Way of the Drum
Written by Russell Buddy Helm
The second book in the drumming series published on Llewelyn Worldwide. An expansion of the insights of traveling around the U.S. and seeing what people wantej to do with the drum. There appeared to be a calling for the people for a ritual experience using drums. I provided Djembes on the road by carrying 4 drums with me (luggage was free back then) and shipping drums to the venues that booked me. The publishing company helped with fliers. Most locations were New Age stores and meditation centers, The enthusiasm was contagious and I was asked to return to host more drumming groups. This activity started around 1990 in
Santa Monica at our store, Seasons.
Way of the Drum
by
Russell Buddy Helm
published
on
HelmTone Press at Seasons 1021-A Montana Avenue Santa Monica, California 90403 310.650.9438 buddyhelm@gmail.com
Way of the Drum
1
Prologue to the second edition
5 Introduction
7
Notation, Theory, and the Miracle of Learning
7
1. Hit the Drum
20
2. Focus
46
3. Grooves Are Footpaths Of The Soul
54
4. Shock ’n’ Rock
76
5. Music Lesson Trauma
86
6. Tuning Up Your Ceremony
98
7. Grooves Happen
107
8. The Courage To Stop Time
117
9. Soul Surfing
124
10. Invocation
146
11. Restraint
156
12. The Tao of the Drum
164
13. Conjure Drumming
171
14. The Celtic Knot
184
15. The Myth of Improving
190
16. Arrival by Accident
199
17. Going Back To The Well
225
18. Taboo Moves
254
19. Personal Magick
267
20. New Way
289
21. Artistic Connections To The Other Side
299
22. Keep Rolling
329
23. Why We’re Here
347
24. Leaving Las Vegas
358
25. Our Bodies Talking To Us
370
Appendix 1: Injuries
375
Appendix 2: Tuning
377
Prologue to the second edition
It has been an incredible twenty years since this book was published by Lewellyn Worldwide. It launched me on a new career as a healing drummer that has taken me all over the United States and the world.
I thought it would be a good idea to see how this book held up. I think it has done remarkably well and is still a coherent and cogent treatise on drumming as ceremony, ritual, and healing, based on our indigenous grooves of Soul music, Rhythm and Blues, Jazz, Rock n Roll, Country, Gospel, and Folk. Then expanded into Afro Cuban, Latin, traditional African and other styles. Simplified of course for the novice which was my main target audience; people who had never hit a drum before and wanted to hit the drum but for personal reasons they weren’t able to do it. So I tried to offer encouragement. And did it work out! Every place has their own versions of drumming groups now. So pardon the archaic approach, I wrote it in 1999. A good groove is still a good groove. Enjoy.
Only now I will also offer an audible version of the whole book with live drumming accompaniment by yours
truly. The excitement of drumming while talking about the magick and the healing is what I really enjoy sharing with people.
Russell Buddy Helm Santa Monica 2021
Introduction
Notation, Theory, and the Miracle of Learning
Basically, we all play the drum the same way. If it is a frame drum, we hit with a mallet. If it is a hand drum, we hit the drum using both hands, hitting back and forth: pata pata pata pata.
Doing this “pata pata” evenly, calmly, without a break in the rhythm is what most beginning drummers like to do. That is a great place to start. It begins to generate a pleasant sensation in our minds and bodies, as well as in our ears and in our souls.
Taking out notes and leaving cool spaces is what good drumming is all about. That space makes room for the dance. That is where the groove is born and we start to swing; in our lives and in our souls. Swinging, danceable rhythms are where we want to go from that beginning “pata pata pata” rhythm. But we might need to change some habits that get in the way. First we need to move from the
concept of filling up space to opening up space. This change is like night and day. It is our growth from a mechanical activity to a fluid, sensual celebration of the rhythmic mystery of life.
I work with rhythm theory that is based on this basic “pata pata” way of hitting a drum with both hands in a repetitive pattern. This doesn’t exclude single-handed drumming. One-handed drumming is based on the same principles of rhythm. We can be great drummers, using one hand or two hands, if we respect the space and the groove. American Indian, Celtic, and Mediterranean frame drumming use one hand with great effect, but the the theory underneath is based on our back-and-forth activity of hitting a drum with both hands.
