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Using the Four Bass Break exercise to look at the values that support healthy relationships.
First brainstorm a list of values on a white-board using the question - what's one thing really important to you in your relationships with other people?
Then from this list prioritise four core values that the group agree are really central to a healthy relationship - there may be a little compromise needed here.
Then teach the 'Four Bass Break' - counting down 4,3,2,1 and hitting the Bass note four times with three counts of silence in-between each one before returning to the rhythm.
Once this is mastered, add the words in order between each Bass.
Finish one last time with the break.
The voice serves as a powerful cathartic tool by enabling the release of pent-up tension and emotions through various vocalisations, including beat-boxing, singing, & toning. Vocal exercises and techniques provide a safe channel for emotional expression, fostering a deeper connection with the breath and body to reduce stress, and promote emotional well-being. By activating the body's natural mechanisms for releasing tension, the voice can lead to a sense of calm, greater emotional control, and improvements in physiological health.
Give Voice to Your Rhythm
This can be done using either the Heartbeat Rhythms or Full Improvisation (Layer in Your Rhythm).
Part 1. Have people layer in with either individual heartbeat rhythms or full improvisation and when everyone is playing, lower the volume and ask people to start to vocalise the rhythm they are playing - offer examples.
Part 2. Then lower the volume again and ask people to keep their vocal going but stop playing their drum or percussion instrument. You may want to keep a pulse going with your drum. After a while lower the volume again and ask people to play with their rhythm - change it up a little - without losing touch with their rhythm pulse.
Part 3. Lower the volume and ask people to add a little extra emotion to their rhythm by slowing down their rhythm a little and moving towards more tonal input - singing their beat - offer examples. Utilise facilitation techniques to:
Solo different sections of your group
Pass the vocal from one section to another
Solo different individuals
Change dynamics - volume
Finish by fading away slowly
Call & response - Emotional Check-In
One at a time around the circle people play how they are feeling – often we use this at the start or end of a session. They create a short phrase on their drum that expresses their feelings (call) and the group
validate that by echoing it back to them (response).
When you drop the ball, how do you respond?
An exercise that looks at how we respond when we drop the ball, make mistakes, and the feeling of
shame that often arises.
Discuss with the group the feelings you get when you make mistakes (give examples) and feel embarrassed
(give examples). Ask people to reflect on how they personally deal with mistakes. In particular, this
exercise is used to focus on the feeling of ‘shame’ - ensure this is discussed. What are some of the
different ways we might respond to feelings of shame - constructive or destructive? List in 2 different
columns on a white-board.
Start a rhythm sequence involving different parts played in order around the circle, for example - Bass, 2
x Tone, Clap, Flam and repeat. Slowly speed up. When anyone loses the sequence, they have to say one
way they might respond in life when feelings such as shame arise from mistakes generally (drawn from
the pre-discussion content), and whether this is a useful response or not.
The first step in dealing with shame is to acknowledge what you’re feeling. It’s not always obvious that what
you’re feeling is shame. Sometimes you experience it as anger, irritability, defensiveness, procrastination, or
depression. Anger is often the response to feelings of shame.
Shame likes to hide. There’s a good reason people often say after telling an embarrassing story, “I wanted
to crawl in a hole.” You want to protect yourself from those who would deride you. It’s also important to
distinguish shame from guilt. Shame goes beyond guilt & involves a deep feeling of inadequacy. Guilt is a useful
emotion. It’s our conscience letting us know we’ve let ourselves down in some way. Feeling guilt may motivates
us to fix our mistakes and improve our behaviour. The important distinction is that guilt applies to our actions
and shame applies to our inherent value. Shame actually makes you less able to improve your behaviour. It
implies that you’re permanently, inherently bad, rather than affirming that you’re capable of growth.
Shame has other functions as well. For example, an overt display of shame can signal remorse to the people
around you. If you’re beating yourself up, they feel more inclined to let you off the hook. In this case, shame
performs a social function, preserving your connection to the community after you’ve done something bad.
Avoiding shame can become a lifetime pursuit – and become a way of keeping yourself stuck. You may feel like
you don’t deserve to be happy because you’re so rotten. Conveniently, this also spares you the effort of trying to
make positive changes in your life. Overcoming shame requires self-awareness, particularly of your inner
dialogue, self-compassion, self-acceptance, and forgiveness of self.
Around the Circle Games For Focus & Concentration
Play in order of drums around the circle
1. Bass, Tone, Tone, Clap – B, O, O, Clap & repeat
2. Bass, Tone, 2 x Tone, Clap – B, O, O o, Clap & repeat
3. Bass, Tone, 3 x Tone, 3 x Clap – B, O, O o O, 3 x Clap, Clap, Clap & repeat.
4. Bass, Tone, 3 x Tone, 2 x Flam plus Clap, - B, O, O o O, Fl, Fl, Clap & repeat.
These games foster teamwork and focus as the group tries to get a smooth sound as the sequence
moves around the circle.
These games are particularly useful when the number of parts in a sequence is not divisible by the
number of participants in the circle – meaning that each person will play a different part of the sequence
each time you go around the room.
} If your group is divisible by four add or subtract a part.
} Each person plays a part of the sequence in turn.
} Aim for smooth and consistent pacing and gradually increase the speed.
} Make up your own sequences and add body percussion and voice
The Name Game
The facilitator explains the sequence in three steps:
1. An individual plays the phrase - My name is ………… (add name) matching the number of beats to the number of the syllables of the words.
2. The group respond with - Their name is ………. (add name) matching the number of beats to the number of the syllables of the words.
3. Everyone finishes up by saying - What’s your name? - playing three flams at the same time, and directing this question to the next person in the circle.
