Show description
Play along to the three parts of Foundation Rhythm 3 and see them as they fit together into a rhythm song.
The first pattern we teach in Rhythm2Recovery and the starting point for many exercises. Here showcasing cross-body techniques for improved balance & coordination, as well as two extensions for added challenge and interest.
Introduction.
It is easy to get comfortable in life, staying safe by holding onto old patterns. At the same time, most of us also appreciate the rewards of breaking the status quo and trying something new. Think back to some of those moments when you went out on a limb and tried something new and the sense of adventure that invoked in you
A New Adventure
In this exercise we are going to start with a stable rhythm that represents the status quo - comfortable and safe.
Then in your own time we are going to ask you to ‘take a risk’ and alter your rhythm, maybe just a little to start with, so you don’t lose connection, but gradually moving further away from the old pattern to something completely new - a new pathway, a new adventure! As you experiment with this new direction, try also to stay connected to the underlying pulse that the facilitator will emphasise through the Bass drum. And remember that setting out on a new adventure often require the courage to try different trails before you find the right path.
The group start a foundation rhythm together (e.g. B B O O, B B OoO ) and while the facilitator maintains a strong Bass pulse the group members are encouraged to adapt their individual rhythms to something new. Lower the volume at times to help people connect.
Post group discussion questions:
• Rumble on your drum if you enjoy a new adventure
• Rumble on your drum if you sometimes feel stuck in the same patterns of life
• What are some of the safe patterns in your life that you might like or need to break free from?
• Breaking away from safe patterns that are problematic takes courage - what can help you find the courage to take on a new adventure?
• What might the Bass pulse represent in this exercise?
Note – In this exercise I often identify someone who has moved to a simple but strong new pattern and ask them to keep playing while I stop the rest, and then ask people to join them in their rhythm. And after a while, break away again. You can repeat this several times.
PAIR PLAY
Hand out the chimes equally around the circle – if you have less chimes than participants, hand out other percussion instruments. The facilitator plays a drum. Pair people with chimes up across the circle from each other (if you use 9 chimes you will have one group of three).
Start a pulse and foundation with the drums and percussion and then instruct those with chimes that they can bring their sound in at any time, but they must coordinate with their partner so they ‘chime’ together.
Remind people to leave some space between their notes.
These exercises are designed for people who have challenges with physical stability, vulnerable feelings of weightlessness and difficulties with balance.
Challenges with proprioception are common for people who have experienced trauma, people who were born prematurely, those with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, autistic spectrum disorder, and other sensory perception challenges.
PART 1 – 4 Part Breathing. Practice the Heartbeat Rhythm slowly with a push into the ground during the count rest between the Bass notes. Sit forward on the chair. Add breath synchronisation – breathing out as you push down with the feet. Play the heartbeat rhythm at the crest of every in-breath (inhale) and end of every out-breath (exhale). Extend the length of the breath over a number of sessions.
The Heartbeat grounding breath exercise is used to focus people's attention on the present moment and specifically using their connection to the ground as a means of providing stability and avoiding losing touch with the present - these exercises are taught with the purpose of people utilising them in moments of need and the drumming is then done on the body. Grounding exercises that people can draw upon to keep their mind and body connected and working together, particularly for those times when they are becoming overwhelmed with distressing memories, thoughts and feelings.
PART 2 Then ask participants to stand up, in front of their chair and position their legs at shoulder width, with knees slightly bent - take them through a brief breathing exercise with a focused push into the floor on the outward breath. “As you breathe in focus on breathing low in the belly and as you breathe out push into the floor imagining your feet connecting to the earth, as though roots are growing down from your feet and cementing your connection”. After a couple of minutes of this ask people just to push lightly on the shoulder of the person standing next to them to see how well balanced they are.
Note – Emphasise balance & grounding over force. When we are balanced, we are stable and can better resist change and instability around us.
Emotional recognition is central to emotional control, and also how people get on together – many people struggle to recognise how others are feeling which negatively impacts their relationships. Rumble on your drum if you have ever had your feelings misinterpreted by others? How did that make you feel?
The Emotional Detective
Ask each person in the group to choose an emotion & keep it to themselves.
One person is chosen as the detective and they then choose one person opposite them to expresses their chosen feeling using their drum. The detective then guesses the feeling being expressed by their chosen partner - the partner does not give their answer until after the facilitator has asked “Did anyone recognise something different?” It will quickly become apparent that people interpret feelings differently.
Then the player says what they were expressing. If the detective identifies the feeling correctly, he/she swaps places with the individual who shared their emotion – if not, he/she gets another go to test their emotional detection skills with another person of their choice.
Adaption - The detective can be blindfolded and differences in identifying emotional signals can be discussed between the two senses (eyes open or shut). How might body language confuse your understanding of how someone is feeling?
Discussion: What sort of clues do you look for to work out how people are feeling? How much of this is unspoken? How often do people misinterpret your feelings? Does this give you any insight into how you might sometimes misread others? What are some of the consequences of this form of misunderstanding? How can we improve our performance in this area?
Note: This discussion is particularly relevant to situations where we interpret people’s looks as aggressive, or as giving permission for sexual intimacy.
Many people with low emotional control struggle to identify their feelings - research has shown that just being able to name a feeling increases your control of it - moving brain activity from the primal brain regions to the frontal lobes.
Alexithymia is the term given to the condition of being unable to recognise one’s emotions and feelings and often this extends to being unable to read or identify with others feelings and a concurrent lack of empathy.
Play/Show Some Emotion
In this exercise one person starts a rhythm (everyone joins them) and plays it with a single emotion, after about 20 seconds they name their emotion and the next person changes to a new emotion and after a while, names the new feeling and then the next person comes in with a new feeling etc. until all have had a go. It is OK for people to repeat feelings in larger groups.
You can finish this exercise by listing the range of feelings expressed on a white-board.
Alternative – Make a list of feelings on a white-board or use emotion cards – people pick a feeling from the list or card without telling anyone and then play it on their drum. The rest of the group have to guess which emotion they are playing.
Discuss whether any of the feelings expressed surprised you when they were named and how people express their feelings in very different ways.
Note: Emotions and feelings are not the same but directly impact each other – Emotions are the direct sensations (unconscious) we get from our body and feelings are the mental associations or interpretations (conscious) we give to these sensations.
Two more exercises that examine the common stressors in people’s lives and the things that help overcome them. These exercises can be done separately or in conjunction with each other. A key factor in the strength of this group exercise is ‘universality’ - recognising that many people share the same anxieties and have found ways to overcome them.
‘The Pressure Pot’ & ‘Pressure Valve’ Exercises (These can be done together or separately)
Draw up two columns on the white-board and ask the group to list things that stress them in one column and things that de-stress (relax) them in the other.
Then say we will be playing a simple foundation rhythm (BOBO) and layer in one at a time - each time a new person enters the rhythm they will shout out a ‘stressor’ (from one of the columns) and the tempo will increase - watch my drum so you stay with the right tempo. The facilitator starts by saying their ‘stressor’ and starting a slow rhythm, By the time everyone has joined in, the tempo should be very fast - almost out of control.
Then reverse it (keep going around again) with the tempo slowing each time people shout out something that relaxes them (from the other column). Again, emphasise watching my drum so we change tempo together - by the time everyone has contributed a ‘de-stressor’ the tempo should be very slow.
Repeat.
Note – emphasise paying attention to the facilitator as they change the tempo up or down – it is often easy to speed up (get anxious) and more difficult to slow down (relax).
Discussion: Did you notice any similarities in the types of things that make people feel stressed? How did it feel to be part of the rhythm as the tempo quickened? Did you feel you may have been losing control? In times like these what do you do to regain control? Why was it easier to speed up than slow down? What can we do to help ourselves relax when we are anxious?
Hold onto your Rhythm - Hold onto your Values
An exercise exploring 'Peer Pressure'
Part 1
Name one, two handed, rhythm (B OoO) as something you want to hold onto e.g., respect for others or staying clear headed.
Then name another, two-handed, rhythm (B OoOoO) as something you don’t want to get drawn into such as being disrespectful or drinking too much.
