10 reasons you should try drumming, aka GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR!

May 12, 2010

I’ve been reading a lot of other bloggers recently, and they’ve all been writing lists.  Now, I know that’s not normally my style, but I thought I’d give it a go just because there’s nothing newly spectacular that I’m driven to share with you all but I feel like writing anyway.

As I mentioned in my last blog post, my parents recently came to visit me in Australia on their trip around the world.  It was a little difficult for them to see my residence (I live in what can best be described as a commune) and my work (which can best be described as running a small community centre in the middle of a dead town).   It’s a lifestyle that differs from the their ideal, as it’s not exactly the career path that you’d expect after graduating from a prestigious liberal arts college (but who actually uses their liberal arts degree exactly how they thought they would?).  However, they better understood why i’ve chosen the life that i’m currently leading after they saw me perform with the Rhythm Hunters at Chapel by the Sea, in Bondi.  The naked enthusiasm and joy that I get from drumming has not been matched by any other thing I have ever attempted.  I do art:  I draw, and paint, and sculpt, and weld, and I enjoy the general act of creation.  I sing, and dance, and read about a hundred books a year (I’m a rather fast reader), go out hiking relatively often, spend two or three mornings a week at the beach, but nothing pumps me up and makes me feel powerful, aware, and focused like drumming.  Therefore, in an attempt to make everyone get up and try something new, I’m going to give you a few reasons why you should try it as well:

A student performance at Drumfest - I'm in the middle in green 🙂 (photo credit Lisa Haymes)

1. It makes you a better listener:  In a drum circle, usually one person starts a beat, but it is the job of everyone else to build upon it.  If you don’t listen to what the people around you are doing, then your rhythm won’t sit well with the rest of the drumming, and the confluence of music that emerges won’t be as smooth or euphonic as it could be.  In the rest of the world, people consider listening to others to be a highly desirable trait.  However, this is not as extraordinary as reason 2:
2. You have to listen to yourself:  This sounds surprisingly easy.  After all, you’re the master of your body, you choose what words come out of your mouth every time you speak, you eat when you’re hungry, you sleep when you’re tired, right?  However, I’ve found that a surprising number of people (full disclosure:  I’m definitely one of these, hence the title of my blog) don’t really listen to themselves… you eat when it’s lunchtime at the office, and there’s food on your plate.  You sleep after your favorite TV show ends on television and you’ve gotta be up by 6am.  Someone tells you you’ve said something and you don’t remember it (ok, maybe you forgot that one on purpose).  Point is, we often ignore what we’re putting out into the world, and i’ve found that it just isn’t possible to do so when you’re in a drum circle.  If you’re on a cowbell, keeping time, or playing on the djun djuns you have to pay attention to what you’re doing and listen to yourself, or else you speed up or slow down and just confuse everyone else in the circle.  The rhythm can entirely fall apart, and it’s all on your head… However, if everyone else is wavering, and you stay strong, you can keep other people going and get back into the rhythm.   You’d be surprised how hard it is to hear yourself over everyone else, and to not get swayed by other peoples’ rhythms.  This is one that I’m constantly working on, and have yet to master.  Someday, my friends, someday…
3. It’s something no one else can take from you:  this is kind of a weird statement, but it’s one that’s really important to me.  If I am on top of a rhythm, and playing it the best I possibly can, then even if no one else likes the music that comes out of it, I know I played it right.  It’s such an intangible event, and so you have to savor the experience of it over having something to hold on to.  My art is satisfying, but I can always look at a picture I made next to a picture someone else did and like theirs more, or think they did it better.  There will always be better drummers than me out there, but if I play the part I’m supposed to, and I play it right, that’s something no one else can diminish.
4. It forces you to be in the moment: nothing you played before matters if you can’t hold it together right now.  It doesn’t matter how amazing your beat was 2 minutes ago, if you’re not paying attention to the present and your role in it (in most cases in drumming, being in time), the whole thing falls apart.  How often are we truly in the moment, enjoying what’s going on right now, not worrying about what could happen or what already has?
5. You must be patient:  Learning new things is difficult!  Learning new rhythms, particularly in Taiko, where you have to also learn which hand you’re supposed to be using on which beat, can be really frustrating, and you watch other people get it and you’re still making mistakes and it’s really easy to get really frustrated.  You can’t expect to be fantastic at it immediately, but if you’re patient and put in the time practicing, you’ll notice yourself getting better and better.  I started drumming 8 months ago, and have gotten heaps better since then; however, the occasional practice with the Rhythm Hunters has shown me that I still have a LOT to learn.
6. It works out both sides of your brain:  As i mentioned in number 5, in Taiko, when you’re learning the rhythm, your head (and, to be honest, sometimes your mouth as well) is screaming “Left, right, right, left, left, right :pause: right” over and over.   Once you get that down, try switching your hands, and immediately you have to basically learn the whole rhythm over again.  It’s amazing how frustrating it can be,  and then how rewarding when you finally get it… in one of the advanced classes, we were learning two different rhythms with either hand, and hearing how they interact with one another.  I could actually feel my brain straining when I switched my hands, and the sense of relief and accomplishment when I finally got the opposite pattern was palpable:  I beamed for a good 20 minutes after.
7. it’s a skill you can perform with:  Have you always been envious of the people who could rock up anywhere and just DO something that captured the attention of a lot of people? Maybe you’ve been envious of the busker who could contact juggle and make balls dance around her fingertips, or that guy who brings his guitar to a party and has everyone singing kumbayah instead of watching the game, or that firespinner who does the most amazing double staff tricks while balancing a hula hoopist on his shoulders while singing the alphabet backwards and drawing the mona lisa with his toes… If you learn how to drum, you’ve got something you can show people to draw a crowd.  If you’re new to it, I wouldn’t suggest setting up right next to that firespinner, but you should still be able to have fun and help that guitarist with a sick beat.
8. it’s a great community of people:  I have met the most amazingly awesome people through working at the Rhythm Hut.  They’re not all dreamy hippies either; They’re nurses and electricians and lawyers and doctors and school teachers and students and more… They’re all PASSIONATE people though, and it’s so wonderful to see people support each other and work through things together and hang out beyond just seeing each other in class.
9. It’s healthy:  this Huffington Post article even mentions drumming specifically as being good for your immune system.  You feel so much better after a good drum session, and it can even be a great workout

EDIT: (How could I forget this)  10.  IT’S SO MUCH FUN!

Djembe performance at the Rhythm Hut

Despite the fact that I’m advocating for drumming in particular, I’m sure there are other things people can do that can make you feel as good about everything.  You just gotta go out and DO IT!  What makes you feel good?  What should I try?  Give me some advice below.

Your moment of Zen:

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived… This is to have succeeded”. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Written by jenna Posted in drumming, The Rhythm Hut, Uncategorized Tagged with Australia, drumming, happiness, health, lifestyle, rhythm, Rhythm Hut, trying new things