Drum circle

Facilitated group drumming is where a person seeks to focus the intent and improve the quality and effect of the activity, making it easier for people to effectively participate by taking a more directive approach. The facilitator (leader) takes responsibility for the physical space, arranging chairs and instruments to optimize communication and connection in the group. Facilitators may provide a range of instruments to create a full and balanced percussion orchestra. In this way, the experience can be thought of as group drumming with a leader as opposed to the more free-flowing and open Drum Circle. The facilitator is constantly monitoring the music in the group, and generally being encouraging and accepting of participant ideas. In this way, the facilitator takes on a role similar to that of a music teacher or drumming instructor whose goal is to empower the participants and encourage them to share their ideas. In the beginning, the facilitator directs the music through verbal and non-verbal cueing. Cues, which often mirror the movements of an orchestral conductor, are directed at the participants, who respond to the leader. This creates a leader/follower dynamic between the facilitator and the participants. Actions such as rolling (rumbling), starting, stopping, raising/lowering the volume, accents, and when to play/not play are often given by the facilitator. Facilitators with training and experience in other areas and professions, such as music education, music therapy, and corporate training, may use a range of tools and approaches that enable them to work with diverse populations. These types of experiences are more accurately referred to as 'drumming programs'. Guided Interactive Drumming consists of highly structured drumming-based programs that are led by an individual or group to reach non-musical goals. There exists drum classes for the purposes of building musical skills and knowledge. Drum ensembles are performance-oriented groups who practice and perform music on drums, often for dance. There's clinical improvisation of drumming groups within a music therapy session, led by certified therapists. ==Group drumming with a spiritual focus==

Neopaganism Neopagan festivals, people gather around a large bonfire, the drummers generally sitting on one side to encourage better listening. The musicians sit together and play while dancers dance and circle around the fire. Often, those present will stay and play throughout the night until dawn, treating the evening as a magical (or alchemical) working. Sound is not limited to drumming alone; there is also chanting, singing, poetry, and spoken word pieces. This type of drum circle is not usually facilitated. Shamanic group drumming This type of group tends to center around Native American Cultural drums and rattles but is primarily focusing on the spiritual rather than the musical aspects of the culture. It is a facilitated circle but the leader is facilitating a shamanic journey process rather than a musical event. Shamanic drumming is generally simple and repetitive, often considered as a form of prayer or method of trance induction, rather than as music or entertainment. During a shamanic trance or shamanic journey, the shaman uses the steady beat of the drum as a "lifeline" to find the way back to the world of ordinary consciousness. Note that in these cultures, the term "Drum Circle" would certainly not be used. Rather, the terms 'drumming ceremony" or "ceremonial drumming" would be more accurate. Medicine wheel drumming and prayer ceremony drum circle at a pow-wow in Manawan, Quebec, Canada Practiced by various groups, "the medicine wheel group drumming prayer ceremony" recognizes the cardinal directions as spiritual powers that can help balance and heal. The ceremony has four rounds, with drumming by all participants at the instruction of the leader allowing the energy of each direction in each round to come into the group to facilitate prayers and healing. It has been described as "like a sweat lodge without the sweat". Author Jim Ewing held these ceremonies each month for seven years, as outlined in the book Finding Sanctuary in Nature, in addition to shamanic drum circles, and at various sites from coast to coast in the United States since the late 1990s. Groups based on his example and the instructions outlined in the book have resulted in other groups forming worldwide. This description is not of a drum circle in the sense that the term is commonly used. It is a drumming ceremony that takes place in a circle, but very different in content and form than a drum circle, more of an improvised community drumming jam. ==Notable figures in the group drumming movement==

Commercial group drumming organizations and companies exist in most countries to serve various markets. There is also a growing body of people working in places such as hospitals, prisons, and hospices using drumming as a form of recreational and supportive music making. Music therapists often use various forms of group drumming (including improvised drumming) in their work to reach therapeutic goals and objectives. Americans include Arthur Hull and Kalani Das. ==References ==