Note: These examples are best coming from the participants themselves - what's relevant to them.
One person has to hold onto the positive rhythm while the rest play the destructive rhythm. If they can hold onto their part explore what strategies they used.
Part 2 - If it is hard for one person to do this, try pairing them up with another person, so two or three are trying to resist together – it can make a big difference to get support when trying to resist peer influence.
Examine these exercises in relation to the way people get pulled in (influenced) emotionally and behaviourally by others around them, sometimes into situations that they might be better off avoiding. A key learning in holding your rhythm is knowing it first – knowing what you want to hold onto – your values.
Also, remember that peer pressure can be a positive influence - you can do this same exercise with the group pulling someone away fro a destructive behaviour towards something more responsible.
Discuss the importance of responsibility in life generally, and how it relates to trust, social cohesion and freedom.
There are a number of affirmation exercises in the R2R resource kit where people can commit to an action or belief through the symbolism of a rhythmic phrase. Research has demonstrated how activities such as these can impact motivation and self-belief through direct changes to the neural system, in much the same way as visualisation.
Discuss the challenges of taking responsibility, Responsibility requires pivoting from blaming external factors to empowering internal forces. Discuss the connection between Responsibility & Blame and Responsibility & Trust.
What are some of the benefits of responsibility? Responsibility is important because it provides a sense of purpose, in addition to building resilience amidst adversity on an individual and societal level.
Like an addiction, sidestepping responsibility may feel good in the short-term, but leads to exponentially worse pain and suffering in the long term.
‘IF IT IS TO BE - THEN IT IS UP TO ME’ Exercise
This is an exercise that looks at behavioural change and self-responsibility
The phrase - O o O - o O, B b B - b B is practiced, which represents the theme ‘If it is to be - Then it’s up to me’. Divide the group and half call out with the Tones and the other reply on their Bass.
A flowing rhythm starts (which represents the flow of life), & the practitioner tells the group that he/she will interrupt that flow with a count-down 4,3,2,1, STOP, just like problems or challenges that surface from time to time in our own lives. To resume the flow, the group will play the break 3 times – ‘If it is to be, then its’ up to me’ (taking responsibility to find the solutions, make the right choices or seek help).
Finish by having everyone say the phrase over the top of the break.
Bounce Back Exercise
Discuss with the group the types of things that set people back in life - e.g. Loss, defeat, sickness, poverty, betrayal, dishonesty, etc. Then examine the things that help people get back on their feet - e.g., Friends, self-belief, luck, helping services. You can write these in two columns on a white-board.
In this exercise, we are going to hear one rhythm that knocks you down (long rumble -representing a crisis in life) and play one rhythm (BBB) that sets us back on our feet (resilience). As you slump low think about the types of things that ‘Get you down’ and as you rise up out of your chair think about what helps you ‘Bounce back’.
Start with a simple, foundation rhythm and when you hear the facilitators call (long sharp rumble – e.g., 12 quick Tones followed by a sharp Flan) you have to stop playing and slump in your chairs as low as possible – after a reasonable pause the practitioner counts out aloud & slowly 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 as you stand up straight playing three Strong Bass Notes (Back on Track) at the end of the count and then resume your seat and re-enter the rhythm.
Facilitator demonstrates the timing of the break – 8 counts of standing up and then 3 Bass notes before re-joining the rhythm.
Ask different people to have a go bringing in the break (long sharp rumble). Never count in the break – it comes unexpectedly like most crises!
Finish with everyone yelling out ‘Back on Track’ as they stand tall and hit the final three Bass notes.
This is an exercise we use to look at goal setting and how we move forward with small steps and consolidate these prior to each new change. Can you think of examples where you have achieved something this way? e.g.- saving up for something you want to purchase, getting to know a new friend.
From Little Things, Big Things Grow Exercise
Warn musicians not to think about this exercise musically – do not count beats!
One person starts a rhythm with one beat or sound (everyone follows). Each subsequent person adds one extra step (sound, beat), to extend the sequence. The facilitator keeps count of the number of successive sounds, so we increase one with each new person. (8-12 is about the average before it gets too difficult).
Emphasise the following:
• It is OK to play each rhythm really slowly before speeding up
• Allow each rhythm time to stabilise before adding the next note – relate this to the importance of consolidation between steps.
• It is OK to stop and try out some different patterns before becoming fluid in the new rhythm
• It is OK to ask for silence while you work out your next step
• It is OK to ask someone to help you recall the sequence so far and help you plan your next step
Note: these steps are also useful when we are working through change. Also, be sure to make it fun - it is not a test!
Discuss the way small steps can lead to great achievements, with relevance to personal growth. Use this exercise to look at ‘Goal Setting’ for individuals in relation to addressing a specific issue & moving forward in life. What are some of the small steps you might utilise to work towards the change you want to see in your life? What are some of the pressures faced by people as they try to change? How often to people struggle with change because they move too fast, often driven by other’s expectations? How easy is it to just give up/ How can we best help people with the change they are addressing?
Our thinking patterns (rhythms) have a big impact on how we see and negotiate the world and the people around us. Most of us have a way of looking at life that see things as broadly positive, there are set backs of course when we get disillusioned, but these periods don’t generally last that long. For others life is often viewed very negatively and this rhythm of thinking dominates their lives.
In positive psychology this is known as our ‘explanatory style’. People with an optimistic explanatory style tend to give themselves credit when good things happen, but typically blame outside forces for bad outcomes. They also tend to see negative events as temporary and atypical. On the other hand, individuals with a pessimistic explanatory style often blame themselves when bad things happen, but fail to give themselves adequate credit for successful outcomes. They have a tendency to view negative events as expected and lasting. Blaming yourself for events outside of your control or viewing these unfortunate events as a persistent part of your life can have a detrimental impact on your state of mind.
Positive thinking is linked to a wide range of health benefits including:
• Longer life span
• Less stress
• Lower rates of depression
• Increased resistance to the common cold
• Better stress management and coping skills
• Lower risk of cardiovascular disease-related death
• Increased physical well-being
• Better psychological health
‘Yes, I Can’
Ask each person in your group to think of one goal they often find themselves thinking that they can’t achieve.
Perhaps it is stopping drinking, or forming a good relationship, or passing an exam, making the sports team or being a good mum.
How does this frame of mind determine its own outcome?
How does it stack up against the idea of a life of learning and mistakes being learning opportunities?
Can you think of situations where you struggled initially but went on to succeed?
In this exercise we are going to practice the drum break - Fl BB, Fl BB, Fl. Standing for Yes, I can, Yes, I can, Yes!
Keeping your goal front of mind each-time we play the break.
Practice the break (not too fast). Then start a foundation rhythm and introduce it on a count 4,3,2,1
Invite individuals to bring in the break if they recognise this type of negative thinking sometimes gets them down – “count it in if you can relate to this” - 4,3,2,1
Do this several times and then finish with the break and people saying the words Yes, I can, Yes, I can, Yes!
The Ego Trap – this is an adapted version for the ‘Speakers Chair’.
Each person who enters the ‘Speakers Chair’ says one thing they do well (strength) and one thing they know they can work on (lesser strength).
Discussion: How hard is it to accept our strengths and put them to good use? How easy is it to accept our weaknesses and commit to improving on them?
Note: Avoid self-criticism and phrases such as I’m no good or I’m bad. Use the phrase – “Something I’m working on is….”
The Lookout
Once you enter the ‘Speakers Chair’ you will answer this question- Name 3 things you are grateful for in your life?
Encourage use of the phrase “I’m grateful for” each time. Focus on the little things in life that people can take pleasure in. Discussion: How challenging is it to appreciate the positives in our lives? How can we change our focus away from needing more to accepting what we have? Does the company we keep influence our ability to do this? How is this related to balance?
Find Your Neighbours Strength – Sometimes we need others to alert us to our own strengths. Ask people to look to their neighbour (allocate a direction) and think about a strength you see in that person then play the ‘Find Your Strengths’ Game in the same way except when it is your turn, you will face your partner and say one strength you see in them, rather than your own. Finish in the same way by playing the break together and all shouting out the word 'Strengths'.
