Muriel’s Bongo Surprise
November 18, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Muriel was 95 years old when I first met her and drummed with her. She was a resident at an assisted living community at which I did therapeutic drumming programs whenever I could.
She immediately took to the bongos, the small, paired Afro-Cuban drums. Over the course of several sessions Muriel became quite the bongo player; able to hold simple parts and even weave her own improvisations into the group rhythms.
During breaks in the drumming, we would talk about ourselves and our lives and Muriel once said, as many other residents did, how she loved visits from her family, but did not like their pity and sadness for her.
Later, as I was bringing in the instruments before one of our sessions, I could see Muriel beaming brightly with something she wanted to tell me.
“Jim”, she said, “my great grandchildren just asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and guess what I told them!? I told them I wanted a pair of bongos… you should have seen the looks on their faces!”
The pixie in her reveled in the thought of her family’s reaction to this new, secret life of hers and that their usual looks of pity were changed to surprise and joy!
(I wrote a longer version of this story for the book, The Healing Power Of The Drum, by Robert L. Friedman, published by White Cliffs Media in 2000)
Jim Greiner
Community Drumming Leader, Speaker, and Author
Hand’s On Drumming
Soquel, CA
http://www.holisticwellness.com/profiles/handsondrum
Drumming in the Heartland
November 18, 2007 | Leave a Comment
In the mid-1990’s I was contracted to lead a community drumming program for a large city in the American “farm belt” as part of their annual civic festival. Many people from other regions of the country, and other nations, had moved into the area inThe organizer had heard about my work and wanted me to do my community building program to help them bring diverse elements of the population together. He was concerned that not many people would participate, since, in his words, “This is, after all ‘heartland America’ and may not be inclined to try new things.”
Over 200 people joined in! The organizer, and the participants themselves, were amazed that so many actually drummed together in such harmony.
Later, someone sent me some photos of the event with a note that read, “Take a close look at the man wearing the John Deere cap and standing on the edge of the crowd.”
I found him, a strongly build man with sunburnt arms and face. In the first photo he was standing erect, but leaning slightly back from the drumming group, his arms folded across his chest and with a look on his face that clearly said, “What the heck are these people doing?” In the second photo he was leaning slightly forward with his hands on his hips. A slight, friendly smile playing across his face. In a later photo, there he was… leaning forward at the waist, clapping his hands, with a huge grin that seemed to come from deeply within his heart.
I think about this man often, and admire him for how he allowed himself to be moved by the drumming to participate in something that he probably never imagined he would ever do! He is an inspiration to me whenever I may be feeling stuck in a rut. The term “heartland America” also has a new and profound meaning to me!
Jim Greiner
Community Drumming Leader, Speaker, and Author
Hand’s On Drumming
Soquel, CA
http://www.holisticwellness.com/profiles/handsondrum
Drumming Therapy for Addiction
November 18, 2007 | Leave a Comment
“I have worked in the field of chemical dependency for over four years, and for the last two years the Common Pulse facilitators have been bringing their wonderful drum circles into our outpatient group therapy sessions. They share their love of the music and the instruments in a readily accessible group activity, and the benefits to the clients are immediate. We observe smiles, laughter, playfulness, and a deeper group bond after the rhythm circles. The response is almost always “when will they be coming back again??”. I’d recommend Common Pulse to any treatment center.”
- Treatment Center Counselor
Client of Dave Chiller, MS
Common Pulse
Drumming Therapy/Drum Circle Facilitator
Corvallis, OR
http://www.holisticwellness.com/profiles/common-pulse