Making Drumming Circles More Musical
VILLAGEMC@aol.com
Thu, 11 Jan 1996 03:06:57 -0500
>One of my favorite leaders of large drumming groups has been >Arthur Hull. =
>He works with large group energy, but focusses subgroups on >different =
>parts to build complex music. I have seen him on this list, but >don't know
his direct email.
>Thank you for all your great community-inspiring work, Arthur!
>Any advice for Tim & the rest of us about how to lead musically-satisfying
,large groups?
Hi this is Arthur,
First, how large, is a large drum circle ? Some people on this list think
20 people is large. And it is, if you have two or more ego drummers fighting
for solo space.
I've had 400 baby boomer executives make better drum music than some
groups of 20 hotshot drummers throwing their best licks into the groove.
The difference is that the executives, with their minamal technique and
knowledge, listened to each other and fed the groove with the conscious
intention of creating something bigger than their individual selves. The
result was a beautiful drum melody. On the other hand, the hotshot drummers,
with all their expertise and practice, were showboating to make themselves
bigger. The result was, of course, chaos.
The key here, as a leader of a drum circle of any size, is to create
agreement among the participants in that circle, as to the purpose and intent
of that particular drum gathering. The leader should continue to reinforce
that agreement throughout the event buy using short community building
modifiers, not long speeches, during "windows of communication" (an Arthurian
concept).
One of the ways I communicate this common purpose to a drum gathering, is
to suggest that as a group, we start out a groove by using our notes to make
space for other people, rather than using our notes to fill up space.
When you get this agreement from the group, the ego drummers tend to
behave, and lend their musical expertise to the greater whole.
The bottom line here is to" lead the group to lead it's self".
That is why I make it look so easy.
I'm not doing it,
"We" are !!!!
Then the music just happens,
and nobody has to lead.
That would be" facilitators ego death" for some people, but the circle
leading it's self is always my goal. That way I can play with the circle as
the music leads us all.
Share the spirit .................. Arthur
PS now you have my direct email VillageMC@ AOL.com
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