Note: it is sometimes good to do this in both directions so everyone can be complimented.
When the music has become sparse and calming you can ask participants to think of just one or two things they would like to bring into their life and add these as additional notes – building the rhythm up again.
Recognising that it is not until we have made room for new opportunities by letting go of unnecessary thoughts and worries that we can bring these into our lives.
When we are able to let go of past resentments, anxieties, injustices, regrets and blame etc. we enable a way of moving on from adversity. The concept of acceptance in Acceptance & Commitment Therapy relates to accepting the past, making room for it, and learning from it, in order to move on from it. This differs, and is generally much safer, than many psychoanalytic therapies that delve into the past and use people's experiences to understand their current issues.
Preliminary Discussion - What are some of the smaller things in our lives we might be better letting go of?
‘Drop it’
You can use drums & percussion or Tonal Chimes (pentatonic scale - ACDEG) - hand these out. Explain that we will all start playing together at a certain tempo and that you will ask them to “make more space between their notes” (remove a note from their rhythm) by holding one finger high in the air. Give some examples of how a rhythm might sound as you pare back the notes.
Start the rhythm and after a little while have them remove one note (hold your finger up). Hold this new incarnation for a while and then ask them to remove a further note. Follow this routine until you have a sparse, ambient rhythm. Fade slowly away.
Discussion: Sometimes when we let things go we bring more clarity and peace into our lives. How easy is it to let go of things in your life that are stressing you or are not really necessary? What about the influence of others that might be hurting you in some way - can you let them go? What about your thoughts & feelings that bring you down - how might you reduce their influence? Discuss the use of mindful acceptance here.
There is a problematic trend of polarisation (cancel culture) in many areas of community life where people hold opposing views from each other without seeking to hear, understand or learn from the other, and instead dismiss or belittle each other with increasing venom. There is an emphasis on winning, holding steadfast and resisting compromise. Can you think of instances where you see this in your own world?
Political and social messages that divide and pit ourselves against each other are increasingly common - ‘You’re either with us or against us’
One plus One Makes Three
Divide the group into two and pass out two parts, at a complexity that is commensurate to their ability. E.g., B Oo oO & Fl OoB
Teach the parts and point out how different they are – on the surface they have nothing in common. Then with little warning ask the two groups to play their part together - this sudden instruction should lead to discord. Symbolising two quite different arguments trying to get the better of one another.
Now ask people to listen carefully to each other and then start off one part and bring in the other so they harmonise.
Ask the group to think about the resulting harmony, that incorporated both parts and created something that more at the same time - something that couldn’t be achieved without both working together and respecting each other.
Discussion
Dialectics is a method of problem solving that brings two opposing views together to find a greater truth. It is the process of overcoming seeming opposites by uncovering a reconciling third that is bigger than both of the parts and doesn’t exclude either of them.
What are some of the reasons we find it hard to listen or compromise with others who have different views? How does the concept of ‘Confirmation Bias’ acerbate this? How do social media and search engine algorithms exacerbate this?
What are some of the skills we employed in this exercise to find harmony with each other? Can we employ these to help resolve disputes or differences with others in our lives
Confirmation bias is the tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with one's existing beliefs.
What do Taylor Swift and Dr Peter Levine have in common?
Dr Levine looked at the way animals release trauma through the body, literally by shaking it off. Examples - bird caught by a cat or a deer by a leopard; if they survive, they often send a shudder through their body before going about their business. Often people feel that same shuddering release through their body when they have a near-death experience.
Dr Levine also postulated that talking about trauma risked ingraining it further.
Emphasise not everything can be shaken off, but some small things like resentments or disappointments can. This was the message in Taylor Swift’s song – ‘Shake it off’
SHAKE IT OFF
Write up two verses on the white board – then practice shaking the hands and encourage full body shaking
If you're feeling down
Turn your life around
Shake it Off, Shake it Off
If you wear a frown
Turn it upside down
Shake it off, Shake it off
Practice the rhythm 2 x OoOo BBBBBB followed by 2 x OoO BBBBBB until fluid.
Then divide each group in two and allocate one verse to each
One will sing & play while the other side shakes and then swap roles
Do this three times, and then finish by repeating the rhythm on its own twice more, just singing the chorus.
Note – start by shaking the hands and extend through the body if people are comfortable – many people are self-conscious when it comes to their bodies and movement, so be sensitive and encouraging.
Extension – Participants can be put in groups and come up with additional versus of their own that look at ‘Shaking off unnecessary negative thoughts or feelings’.
‘Call and Response’ exercises can be used to discuss communication – what allows you to interpret my call and replay it back to me correctly? What skills are you employing and what skills am I employing to make this work?
Efficient communication with the drum relies on a number of factors which each have relevance for communication generally. These include the clarity of the message itself as it is relayed, and the level of attention it receives from the recipient. Details that impact these two core aspects of the communication cycle can be seen in musical language and how readily it is interpreted correctly and responded to, or not. The complexity of a message has a clear correlation to how well it is understood, as does the timing of when it was sent. Correct timing helps align the musicians as they play together and poor timing does just the opposite - how much communication fails due to poor timing?
Questions: What are situations when the clarity of your communication is critical?
You may use this discussion to look at issues around consent.
Call and Response to a Rhythm – moving towards improvisation
One person plays a call which is answered by the group and repeats the same sequence (call & response) two more times - after the third response the whole group keeps playing the call as a repeated rhythm. Emphasise the simplicity of this exercise in helping people find their own rhythm and how this starts a longer term, empowering, process of helping people to connect musically through improvisation, rather than through allocated parts.
One Door Closes and Another Opens
This exercise is about recognising that sometimes set-backs lead to new opportunities and that loss or hardship can sometimes make us stronger. It is also about reinforcing the idea that we need to grow and adapt to changing situations and that sometimes the old ways of doing things are no longer effective or useful to us.
Pre-discussion – Rumble if you have experienced a situation in your life that at first seemed like a real set back but in fact led to a new opportunity. Would anyone like to give an example?
We will all start playing a 3-time rhythm from the rhythm catalogue, (Use B-OoO) and once we get going you (facilitator) will indicate to one player that the door is shut (looking at them and saying or mouthing “Door Shut”) – when that happens the player must stop and reassess the situation and enter with a new rhythm that compliments the existing pattern (remember the old 4/4 rhythms won’t work here). Once they have re-entered the rhythm and are connected solidly with their new pattern (door open), that player gets to choose the next person on whom the door will shut, & so the game proceeds.
Emphasise the challenge of connecting your rhythm to the group and not falling back on old patterns (bad habits) and remind people of the fall-back position of the Bass (core values). Remind them it may take a few goes before they connect (particularly given this time signature) and not to force it. Also, to think outside the square for new ways to connect. They cannot close the door on someone else until they are firmly connected back into the rhythm.
Afterwards discuss the fact that doors never really close fully, but may appear to – if we look closely there is a lesson or an opportunity available each time. And that sometimes to move forward we have to let go of old patterns (unproductive behaviours). Can you think of an example where one door shut on you but another opened? What can you do if doors keep shutting on you all the time? How easy is it to adapt your rhythm to new opportunities? What are the dangers of sticking to the same old routines?
Note – be sensitive – not everyone experiences a new door opening so easily after loss
A Few Good Friends
Note - Not everyone will succeed in this exercise, some may only find one person - when there is a lot of chaos around you it can be difficult to find those people who are strong and steady.
Discuss the importance of having people who are stable and who you trust, who you can turn to when times are uncertain and you need advice or support. Who might those people be? What do we mean by stable? Where might you turn if you had no one like this in your life? What would you be listening for?
This is also a useful ‘sound localisation’ exercise for people who struggle with identifying where sound is coming from and react inappropriately at times.
One person is blindfolded and told they have to come into the circle and find the two or three people playing steady Bass rhythms. Everyone else will play chaotically and randomly (not too loud). Start by everyone playing chaotically and choose the Bass players to begin. Finally bring the chosen participant into the circle to attempt the challenge.
