02-05T10:35:00.000-08:00

Well, I officially resigned from my job to pursue drum circle facilitation.

Week three at NCBI got off to a good start, I had 9 people in my first group this week. Two of which were students from Germany who had come over for some study. Another person was a manager from the Iona Centre (NCBI's day centre). She came along to see what this drum circle stuff was all about.

Great that word is getting around!

I decided to try a game that a friend taught me in Scotland. It's a rhythm game that builds in complexity...goes like this:
Slap thighs, clap hands together, slap thighs
Slap thighs twice, clap hands, slap thighs twice
Slap thighs, clap, slap thighs twice, clap hands, slap thighs 3 times, clap hands, slap thighs twice.

This was a bit of a challenge for the group, but when I started by saying they should start once I had counted to 4 they improved dramatically.
We worked on this pattern for a few minutes then moved on to a game that I invented while I was on a walk one day: The Rhythm Pizza.

The Rhythm Pizza starts by asking all the participants what goes into making a pizza. They will give you a bunch of ingredients and then you ask them to drum the rhythm of the ingredients. So, for example:

"Knead the Dough"
"Spread tomato sauce"
"Grated cheese"
"Pepperoni"

When we had agreed on what the rhythms sounded like, I asked for volunteers to take the parts.
Soon, we had a really sweet rhythm pizza happening!

After we rumbled out of the rhythm pizza and had a good groove going on, I asked the group if the had ever played the game “have you ever?” I was introduced to this game at a party. If you “had ever” you took a drink. I thought of a more rhythmical way to play this game:

I kept a steady rhythm on the djun djun and asked the group “have you ever...taken a train?” Keep playing! I let this group continue for awhile, and then counted in the remaining participants. Nearly everyone in the circle took a turn asking a “have you ever...?” question. There were a lot of laughs, so I’ll call this one a success.

I nearly went over time again (I love that I get completely caught up in the session), but was reminded by one of the watch wearers in the group.

I was feeling good and ready for the next session when I got the call that the centre was going to close for the afternoon due to bad weather.

Before I left, Stuart asked me if we would be able to organise a drum circle for a special event that the training centre will hold on February 25th. A former head of government is going to be there, along with a representative from the Health Service Executive.

I’m really excited about the possibility of doing this, not only will it be a an amazing opportunity to showcase what the drum circle participants have been learning and drumming in general, but it should be a great networking opportunity.

Drumming with friends

2009-02-03T02:30:00.000-08:00

Hats off to Paul and Sarah for hosting a drum circle on Sunday night.
I'd been telling them about my mission and they wanted to experience it too.
I brought drums, peoples and cake. It was a good night.

I experimented with sculpting, making platforms, encouraging dialogues and sharing the grandmother drum. We played with volume and tempo and with the ever favorite Ruuuuuuummmmblllllllle!

The dynamic of the circle was interesting. Some people were a little unsure and needed encouragement, another was so enthusiastic that he didn't really get the concept of sharing the musical space others. I was grateful for this because it forced me to be creative in teaching without teaching. I think he eventually understood that he didn't have to play every note.

We played for about an hour and finished off with the shaker game, then had a bit of a discussion about how it went for everyone.

Positive feedback and a suggestion that we do it again sometime. I hope so!

After reflecting on the experience I realised that the most important thing I need to learn right now is how to relax in the circle. I get caught up in a bit of a panic thinking " Oh! What should I do now?! I don't know enough songs and games!"

I've realised that this is typical "me" thinking. So, my challenge to myself is to learn to relax while facilitating and let the music unfold as organically as possible.

Oh!

I resigned from my job yesterday. I'm going to persue drum circle facilitation full/time starting in March 2009!

IWA: week 2

2009-02-02T07:07:00.001-08:00

The energy was a little lower this week and I wondered if maybe an hour and a half might be a bit too long.

We had a new participant this week, I'll call her "Niamh". Niamh is a power-chair user with limited use of her hands. It was a challenge to find the right combination of instruments that she could play and be comfortable with at the same time. She was very enthusiastic and it was easy to see that she was really enjoying herself.

I got a few of the participants to take turns this week tapping out rhythms for the rest of the group to follow. One participant,I'll call him "Derek" was really great. He started with more complicated rhythms, but then decided just to play for "Niamh". It was beautiful to watch him play just for her and to watch her play back.

I brought out the ocean drum for this group this week as well, they seemed to enjoy the tropical island theme as well.

We also played a guessing game this week, where I whispered an animal in the ear of each participant and asked them to drum a representation of what their animal was while the rest of the group tried to guess what it was.

It's interesting to see how we draw the attention of passers-by. We're based in the gymnasium so as to not disturb the rest of the centre, but people still hear our music and curiosity compels them to check us out. I like this because it gives me the opportunity to draw them into our circle so they can experience a bit of the magic.

Bronagh prepared surveys for this group as well. A bit of a different style from the ones I prepared for NCBI. I think these might be easier to work with and am looking at adopting them for my next group.

A few realizations this week:

1. I really need to expand my repertoire of games and music.
2. Smaller groups are more challenging
3. The book of games I bought doesn't really suit this group of people.
4. It's challenging to balance including an individual who needs a lot of support without alienating the rest of the group.
5. I probably need to look into finding some more accessible instruments.

NCBI: Week 2

2009-01-29T10:16:00.000-08:00

I'm glad to say that today's drum circles went really well.
I had a group of eight for most of the session, after one trainee invited her daughter to come along (great!) and another newbie who was along during the intro.

This time the group was really getting into the groove, playing with each other and following my lead as I played out rhythms on my cowbell.

I did some sculpting by sex, age,(only one would admit to being over 50), birthday and then by guide-dog users, (there was one). The listening has really improved in the group.

I invited members of the group to come into the centre of the group to try facilitating. The one drummer of the group got volun-told, but was happy enough to oblige. I had asked him to stick to simple rhythms, and in the end he was leading by rhythm. This created a really interesting dialogue with djun djuns and cowbell. I had a djembe and had a short and entertaining dialogue with one of the djun djun players a few seats down.

Later, I brought out my ocean drum with the intention of leading the group in a guided meditation. The weather was so miserable today that the "tropical island" theme I had picked out worked really well. I started by getting the participants to close their eyes and imagine they were on a beach. I then asked them to describe their surroundings to me. When one mentioned waves, I started with the ocean drum.

This went on for a short time, then I asked the group to add their own tropical island rhythms when they were ready. Soon I told them a storm was coming, the rhythm became louder and more intense until I told them that the storm had now passed and the sun was again shining. I finished by bringing them "back to Dublin".

After this, A few people decided they would like to try the ocean drum and we were able to go for longer periods in uninterrupted grooves. I remembered to Get Out Of the Way.

One participant has a story about how she has no rhythm. I reassured her that she was doing well and even got the group to share their positive input.

My second group consisted of two people again, but this time we had someone new. I showed him around the percussion instruments and drums and away we went.

I shared the ocean drum with this group also and it was a big hit.

Somewhere along the line we were pretending to be pirates on a ship, and using rhythm to symbolize the footsteps of the different pirates on the ship. This was really great fun and we ended up going over time!

Oops!

Stuart, the trainee manager told me that there was a trainee meeting last week and the feedback from the drum circle was very positive. He is going to try to get continued funding for after the 6 week pilot.

WOOHOO!