This is now being used in psychological healing techniques where both brain hemispheres achieve integration by moving hands in a coordinated, mirrored hand activity, such as drumming, creating a cross lateral effect in the brain. It is a brain/body language that we take for granted, but it is a powerful tool. We can access deep resources of inspiration and strength by simply subtracting notes from this “pata pata” rhythm. We can acquire magic and redemption. It is a mystery that is delightful and it has alway fascinated me.
The notation I use in this book is an attempt to render rhythm into a readable and feelable format. Musical notation is a necessary part of performing certain types of music, but this kind of drumming is not just music in the traditional sense of the word. We are finding new (and ancient) ways to play the drum. It is not always musical. Many times it has nothing to do with music. It has more to do with feeling and healing.
Visual symbols can be vague, but hopefully intriguing enough for the student to contemplate the relationships of the different notes in the world of sound. If there is a desire, the student can learn to read the various conventional percussion notations that exist around the world. But let’s remember to enjoy the learning as well as the playing.
Notation sometimes creates a restrictive effect on our learning abilities. The symbols are clues as to what can be played and felt. Many times students give up because they are intimidated about making wrong notes. People want to just play. The notation shouldn’t intimidate them so much that it dampens their desire.
The act of learning anything is a miracle to me. I am trying to avoid some learning pitfalls that everyone, not just drummers, fall into. Stress is often learned with the technique instead of creative feel. In the anxiety of learning technique with our minds, we sometimes lose the
connection to our Divine Creative Instincts. We also lose our connection to the groove. I have nothing against technique, but sometimes we forget to leave room for our hearts and bodies in the quest for knowledge.
There are a lot of drummers in the world, with all kinds of techniques. This can be intimidating to the novice and the advanced drummer, but the feel is more important that the technique in this kind of drumming, especially at the beginning. “Feel” can be played by the novice or the advanced. If we learn tensely and intellectually, then we will play that way, which is not danceable or even fun. There are plenty of technical methods for learning the drums. I encourage any motivated drum student to check them out. Our own sense of rhythm is what we are born with-that is our gift and that is what I see people trying to connect to.
Smile, don’t frown, when you’e learning to drum. There are enough frowning drummers in the world. Smiling releases tension.
I approach the learning process from a physical and emotional perspective. That was part of the way I was taught and I believe it is good for a number of reasons. The main reason I value this feeling approach is that I am still drumming. After a lifetime of drumming and living, I get spiritual and creative satisfaction from drumming. I have
seen many technical players lose that joy along the way. Some never feel it at all.
The notations are for visual stimulation, if nothing else. The challenge of translating music into a written language is as old as sound itself. I like to use different approaches to musical notation that can become more like musical painting. Painting and drumming have a lot in common; they both use sticks, and there is rhythm in the activity. They both can be loud or soft.
To make things easy for us on the learning journey from our minds back into our bodies, I have simplified things.
I use notebook paper for the notation. This is not a casual choice, although it does remind me of bygone days of distracted doodling in school while the teacher was trying to educate us, but the main reason is that there are vertical lines that give us a breakdown of our own internal “pata pata pata” rhythm. Each vertical line can be a note played (or not played), by one hand (Pa), and then the other hand (Ta).
It doesn’t matter which is right, which is left, or which is right or which is wrong. As we start to subtract notes, we see the relationship of the silence to the rhythm.This is a way to keep our inner clock going, but not get too intellectual. We want to stay in our bodies to learn and not
get caught up in our minds. After all, we’re trying to get funky here.
USE YOUR WHOLE HAND FOR THE DOWNBEAT IN THE CENTER OF THE HEAD ,
RELEASE QUICKLY TO FEEL THE HEALING DEEP TONE.
EDGE NOTES: HIGHER PITCHED-GE HAND OFF THE HEAD QUICKLY FOR TONE AND SAVE YOUR HANDS!