Note: You can break the sequence between numbers 2 & 3 and have people say a couple of additional things
about themselves – e.g., favourite hobby, favourite movie, favourite game, favourite food etc. before counting
in sequence 3.
Then repeat, one at a time, in order around the circle
Before starting ask people to work out how many syllables in their name - give some examples.
Remembering people’s name is an important part of building trust in a group or between individuals.
A syllable is a single, unbroken vowel sound within a spoken word. They typically contain a vowel, or two if one is silent, and perhaps one or more accompanying consonants. So, syllables are always A, E, I, O, U or sometimes Y when it makes a vowel sound. All words are made from at least one syllable.
Syllables are sometimes referred to as the ‘beats’ of a word that form its rhythm and breaking a word into syllables can help English learners with phonetic spelling. Another way to describe a syllable is a ‘mouthful’ of
a word.
Taking back power after loss.
Sometimes events leave us feeling like we have no autonomy or power, particularly after we have experienced a significant loss.
We will invite you to reclaim your power by entering the circle and playing on the large Bass Drums, supported by the rest of the circle.
In this exercise we place one or two large drums with mallets in the middle of the circle.
The group start a foundation rhythm and at any stage a person can enter the circle (or you may like to
schedule people one at a time) and play on the powerful Bass Drums, asserting their power.
Post group discussion
Share with the participants how it felt to take back power in this way and be supported by the rest of the
group. What other ways could help regain the ground you lost?
Play improvised music, layering in one at a time, then solo the pigs - use two or four.
Ask those holding the pigs to try and get a rhythm going and dialogue with each other, rather than just ‘squeezing’ randomly.
Then when you return to the full group ask people to pass their pig to their neighbour so a new pairing occurs.
DREAM CATCHER - Sharing hopes & Fears
The dream catcher was traditionally used by the Ojibway in North America to protect young children
against bad dreams (spirits) that were ever circulating in the atmosphere.
They believed also that good dreams surrounded us as well - the dream catcher caught all dreams and
sorted them, only allowing the good ones through.
In this game we share good and bad dreams, catching the bad ones before they dominate us and
welcoming the good ones.
Each person represents their own ‘dream catcher’. Play ‘Rumble Ball” (imaginary ball game).
When the ball comes your way, you have a choice to:
} Catch it - and name a fear you have for the future or
} Open your arms wide and accept it - and then name a positive dream (hope) you have for
the future
At the conclusion draw attention to any commonalities between the group members and discuss -
ensure a balance between hopes and fears.
How important is it to share your fears? How important is it to hold onto your dreams?
Out of Tune Out of Time - It's Not A Crime!
Tolerating and accepting Dissonance in Others and in our Music.
Rumble on your drum if you have ever felt a bit out of sync with those around you - you don’t quite fit in. We have all felt like this at times - yet for some people, not fitting in is a cause of them being victimised
by others and hurt either physically or emotionally. Why do we sometimes find it hard to tolerate people who are different?
In music sometimes when people are out of tune or out of time it can be irritating but equally it can add something different to a sound that can sometimes get a bit repetitive. Often great musicians use dissonance this way - to add to the dynamism of the piece.
In this exercise we will ask one or two people to play in a different rhythm (3, 5 or 7time) to the rest of us
(4 time - B B - -) and try and control our irritation, while seeing whether we can accept their part as part of our group rhythm. If we change our outlook, it can help us see people who are different in a new light.
And maybe when you feel a bit out of place other people will be more accepting of you.
4 Time B B - - B B - - B B - - B B - -
3 Time B O o O B O o O B O o O B O o O B O o O etc.
5 Time B O O O Fl B O O O Fl B O O O Fl etc.
7 Time B O o O O o O O o O B O o O O o O O o O etc.
B = Bass O = Tone Fl = Flam
Discussion: Did you notice that no matter what your timing, there will still be moments when we connect. How hard was it to learn to accept some discord? How important is tolerance in your relationships with other people?
Note: This exercise can also be done with chimes – adding a dissonant B or F note to a pentatonic set.
Understanding the impact of other’s emotions on those around them.
Many people find themselves surrounded by people who struggle to contain their anger and frustration.
An environment where people are constantly exposed to other's aggression or resentment has a lasting impact on them.
When people realise the emotional impact their social surroundings may have on them, they can take active steps to reduce its harm.
Don’t Stand So Close to Me
Ask the group to play a soft foundation rhythm
Choose one person to play to themselves a happy/uplifting/feel good rhythm over the top of the foundation.
Then ask the two people on either side of the happy player to start to play angrily and aggressively on their drum.
Examine what happened to the rhythm of the happy player and how they felt when the aggression started - how challenging was it to remain upbeat?
If they were able to maintain their positive attitude - explore how.
Extension
Try looking at how a positive, supportive environment can help lift someone who is feeling low.
Reverse the script, so that the nominated person plays sad and the two people on either side work to support and lift them.
Note: In this extension it is important for the players doing the support role to start off playing at the same emotional level to the sad individual between them (listening first & validating the feelings) before trying to lift their friend out of their gloom.
When we first play the drums, we are not very conscious of the sound we are making.
We are playing the drums and like play, we are having fun, we are creating, we are using our imagination and the rewards are intrinsic.
As we gain confidence on our drum, we start to identify different sounds (tones) on the drum that sit, feel and sound more comfortable to us.
Some sounds can feel uncomfortable, for instance, sharp sounds that pierce us or weak sounds that lack clarity.
As we grow as people, mature, experience life, and find our place in the world we do the same thing - we let go of things that don’t sound true to us and seek out those that do.