Post Discussion: What might help? Remind them of the Bass analogy representing healthy relationships and healthy values. Sometimes if we can’t get help from others, we may have to come back to trusting ourselves & following our own values
This exercise is often used to assist people understand what it feels like for people with sensory processing difficulties who often become overwhelmed by sounds and other stimuli we take for granted.
Listen Closely
If you have enough of them, pull out the tonal chimes, otherwise use any other resonating instrument (the longer the resonance the better - if you are using drums you may want to practice getting a good resonating Bass note prior to starting). Introduce the exercise by saying that "We are discussing communication and we all know how important listening is to good communication. This is a listening exercise! I am going to ask you to play one note on your instrument in succession”. “That is, one person plays, the next listens to it and then plays their own etc.”. Play one note each around the circle – don’t initially ask for people to wait for the resonance to stop but each time ask them to listen more closely before coming in. See how long it takes before they are listening to the full resonance.
Discuss the challenges of listening well; what gets in the way (barriers) and what helps, and how this impacts relationships. Who here feels they are not listened to well by other people around them? Who here has been found guilty of not listening well to other people? What are some of the consequences of poor listening skills? What are some of the skills of good listening? How can mindfulness help improve our listening skills?
You can also do the Dialogue exercise with a specific intention – one person in each pair plays ‘aggressively’ and the other must respond ‘assertively’. Looking at how people respond to aggression and how challenging it can be for certain people to assert themselves in the face of aggression.
Or you can have one person in each pair play aggressively, and leave it open to other person to respond how they please, looking at how different responses impact aggression.
Note - ensure the receiver is comfortable in receiving the aggression before starting
Dialogue
Divide the group into pairs sitting across from each other in the circle, and explain that each pair is to play a dialogue over the top of the group’s rhythm. Have the group play a simple rhythm and showcase this communication play with your co-facilitator or a chosen group member. The two parts should talk to each other across the circle.
Then start the group on the foundation and lower the volume before inviting the first pair to talk to each other. After 30 - 60 seconds bring them back to the foundation and raise the volume. Then lower the volume again and invite the second pair to talk to each other etc.
Remind them that they can take their time to find the right part, and don’t have to come in straight away - listen to your partner’s part and adjust your part to ‘speak’ to his/hers/theirs.
Discuss the different aspects of successful dialogue. How important was listening? How important was letting each person be heard? Who felt their dialogue was successful why? How important was attunement - connecting to the others emotional state? How did you bring your dialogue to an ending? How easy would it be to miscommunicate if we didn’t have any visual cues?
To avoid consciousness make it fun - add plenty of emotion and body-language
This is an affirmation game that explores personal power or agency over one's life - many individuals in R2R sessions experience a sense of powerlessness.
Start with a discussion: How can we help people find a sense of power over their own destiny? What are some of the ways you do this for yourself and are they transferable? Can focusing on our strengths be a useful strategy. What about goal setting?
'I've got the Power' exercise
Important that prior to embarking on this game we have established that people do have different ways to assert power over their lives, through the choices they make - often attending an R2R program is one of those choices.
The group practice the two phrases:
Oo-Oo-O (I've got the power) Note this phrase has a swing to it
Fl,Fl,Fl. (Yes, you have)
Then everyone plays a foundation rhythm and at any stage anyone can play the drum phrase for I've got the power (emphasise playing it loud & proud) - when they do, it is answered by the group with the drum phrase 'Yes you have'.
Finish the exercise with everyone playing and saying the two parts together (change the word ‘you’ to ‘I’)
Affirmation games are good for embedding learning concepts: reinforced by rhythmical repetition, similar to the way we learn the letters of the alphabet or sing the team song at the end of a football game.
Balance is an important factor in life generally, and physical balance is a particular challenge for certain populations in relation to proprioception (our sensory awareness of the body). Many individuals with sensory integration issues, physical challenges, and the elderly face challenges related to proprioception. Additionally balance is closely associated with grounding and good balance often equates to a sense of physical and emotional stability.
Balance Me
Have a select number of your group enter the middle of the circle (3 or 4). On a specific signal from the drum they must change their stance (you may wish to write these on the white-board):
• One Bass note - stand on one leg
• Two Bass notes - swap from one leg to the other
• One Tone note – stand on one leg with the other at 90 degrees
• Two Tone notes – ‘Karate Kid’ Pose
• Three notes Bass or Tone – rest.
One at a time, each remaining member of the group plays one of the signals on their drum & the people in the middle respond. Adapt these movements to the capacity of your group members.
Once the exercise is completed note whether people used each other for balance or not. If not ask them to try the exercise again this time using each other for support.
Discuss the importance of balance to health, including both physical & psychological health. How do you know when your life is out of balance? How might friends help keep your life in balance? How does our need for independence impact the balance in our life?
Note – you can adapt the different postures to meet the physical capacity of your group members.
Sit with the Silence - In this exercise the drumming represents the noise & busyness of life and this is interspersed with periods of silence where we focus on the resonance of the chimes. In each break the length of the stillness increases.
Discuss the need in our modern lives to escape the constant pressure of information, noise and worry; to regularly find a place of stillness and rest in order balance the frenetic pace of life. To find a balance between the outer and inner life. What ideas have people got for ensuring they get that balance? How hard is it to make time for quiet reflective time - do you think it is important? What might be some of the benefits for people who do make this time?
Pass out four Tonal chimes to random people scattered evenly around the circle and number them 1 to 4 (the chimes should be in a corresponding scale)
Everyone else plays an improvised rhythm and then the facilitator calls down to stop - 4,3,2,1 Stop! On the stop the first chime sounds, at the completion of its resonance the second chime rings out etc. After the fourth chime has resonated fully the facilitator calls the rhythm back - 1,2, let’s all play.
Three more breaks as above each time getting longer
2nd break – repeat the chime sequence twice before resuming drumming
3rd break - repeat the chime sequence three times before resuming drumming
Final break - repeat the chime sequence four times and finish.
Questions: How are you feeling? Did the breaks impact the intensity of your drumming? Do you find work or school more relaxing when you are having regular periods of quiet time? How important is balance in your life
Find your voice.
Ensure people have pen & paper.
Using the universal heartbeat rhythm (B B - -) as a back-beat, participants, working in pairs or groups of three (sitting next to each other), come up with a short RAP Rhyme to punctuate the 2-beat silence in-between each double Bass pulse. The theme can be of anything relevant to the participants circumstances e.g. self-belief/survival /friendship/overcoming adversity etc.
Each pair contribute at least two verses (8 lines or more). The final verse should have a ray of hope in it.
Space out the Heartbeat rhythm (B B) and showcase an example (e.g. B B When I'm low B B I've got no flow B B And all my friends B B Don't wanna’ know).
After about 6-10 minutes check to see each pair has their verses.
Then bring the circle together and each pair, either raps one line each or they can rap their lines together. Start the pulse (B B - -) and layer in each vocal part around the circle, one at a time between the Bass notes – if it sounding good repeat. Note some people find it easier to stop playing while they say their lyrics – offer this as an option.
Part 2. Then see if the group can agree on a group chorus from one contribution (preferably uplifting) and start again, this time adding the chorus between each groups' contribution.
Discuss the way music impacts people’s lives and the way lyrics can inspire the best from people and lead to social change. Has anyone got a favourite lyric to share that has had a big impact on them?
Community Drum - Layer in Your Rhythm - note this is a core exercise to assist people find their own rhythm. Swap percussion instruments for some of the drums. Each member adds their own rhythm to the mix, one at a time – emphasise using the Bass as a safety point for connection and being prepared to adapt your rhythm if it isn’t working. This exercise can be used to: Showcase the importance of diversity in enriching community; Explore the different elements required in finding harmony with others in society; Examine the issues of connection, tolerance and acceptance that provide people with a sense of belonging.
Discussion: How easy is it to connect with others if your rhythm is running fast? Can you see that timing impacts connection? If you are struggling to connect with others, how important is it to be prepared to change? What things get in the way of connection? What things might help you find a better rhythm, so that you can find harmony with other people in life generally?
This exercise is also useful as an extension for when a therapeutic program finishes - it can form the basis of an ongoing recreational fun drum program.
As well as simply having fun and energising the group, we can use musical chairs to look at problem solving.
