Drum Circle

Playing his first paid gig at age 12 in 1959, Eddie Tuduri has lived every aspect of a drummer's life. His professional drumming career has spanned over 40 years working with artists such as Delaney Bramlett, Bobby Whitlock, The Beach Boys, Dobie Gray, Del Shannon, Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band, Dr. John, Ike Turner and many others.

But it wasn't until his near death experience did he truly experience the layers of love and healing in the music he created.

On a warm September night in 1997, Eddie was catching a few waves in Carpinteria before heading to his gig at a pizza restaurant in Santa Barbara with blues artist, Sky Ferguson. He didn't make it to the gig that night or to the two tours he landed for the fall. Eddie was instead fighting his likely fate of being a quadriplegic after his last wave for the day slammed him to the bottom of the ocean and broke his neck.

It took a six hour spinal surgery and a week in ICU to repair the damage from that wave.

Eddie was then transferred to The Rehabilitation Institute in Santa Barbara where both physical and spiritual healing occurred. As soon as he cleared through the haze of surgery, he managed to get percussion instruments in his ward and began to work on his groove by tapping a stick against his bed frame. Other patients in the ward joined in on the rhythm and the happiness it created.

By experiencing these simple moments of joy through music with people outside of his career of playing drums as a living, he began to understand music at an entirely new level. The basic rhythms of percussion and clapping were making trama patients feel alive and hopeful.

"Rhythm comes from a place deep inside all of us, a place no physical trauma can reach. It moves us in a positive direction mentally, physically, and spiritually." Eddie said reflecting on the moment.

As Eddie gained mobility, they formalized the music making into a drum circle involving occupational therapists. The drumming was used as a tool to address rehab goals and focused on regenerating nerves, attention span and memory in patients. This program earned formal therapeutic merit and was widely accepted at conferences across the country.

While at a conference, he was introduced to the field of developmental disabilities and learned how percussion and drums are used with developmentally challenged kids to result in a true learning experience over time.

Since his injury, Eddie has happily accepted his new path in life to help others through music. He truly feels the joyful spirit of drumming and the way it can be used as a tool for teaching and healing.

Today he is the founder of The Rhythmic Arts Project, created to enhance the lives of people with disabilities utilizing rhythm, djembe drums, and other percussion instruments.

His story is an inspiration to the musician in all of us.

Labels: Djembe Spirit, Drum Circle, drum.circle.facilitator, drum.magic, Music Education, music.therapy, the.healing.power.of.the.drum

You can hear the sounds coming through the trees in the clearing; a low, rhythmic drumming catches your ear, and you can hear the music carrying through the forest. Getting closer, you smell incense and feel the warmth of a fire. People are dancing to the beat of a circle of drums; each person keeping tune and rhythm with those around them. The throb of the drums pounding together makes the ground vibrate under your feet. Even if you have never experienced one before, the electric feel of a Pagan Drum Circle can leave your spirit charged for hours.

Paganism, or Neopaganism refers to a polytheistic religion such as Wicca. Rather than worship Jesus in the way that Christians do, those who practice Wicca worship a Goddess and a God. In Wicca, the God and Goddess are ever around you and manifest themselves in nature. Wiccans believe in the power of magic or sorcery, and often evoke such power in magic circles. As air, water, fire, earth, and spirit are united, a Wiccan is in touch with the power of the Universe. Magic circles are cast to so that Wiccans can cast spells or perform rituals.

Rituals are vital to any religion, and Wicca is no different. Catholics baptize their babies in holy water inside a Church. Wiccans baptize their babies through Wiccaning, in which it is asked that the child be under the protection of the God and Goddess. It is rituals such this that require magic circles, and the sights and sounds of nature are a major part of any circle. Singing, clapping, poetry, and most importantly, drumming, all become part of the magic.

A Pagan drum circle is very much a part of Wiccan ritual. A magic circle of purity is drawn around a fire, and each djembe drum converges around the fire or off in a corner so that they may all sit together. A drumbeat is started, and each drummer beats to the rhythm. There is no one leader to this type of drum circle; the spirit simply takes everyone away and a rhythm is kept from each contributing. Ritual singing and dancing occurs around the fire, as each individual gives themselves up to the beat of the drum and the connection to their God, Goddess, and each other. Often these types of drum circles last until dawn, and are considered a ritual or part of a spell.

Why a drum circle to invoke a connection to a higher power? Drums have often been thought of a way to connect to your own spirituality. For thousands of years, people have been drumming to connect to themselves and others around them. The consistent beat of a hand drum can allow you to enter a level of relaxation that will bring upon a new level of consciousness. Drumming, in a word, calms a restless soul. It is no wonder that Wiccans widely incorporate drumming as their main choice of sound for a magic circle, spell, or ritual.

Although Pagan Drum Circles are very different from the average gathering of drummers, it is with the same spirit and love of rhythm that one becomes involved in a drum circle. Wiccan, Christian, old or young: the sound and spirit of the drum surrounds you and gives you a connection to the world that you may have otherwise been missing.