Our values clarify, and when we find our true voice, we are better able to speak for what we truly believe, what we truly feel and who we truly are, rather than getting manipulated by the views and opinions of others. It is through this growing awareness that we find security in knowing who we really are (our true selves) and can let go of the anxiety that comes from feeling judged by others and not knowing which way to turn.
It is a bit like the move from learning the rhythms others teach you to finding your own rhythm. In this exercise we bring that greater awareness to the sound we are making on our drum - moving from just playing the drum to activating the drum and allowing it to speak for us.
Play your ‘Bass’ note now (ensure your drum is open) and find the resonance of the note that is comfortable, and sounds and feels good to you - every day that might change a little.
Now play your ‘Tone’ note and do the same thing - move your hands around the edge of the drum until you get a clear tone sound that sits comfortably, feels and sounds good, to you.
Do this every time you play - adjust your voice so it feels true to you
Now let’s play. Start a simple rhythm, (O o O, O o B), playing at a steady tempo, or any one of the R2R foundation rhythms, and ask people to play around that with this new focus on the sound emanating from their drum. Ask people to focus particularly on the Bass sound, and how that cements the groove - unifies and connects the group. Settle into the rhythm, finding your sound and your place - getting comfortable, in the moment.
Moving away from the conditioned responses of the past
All of us have histories and conditioning from the past that impacts our behaviour and thus our lives in
unconscious ways. These generally stem from the disempowered world of the child. In order to live our
lives fully and to function as autonomous members of society we need to recognise these influences,
observe them in our daily lives, for good or for worse, that keep resurfacing. In order to break free of
these histories we have to bring them to consciousness. This often means facing our childhood fears and
the lethargy of inaction.
Breaking Free Exercise
Ask people to think about some of these unconscious behaviours they recognise in themselves, that
maybe negatively impacting their lives or relationships.
Some common issues maybe:
} I am not good enough, so I have low expectations, avoid risk, keep a low profile, and maybe
tend to self-sabotage
} My child self was neglected, so I make up for it by seeking power through material
acquisition or power over others
} I compensate for feelings of neglect and insecurity through the constant need for
reassurance from others
} Other addictive patterns that fill the want within - compensating for the pain of loss.
Choose a simple rhythm and make it clear that this symbolises these reoccurring, historically driven,
behaviours we have discussed.
As they play the rhythm (together, or in one-to-one work with you as their therapist) ask them to name
these patterns (taking responsibility).
Then ask them to break away from the rhythm (the facilitator/therapist maintains the original rhythm)
without losing total connection, but moving away into a new pattern of their own.
Fade away to close.
Discussion
How did that feel? What helped you find the courage to break free? How important was first taking
ownership of the original rhythm? How might you do a similar thing with these problematic patterns in
real life?
Pre-discussion
Anger is often a normal part of grief, where we may feel betrayed, let-down or abandoned.
These are normal feelings.
What is forgiveness and why is it so hard? Why is it often important not to forget the wrongs that have
occurred in our lives?
Forgiveness, as an act of acceptance, is not forgetting or condoning the harm that has been done; instead, it
is letting go of the need for revenge and releasing negative thoughts of bitterness and resentment, towards
ourselves and others. Forgiveness is simply about understanding that every one of us is both inherently good
and inherently flawed (Desmond Tutu)
When the unchangeable past is accepted, then the focus can move from pain and resistance to forgiveness,
healing, and progress in recovery.
Forgiveness Exercise
Teach the 7-bar break:
TIMING 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Drum Phrase 1 B b O - B b O - B b O o O o O -
Drum Phrase 2 B b O o O o O - B b O - - - - -
I Forgive, Not Forget - I am Learning to Accept”
I am Learning to Forgive and Accept”
Ask people to think of someone and something that they may hold negative thoughts about such as
blame or resentment - it may be someone who has wronged them or critical thoughts they hold about
themselves. In this exercise if they feel up to initiating thoughts of forgiveness towards these individuals
or themselves, they should initiate the break. There is no need to discuss the actual situation that led to this
position, but it can be a useful lead into deeper analysis where warranted.
Start a simple rhythm and count in the break (4,3,2,1 …). Play the break to symbolise the affirmation,
before going back to the foundation rhythm and someone new initiating the break anew. Do this several
times and finish with people saying and playing the break at the same time. You may want to write the
words of the affirmation on a whiteboard.
R2R TRAINING WORKBOOK VOLUME 2: MUSIC FOR SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 59
Post Discussion.
What are the benefits of forgiveness? How can we practice this to gain these rewards for ourselves
and those around us?
According to recent meta-analyses on the effects of forgiveness therapy, forgiveness helped to minimise aspects
of negative affect such as depression, anger, hostility, stress, and distress (Akhtar & Barlow, 2018).
Self-forgiveness is not about letting yourself off the hook, nor is it a sign of weakness. The act of forgiveness,
whether you are forgiving yourself or someone who has wronged you, does not suggest that you are condoning
the behaviour. To forgive yourself, you should:
} Understand your emotions - particularly the difference between guilt and shame
} Accept responsibility for what happened
} Treat yourself with kindness and compassion
} Express remorse for your mistakes
} Make amends and apologise (including apologising to yourself)
} Look for ways to learn from the experience
} Focus on making better choices in the future
Forgiveness means that you accept the behaviour, you accept what has happened, and you are willing to move
past it and move on with your life without ruminating over past events that cannot be changed.
There are times when all of us have been thoughtless, selfish or cruel. But no act is unforgivable; no person is
beyond redemption.
