Drum Circle

When you play your drum, be it djembe, congas or a kit, how tempting is it to slouch over? Resist the urge! Proper posture is the first step to playing with the professionals.

After the news of Phil Collins' retirement from drumming as a consequence of back surgery to repair dislocated vertebrae injured due to poor posture while playing on the last Genesis tour, drummers are looking for ways to prevent similar damage to their spines. After all, if Collins had kept posture in mind, he might be playing for another fifty years!

Though beginners should learn to practice good posture from the beginning, it's as important to learn for a veteran.

Darcy Macrae, drummer for the National Tour of the Broadway Musical "Wicked," stated that "As far as posture at the drums is concerned, it's important to sit in a comfortable position with your thighs parallel to the floor, back straight up, and arms as relaxed as possible." Keeping your body straight will prevent any stress from accumulating on your back. Try sitting upright the next time you play a show, and notice how different you feel.

In terms of better playing, practicing better posture can make it easier to play the lower drums when your legs are kept at 45 degree angles, which allow you to move your heels up and down on the pedals. One of the most important aspects of being able to move your legs as needed is choosing the right drum throne. Buy whatever throne is the best quality in your price range. Macrae suggests the Roc N Soc saddle throne, claiming that it provides "great support all around."

In addition to buying the right drum throne, you need to make sure you have your seat at the right height. The height varies for each drummer depending on their own height and the build of the throne. You need enough space to be able to move your knees up and down; so be sure that your thighs slope downward towards the floor, making it easier to kick the bass drum.

As with practicing any instrument, it's imperative to remain relaxed. Keeping your breathing even helps keep your body relaxed, preventing tension from impeding your practicing. Be sure that no matter how comfortable you get, you don't sacrifice your hand grip technique, as too much relaxation in this respect can create a serious problem in your playing. Yoga is a great exercise that can combine physical exertion with relaxation, leading to the importance of staying in shape.

Drummers who keep their physical health in mind tend to me better drummers, because they have better control, can stretch farther, and play longer. Remember how physically trying drumming can be - staying in shape is integral to your success.

Whether you're doing a quick practice or you're planning on playing for hours, performing with better drum posture is a quote to playing better and longer than ever before. The professionals are working on their posture - shouldn't you be thinking about your posture too?

Share your tips for drum performance techniques below!

Labels: drum technique, drum tips, drummers, posture

This week, Phil Collins, legendary drummer from both Genesis and his own solo career, announced that, as a consequence of surgery to fix damaged vertebrae that became dislocated during his tenure as a musician, he will never play the drums or piano again. Collins is incapable of holding drum sticks or curving his hands to play the piano, because the pain is too great.

The operation, although successful, limits Collins' use of his hands, a fact that, strangely, hasn't affected the musician. Despite fifty years of playing the drums, Collins has taken the news in stride, saying to the Daily Mirror, "I am not in any 'distressed' state -- stuff happens in life." Although the damage may not be permanent, Collins isn't particularly worried, as he is still able to write music and sing. The damage to his hands may be repaired in a few years.


Collins initially fought the pain, going as far as to tape his drum sticks to his hands in order to be able to hold them. However, after accepting his condition, Collins has stated that he considers his health to be more important than playing the drums.

Collins believes that the damage to his spine was incurred during his last tour with Genesis, in 2007. Because Collins neglected proper drumming posture while touring, he compromised the alignment of his spine, causing a few vertebrae in his neck to dislocate, crushing his spinal cord.

This information comes after Collins' 2008 declaration that he would no longer be making music, as he reported to the London Times. Though he may not be planning any more tours or studio albums, he does plan to continue writing music, if only for himself. Instead of music, he plans to devote himself to his Alamo memorabilia collection.

Collins is currently working on bringing the Prince's Trust, a charity run by Prince Charles, back to Britain. The Prince's Trust had its first concert in 1983 at the Dominion Theatre and was revived in 1988 at Royal Albert Hall, a concert which is available on DVD. The Prince's Trust concerts featured famous rock stars like Collins, Elton John, Sting, Ultravox's Midge Ure, Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton.

Collins entered the music scene in the big 1970s in Genesis as a drummer after answering an ad in Melody Maker. When Peter Gabriel left to pursue a solo career, Collins replaced him as the lead singer, and their album, A Trick of the Trail, reached number three of the music charts. Collins played with Genesis until 1996, before rejoining for the tour in 2007.

Meanwhile, Collins also had a strong solo career, with albums like Face Value reaching number one on the music charts, and his singles ranking high as well. Fans will recognize "You Can't Hurry Love" and "In the Air Tonight" as some of his most popular songs. "In the Air Tonight" was featured in The Hangover and a line of Cadbury's advertisements, bringing Collins to a newer generation of fans.

Labels: drummers, drums, music.therapy, Performers, Phil Collins

Working drummers know well that performing light acoustic shows are part of the job and they need to be trained and prepared to drive the backline using an alternative drum when a standard drum set is not an option. A traditional hand drum is the standard alternative for these situations and drummers typically choose to use a djembe or cajon drum when the kit is too much for the room.

A djembe is a West African hand drum designed for usage in a drum circle. This hand drum is all about connecting with people and involvement by the entire community, and its easy for anyone to participate. Ben Harper, Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel are known for including the djembe in their typical percussive line-up.