Each time you shift seats, lower the volume and ask the group to re-examine what they are hearing, feeling, seeing from this new position. At the end of the exercise discuss how changing your position allows you to see things in a different way and sometimes we need to do that with the problems we have in life.
Questions: Are you someone who finds it easy to see the other side of things or do you tend to see things from one perspective and find it hard to change? Can you think of a problem you have in your life that might be better looked at from another angle?
Musical Chairs - Version 2.
Showcase two methods of stopping the group – voice calling down from four and fingers held high doing the same. In this version the voice signals move in the silence as usual. But the hand signals no movement and drummers only stop (percussion keep playing). When you do the hand signal, listen to the percussion song for a while and then bring the drummers back in.
Questions – How easy was it to hear the percussion when the drums were playing? How easy is it to miss those with quieter voices in life? E.G. Minorities, shy people etc.
Don't touch me!
This is an exercise for 2 – 4 persons, often used in family therapy, but applicable to larger groups by breaking into sub-groups of three or four. It is used to examine personal boundaries and teach self-control.
Place the drums close together, almost touching opposite each other or in a triangle or square and have people site behind them. Start with each person playing a simple Heartbeat rhythm on their own drum and doing some collaboration exercises: one to the right, one to the left (that is adding one tone on the person to their right’s drum and then one tone on the person to their left’s drum).
Then call “Random” and everyone tries to maintains the Heartbeat on their own drum but can play tones or other accents (Claps, scratches, flams) on anybody's drum as long as there is no body contact – as soon as anyone touches another person the whole group must stop and return to the Heartbeat rhythm on their own drum and start again with the one to the left, one to the right.
The idea is to play this exercise multiple times across a program or series of sessions, with the aim of continuing longer each time without transgressing onto another person’s body. If you have multiple groups it can become a competition.
Questions – What helped you avoid being touched? What did you do to keep yourself safe? How important is it to respect other people's boundaries? In particular their personal space
Note – a key part of this exercise is learning to pull back and keep yourself safe.
Weaving Hands
In this exercise, the drums are brought into a tight circle – touching each other. They do not need to be angled, but can remain flat on the floor.
Individuals are asked to cross their arms over their chest so that their hands rest on the drum to either side of them – crossing over this way activates increased neural activity across the brains hemispheres and can improve cognition.
Part 1. With hand resting on drums the group tap in hand order around the circle – if mistakes are made, start again, aim to increase speed and fluency.
Part 2 – Any member can tap twice (but they can only do this once) and that reverses the direction of the movement of tapping hands around the circle.
Part 3 – This time if anyone taps their hand out of order they must remove that hand from the circle.
The number of hands reduces until only a few or one are left.
In R2R exercises we generally try to avoid competitive exercises – be alert to the potential for feelings of shame & resentment if doing part 3.
Note – the drums do need to be of a similar height.
Many individuals struggle to work collaboratively with others - what are some of the reasons for this? What are some of the key elements of teamwork?
Teamwork: Effective team members are good communicators, active participants, respectful & supportive collaborators, problem solvers & are committed to the team goal. Working with others in teams allows you to achieve things you never could on your own.
‘One to The Right, One to The Left’
Bring the group in really tight. Use the phrase “Own drum” whenever you want them to return to their own drum to play the Heartbeat pattern – B B - -
See table on next page for different arrangements.
Encourage your participants to try out other routines.
Questions: What are some of the skills we are using when we work together like this? What are some other situations where these skills would be useful? How limited would our lives be if we had to rely solely on what we could achieve on our own?
TIMING 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 1 & 2 & 3 & 4
1 Repeat x 4 B B - - B B - - B B - - B B - -
2 Repeat x 4
Tone on the drum to your right B B O - B B O - B B O - B B O -
3 Repeat x 4 B B - - B B - - B B - - B B - -
4 Repeat x 4
Tone on the drum to your left B B O - B B O - B B O - B B O -
5 Repeat x 4 B B - - B B - - B B - - B B - -
6 Repeat x 4
Tones on the drum to your right B B O O B B O O B B O O B B O O
7 Repeat x 4 B B - - B B - - B B - - B B - -
8 Repeat x 4
Tones on the drum to your left B B O O B B O O B B O O B B O O
9 Repeat x 4 B B - - B B - - B B - - B B - -
10 Repeat x 4
Tones on the drum to your right B B O O O B B O O O B B O O O B B O O O
11 Repeat x 4 B B - - B B - - B B - - B B - -
12 Repeat x 4
Tones on the drum to your left B B O O O B B O O O B B O O O B B O O O
13 Repeat x 4 B B - - B B - - B B - - B B - -
14 Repeat x 1
Tones on the drum to your right B B O - B B O O B B O O O
15 Repeat x 1
Tones on the drum to your left B B O - B B O O B B O O O
16 Repeat x 4 B B clap clap B B clap - B B clap clap B B clap -
The Values Rhythm exercise
Ask people to think of something important to them in their relationships with others e.g.,
respect, trust, love. Then use the number of syllables in their word to make a rhythm – e.g.
Care – 1 syllable; Love – 2 syllables; Honesty – 3 syllables; Forgiveness – 4 Syllables.
Then layer in their word as a rhythm, one at a time. Start with a one syllable word on the
Bass note to ground the rhythm. As people enter with their value rhythm, they say it as they
play it until after a while stopping speaking and letting the rhythm speak for them – finish the
opposite way with people resuming saying their value and stopping their drum so they are
just chanting together – then fade it away.
Pre-exercise Discussion
Many communication and relationship problems start because we react to stimuli from
others around us. Our reactivity often stems from our primal survival mechanisms reacting to
perceived threat. Our sympathetic nervous system reacts immediately and thoughtlessly to
real or imagined dangers in our environment. When the danger is physical this is often a
useful response - we may not have time to contemplate a thoughtful response, but when the
danger is psychological and emotionally charged, these reactions can often worsen a
situation.
• Firing off an email you wish you never sent
• Responding to a text
• Belittling a partner
• Blaming a colleague
• Abusing another.
Rumble if you have ever reacted and said something you wish you could take back.
Rumble if in hindsight you recall overreacting to something someone has said about you.
In this next exercise we are going to practice a mindful pause.
Pausing before we react allows our feelings to settle a little and for us to be more conscious
of what we are feeling and why.
It gives us a better chance of evaluating a situation and responding appropriately
Pause Before You React Exercise
Start a simple rhythm and get louder as if an argument is brewing! Count down to a break
(4,3,2,1 PAUSE) and ask people to:
• Take some deep breaths
• Becomes conscious of any physical tension & relax it
• Come back to the rhythm in their own time, at their own level
Restart the rhythm and wait for people to join you, then repeat one or two more times.
Question - Did you notice any change in the way you re-entered the rhythm and
connected with others during this exercise? How important is it for you to determine
how long your pause needs to be? What are some strategies we can use to bring ‘the
pause’ into the way we respond to others when we or they may be upset?
Rumble in the Jungle – Issues addressed – conflict, violence, aggression, emotional
awareness, self-control. See training video on the R2R website.
Question: Rumble if you have ever been drawn into conflict you didn’t really want to get
caught up in, by friends or within your family.
Start the exercise by reminding people of this fight - a very important one in Mohammed Ali's
career. Ali was a rank outsider to beat Foreman, the current world champion and a much
bigger and stronger man. Ali won the fight by avoiding conflict until Foreman was exhausted.
Sometimes the best way to win a fight is to avoid it in the first place.
Ali also stood up for his values and refused to fight in Vietnam.
Discuss – how easy it is to be drawn into conflict with others and why. Who has ever found
themselves getting drawn into some conflict situation not of their own choosing? What are
some of the situations you recognise that make it more likely you will become
aggressive?
Play 'Call and Response' but with the proviso that a loud sharp phrase (5 Tones) represents
aggression - the aim of the game is not to be pulled in by other people's aggression. So, if
you hear that phrase you must respond with a very soft rumble (fingertips). Every other call
you respond to normally.
This exercise requires a degree of regulatory control.
Discussion: What lessons can we learn from Ali? How difficult is it to avoid conflict in life?