Desmond Tutu
Understanding What We Can Control In Our Lives And What Is Beyond Our Control
An exercise exploring what we can and can’t control in our relationships, and broader lives. And the importance of focusing on those things we can influence, rather than those we cannot.
Rumble on your drum if you accept that there are some things in our lives that we can control, and some things in our lives that we have no control over.
On a whiteboard draw up four columns - over the first two place the heading ‘DRUMMING’ and over the second two ‘RELATIONSHIPS’
Then allocate one column in each of the two sections to ‘CONTROL’ and the other, ‘BEYOND CONTROL’
When we are drumming, we are in relationship with others in the drum-circle, so many parallels can be drawn between the two situations.
Questions
Rumble on your drum if you often spend time worrying about things you can’t control
Rumble on your drum if you often spend time trying to change things you can’t control
Often if we focus on the things we can control, the things we can’t control will change alongside us. Can you think of an example where changing your behaviour can change the behaviour of others? (To get respect you have to give respect etc.)
Teach the break:
WORDS I Can’t Change Everything, that’s true But I’m in charge Of the things I do
TIMING 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4DRUMMING Fl B B - O o O B B O o B B O o O B B
Layer in a rhythm - each person taking responsibility for their own rhythm and how they play it, without
trying to influence others and periodically bring in the musical-break.
Finish by saying the words and the break together.
The Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the
wisdom to know the difference, living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; taking this world as
it is and not as I would have it; etc.
− Reinhold Niebuhr
If Our Rhythms Don’t Meet, You Don’t Have to Bring Your Heat
Many people struggle with rejection, the antithesis to the human need for social connection, recognition, love and belonging. And it is normal to sometimes feel intense feelings of hurt and sadness when people
turn away from us. Most of us can manage these feelings, understanding that not everyone is suited to each other, (not everyone’s rhythms align) and find companionship elsewhere.
However, for some people theses feelings manifest into shame, anger and violence. The rejection becomes highly personalised and the feelings intensify and become all consuming to a point where they are beyond rational control.
‘Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria’ is one form of this issue impacting many
people.
And a significant amount of violence towards women, and partner violence generally, stems from these uncontrolled emotions.
Pre-Discussion: Rumble on your drum if you’ve felt the pain of rejection. Rumble on your drum if that has led to anger. What are some of the ways you might experience rejection? How easy is it to see this as a
personal affront/attack rather than just a normal part of life? What are some of the feelings you get when you’re rejected by others? How difficult do you find it to manage these feelings? Does understanding that
very few people get along with everyone, and it’s normal for many relationships in peoples lives not to work out make sense to you? If we recognise this perhaps we don’t need to take it so personally, and start
to take more responsibility for our feelings rather than blame others.
If our rhythms don’t meet exercise
TIMING 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Part 1 - Words - If Our Rhythms Don’t Meet You Don’t Have to bring your Heat
Part 1 - Drum B B O o O o B B O o O o O
Part 2 - Words It’s Going to make you blue But don’t let those feelings stew
Part 2 - Drum B B O o O o B B O o O o O
Write the break up on the white-board and discuss. Practice the break several times.
Divide the group in two and separate them slightly.
Give one group a rhythm in four time, e.g.
B O o O o O
And the other half a rhythm in three time, e.g.
B O o O
(These rhythms will meet every 3 or 4 bars depending on which part you are playing).
Help the group recognise when they meet by giving a shout on that connecting Bass note.
Put the rhythms together and then introduce the break, by stopping together on the connecting Bass
note.
Finish by saying and playing the break at the same time
Discussion: We saw in this exercise how hard it is to always find harmony with others, but that doesn’t
mean we need to blame each other or get angry, even though we all felt the frustration when the rhythms
didn’t meet. What are some ways we can manage these feelings of rejection, frustration, shame and
anger? How can we remind ourselves not to take it too personally and respect other peoples decisions
to walk away from us even when it hurts? How does this relate to valuing and respecting each other in
relationships?
Variation
Divide the group in two and separate them slightly.
Choose one person from each side to develop a rhythm of their choice, teaching and then leading their
half of the group - don’t discuss timing or mention the Bass connection!
Put the rhythms together (sometimes they will harmonise, sometimes not, just like our relationships with
different people). Stop the group, every so often, and bring in the break.
I’m Me, He’s He, And there’s Plenty of Room for Diversity
Recognising the fears that stop us moving to the next stage of our journey
towards maturity and growth.
All of us are torn between the comforts of what we know, the safety of the familiar, (convenient rituals,
conventional thinking, and familiar surroundings) and the need to develop, to face the unknown in order
to grow psychologically and spiritually. It is a struggle between lethargy and fear. Fear governs much of
our lives, often seen in a denial of personal responsibility. Standing up to our fears is an essential step
towards personal autonomy.
Courage
In this exercise we ask people to consider some of the fears that are holding them back from moving
forward with their lives, and some of the small steps they can take, exercising courage, to move away
from the bondage of fear towards growth and development.
In this exercise we teach a break where each person around the circle is given an odd or an even number
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 etc., and assigned a part as a consequence. You may need to include yourself or not to
ensure you have an even number of participants.
The rhythm is counted down (4,3,2,1j and the Bass played on the first note of each bar by the whole
group. Between each Bass the fill alternates between five tones - B OoOoO and four tones - B Oo-Oo Odd
numbers play the five-tone break and even play the four-tone break alternating each time e.g. B OoOoO
B Oo-Oo repeat
The break represents the words:
B - I can recognise, B - the fears I hold, B - I can find the strength, B - to be bold. Write this up on the
whiteboard, so all can see.
Practice the two parts of the break with the two sections - odd and even, separately. Then put into the
rhythm. On the last round say the words as you play.