T
This music notation is less complicated than it looks. The top line has two different kinds of notes, above and below the line. The high note on the hand drum is above the line. That low note will also be our downbeat; our foundation note. It’s the deep resonant note that you get when you hit the djembe, or any drum, in the middle of the drumhead.
The downbeat is also the main note to be played on a frame drum, again in the middle of the drum head.
TAMBOURINE ON THE DOWNBEAT HOLDS IT ALL TOGETHER.
The downbeat is a beginning note in any drum pattern. It repeats. It’s our anchor. We’ll probably get lost, but find the downbeat and we’re back on the groove again.
The higher notes, above the line, are the high notes on a djembe, played out close to the edge of the drumhead. There is always a high note at the edge and a deep
note in the center of just about any drum. That is all the technique that we need for this kind of rhythm theory.
The lines of notes at the bottom of our musical notation is our time keeper. I use the tambourine, playing it with my foot. I hit it one the downbeats.
The downbeat is the beginning note for any pattern. It’s our anchor and shared common note. We need to know where the downbeat is, even though we may not always play it.
Okay! End of lesson! Now just play and have fun!
About this Book
This book is about many different things, but it all has to do with drumming: music, creativity, learning, healing, injuries, pride, fun, intuition, magick, inspiration, and Las Vegas.
This is a continuation of my first book, Drumming the Spirit to Life/Let the Goddess Dance. It is an ongoing meditation and improvisation tool. There are new issues
based on the wonderful drumming groups I have had the good fortune to have been a part of and we also will cover issues that I mentioned in the first book, but with more insight.
We all teach ourselves with our own inner language. The same ideas can be expressed in many different vocabularies by different teachers and students. The same rhythm can be expressed differently by different people. I am simplifying a lot of concepts so that we can all play together and stay on the same groove.
There is a challenge in drumming groups; making them work for everyone. People want to drum but are worried sometimes that they are just beginners and can’t play with real drummers. Those are the easy ones to drum with. I tell them, “Don’t worry. Just play.”
Another kind of drummer also has to be considered- specifically the drummer who feels more accomplished. That person wants a challenge.
The challenge is to play drums with everyone else.
Good, better, and correct are myths that have confused us. There is a lot of anxiety connected with examining one’s performance. This book explains why it may be better to follow the flow of creativity as it happens around us, listening to what the outside world is teaching us
rather than to get lost with inner voices that tend to isolate us fro the world.
“Following the flow” is a mystical adventure.
Drum Drama
Drum improvising gives us drama without too much risk. Injuries can occur though, usually because of our mental approach. Gentle drumming might seem to be a contradiction in terms, but a lot of people want to do just that. It can get hot and quick, but overall volume and aggressive energy is at a minimum. There are fewer injuries. It is no surprise that subtle souls want to drum in this way, but they are struggling with people who are competitive and aggressive in everything they do, not just drumming.
Drummers can always improve. T hat is what keeps it fresh. Life lessons show up on the drum. My life had to change for me to improve as a drummer. The mystical side of drumming keeps it fresh for me. I feel important Universal energies at work when the drums are played in the right way-these powerful energies affect me. Life lessons have been made clear to me through the drum. Drum lessons become life lessons.
The Way of the Drum is an appropriate description of my life. I also see many people who are choosing the drum
PLAYING AN ASHIKO AT A GAIA DRUMMING RETREAT IN THE HIGH SIERRAS
for personal and spiritual growth. I respect their instinctive connection to this ancient tool. I have followed paths in life
that could be seen as various “Ways,” and I’ve enjoyed different ways of creating, but I have always come back to the drum as an important conduit to the Universe. It is a personal connection and it has nothing to do with music or success.