Labels: Djembe Spirit, Drum Circle, Pagan Drumming, the.healing.power.of.the.drum

The djembe is one of West Africa's best known instruments. Traditionally carved from a single piece of wood with an animal skin drumhead, this hand drum belongs to the membranophane class of instruments, and stand generally between twelve and twenty-four inches tall.

The name of the djembe came from the Bamana in Mali, who said "Anke dje, anke be" to call their people together, as the saying translates as "everyone gather together." "Dje" means gather and "be" means everyone, which gave the drum used in these calls to order its name. The Bamanakans' mythology tells of the original djembe, which was made of the hide of a giraffe-zebra hybrid called the gebraffe.

In actuality, the djembe drum is about 700 years old, and was created in Mali by the Malinke people. The territory of Mali almost a millennia ago was made of parts of current Mali, Guinea, Liberia, Senegal, and Burkina Faso, among other African countries.

Blacksmiths made the first djembes, making each drum custom-fitted to the drummer who would play it. The making of the drum was spiritual, and the blacksmith was obliged to make offerings to the spirits of the trees he cut down. Once the blacksmith finished the djembe, it was delivered to the drummer who commissioned it, a member of the djeli caste. The djeli were musicians, who were responsible for the oral history of their people.

The djeli caste still exists today, and is responsible for the traditional music. The djeli sing and perform during rituals, baptisms, weddings and funerals, and are trusted with the music of their ancestors.

During a performance, the djembe begins the ritual, followed by the singer and the other instruments. The djembe player can change the beat of the drums in order to change the song, and the singer and instrument players use the rhythm to recognize what they should be playing. Meanwhile, the guests at the ceremony dance to the rhythm in a circle. Solo dancers will leave the circle to dance for the djembe players.

Hundreds of years later, the djembe gained a new following after West African countries gained independence. Highlighting the old culture of these newly sovereign states, djembe was used in national ballets, and drew emphasis to the djembe as a musical instrument in and of itself, rather than as an accompaniment. Most modern djembe troupes have done away with their dancers altogether, focusing completely on the music being made.

Even as recently as the 1950s, the djembe was not known beyond African music aficionados and those who grew up with the instrument. However, during the midcentury, Fodeba Keita, of Guinea, brought a tour of Les Ballets Africains around the world. The instrument became well known, and more Americans began using the drum in their music.

In today's musical world, the djembe is making its way into the global consciousness. More people than ever listen to world music, popularized greatly by the rapid spread of West African ballets and orchestras especially during the 1980s. Though the instruments are not being made traditionally, they're more accessible than ever, helping a new generation of drummers discover the djembe.

Labels: african.djembe, african.djembe.drum, african.drumming, beginner.djembe, djembe, Djembe Spirit, Djembe.Buying.Guide, djembe.drum

When built according to traditional standards, every element of the djembe is rife with spiritual significance. Each piece of the drum holds the spirit of its maker; the wood of the body, the skin of the drum head and the workmanship of the artist who made the drum. By using all three spirits in harmony, the spirits join together to make beautiful, powerful music. The drummer is able to connect with him or herself, to those around, and to nature.

The first of the spirits is from the body's wood. The artist must make an offering to the spirit of the tree before cutting it down to hollow it out. Legend states that the spirit of the tree is a djinn, which is the male, malevolent version of a Genie. Djembes were traditionally carved from hollowed out Dimba trees, the name of which means "Devil Wood." The djinn gave the djembe as a gift to the Malinke people, and many believe that the wood is imbued with the power to make the African people dance.

The second spirit of the djembe is found in the drum head. Goatskin is the preferred animal hide used for djembe drum heads, but artists also use skin from antelopes, deer, camels, zebras and calves. Drum heads are made from the female's hide. Malinke mythology describes the first djembe's drum head as coming from the hybrid of a zebra and a giraffe – a "gebraffe." The drum head allowed the Malike people to communicate over long distances. Therefore, the djembe was an integral element in tribal language, connecting members in other areas.

The instrument maker also lends his or her spirit to the drum. The creation of the djembe was difficult, and was undertaken only by members of the blacksmith caste. In particular, attaching the hide to the wood is difficult, because that attachment is one of the crucial elements in the creation of sound. The artist must take care in the tanning of the hide, because of the reflection of the spirit as well as the resonance of the drum, and in the choosing of the wood, as the wood had to be able to burn all night in a fire. The time and effort used during the artistry of the djembe contributed the spirit of the artist to the djembe.

In Mali, djembes have been used in sacred rituals for more than a millennium. Djembefolas, or djembe players, lead the music for marriages, births and funerals, as well as for a number of seasonal ceremonies. Furthermore, medicine men used the djembe to calm their patients, believing that the djembe could heal the spirit.

In female led groups, frame drums were used for worship of goddesses. Rituals were held at night, connecting the power of the moon and the lunar cycle with menstrual cycles. As a consequence of the relationship between these cycles, women felt closer to the spirit of the feminine divine. The drum is used in depictions of the moon goddess.

Labels: djembe, Djembe Spirit, djembe.drum