I gave up on The System. Actually more than once, but the last time happened about twenty years ago and since then I have been living in an existential limbo between “what’s the point” and “Its all your fault”. Until recently, I understand that we make our own Systems.
“I accept myself as I am” is the drum mantra for today.
Aug. 16. 2010
Drumming Phenomenon
by
Russell S. Buddy Helm
The drumming phenomenon is cresting now in our culture. It has “gone viral” as they might say in Wired magazine. There are many different ways to drum, and I am very proud of the fact that the Tampa Bay area is a home to such a diverse and strong drumming community.
For over twenty years, I have been teaching drumming in St. Pete, Clearwater, Dunedin, Tampa, New Port Richie, Sarasota, Miami, Orlando, Live Oak, Gainesville, Tallahassee, Palm Beach, Ocala, Daytona, Ft. Lauderdale. St. Augustusine, Melbourn, Ft. Meyers, IslaMorada, KeyWest, Jupiter, Homestead, and islands that have no names as well as cities I have forgotten to include. I love Florida and the grooves I use are from where I grew up in Florida.
The flow that I feel in the groove is a current that is in the water and air and land of Florida. I also do drumming meditation workshops around the country and take this feel with me. It is a healing groove that comes out of our connection to the water and nature. The rhythms I teach and use for meditation are easy for us to play. They take me back to jamming on Madiera Beach in the sixties while kids danced at the Surfer’s Club. These same eternal grooves also take me out to the farthest reaches of consciousness. We have the most profound grooves in our music. These take us to healing places of wisdom.
When we acquire the flow in the groove, it is wise to beware of ego, the shadow leader, who wants to control. This is the dangerous part of drumming. It attracts negative things. I always strive to be in a positive state when drumming. It happens anyway, even if I am in a nasty mood. That is the miracle of the groove. There are more and more events of healing and growth for people using the drum because of the quickening of the groove in our area. The saturation point has been reached where drumming has become ubiquitous. That was my original goal-not to be a famous drummer. I have come to understand that people make better choices when they are in synch with their sense of rhythm.
Using rhythm to reintegrate our sense of rhythm is what I am working with in the private one-on-one sessions. This process has been very productive in a variety of conditions ranging from ADD, to Hepatitis, from life threatening illnesses to general sense of unease and divorce, from lack of self esteem to anger management. From slow meditation drumming to high energy celebration. If the body is moving, it is healing. If the body is moving to rhythm, it is in a state of joy. The drummer’s job is to be the bringer of that healing joyous state. There are subtle tools that have existed since the beginning of time and there are also new tools created by science and art to facilitate our evolution using rhythm. I continually return to this area partly because I love the people here, and the land, water, and air, but also because it has become a nexus for drumming. There are many drum facilitators and healers now, where as twenty years ago, the music stores did not even know what a goatskin drum head looked like. We are all part of the evolution of consciousness, generating energy fields that defy description yet influence life through drumming. Don’t doubt that your intentions, no matter how shy or simple, still affects the universe. Also feel confident that when you drum, the universe is listening to you and responding to your intentions. That is why the drum was invented. Help the world to integrate with rhythm and it will be a better place.
Now we are a group of drummers who can heal as well as dance. The healing is important because using the drum as a healing tool provides unique tools that other healing modalities only dimly activate. This area of the country will no doubt grow as a center of drumming, just as Santa Cruz did-(after I moved away). But while I did live there in the seventies I taught a large group of local drummers. Now it is one of the centers for drumming. I see St. Pete/Tampa as another center of drumming with it’s own flavors of the grooves.
My only advice is to avoid egotistical posturing on the drum and intriques amongst cliques. Also the green eyed serpent of jealousy will always be ready to try to take control. Share the grooves, and the healing will also be shared. There is wisdom when we don’t compete. Drumming in a humble mode makes progress where angry bashing only intimidates. No need to scare people away from drumming.The beginners are the life blood of the drumming community. They should be welcomed in and given a place of honor. It takes a great deal of courage to hit a drum for the first time. It gets easier the more you do it, until it becomes effortless and that is when the universe can speak through you and your drum.
!Share the Groove!
Russell Buddy Helm
Santa Monica, CA
Nov. 2, 2009