drumSTRONG 2010

Wow!

What an incredible weekend!  This year's drumSTRONG event was an amazing accomplishment.  We set another world record marathon drumcircle with 28 hours of non-stop drumming, all in a celebration of survivorship and beating cancer.  Hundreds of people participated in the main event in Weddington, North Carolina on a beautiful horse farm with perfect weather.  50 other cities around the world also held drumcircle events in the name of drumSTRONG including: Dusseldorf, Germany, Tokyo and Hiroshima Japan, Los Angeles and Baltimore.  Some of these cities were webcast in with the main event, so they could see us in North Carolina, and we could see and play along with them, creating a truly global drumcircle.  

Many of the attendees had raised money through their drumming, being sponsored per hour, including Ann, who raised over $1,300.00 that will go to charities helping those who are fighting cancer and to help find a cure.  Many of the attendees at the event in North Carolina were cancer survivors.  Many had lost loved ones.  Many continue to care for loved ones fighting cancer.  All were part of the process of finding a cure by playing their drums.  

There were about 15 facilitators who came from as far as California to attend this event.  Each of us took hour long shifts to facilitate the circle.  Ann and I co-facilitated one of the shifts and at one point had a four-way chant going "Drum - Strong - Beat - Cancer" The entire time there was one drum that never stopped (in the video it is the large drum up on the stand (me in red shirt playing it at the start).  The 'Mother drum' was always playing to represent the fight for life and survivorship.  

You can watch clips of the drumcircle here:  

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/6944118

Videos from other cities can also be seen here:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/drumstrong

Besides the drumcircle, there were many other happenings going on including lots of vendors and informational booths and a stage that featured a full lineup of eclectic music (rock, reggae, bellydance, folk, soul, etc.)   Jonathan was asked to play along with an all star lineup of amazing drummers including, Jim Donovan, Vinx, Jeff Sype, Arthur Hull, Dave Holland, Mike Deaton and others.

Check out that video - http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/6972801

At the end of the circle, we closed with a song that went, "Drum strong! ...  All night long! ... We can beat it! ... We can defeat it! ..."

Next year's drumSTRONG is scheduled to take place May 21 - 22nd. 

Prince George's County Social Workers and Clients

On Saturday April 24, 2010 this group of social workers had a very early morning start on their day off for stress relief and fun. So we greeted them and led them on a wonderful calming experience in nature with the sounds of frogs of many ages and crickets, rain sticks and ocean drums. It was magical. We then moved into the wonderful sounds of gongs and chimes before they rocked the place with drums and other percussion. It was a great ride from beginning to end and those who started out kind of hesitant about the whole program left energized and smiling and feeling much less stress than they arrived with. Two people who also arrived with headaches were also headache free. Thanks to Dave Holland for having us there again.

Week Two Ensemble Class

The second ensemble class on April 22, 2010 rocked the walls tonight. We practiced the djembe parts and then moved into learning the dunun and bell parts to Garangadon. With 3 full sets of dununs we had people coming to the door from around the building to see where the music was coming from. This class is grooving with the base drums. Then we moved into putting both the djembe and dunun parts together before we left for the evening. 

Silver Spring Day School

FunDrum Rhythm Circles went to the Silver Spring Day School on April 22, 2010 where Pre-K kids partook in a musical extravaganza of activities. The kids first enjoyed musical chairs and then alien dance where kids struck a pose when the music stopped. Then they enjoyed drumming to fill up their morning musical activities. As always this age group if a lively bunch.

New Ensemble Drum Class Starts

Tuesday April 15, 2010 marked the beginning of a new drum class I am offering to help expand the knowledge and experience for many of my students who have repeated my basic hand drumming class over and over again. We will be studying a variety of different drums and percussion instruments in this class that make up the complete ensemble for a particular piece. 
Presently we are studying the Garangadon Rhythm from the Mandingue culture. We are starting out with the 3 djembe parts before we get into the bell and dunun parts. We will work on this for the first 3 classes and then we will move onto the basics of the Talking Drum for the last 3 weeks. 

Lively Catonsville Seniors Drum Again

On Thursday April 15, 2010 Another lively group of seniors awaited FunDrum Rhythm Circles to arrive. This wonderful group of people is all about making music and is interested in using and learning about a variety of percussion instruments. They also love learning songs from other countries. Again we had some happy feet dancing to the beat of their own drumming. All left happy and smiling and asking when we would return. 

Spring Basic Hand Drumming Class

On Wednesday evening April 14, 2010 another great group of students came out to start their spring off with a great drumming experience. They all rocked as they learned the basic sounds of bass, tone, and slaps on their djembe, conga or bougarabous. Then after practicing several practice rhythms with these sounds they quickly moved into putting these sounds first into patterns and then into polyrhythms for practice. Great Class. 

Frankford Nursing/Rehabilitation Center

On Tuesday April 13, 2010 this great group of seniors of all levels of abilities were being pushed into the activity room to make music and get a great workout. Some are only their to soak up the good vibes as they aren't able to partake but love the energy they get from being present. They got into a great groove today that just seemed to transcend throughout their whole circle. Staff who walk by the room danced to their destinations with big smiles on their faces. Rock on Frankfort !!!!

