Drum Circle Etiquette
These are the guidelines we post on our Southeast Florida Drum
Circle Community website. Obviously, these guidelines apply to
"jam-style" (expressive, creative) drum circles, not to "trance-
style" (meditative, inward) drum circles.
*** General etiquette ***
1. Once you've attended and explored some drum circles, and know
that you enjoy them, consider bringing an instrument of your own -
drum (doumbek, djembe, congas, bongos, frame drum, etc.) - or even
some kind of simple rhythm-making gadget (like a tambourine, bell,
wood block, or shaker). For a beginner, these gadgets are a lot
easier to play than a hand drum. Ask experienced drummers for ad-
vice if you're going to buy a drum. And find a portable seat - such
as a simple camp stool - in the sporting goods or furniture depart-
ments of stores like Wal-Mart. Consider bringing a towel to put on
the ground - outdoors it protects the bottom of your drum from dirt
and moisture and mold; indoors it protects the floor.
2. Always get clear permission before touching, moving, or playing
somebody else's possessions (drum, other instruments, seat, etc.).
Just because they've walked away doesn't mean you can move their
stuff or play their drum.
3. You may ask others to borrow their instrument if they're not using
it, or if they have a spare - but don't wander off with it (stay close
by), be alert to when they want it back, and play it with respect.
4. Don't wear rings, watches, or bracelets while playing a drum. They
can harm the drum head or the drum body. This also protects your own
hands from hurting after hours of drumming.
5. Don't smoke in or near the circle. Drumming is a high-energy aero-
bic exercise for many drummers and dancers. Respect the need of every-
one to breath clean air in such a closely-packed environment.
6. As a courtesy, turn your cell phone off or to its vibrate-only set-
ting, so as not to disturb the music being created.
7. If you want to take a break at any time - in between drum pieces,
or even during a piece - feel free. But move back, away from the
circle, if you're going to talk, socialize, snack, talk on a cell
phone, etc. Don't stand and talk in the middle of the drum circle,
even if the whole circle is taking a break. Leave the circle free
for a new rhythm to begin, for the drummers to see each other, and
for the dancers to move, without having to ask you to get out of
the way.
8. If you don't like a rhythm that's started, it's very bad manners
to sabotage it by playing a different rhythm, by forcing the tempo
faster or slower, by talking, etc. Not every rhythm may be your
favorite - but look at it as an opportunity to learn, to grow, to
expand your boundaries. Instead of resisting that rhythm, try div-
ing deeper into it, feeling the natural laws behind it, tuning into
it's core and letting that drive what you play. Say "yes" rather
than "no" to what nature serves up.
9. It's also bad manners to stop a piece that the group is engaged
in just because you want to make an announcement. Wait till a piece
has naturally ended, and make your announcements during the resulting
break.
10. There's a reason it's called a "drum circle". Drums and percus-
sion instruments are the focus. It's OK to bring other instruments
(we've seen guitars, saxophones, violins, melodicas, harmoniums,
flutes, dijeradoos, etc.) as long as you understand that you are there
to augment the drums, to support the drums. It is very bad manners to
bring out your instrument and make yourself the "soloist" or focal
point of the group, making the drums follow you. Recognize that it
takes some good skill on a non-rhythm instrument to improvise while
following the drums, without impeding the drum circle or standing out
or even taking over. Please don't bring your instrument unless you
have that level of skill, and lack of ego, to be a support player.
11. Respect the drum circle and don't put it at risk - don't bring
illegal substances, don't do illegal activities, don't be so chemi-
cally altered that you disrupt the group - and honor any rules or
boundaries set by the host or organizer.
*** Drum as part of the group - rather than in your own world ***
1. Listening is the key: drum circles are about connecting, about
creating community. Listen to the beat (tempo/speed) that's being
established; listen to the rhythm (flavor) layered on top of that
beat; listen to the nuances (subtleties/accents) within that rhythm.
