Realtime Communication is a hot topic. I just did a gig with a large engineering corporation here in Germany. I was hired to provide an Icebreaker for a conference. The theme of the conference was “Realtime Communication”. There were corporate communications people from all over the world present. It was an honour to be hired for this event.
Imagine there is a standard criterion for “Amazing”. Can you see yourself achieving it regularly? You reach Amazing, the “Natural Wow”, with your professional Drum Circle. Yes, you do! Every time you facilitate a Drum Circle to your fullest potential, you achieve the status of Wow! Here is what I mean.
I would like to reference the best-selling author Michael Hyatt. His new book Platform – Get noticed in a Noisy World is simply a great read. I read the chapter about the natural Wow and thought, “This totally fits the concept and reality about Drum Circles!” That made me realise that perhaps we Drum Circle Facilitators can pat ourselves on the back a bit more. We can also proceed to market our services with pride and confidence, independent of how we feel about our own level of development.
Michael Hyatt relates a story about a conference in which he asked the participants to tell a story. The stories were about life-changing or transcendental experiences. The following in italics is selectively quoted from his blog:
Next, I asked the group to try an identify the common attributes in each of these experiences. Here’s the list we created. Every wow experience has some combination of the following ten elements:
As Drum Circle Facilitators, we know we can deliver such a Wow Experience. Maybe it doesn’t happen every single time, but it does happen. It happens when we set our selves, our egos, and our worries aside. We do it when we embrace the present moment. We do it by reaching the people who are there with us on a soul level. We do it when we push ourselves out of the comfort zone.
What do you think? Do you recognise that your work as a Drum Circle Facilitator creates a Natural Wow?
What do you need to do to see that?
Click on the image to order Michael Hyatt’s book!
You have a team. You want to make sure the team is working as it should. There’s a lot that a team must do, depending on what sort of a team it is. There are six principles, or practices, that are universal to any team. I created a series of rhythm-based games that address all of these six principals in a safe, lively, and entertaining way. I call it Instant Team Training in Six Simple Concepts.
These are basic rules that a functioning team ought to follow. They looks pretty simple, seeing them written out. Setting them to rhythm-based games goes deeper, and makes it fun.
1. Give 100%. This should be self-evident, but unfortunately it often is not. Just give your 100% to your task or role, and trust that the others are also giving their 100%
2. Address the Mood. Someone feeling down, or overwhelmed, or simply needs a break? Address that! As a team player, each and everyone needs to be aware of the situation of the others. Don’t blow it off if someone is struggling. Help out, lend a hand, ask what you can do to make things go better.
3. Everyone is important. Yes, every member of the team is important. And nobody is “wrong”. Even if their input seems strange or out of place, they are never “wrong” to see things the way they do. Each member of the team should be empowered to see, think and act in a way they deem appropriate. To do otherwise destroys the fabric of the team.
4. Set Goals. This one should be totally obvious. Often, it isn’t. sometimes a goal is assumed, but that’s not the same thing as setting it clearly. Sometimes the people may have different understandings of what the goals are. Set them concretely, and measurably.
5. Move the Money. A functioning team does not hoard funds somewhere, at the expense of the other people or the goals of the team. Be fair, and practice abundance thinking. Keeping funds in a tight fist will only corrode the camaraderie of the team. Scarcity mentality will kill the spirit. Even if the budgets are tight, be fair. Breed trust and contentment.
6. What’s in it for me? This is actually what NOT to ask! This is a negative lesson to be unlearned. When this kind of thinking is present, it crowds out the team consciousness that you are working so hard to develop!
A good Drum Circle Facilitator can adapt their favourite rhythm-based games to fit these six principles. All you have to do is figure out how you want to tell the story.
I have a series of simple rhythm games that address all the six points above. They are simple metaphors for the larger and more complex real life situations. And they work.
They work as metaphors because they are grounded in a concrete experience. That experience is seen under the special conditions of a team training workshop. This is removed from the actual day-to-day concerns of the team members. But everyone is there, as a team. What the team experiences together can be examined from many personal perspectives. The reflections on the rhythm games are valuable, because they can show the way forward. Personal reflections can also generate ideas and perspectives that are completely new.
So what are the rhythm games, concretely?
Drop me a line and I will gladly consult with you! I will help you help your team to be challenged and enriched through a Rhythm Workshop with Rhythmuskreise.
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I just started a new series, two Rhythm Programs for Children. I have two groups, one kindergarten age and the other is Grade School age. It is clear that working with small children is challenging. It also can be very rewarding. I’m really grateful for the opportunity to work with the kids. And I’m grateful for the challenges they present.
The SOS Kinderdorf has an in-house Kindergarten and an after-school program called a Hort. The schools run just a half-day here. Many children really need a safe, wholesome place to be after school. They get a nice lunch, do their homework, and get special help as needed. Many in the Hort are first or second generation immigrants to Germany. Like me. That’s the first thing we have in common.
There was a big adjustment to make, in between booking the gig and the first round. The large Seminar room was made not available. That left us with a small empty room that was equipped with a few mats, a round carpet, and a lot of echo. It actually worked great for the first round of the kindergarten kids. It seems that about half the children normally there were out sick.