Camp All Stars For Super Heros

Saturday April 10 and Sunday April 11, 2010 FunDrum traveled to "Camp All Stars" sponsored by The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Pediatric Division. At this camp all campers are considered SUPER HERO'S.

FunDrum Rhythm Circles brought to their camp the opportunity for group drumming by kids and staff alike. The first evening we had a drum circle in the camps Fort Setting. Evening drumming by the light of tiki touches was enjoyed by all and followed by a camp fire and roasted marsh mellows and smores. 

Day two of the camp gave kids an opportunity to learn the basics about hand drumming and later in the afternoon another group drum circle added to the celebration and awards ceremony to end their camp with a lively rhythmical experience. 

Catonsville Seniors Danced To The Beat of Their Drums

After their 4 month winter break it was apparent that spring was not only in the air but also in their step and in their rhythm. One newcomer to the group could hardly sit in her seat waiting for us to get set up. And just about the minute the beat started she started dancing to the groove. Then before you knew it she was back drumming again. Then she danced and then she drummed for the whole hour. It was a lively circle and fun was had by all. This wonderful group of seniors is always there ready and waiting each month when we arrive. 

Residency in Annapolis

I recently spent a week working with some second graders at an elementary school in Annapolis.  It was fun to come to their classroom and play rhythm games and have fun making music.  In our time together we played games like 'rhythm in the round', 'obwa simi sa' and 'magic wand'.  We also learned to play different percussion instruments and hand drums as well as a welcome song from Liberia.  Our finale was a big outdoor drumcircle with the other 2nd grade classes.  Big thanks to Mrs. B. and Mrs G. and all the boys and girls in her class.

Seniors Rock at Atrium Village!

FunDrum has started a wonderful series of drumcircle events at a senior community in Baltimore called Atrium Village.  During our first event there we played with about 30 people who enjoyed our series of activities, games and songs.  Making powerful and beautiful music with these elders will be a real kick throughout the year.  Ann and I will be there every month to play with them.

j

Drumble Club Rocked!

This past Saturday's Drumble Club drumcircle was rockin' with about 30 people coming out to play and jam together.  We had some fun rides during our 21/2 hours.  Many folks were there for their first drumcircle experience including a mother-daughter and father-daughter pair.

Come join us for the next Drumble Club on April 3rd!  Go to http://www.drumbleclub.com/ for more information.

j

Lively Arts for Little Ones

Recently did a program for 60 preschoolers as part of the Lively Arts for Little Ones at the Other Barn in Oakland Mills in Columbia.  SO much fun to sing, dance and play with all these children and their parents. During our time, we sang 2 songs from Africa, had a dance party with animals and dinosaurs, heard a story about Ijapa the tortoise from Nigeria and played together with some 'happy' drums.  What a fun way to start the day!

j

Drumming together with Johnson and Johnson

Ann and I managed to dig out of 30+ inches of snow to drive up to Philadelphia for a team building program with a group of 75 people from Johnson and Johnson.  We had a great 90 minute program that had some real rockin' moments.  This group was comprised of some very smart and talented people (lots of initials after the names - physicians, scientists, researchers, etc. ) who were all located in different parts of the country.  The program I did for them was a part of their group's team building efforts.  Their music was spirited and really gelled together representing a collective sound.      

When I went online to see the company website: www.jnj.com  I was amazed to see how many companies they own that make products that touch our lives: Band-Aid, Aveeno, Visine, Neosporin,  Lubriderm, Bengay, Listerine, Tylenol, Nicorette, Rolaids, plus tons of baby products - tearless shampoo, baby lotion, etc.  JnJ also makes a lot of prescription medicines as well as medical devices and products.  Pretty amazing to see all the products.  They also do some interesting philanthropical work in several different countries and here in the US.

It was really fun to work with that JnJ team and deliver a really powerful and meaningful event.

jm

Basic Hand Drumming Class is Rockin'

Thanks to a great turnout for this season's class series through Howard County Rec and Parks, my Basic Hand Drumming class is rockin'!  I have 22 people in the class (17 showed up tonight), and it just makes it so much fun when you have that kind of critical mass.  

In our second class tonight we started by reviewing the basic sounds and working through some practice rhythms.  I introduced the first rhythm that we will be learning - Groove Safari.  This piece is a composition I created that utilizes universal principals as well as diverse cultural elements blended into a very funky polyrhythm.  We played the first two parts tonight and it was kickin'.  It was cool to see when things just clicked together and sounded so solid.

Our class next week will meet at the Rec and Parks office on Oakland Mills Road.

J

Welcome to FunDrum Rhythm Circles Blog!

Hello!

Welcome to the FunDrum Rhythm Circles blog!  I have created this blog to share some of the experiences from doing drumcircles with groups ranging from nursing homes and schools to state agencies and Fortune 500 companies.  You can learn more about FunDrum Rhythm Circles and the programs we offer at http://www.fundrumrhythmcircles.com/.  Follow this blog to learn about my drumming events and classes.

Check out the survey on favorite drums. Thanks for visiting.

Jonathan