My journey has always been about the drums. I’ve played drums since I was about eight years old; Classical, symphonic percussion, Drum and Bugle Corps, Rock ’n Roll, Rhythm and Blues, Delta Blues, Soul, Jazz, Reggae, Belly Dancing, Exotic Dancing (strippers), Flamenco, Second Line, Funk, Arena Rock, Country Blues, Salsa, Brazilian, Afro Cuban, Indonesian, Country-Western, Free Jazz, Trance, Hip Hop, Punk, Gospel, Psychedelic, ritual magick, Christian Church, Yoga, Healing, movie soundtracks and performance art. Basically, any kind of event that needed a drum. It’s always been fun and it has given me a sense of belonging in this huge Universe.
Las Vegas
Many years ago, I did a “Country and Western” gig in Las Vegas for a few weeks, across from Caesar’s Palace.
But wait...
There is something else I want to do first....
I want to trick you into enjoying yourself. The drum is the Trickster. It can trick you into enjoying your self faster than you can blink an eye — even if you don’t want to enjoy yourself.
The drum can entice you into a healing, happy place. It is the greatest escape vehicle in the world, so put on some music and get into a feeling mode. That’s where the fun is. Better yet, put on the drumming CD that comes along with this book (now available on itunes, Spotify and Youtube, as well as the Audible version of this book,) and read while you’re listening to the gentle grooves. Try not to worry about learning. Feeling relaxed is important too. We’re trying to have a good time here!
1. Hit the Drum
Many people are afraid of feeling their own rhythmic power. It's a simple and natural thing to feel. It makes sense out of the confusion that surrounds us. When you become a player your voice is heard by the Universe. There are many things about drumming that can be explored. I bring them up spontaneously in drumming workshops. There is no specific learning order. I bring up the issues when I see them. There is no personal attack when I try to point out people's situations. We are all very much alike in some ways. We are not alone in our struggles to create.
Fear
I try to counteract the fear some beginning players have by reminding them that there are no wrong notes in this kind of playing. This reduces stress. It makes learning
relaxed and spontaneous. If we learn fearfully, we play
fearfully. Learn relaxed, play relaxed. Learn with joy; people will feel joy when you play for them.
Musical notation for "joy" is not so simple. The notation in this book is somewhat generalized and elusive. That may be frustrating to the technical reader, but I am trying to focus on our bodies and souls as well as the intellect.
It is a way to stay outside of our minds for a bit. We live in our minds so much that drumming can be a way out of that box. Learning to drum shouldn't put us back into that intellectual box.
It may be risky to say that that there are "no wrong notes;' but I believe this concept frees us from the fear of playing, or fear of doing anything. There may be notes that are more appropriate, but that comes with experience, confidence, taste, and etiquette. What may sound "wrong" at the beginning, may sound great after your ears have become more experienced.
Drumming groups are a social contract where we can play, worship, and create together without the fear of wrong notes or aggressive competition. This is drumming with a coherent groove for the dance and creating magick in our souls. This "learning" is different than acquiring technique. It is scary for some of us; we have to learn to feel and share.
One drumming student is a retired electronics engineer who surfs and teaches skiing at Mammoth-a tough life. He said that there are four ways that people learn skiing or anything else in life: feeling, seeing, thinking, and doing. Drummers use them all.
The basic pattern that I start with is common to many cultures. It is based on the downbeat; the first note of the pattern. When we get going in a drumming group, that downbeat is our anchor. It is for the dancers as well as the drummers. The other little notes are important, but first we need a steady pulse to hang all of our fancy
playing on. I play a tambourine with my foot, on the downbeat, so everyone can hear it.
Tambourine
BASIC TAMBOURINE PATTERN
Here is the notation I use for the tambourine, which I play with my foot. This is not traditional drumming-it is drumming for our culture. The tambourine cuts through the loudness and holds us together.
As we ponder symbols, our brains are stimulated and our bodies take a back seat to the learning experience. When we drum, we learn through our skin. This physical, liberating way to learn keeps our feelings alive. The enclosed CD in the original pressing of this book back in 2001, has this basic tambourine pattern in all of the songs. (It is on Spotify and itunes now).You will hear it and get it without seeing it first. Our brains make things difficult some times when we are learning. Just tap your foot occasionally to give yourself a clock to keep track of the notes, but take a break if it gets to be too much work. Simply feeling the steady beat is the point here.
