Adult TeambuildingHealth and WellnessDrumming Research

Children's Circle
What is a drumming circle?

A drumming circle is a hands-on rhythm based event during which a facilitator leads people in playing drums and hand percussion instruments. No musical experience is necessary! It is an open space for a diverse group of people to create synergy through a rhythmt. All people from all walks of life, all colors, have various things they can do together to create harmony, and it is the simplest thing to make music and sing together. The Living At Peace drum circles allow children to share their rhythmical spirit and create the power of unity through music. In the drumming circle experience participants are encouraged to express their individual rhythmical spirit, and at the same time adhere to some basic principles found in drum circles. As a rhythm-based event, drumming is a natural way to provide a young person with an opportunity to creatively channel and release the pent-up emotions and frustrations that accompany the process of growing up. Living At Peace uses West African drums and percussion instruments to create a fun, playful, energizing, activity for kids, that gives immediate gratification and feedback while encouraging self-expression.
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Benefits:

Promotes unity and team-building
Interactive drumming breaks down barriers of hierarchy, age, gender, culture and language. Drumming gets the group communicating, listening to one another and working together as a team to create music. It evokes togetherness and leaves participants with a sense of belonging. Participants directly experience the importance of collaboration, communication and contribution of their individual energy, and gain perspective into the synergy between individual and team.

Health and Well-being
Participants quickly reach an ALPHA state, which results in enhanced focus and clarity. Drumming is very beneficial for Special Needs children. Drumming relieves stress - when you hit the drum you are placed squarely in the here and now.

Diversity and Tolerance
Living At Peace is able to create a safe, non-competitive community and to convey the message that the group is present for the same reason - to make music as one. Through hearing the rhythm of the group and contributing their beat, participants realize that each individual plays a specific role within the group but also that they are united by a common goal. Participants directly experience the power of group energy. The significance of communication and listening is highlighted through the experience of creating music together. The children realize that they are individuals as diverse as all the instruments used in the drumming circle. And only by honoring each persons voice can we create cohesion. The students are asked to see connections between the drumming circle experience and their community and how they could bring this experience into their daily lives.

Sparks creativity
Participants are taught to stop thinking and start feeling the rhythm! Left and right brain are used at the same time, which benefits creative out-the-box thinking.

Fun and Educational!
Living At Peace events are infectious and even the most reserved or cynical member of the team will be smiling and beating away. Living At Peace drumming circles incorporate West African traditional instruments, rhythms, and songs so the students develop an understanding of the African culture and history of the instruments used.

Program Incorporates NJ Core Curriculum Standards:

1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 2.5, 3.4, 6.4, 7.2

Living At Peace provides all the equipment necessary for the drumming circle experience. To schedule a drumming circle experience for your group please contact Living At Peace, 908-431-9904.

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Adult Teambuilding Circle

What is a drumming circle?

A drumming circle is a hands-on rhythm based community event during which a facilitator leads people in playing drums and hand percussion instruments. No musical experience is necessary! It is an open space for people to come together and share their love of drumming and singing.

The group sits in a circle and together participates in a variety of facilitated activities. As the group rhythm builds, the facilitator uses metaphors to illustrate how everyone’s input contributes to the whole. Key points include listening, communication, cooperation, synergy, support, and having fun.

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Why use a drumming circle for team building?

Group drumming breaks through language, educational, gender, organizational and cultural barriers that divide associates and employees.  People experience the power of  unity through diversity. During and after the drumming circle we help the participants see how they can use the drumming circle experience in the work place.

Living At Peace Drumming Circles Will:

• Relieve stress
• Promote cooperation versus competition
• Increase creativity
• Provide a fun experience
• Help focus the mind
• Boost self-confidence
• Encourage listening skills
• Provide a positive coping skill
• Build leadership skills
• Foster feeling of belonging
• Create positive peer identification
• Foster community and cooperation

Group Drumming Research
by Dr. Barry Bittman, MD, Karl T. Bruhn, Christine Stevens, MSW,MT-BC, James Westengard, and Paul O. Umbach, MA
Recreational music-making: a cost-effective group interdisciplinary strategy for reducing burnout and improving mood states in long-term care workers - 2003

When the participants - staff at a Pennsylvania nursing home - took part in a six week drumming session, it improved their mood by almost 50%. Dr. Bittman, author of the report, said there was a decrease in feelings of fatigue and depression. The positive effects continued for one year. Dr. Bittman said the drumming sessions resulted in 49 fewer employees resigning from the nursing home.

Contact Living At Peace for Booking and Pricing:
908-431-9904
sharon@livingatpeace.com
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Health and Wellness Circle

Sharon Silverstein, President of Living At Peace, LLC
leads a therapeutic drumming circle at the NJ Veteran's home in Edison.

What is a drumming circle?
A drumming circle is a hands-on rhythm based community event during which a facilitator leads people in playing drums and hand percussion instruments. No musical experience is necessary! It is an open space for people to come together and share their love of drumming, dancing and singing.

Why a drumming circle?
It creates social support, it offers a number of proven health benefits, and it’s fun. Best of all, group drumming is easy to learn. It offers an enjoyable and fulfilling activity for young and old alike. And there are many other benefits as well – exercise, nurturing social support, intellectual stimulation, and stress reduction. In so many ways, group drumming stimulates creative expression that unites our bodies minds, and spirits.

Drumming Circle Health Benefits:

Studies clearly show that group drumming circles provide health benefits – physically, mentally, and emotionally. For example, research led by neurologist Dr. Barry Bittmen, M.D., medical director of the Mind-Body Wellness Center in Meadville, PA, concluded that active participation in group drumming circles provides the following benefits:

• Relieves stress
• Provides exercise
• Supports fine motor skills
• Decreases depression
• Boosts immune system
• Reduces feelings of loneliness

• Increases white blood cell count
• Increases quality of life
• Improves walking gait in stroke patients
• Increases creativity
• Provides a fun experience
• Helps focus the mind
• Boosts intellectual stimulation
• Fosters feeling of belonging
• Fosters community and cooperation
• Improves cognitive function of persons with Alzheimer’s disease
Contact Living At Peace for Booking and Pricing:
908-431-9904
sharon@livingatpeace.com
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Research

While group drumming has certainly survived the test of time, the scientific community is just beginning to develop a rudimentary understanding of the biological, psychological and sociological benefits of this multifaceted Recreational Music-making activity. A landmark controlled scientific investigation by Dr. Bittman and colleagues, (Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, January 2001) demonstrated statistically significant positive cell-mediated immune system changes that correlated with one-hour group drumming sessions. This unique approach has been successfully utilized as a well-accepted, cost-effective strategy in a host of clinical outcome-based programs for individuals facing the challenges of heart disease, cancer, chronic lung disease and asthma.

For more research information:
http://www.mind-body.org/rmm.html

http://www.remo.com/portal/pages/health_rhythms/index.html

 

 

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