Extension
The break can also be played individually around the circle, once confidence is high, by alternating
between people sitting next to each other, one at a time until it goes around the circle (the facilitator
plays if needed to even up the numbers).
Instead of running from difficult feelings, sensations or memories; learning
to live with them, but not beholden to them.
Many of the problems people face in their lives are connected to avoiding painful memories, sensations
and feelings, often linked to traumatic events from the past. Acceptance teaches us to learn to live with
what we can’t change (remember the serenity prayer) and confront our problems by taking actions to
improve our lives in accordance with our values.
We can also use mindfulness to separate the present from the past and separate our thoughts and
feelings from our true selves. We can look dispassionately at our thoughts, feelings, sensations as if
viewing them from afar, so that they no longer control us.
Note: ACT does not mean we ask clients to accept every situation (e.g., abusive relationships), but that some
circumstances should ultimately be accepted (i.e., physical reality or historical events), should be accepted for
now, should be accepted with an expectation of eventual change, or should be changed now.
Acceptance
From a list of feelings, ask your client or the members of your group to pick one they recognise in
themselves as a challenge to deal with, and one they often avoid - shame, grief, despair, anger, jealousy,
etc.
The client (or one person at a time in a group situation) is asked to express that emotion as a phrase on
their drum and once defined repeat it. The counsellor plays along with it, mirroring. The client is then
asked to incorporate that phrase into a rhythm that represents their day-to-day life - something steady,
stable and not overtly emotional - for instance B O B O or B b O o - adding the feeling phrase to their daily
rhythm in a way that allows their daily rhythm to continue unabated but with added texture.
Once the extended rhythm is stabilised the counsellor (or group) combine to play it together.
Discussion
What are some of the thoughts, feelings, sensations, memories you’d most like to get rid of?
What strategies have you used to do that & how successful have they been?
Think about how much time and energy you spend trying to avoid these feelings and where that might
be better spent if you could learn to accept them.
Sometimes the more effort we spend denying our feelings the bigger they grow.
Examining the benefits of a slower pace of life
Pre group discussion.
Many of us recognise that our lives are increasingly busy, that we rush from one thing to the next, and
lead our lives with a sense of urgency as though everything depends on moving quickly - FOMO. Much
of this urgency is directed at the future, and stems in part from a view of time as limited - “So many
opportunities, so little time”. When we shift our focus to the moment, time becomes endless.
Rumble on your drum if you have ever rushed into something that you later came to regret.
} What are some of the consequences of rushing all the time?
} How does it impact our relationship?
} How does it impact our work?
} What are some areas of your life that might benefit from a more relaxed approach?
} What are some active steps we can take to live our lives with more awareness and
consideration?
R2R TRAINING WORKBOOK VOLUME 2: MUSIC FOR SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 61
Exercise - Slowing Down
Start off with a rhythm that verges on the edge of complexity for the level of your groups ability e.g. Bb
OoO BbB fl fl , Bb OoO BbB fl
And play this at a reasonably fast tempo, so that many will struggle.
Count-down to stop - 4,3,2,1, STOP and slow the rhythm just a little. Repeat this process until you are
playing the same rhythm very slowly. Then stop.
Post group discussion
} What did you notice as the rhythm slowed? How often do seemingly complex problems
become solvable when we slow things down? Can you think of any examples?
} How did your awareness change of other things around you as the rhythm slowed?
} Do you think this has any relevance to the quality of your relationships?
} What about your sense of calm or its opposite ‘worry’. Did you feel a change there as the
rhythm slowed? How might slowing down reduce feelings of stress?
Good or Not So Good Choices – What makes the difference?
Start with a discussion on the importance of good choices in life. All of us have at times regretted some
of the choices we have made - that’s normal & hopefully we learn from these so as not to repeat them.
What are some of the things that help us make good choices? What can we learn from poor choices?
It’s Your Choice
The practitioner starts a slightly complex rhythm (try the following Bb-bB-O-, Bb-bBoOo-) & the individual
or group is given the option of:
} Joining the rhythm at a time of their choosing
} Joining by playing a different, simpler pattern
} Just sitting back and listening
Note there are no wrong choices - we are just interested in which choice was made and why? How do
these options relate to other important life choices?
Discuss the subject of ‘Choice’ – What made you decide which path to follow? How easy is it to get
pulled into unmanageable situations like a complex rhythm? Did you get caught up in the rhythm? How
often do we make poor choices because we get caught up in something without thinking it through? How
hard is it to distance yourself at times like this, so that you can make good choices?
For those who chose a different rhythm - How hard was it to find an alternative choice (rhythm)? What
helped you maintain the connection?
For those who chose to just observe and listen – when would this be a good choice?
Notation: B – Bass, dominant hand. b – Bass, non-dominant hand. O – Tone, dominant hand. o – Tone, nondominant
hand.
What moves your life forward & what moves it backwards?
Backwards & Forwards
This can be used to look at a wide range of issues where one set of actions moves you towards a positive
goal and another takes you on a less useful (possibly destructive) path, e.g.:
} Healthy Relationships
} Relapse (from drug dependency)
} Personal confidence
} Violence
} Happiness
} Grief
Choose a direction around the circle for forwards and the opposite for backwards. Everyone starts by
playing the Heartbeat rhythm together. The facilitator starts with an air-bump towards the person next
to them in the backwards direction saying one thing from the negative (backwards) column as they do so
– that then stops them playing - this sequence is continued around the circle in the backwards direction
until only the last person is playing (isolated and alone).
Then move in the opposite direction (forwards) this time with a fist bump or high five while saying
something positive to bring your neighbour into the rhythm. This starts to connect the group – and so
the process repeats until all are connected.