MAIN DOWNBEAT IN 4/4 TIME
After we have a steady medium tempo going, let's set up the main down beat. That is the first note of a pattern. That will be a big note in the middle of the drum head. Hit it quickly, but not hard. Get your hand up off the head so that the note can sing. Or hit the drum with a beater if you are using a frame drum and feel the steady pulse in your feet.
Remember, no muscle tension here-just a clean, relaxed, deep note.
Don't feel bad if it is no fun to do this. I just want you to understand the relationships of tapping your foot to the downbeat. Don't get worried about not doing it right. There is no right way. It's just symbols. It's not really playing the drums, it's just thinking. The fun part is in the playing.
Next we can add quicker notes that will give us a dance rhythm. The quicker notes can vary according to the country or region you want to emulate. For our purposes, I use a simplified Merengue pattern, but I avoid labeling it to keep us in our bodies and out of our brains-and also to remind us that these are our rhythms. They are part of our human culture-whichever culture that might be. They are
not something from someplace else. Call it what you want. Basic Pattern #1 is pretty boring so call it something romantic that will conjure up an image. So when someone hears you play it, they'll say,"That's a (fill in the blank) rhythm!"
Now we introduce some little notes.
SIMPLIFIED MERENGUE PATTERN BASED ON THE DOWNBEAT
Track 1: Downbeat.
If you play the original continuous "PaTaPaTa"rhythm, then subtract notes where there are only vertical lines,
you'll get an idea of how this might sound. Check out Track One at the end of this book, or look on line at buddyhelm.com "Downbeat."
The notes hanging down from the top line are played in the middle of the drumhead. It's a low note. Above-the- line notes can be played at the edge of the drumhead, giving a high note. Again, remember to hit the drum quickly, not hard, and get your hands up off the head to
let the drumhead sing. Use both hands. But don't worry about which hand is the correct hand.
If you are playing a frame drum, hit that downbeat and don't worry about anything else.You can add a note or two if you can fit it into the groove.
This is based on the "PaTaPaTa" (all the notes), but with about 60 percent fewer notes. Low-fat drumming. Remember; no muscle, no tension. Breathe out and play relaxed.
In all rhythms, there are little notes in between the big downbeats. Most beginning drummers play continuously on top of the downbeats. That can get irritating if there is no space left for the dancers or the other drummers. Leave space to breath and dance and share.
Successful group drumming is based on not playing all the little notes. Play as few of those little notes as possible, remembering the downbeat. Play ,just enough notes to give you the magickal feel.
Meditation
Leaving space for the groove is the meditation. Focus on this real moment and not on some removed intellectual concept of being in the present. Decide if your next immediate note is good for the groove.
Competition
If drummers are competing, then you must make adjustments to the attitudes of the players-that is what I mean by a social contract. This has nothing to do with technique or talent. It has everything to do with sharing the space where the life force is generated;
not from our brains but from our hearts and bodies as a group. The notes are unimportant. They are only clues to the magickal flow we are so hungry to share. It is a struggle to get through our intellect, ego, and fears. Life in general gets in the way, but the drum helps us get through it, when we play together and don't compete.
Exertion
Sometimes people overexert themselves. Finding a balance in yourself, both physically and mentally, is a great part of drumming. Overexertion is a cultural habit and many times is inappropriate. Improvising
When a person tries to cut loose, he or she may exhibit tension in their face, arms, and shoulders. This slows them down and interferes with what they are trying to play. These reactions are common. Tension is a daily additive to our lives.
"Getting ready to do something," is a way to describe it.
There is a sense of building up to a point of excitement before actually playing the hot lick. Anticipation is a debilitating state of mind. I can point it out to people when they're beginning the process of improvising. They have usually gotten over the hump of just holding a steady beat and now they're ready to add something of their own to the groove, but an alarm goes off in their heads;
“WARNING!We are going into a performance mode! Let’s panic!"
To get a copy of the entire book contact the author Buddy Russell Helm