Traditional African drums are favored by professional djembe players, due to the superior materials. African female goats lend tougher skins than American goats, to the drumheads, as a result of the rough life of the African goat. African djembes also use hardwood instead of plastic or softwood, which makes for better sound. Many mass market djembes you see at department stores and big chain music stores are made of synthetic materials such as PVC or fiberglass which offer more durability but also offer less warmth when it comes to tone.

Djembes produce a range of sounds, called the bass, tone and slap. The bass is the lowest sound, and is produced by holding the fingers together while playing, like the tone. The tone produces a round and full sound. Finally, the slap creates a high, sharp noise, produced by relaxing the fingers while playing.

A djembe is much smaller than the typical drum set, with size averaging out at twelve inches in diameter, twenty-four inches in height. You can find smaller djembes, down to 8 inches in diameter and eighteen inches in height.

The djembe was prominently featured in Thomas McCarthy's 2008 film, The Visitor. The film focused on the cathartic experience of playing the djembe, and how the musical expression can become part of overcoming grief, as a result of the emotion. Djembe playing is about expression more than skill; it is about community and passion.

Unlike the West African djembe, the cajon is an Afro-Peruvian hand drum that is played by slapping the sides. The box drum has an interesting and broad history where in one case the drum was used as a way to continue to play despite the Spanish boycott on African music. The shape of the box masked itself and was seen as a stool or a shelf rather than a musical instrument.

Throughout history the cajon drum has been used to play the rumba and flamenco music and has recently become a major player in contemporary music. Most recording engineers are starting to experiment with cajon drum tones in the studio for rock, reggae and hip hop recordings.

Famous performers like Jennifer Lopez and the Dixie Chicks have used the drum, as well as Alejandro Sanz, Fleetwood Mac, Norah Jones and Ben Harper.

To play the cajon drum, the player sits on top of the instrument and plays various rhythms on the frontplate, which is typically made of fine hardwoods. The other parts of the box are made of thicker wood, which creates stability for the musician, with rubber feet for the protection of floor surfaces and the bottom of the cajon.

Cajons today have a variety of sounds as a result of bass pedals, snare wires and nylon strings in the production of the drum. Musicians use their hands, as well as plastic and metal brushes to vary the sound for the music.

Labels: cajon, cajon.drum, djembe, djembe.drum, drummers, drumming, drums, flamenco.music

Below are some quick but useful tips on starting a drum circle. Good luck!!

1. There is a lot of information already out there on the web about how to start a drum circle. Google it.

2. Buy a drum - You'll need some sort of hand-drum or percussion instrument in order to start or join in a drum circle. A djembe is a good, reasonably inexpensive and practical choice as a beginner drum, and you may also consider investing in a few small but cheap alternate percussion instruments, such as egg shakers or claves.

2. Advertise - flyers in your local drum stores, used cd stores, used book stores, holistic groceries, massage schools, coffee shops - places where new-age types will hang out.

3. Be patient. It takes time to grow these things. Don't worry if you don't have a lot of people. Get started with just a few and meet once or twice per month. Grow it gradually.

4. Get help. Don't try to do it all on your own. Hold an interest meeting for the first session and get volunteers to help you spread the word and shoulder the responsibility of organizing, advertising, coordinating space, etc.

5. Network with all the other drummers in your area - spend time chatting up the guys working in the drum stores; they'll help you get the word out. Here is an excellent resource in finding and hooking up with other drummers in your area: Drum Circle Meetup.

6. Attend local events and festivals and play outdoors every chance you get. People will ask what you're doing, at which point you can give them more information. Never run out of flyers! I had Kinko's run me little quarter sheet tear off pads. I can leave them on counters in local handouts and easily tear off one to give to anyone interested.

7. Start a Myspace group or a Yahoo group so that you don't have to manage an email list on your own computer. Let it do the work for you.

Always remember to have fun and keep an open invitation to new drummers!

Labels: djembe, Djembe.Buying.Guide, drum, drum.circle, drummers, hand.drum, hand.drumming, percussion.instrument

The following is an unbelievable story I recently read regarding women in Africa who are literally being disowned by family members for playing the drums. That's what many members of the Amazones (The Women Master Drummers of Guinea) have to deal with in their native African homeland of Guinea.

The instrument of choice in The Amazones performance is the djembe. Traditionally played by men in Guinea, the djembe is forbidden for women to even touch. Several of the women in the group have been shunned by their families, where in one case a mother of one of the djembe players not only disowned her but told her to look for another job, and even burnt her performance costume. It's wild to think that this is happening in the 21st century. "The mind couldn't get it that the woman decided to do this," said the Amazones' founding director Mamoudou Conde.

Conde said he encouraged the Amazones, a group of up to 14 women, to push past the criticisms and to stick with the djembe. "One of the reasons for bringing the girls on this instrument for me, is really to speak out," Conde said. "Part is a fight for African women and their rights." Conde added that after nearly a decade of performing worldwide, the women's families are starting to see inspiration in the group's determination, and even young girls are becoming exposed to the instrument.

"Many girls now are picking up some of these instruments," Conde said. "They see their mother doing something they want to do. This really gives girls courage and ability to do what they want to do.

Labels: african.djembe, amazones, djembe, drum, drummers, guinea, percussion.instrument