Join in it; immerse yourself in it; surrender to it; let your drum-
ming/dancing contribute to it (rather than fight with it). Listen
not only as the rhythm begins, but all throughout. Listen with your
ears; listen with your skin (feel the beat); listen with your eyes
(watch what the drummers and dancers are doing); listen with your
heart (feel the energy).
2. Showing off, demonstrating individual drumming skills, etc., is
not helpful. Listening to everyone, communicating with the other
drummers, serving the growing unity of that rhythm IS helpful.
3. If you are a beginner, you don't have to do anything fancy. You
serve the circle by maintaining the basic beat. Everyone can't be
doing the "fancy stuff" - some people have to provide the foundation
that allows the fancy riffing and "solos" to occur. In fact, you
drag the energy of the circle down if you try to do things that are
too difficult for your skill level. It's better to do well something
simple than to do poorly something "fancier". Just have fun and en-
joy being part of the whole.
4. As you get more experienced, you can try departures from the basic
beat, as long as you stay in tune with what the group is doing and
don't impede what's happening. Once your skills and courage develop,
you don't have to be a rhythm robot and hold down the same part all
night long. There is plenty of freedom within the fundamental groove
to experiment with, to express your rhythmic spirit, in unity with the
direction of the whole circle.
5. Leave rhythmic space for others in the circle to express themselves.
Don't fill up the musical space with all your own drum beats so much
that there's little creative space left for the other players. Listen
to the better drummers; sometimes they go "wild", and other times they
back off and carry a more basic beat while giving space to others to
shine.
6. In fact, some rhythms do best with some empty spaces - that's what
defines that rhythm, gives it its unique personality. If you make
sounds during those empty spaces, that rhythm loses its personality
and just becomes a muddle. Sometimes "less is more"; listen for this.
7. Play near the volume of the group. If you can only hear yourself,
you are probably not having a constructive musical relationship with
the rest of the players in the circle (you are playing too loud!).
Play softly enough that you can hear everyone around you. But don't
play so softly, so timidly, that others can't hear you (and you're
not really contributing to the overall sound). Find a happy medium!
And then flow with the changes in volume and speed that the group
goes through during each "piece".
8. Share the "solo" space. If you are skilled enough and courageous
enough to add "solo" leadership to the drumming, then you know the
fulfillment and pleasure of being able to play over, around, and
through the drum circle groove. If you're joining this level, then
you must also know that the drum circle can't accommodate more than
a few people soloing at the same time (and they must be listening to
each other skillfully). Alternate by backing each other up, by mak-
ing each other sound great, or by sometimes having a drum dialogue
with each other.
9. When it's time for a drum rhythm (piece) to end, let it end!
The coordinator of the group may make a signal, or some of the more
experienced drummers may give a sign, or it may just be obvious be-
cause the energy fades away. One of the more annoying things in a
drum circle are those one or two people who hold on, who just won't
let the piece end!
10. And when a piece is over, resist the temptation to immediately
start another rhythm. Let there be some silence, if even only for
a few seconds, between pieces. Feel the new rhythm emerge out of
silence, out of the collective consciousness of the group - rather
than impose a rhythm based on your own ego.
11. Start rhythms that are not repetitions of what's recently been
played (in the last few pieces). Introduce novelty, change of pace.
The temptation for new drummers who have developed some skill is to
want every piece to be fast, high-energy, full of sound. But there
is great value in pieces that are slow, syncopated, containing some
silence. Those rhythms tap into a different energy, they greatly
please most dancers, and they leave room for the piece to build into
something high-energy and full as it "evolves". Great artists know
how to build to a climax, rather than start there.
This list is a collection of ideas posted by many others, with edit-
ing and new contributions by me. Additions/corrections to this list
are always welcome. Please send them to the group coordinator:
SoutheastFloridaDrumCircleCommunity-owner@yahoogroups.com
Michael Dean Goodman
Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, Florida
561-350-3930
Coordinator - Southeast Florida Drum Circle Community - Yahoo Group
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