Discussion - Finish by emphasising the different elements that undermine connection and negativity
impact our intention and those that cement it.
This exercise is used to look at empathy and how understanding the impact of bullying can help us
respond better in supporting victims. What is empathy? The ability to understand and share the feelings
of another.
Elements of Empathy:
} Observe
} Tune In
} Relate
} Connect
} Reach Out
Imagine It Was You - Use the ‘Rumble If….’
The facilitator should describe a number of experiences (related to loss or victimisation) and ask the
group to rumble on their drum if they can identify with each of the emotions that might be garnered for
an individual experiencing that event. The group rumble in empathy with the individuals in the scenarios
and then name the emotions they may have felt.
Examples:
1. Rumble if you can imagine how it might feel to have very few friends - What might you be
feeling?
2. Rumble if you can imagine how it might feel to not know where your next meal is coming
from - What might you be feeling?
3. Rumble if you can, imagine how it might feel if you felt everyone was laughing at you - What
might you be feeling?
After giving some examples ask the students to come up with their own scenarios
Discuss the concept of empathy.
} What is empathy?
} How does it affect the way we act towards others?
} What if people have little empathy, how do they act?
} How hard is it to have a respectful relationship with someone with little empathy for
others?
} What might help someone to develop more empathy?
Begin by discussing how different communities’ initiate youth into adulthood and why.
Using the white-board, draw up two columns - ‘Community Responsibilities’ & ‘Individual Freedoms’
Examine and name a list of important community responsibilities followed by individual freedoms.
Represent the former by the Bass note (we all have a responsibility to meet here) and represent individual
freedom on the edge of the drum (give people the freedom to play accents on the edge of the drum
however they wish).
Start a Bass pulse and allow people to join as they wish.
After a little while repeat without the Bass and look at what happens to community and relationships
generally without recognition of our obligations towards each other and our environment.
Note: This is a useful exercise in family therapy where we look at family obligations, and how they support trust
and stability.
Begin by discussing how different communities’ initiate youth into adulthood and why.
Using the white-board, draw up two columns - ‘Community Responsibilities’ & ‘Individual Freedoms’
Examine and name a list of important community responsibilities followed by individual freedoms.
Represent the former by the Bass note (we all have a responsibility to meet here) and represent individual
freedom on the edge of the drum (give people the freedom to play accents on the edge of the drum
however they wish).
Start a Bass pulse and allow people to join as they wish.
After a little while repeat without the Bass and look at what happens to community and relationships
generally without recognition of our obligations towards each other and our environment.
Note: This is a useful exercise in family therapy where we look at family obligations, and how they support trust
and stability.
Standing up to Bullying
‘Keep your Distance’ This exercise is used to examine bullying and other issues associated with negative
peer influence. It is only played when the facilitator knows the group and can identify that people
have enough resilience to accept a role-play on this topic without getting triggered, as it replicates
how we respond to aggression.
Discuss the prevalence of bullying and what motivates it (power & social influence). What are some of
the different forms bullying takes? What are some of the consequences of bullying? Discuss the intrinsic
need for belonging and the subsequent power of peer influence. Many people, young and old, find
themselves compromising their values because of this need for acceptance among peers.
Explain that this game has two parts, that are usually done in consecutive sessions, but can be
done together.
Part 1
We are looking for someone who feels they are able to withstand a bit of negativity to play the victim
in this exercise (be careful about choosing someone who has a history of victimisation - the individual
chosen to play the victim is identified by the facilitator after time spent with the group as someone with
appropriate resilience).
The volunteer is blindfolded and placed in the centre of the circle with instruction on backing away from
the rhythm that represents bullying behaviour (3 sharp flams). One person is chosen as the leader of the
bullies and can co-opt others to join him by looking at them. Everyone plays a soft foundation rhythm
unless they are invited to join the bullying gang. The victim must back away from any aggression – as
more and more people join the bullying there is less room to hide!
Stop the exercise after a short time and explore the following questions:
} How did it feel in the middle? Can you relate this to how a victim of bullying might feel?
} What are some of the feelings victims of bullying might experience?
} What allows some people to avoid these feelings despite negative things happening to
them?
} How did it feel to get pulled into the bullying gang? Did anyone try to avoid this?
R2R TRAINING WORKBOOK VOLUME 2: MUSIC FOR SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 39
Part 2
Revisit the exercise by reminding people of the first sequence and discussion.
Then practice with the group a ‘Rhythm of Courage’ until they can play it tightly (try BbBbB; it should
sound comforting not sharp). The same person in the middle plays the victim and the same person
plays the leader of the bully gang but this time the rest of the group are given the option of offering
sanctuary to the victim by playing their rhythm of courage if they haven’t first been co-opted by the bully.
Once you start playing the ‘rhythm of courage’ you can co-opt others into joining you by looking at them.
The victim can find a place of safety by sheltering close to those playing the rhythm of courage.
Play the 2nd part of the exercise for a few minutes and then examine the following questions:
} How did the experience of having a place of safety change the experience for the victim
from part one?
} What changes did people make in the way they played their parts from when we did this
exercise in session 3, and why?
} Any new insights into the role of the bystander from doing this exercise again.
First discuss the types of situations that give rise to people feeling “trapped’. Maybe trapped in an uninspiring
job, or by others’ expectations, or in an unhealthy relationship or by a lack of financial resources, etc.
One person volunteers to go into the middle blindfolded.