Sometimes if we recognise the triggers, we can avoid them. Often, people who walk
away from conflict are seen as cowards - but we know that sometimes walking away is the
harder thing to do. Can you be a coward if you do the harder thing? What can help us avoid
conflict? What is worth fighting for?
Giving and receiving are closely connected. Your ability to give is often commensurate to
your ability to receive, but sometimes the two get seriously out of balance.
People who give or take too much often have ongoing relationship problems. Can you think
of people you know that fit either category? There are challenges and rewards in both giving
and receiving. Can you name some of these? Not all giving is generous - examples?
Often by graciously receiving the gifts of another you are being generous. Sometimes the
best way we can support people is to give them opportunities to give back.
Giving & Receiving Exercise
Hand out Tonal chimes (you can use a combination of drums and percussion as an
alternative) to half the group and ask them to focus on giving the gift of their music to the
other half. Let them play together for around 2-3 minutes. Ask the other half to sit back in a
comfortable position and focus on receiving with generosity.
Then swap roles.
Discussion: What insights can you draw from this exercise about the challenges of giving
and receiving? Who judged their gift as not adequate? How often do we undervalue what
we have to offer others? How difficult was it to receive without judgement? How easy is it for
some people to give to the point of exhaustion?
Note – This can be a good exercise to look at issues of staff burnout. It is also very relevant
for elderly and disabled people who must rely on others for physical care.
In subsequent sessions it can be good to let one half give more (time wise) than the other –
and look at the feelings and implications of not being able to give back equally what you
receive.
Call and Response to a Rhythm.
Try it as part of a rhythm – one at a time each person counts down 4,3,2,1, STOP! and then
does a set number of calls – each answered by the group (like an echo) before all return to
the foundation rhythm.
Discuss the concept of ‘crossing the line’ or going too far. And, how that relates
to values & safety. What are some examples of things you may have done or seen others
do that ‘crossed the line’? (Be careful of confidentiality here). What roles do boundaries play
in keeping people safe?
Preliminary Discussion - The double line in the middle of the road represents a boundary
that keeps people safe – that’s what boundaries are generally for. What are some of the
boundaries you recognise in your life? What are some you place on your relationships?
However, many people have crossed that double line – for good or bad reasons - sometimes
we need to adjust or change our boundaries – can you think of an example when it would be
OK to cross this line? Can you think of situations where it may be OK to break with your
boundaries? Are some boundaries sacrosanct? What sort of pressures make people do things
that are cruel, dangerous, unwise or otherwise compromise their values? How can you stay
on the right side of that line? How does crossing the line relate to honesty?
Crossing the Line Exercise
Before playing the game, the group would discuss the issue of boundaries, what role they
serve & the challenges of keeping to them. Half the group (fewer if it’s a large group) enter the
circle and stand parallel to an imaginary line that runs down the middle of the circle. The
facilitator showcases a pattern (3 strikes in a row) on an agogo bell that means move to the
other side of the line. Each time that pattern is played the players need to jump across to the
right side.
Change the frequency of the three-note bell pattern to make discerning it trickier.
Discussion: What does listening have to do with staying on the right side of the line and
keeping safe? Listening to our intuition, our conscience, listening to others? What about our
values – How do they help us stay on the right side of that line?
The Rhythmic Wave - This is a key exercise in the R2R model - primarily utilised to
improve emotional regulation. This exercise can be transferred to the body, (tapping the
thighs) so that in times of anxiety people can use it to calm themselves.
The group or individual oscillate between high energy drumming and fading to a soft, slow
Bass pulse at between 60-80bpm. During the slow drumming people are asked to slow and
deepen their breath and relax any tension in their body. This change represents changes in
emotional intensity with participants learning how to transition gradually between these
extremes. Do this, three times before fading to nothing or entering into a mindfulness
exercise – see below.
For younger client’s the impact of this exercise is primarily through the change in drumming
intensity. For adult individuals or groups this exercise can be extended into mindful breathing
and other focused meditations using the Bass pulse as a focal point.
Mindfulness Breath Focus: Once the individual or group have mastered the rhythmic wave
oscillation technique, the drumming become the back-drop to the introduction of mindfulness
routines. The single Bass pulse is slowed to between 40 and 60 bpm (replicating & inducing
Alpha brainwaves), If possible, use a large Bass drum. In the initial sessions, the
practitioner helps the individual focus on aligning their breath to the pulse and maintaining
that focus.
“Relax now, relax your body, loosen any tension and find a comfortable position in your chair
- if you prefer to, you may stop drumming” pause “Focus on, and relax any tension in your
neck, shoulders, chest, arms hands, back, hips, thighs, lower legs, feet” pause “Now turn
your focus to your breath - starting with one breath in on a pulse of your choice and
releasing that breathe some 3 to 4 pulses later” pause “Slowing the breath to the beat of the
pulse and focusing on filling the lungs and emptying them slowly and evenly” pause “Being
aware of other thoughts, as they come or go, but always returning to the breath, & its
alignment to the pulse, grounding you”. Breathing in warmth and calm - breathing out
tension & worry, becoming still. In your own time return your focus to the Bass note & join
me in the rhythm - fade away. Adapt this script & make it your own.
Note: Mindfulness exercises need to become a regular and consistent practice to be
effective – 20 minutes per day is the recommended minimum period. Many facilitators
make this a regular part of their sessions.
Attention – An exercise for focus and attention.
Low level of focus and attention are symptomatic of many behavioural conditions, including
ADHD, & Autism, and significantly impact an individual’s life chances. The state of flow
achieved during many R2R exercises is a state of pure focus. Fun activities that also
promote attention can help increase both engagement & performance.
Start by identifying those behaviours that are problematic for your group members.
Note sometimes we will ask people to write these down:
• One negative thought that keeps reoccurring
• One problematic relationship that leaves you feeling less confident or uneasy
• One problematic environment that often leads you into trouble
Then play 'Call & Response' but first showcase one rhythm (e.g. OoO BB) that represents
problematic patterns in life and instead of answering this, the group must ignore it (silence).
In order to avoid these behaviours, we first have to identify them and be alert for them.
Positive Psychology Extension - Try the same exercise with one rhythm (e.g. BbBbB)
representing positive things in our lives - things we need to pay extra attention to – if you
hear this rhythm you play it back twice (Giving it twice as much attention). Everything else
you just echo back once.
These exercises are useful for people with inattention and impulsivity issues (e.g. ADHD).
• Omission errors (no response) indicates inattention
• Commission errors (wrong response) indicative of impulsivity.
Finding Seven (or five) exercise – Affirming Core Values
On a white-board ask people to list the key things of value or fundamental importance to
them (give examples if people get stuck). Identify those values that are common between
people and settle on a core of five or seven (depending on the size of the group) and order
them by numbering.
Then stop teach the break ‘Finding Five’ (O o O o O - B b B b B) or ‘Finding Seven’ (O o O o
O o O - B b B b B b B) which represents attending to those five or seven core values. The
break repeats three times and then changes on the fourth time to the same number of Tones
answered by everyone playing two Bass notes and one value shouted out. Shout the values
out in order, one each time you insert the break into the rhythm.
Divide the group in two so that half play the Tones and Half play the Bass or in individual
work the practitioner plays one and the individual they are working with the other.
A rhythm is played & a break of five or seven Tone notes is inserted, answered by five or
Seven Bass notes, repeat another two times, before finishing with the Tones answered by
everyone’s two Basses and a group shout. This break represents the chosen values, and
the importance of reaffirming these on a regular basis as we traverse the rhythms of life.
Finish by completing the break again with the word ‘Values’ shouted at the end.
Discussion: How important is it to be able to clearly identify our values? - Why? What
helped you work out your values? How do values govern the way we act? How easy is it for
you to stick to your values?
The Speaker’s Chair – replace some drums with percussion if available
This exercise is used to foster participation in the reflective element of the program. Rather
than ask direct questions to individuals, putting them on the spot and potentially shaming
them or inducing panic, we ask a general question and each person answers it as part of a
rhythm game.
This game forms the basis of a range of questioning exercises, in fact you can use it as
often as necessary to foster participation in the discussion element of the model.