The second group was much larger, about 20 kids, and way too many for that small space. But, we managed. We managed with an acceptable amount of chaos. The building has a large cellar, which we will use next time. It’s not as lovely as an upper story room with windows. But it has plenty of space for the kids t run around. We just need to make it as nice as possible. In warm weather, we will hold the Rhythm Program outdoors.
We did a simple Start & Stop game with the kids taking turns to make the stop signal. I played solo on the djembe while they danced around in a circle. (We had sort of figured they would like the opportunity to move around.) I used a wind gong hanging in the window for the signal. Each child could stand on the red “stop” spot, strike the gong with a soft mallet. They then would hand a green “start” ball to the next one up.
The next level was to have the kids step into the middle and make a physical signal with the word. This wasn’t so clear. But, I think they liked it.
The next game was telling a sound story with the djembe. I explained that the djembe drum came from Africa. Then I made “Jungle and Savannah” sounds, to which the children made accompanying movements. They liked that. We ended with the Giraffe, who makes no sound… but…
The Giraffe has a long long neck you see. He can see all the way to England. That’s where “Ring Around the Rosie” comes from. Oh, they loved that! They all know “Hoppy Hoppy Reiter”, but “Ring Around the Rosie” was new. A new tune, but just about the same game. We did that until the teacher’s assistant couldn’t take it anymore!
We ended with a little bit on an Sea Drum. That is a nice way to bring the energy to a calm close. I asked the kids if they had fun. The answer was a thundering YES!!! Like my Mentor Arthur Hull says, you can’t fool the kids. If you can handle a rhythm program for children, you can handle any population. Well, this one may have been easy.
This group was about 20 kids in that same small room. It was far too crowded. They had all been outside to run around, so they came sort of “pre-amped” into the room. We did manage some good games, despite the chaos. Many knew “Alafia”, and we had a good time with that.
Generally it was hard though. We had a few times where the attention was slipping out of bounds. Learned a new phrase: “Pretzel Arms” (Hold your arms crossed in silence). I used this opportunity to introduce a 3/4 time round. “Hey, what goes well with Pretzels? A Waltz! It worked!
We also ended with a session on the Sea Drum. The kids did also vote for fun, and that we should do it again.
I got a big compliment a substitute teacher. She was amazed that I held their attention (more or less) for the full hour. She said that was something indeed, speaking as a music teacher. She said she can keep them engaged for about “two songs and a somersault”, about 15 minutes. Then they are simply gone. The fact that I kept them engaged for so long was in her estimation a great feat.
Well, I’ll take the compliment. Let’s see what we cook up next time!
We were a small group for this Drum Circle: 8 people altogether, 5 youths about 15 years old, 2 adult social workers, and myself.
Only one of the youths had played in the DC before. He had self-confidence issues, that I knew from before. It helps to know a little about the participants, where you can encourage them and what the limits might be.
Everyone chose an instrument and we started off. It went very choppy at first, and it was hard to get any kind of coherent rhythm. At first I was busy helping everyone settled get settled in. Eventually a sort of rhythm built up. Then it solidified into a definite, aminated groove.
At that point, I did some simple stop cut (calls from the seat) and initiated a four bars play to stop! and one bar rest. They got it pretty fast, took the task seriously, and without fail came in precisely together on the 1. Only a few times did an extra note go over the stop. Stop call transferred gradually from strong vocal signal to subtle cue to understood group agreement.
That was very satisfying! One kid refused to play any drum, but sat there more or less present, throughout. More on him later.We talked a little about what we had just experienced: The process, the agreement, and the act of being aware of one another.
The next piece was with an ocean drum. Everyone put their drums aside and stood in the center, with one index finger extended. I brought out the ocean drum and set it on their outstretched fingers. The non-playing guy did participate with this whole exercise.
Their first challenge was to hold the ocean drum silent. They got that quickly- Success! The next challenge was to move just one little ball. That was more tricky, but they got it. Another Success!
The next challenge was to move just one layer or string of the balls. That was much harder for them to do, because they has not developed a fine sense of mutual motor coordination.
So I moved on to “Make a gentle wave go all the way around the drum.” That was hard as well, an appropriate level of cooperative challenge. The drum kept going up up up. I had them lower the drum a couple of times to belly height. That helped them see, concentrate, and relax.
Eventually they got it going well… they needed to communicate to one another when one of them needed to relax and lower his finger so the drum could move properly. That is exactly what they did.
The last challenge with the ocean drum was to bring it gradually to a standstill on the floor. It took a while but they got it.
The last piece we did was I had everyone pick out their favourite instrument of the moment. We played a bit (not necessarily in a steady groove), then stopped cleanly. I asked around the circle why they had chosen that instrument. Everyone had their reasons. The silent guy explained that he had been compelled to learn music before, and it was clear it was an unhappy experience. (This is a group home, after all…)
So then I asked them to pass the instruments to the left around the circle. The silent guy still would not touch the drum, but we all took a turn holding his silent part. Afterwards we talked a little about that, about what the experience was like to play another’s favourite and experience that person’s preference ourselves. Of course we talked about what is was lie to be sitting out for that round. Some found it frustrating, others found it relaxing, the main point was, “It is OK to be how you are”, without judgement or coercion.
I think our silent guy may try a drum next time around. Or maybe he won’t. But I do think the whole experience added something of value, and fun, to these young men who are living under supervision.