Start a rhythm phrase going around the circle one drum at a time and ensure you have a range of
percussion as well as drums. The players, play one at a time, not together, and play the same sound
each time it goes around. The volunteer is encouraged carefully to listen to the group. After 3 – 4 rounds
remove the volunteer from the circle and indicate to one player to remove themselves and their chair
from the circle, silently, leaving a clear exit space.
Bring the volunteer back to the middle of the circle – this time their aim is to identify the hole in the circle
as the players repeat the sequence and leave the circle via that open space.
Discuss
What does it feel like to be trapped and not know where to turn?
What can help you find a way out when you feel trapped?
Sometimes you are blind to the road to escape but others can see. Sometimes you need to listen carefully
and trust your instincts. Sometimes you need to consider all the options before choosing a way out.
Go back to some of the scenarios your participants mentioned before and come up with some ideas for
escape.
Alternatively One person is blindfolded in the middle of the circle and a hole made in the circle ( a player
removes themselves and their chair silently). The blindfolded player must find the escape route with the
help of the remaining participants who play their drums softly when they are far from the escape route
and increase the volume as the person nears the escape route.
Finding a safe place when there’s nowhere to land.
Sometimes when life becomes unpredictable, and we can’t find our feet, we may need to go into a holding
pattern to find some certainty, and conserve energy - a rhythm that will help us maintain our equilibrium
and prevent us from crashing. This might mean structuring our day around certain routines, staying
close to supportive friends, keeping fit and healthy, or any other patterns of behaviour that offer you a
sense of health & stability. Having a holding pattern gives you a safe place from which to observe the
world around you, a place from which you can plot and trial new landing strategies, a place from which
to observe the safest landing strips and a place where you can return to when your attempts to land fail.
Teach the group a specific rhythm or ask a participant to suggest one, and name this as our ‘Holding
pattern’ (see examples below). Note: The holding pattern should always start with a Bass note – the Bass
being a place of safety & security.
TIMING 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
H Pattern 1 B - Fl Fl B O o O - B - Fl Fl B O o O -
H Pattern 2 B b B b B b B O - B b B b B b B O -
H Pattern 3 B O o o O B O o O o O B O o o O B O o O o O
B = Bass (dominant hand). O = Tone (dominant hand) b = Bass (non-dominant). o = Tone (non-dominant).
Then agree on two signals: One for a landing attempt, it might be a call on the drum or a hand signal, and
this asks everyone to let go of the ‘holding pattern’ and freely improvise.
One for returning to the ‘holding pattern’. If the improvised playing holds together you can continue for
a while and bring the rhythm to a stop before further discussion. If the improvised playing is chaotic give
a signal for returning to the ‘holding pattern’, and repeat until the improvisation locks together - this can
take several attempts.
Discuss with the group how it felt amongst the chaos to return to the holding pattern.
Find examples from the group of the different patterns they might use to regain stability when life
becomes uncertain. Examine the need to often make a series of false landings before you find the right
one - what might indicate that the time is right to venture out beyond the safety of your holding pattern?
With the chairs still close, introduce a new rhythm:
Either
BbBbB O followed by BbBbB Oo or
B Clap O followed by BB clap clap Oo followed by BB clap,clap,clap OoO
Practice one of these combinations with the tones played on your neighbours drum in a specific direction
Then appoint a change master who can swap the direction of where the Tones will be played by yelling ‘CHANGE’ when the whole group is playing on the Bass - showcase a couple of examples before putting control in the hands of one of these combinations group participants
Discuss the importance of kindness and its reciprocal nature - kindness generates kindness in return.
In todays world it’s easy to focus on our own needs and undervalue the needs of others. We can forget that in this world we all need each other.
Ask for examples where people have helped out a friend or a stranger and felt the reward that entailed or when they have been helped out themselves.
In this exercise we are going to add a break
Are you OK? - Oo O O. Followed by Can I help? - Fl,Fl,Fl
We play around a foundation rhythm and then bring in the break - returning to the rhythm after a one count rest.
Finish by saying and playing the break at the same time
Discuss: What are some of the simple ways we can show kindness towards others? What makes it sometimes hard to offer help to others? What makes it hard to ask for help when you might need it?
Are you in or Are you out?
In this game three people start by playing a rhythm together.
Note: 2 – 3 people should be playing at all times.
Then one person is chosen and can either invite another group member to join the rhythm through a nod of the head in their direction and mouthing the words ‘come on in’, or exclude someone by shaking
their head towards someone already playing and mouthing the word ‘Stop’.
If you choose to exclude someone, then you must follow up by inviting someone new to join.
Each time a new person enters the rhythm they can invite one other person to join with a nod (come on in) or exclude someone (stop playing) with a shake of their head (you can exclude an existing player or
someone waiting to join).
Each playing member can only invite or exclude one other member each.
Ask people to focus on their feelings when they include or exclude someone or have that done to themselves by another.
Discussion:
How did it feel to be included or excluded? What sort of things lead to people being excluded? How hard is it to be generous towards others and include them when others are excluding them? How easy is it to
include those who are going through tough times?
When you exclude someone do you reveal something about yourself?
Are there times it might be wise to exclude someone?
Gossip - This exercise focuses on the way rumours spread and the damage they cause.
Start a relatively complex pattern on your drum (in your head use that to represent an innocent statement such as “Amber said she really likes spending time with James” and then send it around the room - watch
how it changes.
Play the final interpretation back to the group and explain that what I said originally was something innocent, but that as it spread it changed to something hurtful (“Amber is sleeping with James” or find
your own suitable example).
Discuss the impact of rumours on people’s self-esteem
What are some of the reasons these messages might change and become hurtful rumours?
How could or should you confront a rumour?