The first time we use this exercise is often when establishing group boundaries at the
beginning of a course of group work. Teach participants the two phrases and use the
drum to emphasise the beats on the ‘1, 2 Let’s all play’ phrase.
This game has everyone playing a foundation pattern or improvising together and the
facilitator counting down to stop and then each person moving one place (to a new chair) in
an anti-clockwise direction. One person will enter the ‘Speaker’s Chair’ each time. A specific
chair is marked out as the ‘Speakers Chair’ (In a school setting I sometimes use the
teachers chair) and each time someone sits there they must answer the question before
resuming the rhythm with the phrase "1, 2, let’s all play".
Once the group understand the routine have the person who has just vacated the chair do
the countdown to stop the rhythm rather than yourself as facilitator (4,3,2,1, STOP).
You can also play this game without moving if you have people who are physically compromised; instead of moving people the chair moves – a new chair each time becomes the ‘Speaker’s Chair’.
TOTEM
A lot of people harbour deep feeling of loss and worry for the natural world
Introduce the indigenous concept of a totem - a totem is a natural object, plant or animal that
is inherited by members of a clan or family as their spiritual emblem. Totems define peoples'
roles and responsibilities, and their relationships with each other and creation. People have
a strong spiritual connection to their totem and an underlying duty of care towards it. They
draw energy and inspiration from their totem and learn from it; lessons about their place
within the world around them. Often a totem provides protection for the individual and vice-versa.
Ask people to think of one object, plant or animal they have a special affinity with. Suggest
examples - maybe you love cats or spending time near the ocean or you love gardening,
working with wood or walking in the mountains.
Then consider one thing you can do to care for, safeguard and protect that element. Maybe
you take in stray cats, pick up plastic off the beach, collect seeds from rare plants, defend
old growth forests from logging or plant trees to reduce erosion in the mountains.
We will play ‘Rumble Ball’ - I choose someone and throw them an imaginary ball - when the
ball leaves my hand everyone rumbles (on drum, table, lap) and when the catcher catches
the ball the rumble stops and they share one element of the natural world they feel a special
bond with and one thing they can do to help care for it. Ensure the ball travels in slow
motion, so don’t catch it too quickly which allows people plenty of time to rumble
Note - some indigenous people are happy to discuss their totem, others are not - be
sensitive and respectful if you have indigenous people in your group and ask permission to
discuss this subject.
Follow part 9 of the Heartbeat rhythms with this exercise, where we remove the Heartbeat,
and ask people to try to hold onto their connection in the face of losing that foundation.
Losing Your Foundation
This exercise is used to work with people through the loss of elements in their life that
previously offered stability and security. For example: the loss of a close friend, the loss of a
job, or moving towns. The COVID pandemic is another example where people’s feelings of
stability have been rocked.
Whilst all play together, their different Heartbeat rhythms, on a countdown – 4,3,2,1 –
everyone must drop the heartbeat (double Bass) from their rhythm. There will generally be a
period of instability and the facilitator can add to that by playing disjointedly. The aim is to
hold out through this period and try to regain a new foundation. Note - They cannot return
to the Heartbeat but they can add a Bass note to their rhythm.
Discuss with the group what helped them hold on and the different strategies they used to
find their feet again in the face of uncertainty. How could these same ideas help you in
moments of instability in your own life?
Play it loud, Play it Soft
Everyone starts a simple rhythm at a low, soft level, and one person is tasked with staying
soft, while the other group speed up and get louder.
Examine these three exercises in relation to the way people get pulled in (influenced)
emotionally by others around them, sometimes into situations that they might be better off
avoiding. A key learning in holding your rhythm is knowing it first – knowing what you
want to hold onto – your values.
Discussion: How can we better resist this pull? How important was focus? How important
was self-belief? What other strategies did you use? How big a difference would it make if
you were not alone? (if time permits try one exercise with 2 or 3 people trying to resist in the
face of the rest of the group). How do the emotions of others impact you? Are there people
around you who impact your emotions for better or for worse? How do your emotions impact
others?
'Fade to nothing'; the group gradually decreasing volume until the sound
disappears.
Note: over time, these exercises, when practiced regularly, in conjunction with simple
metaphors around holding onto your values, beliefs etc. can powerfully impact an individual’s
level of emotional control.
These are universal patterns that can be used to build confidence. Useful starting rhythms
for improvisation, and as underlying rhythms for many of the R2R exercises.
Reinforce the link across all parts to the Bass note – holding the rhythm together – a
key analogy within the model. Each part is anchored by the Double Bass of the Heartbeat.
Note: Part 6 – you can do a range of different clapping combinations anchored to the
heartbeat
Note: Part 7 – You can do a range of different scratching or rubbing sounds anchored to the
heartbeat
Note: Part 8 – You can do a range of different vocalisations anchored to the heartbeat. Try
using vocal humour to reduce self-consciousness when it comes to using voice, start with
Yawns or Humming or by dividing the group in two with one side - BB “yeah” answered by
the other BB “Naah” or BB “Wicked” answered by BB “Whatever”. Note: singing or
humming is good for improving Vagal Tone and regulation.
Go through each part in succession. Then come back to just the heartbeat (part 1) and have
people layer in, one at a time, with any accent they like, as long as it is anchored to the
heartbeat.
You can cut the group in half (sculpt) and ask one half to keep playing then stop the other
and have them just play the double Bass heartbeat and then reverse roles. Other facilitation
skills can be applied when the group is playing together – volume changes, tempo changes
etc.
Count in the silence to assist those who struggle with timing.
Finish with a 'Fade to nothing'; the group gradually decreasing volume until the sound
disappears
Affirmations using rhythmic music lock-in learning concepts in a strong and robust
way as evidenced in memory studies with people with Alzheimer’s and dementia –
musical memories are amongst the most deeply embedded.
Discuss what the Bass note might represent in term of things that help connect people
together in safe & healthy ways.
Explain how to add in a four Bass break, counting down the rhythm and hitting the Bass note
on the first note of the bar while leaving the next three silent.
Do this four times. Once this is mastered come up with four elements related to one of the
themes below.
After each Bass note in the break the group shout out one of these four in order before
returning to their foundation rhythms.
Note this exercise can be used to highlight a range of themes:
• Four things good friends do for each other
• Four things central to healthy relationships
• Four things that help you overcome adversity
• Four things you can do to stand up to bullying
• Four things that provide you with a sense of safety
And many more………
These foundation rhythms all stress a strong Bass on the first note of every bar (be careful
not to over-emphasise musical notation). This helps participants locate the pulse and timing
of a 4/4 rhythm.
In Rhythm2Recovery a key analogy is around having a stable Base (linked to the Bass note) in
your life and how that connects to values, healthy relationships and belonging.
It is important to provide participants with rhythms they can master quickly in order to build
confidence and maintain engagement. Note the importance of aligning the rhythms to the
developmental capacity of the individual or group mean.
Play one handed first & then showcase two handed options – slowly and without challenging
people’s confidence. Draw attention to the common time signature 4/4 - practice individually
& then perhaps combine the three foundations into a three-part harmony.
The R2R resource package (including the online videos) features a number of different drum
songs designed to allow participants to gradually increase their rhythmic competence on the
drum. These rhythm songs can be found in the appendix of this workbook and can be
viewed on the training videos of the R2R web site. In many sessions, the facilitator combines
rhythmic song practice with exercises that address specific S&E learning issues. More
examples can be found in the book ‘Rhythm to Recovery’, and in our online videos.
Notation – Capital letters refer to an individual’s strong hand; lower case to their non-dominant
hand: B = Bass note, O = Tone note, Fl = Flam notes.
Binary Beats – playing these rhythms across the midline and with both hands
simultaneously is a great exercise for improving cognition, & activating the
parasympathetic restoration cycle.
Pass the Bass. The whole group rumble quietly with their fingertips and one at a time a
person does a loud Bass on their drum – pass the Bass note using eye contact only.
Remember to look before you pass.
Rumble Wave – eyes closed
First with eyes open, pass the rumble from one person to another around the circle. Then
ask people to close their eyes and try the same game – what difference did you notice?
