Last evening I finally returned to my drumming practice and took part in a local drum circle here in Santa Barbara. The experience, as it almost always has been for me, was exceptional. The circle gathered across from the beach and played until well after the sun went down. Throughout the evening, the circle grew in numbers and then began to shrink as it became closer to ten. The rhythms would vary as if on cue but the signals were felt intuitively. Admittedly, I'm a bit of a one beat wonder or I have a tendency to follow one pattern throughout a particular session. I find in very difficult to change it up as some of the more advance players do so effortlessly, but then someone needs to keep a foundational beat going so the others can play off of it too. This is what I tell myself anyway. However, what's so awesome is it doesn't matter within the circle. It doesn't matter if you've never played before or you've been playing for decades. The voice of the drum speaks for itself and everyone around the world has the ability to speak through the drum beat, if not the forethought to do so. In other words, drumming is a universal form of communication and it universally creates spontaneous communities wherever it occurs. When people hear the beat of the drum, they will come. People are drawn to its rhythms whether to play, dance, or just listen.