Try it again, but this time choose someone who can call out ‘Switch’ at any time and the
direction of the rumble must change.
We use rumbles across each session to help people answer questions – Rumble
if….. If I ask a personal question directly it is often met with silence - if I ask that same
question using the ‘rumble if......’ technique I often get a strong response". Try getting each
member of your group to ask a rumble If…. question as a way of getting to know each other.
Call & Response exercises are useful for building confidence, developing communication skills, and teaching musicality.
The facilitator plays a brief rhythm phrase on their drum & the individual or participants echo
it back (it is important to keep these rhythm short & simple). As the response becomes more
assured swap roles – again emphasising simplicity.
Take it in turns for different people to lead the exercise, and introduce changes in volume.
Variations of this exercise can be done with voice, movement & body percussion.
Empowerment – it is important that all participants get to lead this process at different times.
The facilitator should avoid too much control.
Exercise 2 - Call and Response to a Rhythm – moving towards improvisation
One person plays a call which is answered by the group and repeats the same sequence
(call & response) two more times - after the third response the whole group keeps playing
the call as a repeated rhythm. Emphasise the simplicity of this exercise in helping people
find their own rhythm and how this starts a longer term, empowering, process of helping
people to connect musically through improvisation, rather than through allocated parts.
Adding Vocals
Certain vocal sounds can be useful in calming the stress response and reducing anxiety.
Adding sounds or words in Call & Response can be useful for this reason – try low guttural
sounds such as Aaaaahhh, Mmmmmmmm, or Ooooohhh. A long Yawn or Sigh can also be
useful.
Bass, Tone, and Flam Exercises.
Part 1 - The key rule is that the 3 notes can only be played in this order (Bass, Tone, Flam).
We are going to pass one strike of the drum, in that order, around the room and see how
fast and smooth we can get it going. First start in a uniform direction around the circle.
Part 2 - Then try this with the same order but one Bass note, followed by two Tones,
followed by three Flams - try doing it nice and slowly in order to get a flowing rhythm going.
Finish with everyone playing this rhythm together – B, O, O, Fl, Fl, Fl. You can try different
combinations in subsequent sessions.
Jump – Try moving the beat around the circle with a Bass note moving the strike to the
person next to you, a Tone note will jump one person, and a Flam will jump two people and
any double strike means swap direction (note each player can only double strike once).
In R2R we use three basic sounds:
Bass (B) - important for the whole hand to hit the drum in the centre of the skin. This is the
key note for connection and grounding – it is important to practice this until a deep resonant
note is obtained.
Tone (O) - important to use the whole length of the fingers, held close together, and avoid
the thumb hitting the edge.
Flam (Fl) - two strikes played almost simultaneously (Slaps or Tones).
In R2R we tend to use the Flam instead of the Slap as our accent note as it is easier to
master and sharp sounds are not therapeutic.
Recommend removing rings and bangles before playing
Emphasise a relaxed hand and bouncing off the drums though the skin was hot.
Demonstrate the three different strikes and put into a rhythm - B O B O, B O B Fl
First pair people up and ask them to get to know each other - highlighting the three things on
the slide
• Their name
• Who they work for and with
• A passion outside of work
Then choose a sport - Basketball, netball, football etc.
When the ball is passed between participants all rumble - when it is caught the rumble stops
and the pair (one of whom has caught the ball) introduce each other, before sending it on its
way again.
Encourage people to pass the ball and catch it in different ways – GET CREATIVE!
Highlight the importance of ‘Slow Motion’ so everyone has a good chance to rumble as the
ball moves between people. Don’t catch it too quickly!
If the ball goes to someone who has already been introduced, they just send it on.
This exercise can be used at any stage to have fun, release tension and examine a
presenting issue – instead of introducing themselves, participants would answer a question
e.g.
• When you catch the ball tell us one thing you did on the weekend
• When you catch the ball tell us one strength you recognise in yourself
• When you catch the ball name one adult you look up to as a role model
• When you catch the ball tell us one thing that you think is important in a healthy
relationship
Here is how we introduce the game as initially a lateral thinking exercise and then as it becomes more popular we can use it to look at discrimination.
This is a lateral thinking game – that can be just fun or used to examine discrimination
Often, we will play this game with random factors for a few sessions before we move to look at deeper issues.
Tell everyone we are going to play a ‘Lateral Thinking’ game where they have to guess the reason people are barred from the rhythm – explain that you shouldn’t worry about being barred but focus instead on why?
We will play together and then I will stop the drumming and ask the question “Who’s out and what’s it all about?” Then people can suggest reasons. In the first round, you will have no clue and have to guess randomly - after that you will guess on what are the common factors about those being chosen by the facilitator.
Choose a random factor e.g. shoe style, drum type, and ban people because of it (1 person per round) – It should take 2-3 rounds before they get it.
Extension- this exercise can also be used to look at discrimination. Choose a physical factor – e.g. hair colour or eye colour and talk about discrimination or prejudice. – why are some people left out, rejected or discriminated against? How does that feel? How can we stand up to that?
This video showcases a simple extension of the basic one handed Bass, Tone Foundation Rhythm used in R2R exercises to give participants more rhythmic options.
Enlarge the circle if necessary - in larger circles have several people in the middle
Warning to the blindfolded individual not to swing their arms wildly.
The drummers support the person (or people) in the middle by rumbling whenever someone is sheltering near them - be alert to too much rumbling confusing the person in the middle and the need for the drummers to work together and only rumble when someone is right opposite them.
This exercise can be used to examine the way the drummers worked together, & the trust required by the blind-folded person in the drummers to guide him/her.
Adaption: Instead of rumbles the blindfolded person calls out "Marco" and the drummers closest to those hiding in the middle reply with two Tones (Polo).
One at time, around the circle, we repeat a very simple musical phrase (try BbB) - each time getting softer until it almost disappears, then reversing it so that each time it gets louder.
The challenge is for the increments to be as even as possible.
This is challenging as each player has a different technique and each drum a different resonance, so it can take quite a few goes to get even changes in volume - usually done across several sessions with a group or client.
The drum can be used to initiate connection between a participant and the facilitator in a fun way. In both one to one counselling and groups you can begin a session by connecting this way, that also often links people emotionally. In groups or classrooms, you can also use this exercise by having people pair up, and explore the different facets of social connection.
In this exercise, the facilitator takes the client or group through a storm sequence on the drum and links this to the rise of our emotions when we get upset or angry:
• What triggers your storm?
• How do we get control of the storm?
• What allows the storm to pass by?
• Remember - All storms eventually end – what helps your emotional storms dissipate?
Releasing feelings through the drum can be done at any stage and replaces the question ‘How did that feel” with ‘Play how that felt’.
It can be particularly useful at the beginning of each session to run an exercise – “Play how you are feeling’ over the top of a foundation rhythm as a way of checking in on the group.
EXAMINE
• Triggers for emotional arousal
• Calming strategies
Choose a theme and two questions that must be answered to avoid infection, e.g. two important values, two strengths, two character traits. Choose the 1st Zombie by asking for the best Zombie face. Then have the drummers play a steady Bass pulse. A person has to list the chosen field before the Zombie reaches them (light touch to shoulder), if they are to avoid being infected. If anyone is infected by the Zombie they join them in the middle of the circle until all are Zombies.
Note - This game can also be used to have people reflect on a wide range of issues in a fun way, including values, strengths, fears, emotions, boundaries etc.
This exercise follows a similar format with a preliminary discussion on what good friends do for each other.
Over the top of a basic foundation rhythm, the practitioner plays a rhythm phrase that symbolises the question ‘What Does a Good Friend Do?', (Fl-OoO-o-O) encourage participants to play this phrase with you each time. One at a time, each participant answers that question with one of three sounds - one Bass note, two Bass notes or three Bass notes - the number corresponds to how many different things they can think of.
After answering with their drum, the responder states their answer/s & the rhythm resumes.
These answers can be written on the white-board for further discussion after the exercise has been completed.
Sometimes in larger groups I will go around half the group asking this question and then for the second half ask the question "What do you want from your life? Or, “What matters most to you?” (in your relationships with other people).