Try the activity again, this time with two patterns following each other – sometimes when you receive too much information it’s impossible to remember it all.
Find Your Way Home - Listen for the Silence (Adapted from Arthur Hull).
Explain that home in this exercise means a place where you feel comfortable and secure, it maybe
your home, but it may also be somewhere else (like being with people you trust) or just a state
of mind (where you feel grounded and in control). And note this is not a competition - if you can’t
find your chair, that is quite OK.
Everyone should play the heartbeat rhythm of their choice (Heartbeat plus accents – see page 52) while
one member at a time leaves their chair, enters the circle and tries to locate their empty chair with their
eyes closed – prior to searching they first orientate themselves, facing their chair eyes open, then close
their eyes and turn on the spot three times to disorientate themselves. They keep their eyes shut from
then on until they complete the exercise.
When you leave your chair, move your drum out of the way – so you can locate your seat.
Participants must hold the same rhythm when someone is in the circle, but can change their rhythm each time
a new person enters if they wish. Focus on soft drumming
Lead a discussion on finding a reference point to get back home or to a place of safety when you feel
lost, down and out, or disorientated. What helped you locate your empty chair? How important was it not
to give up? How important was it to trust yourself? Did you get support from others in any way? Did you
have to rely on your own ingenuity? What did it feel like if you couldn’t get back?
Rumble if you have ever felt lost or out of place? What strategies did you use to help you find your chair?
How do these relate to helping you find your place when you feel lost or confused in life? Can other
people, friends and family help you find your place? How do the rhythms of your life impact your ability
to find your place? How important is your own self-confidence & self-belief in finding your place?
Without anyone else knowing appoint a rhythm silencer. I usually ask people to bow their heads and walk
around the back of the circle tapping one person on their shoulder.
Start a rhythm and the chosen person has to wink people from the rhythm without being discovered.
The rest of the group have to discover who is the wink murderer but they can only start to guess once
2 people have been silenced and they only have one guess each, and if they guess wrong, they are out
(silenced).
The aim is for people to remove as many players as possible without being discovered.
Call and Converse – This becomes more of a conversation, but again players are asked to focus on
attunement – reading each other’s emotional level and replying appropriately.
Call and Answer – This gives people an opportunity to answer the call in their own way, often with a
reply that is different to the ‘Call’ but complimentary. Similarities in terms of volume, duration and tone
are emphasised.
Place the drums on stands if possible. The drums should be similar size.
Arrange in a circle around a metre between each drum
Remove chairs - participants stand behind their drum.
BREAK & JUMP EXERCISE
Determine which direction you will move and practice the ‘break’
Play improvised music around a Bass pulse or the Heartbeat Rhythm together.
One at a time each person counts down to the break - 4,3,21,
The Break - you can get the participants to come up with a break prior to beginning or use the one below
B - O o, B - O o, B B B jump
Jump, Clap ( jump first and add the clap for extra coordination later)
So after playing the break together a s a group, each person jumps across to the drum on their left before returning to the Bass note and resuming improvised play.
After each person has had a turn finish with one final jump on their left spot and a shout of “Jump”
Dr Peter 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 shiver through their body before going about their business. Shaking can help release repressed feelings and the associated tension that is held in the body.
Shake in the Break
Practice shaking, starting with the hands and then extending though the whole body.
Divide the group in two - one half will shake while the other half play in double-time during the break.
Practice playing in double time - like a rumble on the Tone notes at around 300 bpm
The group play a foundation rhythm e.g., B O B O
And this is interrupted by a break (4,3,2,1) where:
· One side keeps playing (double time) while the rest shake
· Then come back together
· Then another break and reverse roles
Points for best shaking!
Also see - Parable of The Old Mule in the Well
A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule 'braying' -or-whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathised with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbours together and told them what had happened ...and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery. Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbours continued shovelling and the dirt hit his back ... a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, he should shake it off and step up! This he did, blow after blow. "Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up!" He repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or how distressing the situation seemed the old mule fought "panic" and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up! It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well! What seemed like it would bury him, actually blessed him...all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.
If we face our problems, respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity, the adversities that come along to bury us usually have within them the potential to benefit and bless us.
Arrange drums & chairs in a circle around a metre between each drum
BREAK & Move EXERCISE
Determine which direction you will move and practice the ‘break’
Play improvised music around a Bass pulse or the Heartbeat Rhythm together.
One at a time each person counts down to the break - 4,3,21, Move!
Everyone moves one chair in the same direction. There is a three count break in which to move (1,2,3) and then the improvisation starts on the bass.
The Break - you can get the participants to come up with a break prior to beginning or use the one below
B - O o, B - O o, B B B move
Adaption - replace a drum with a percussion instrument on every second chair.
Play along to the three parts of Foundation Rhythm 3 and see them as they fit together into a rhythm song.
This is really used to promote teamwork between the person who is blind-folded and the drummers supporting them.
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.
One person is blindfolded and has to touch the remaining players in the circle while they must avoid being touched. The drummers support the blindfolded individual (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/them.
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).
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.
Response ability - ability to respond appropriately
A Pledge of Responsibility - A transition ritual for changing levels of maturity.
Discuss the fact that all of us have at times found ourselves acting irresponsibly and that as we age, mature and reach new degrees of independence we need to take on more responsibility towards others in our communities. It is only when we recognise this that we can change things for the better in our lives.
Note: it is important the facilitator/s play an active and equal part in this exercise.
Hand out two pieces of paper and ask people to write on one, an area where they recognise they have been irresponsible (offer some examples). On the other, they write something they pledge to do in future that follows a course of more responsible behaviour.
In the middle of the circle place a rubbish bin or similar container
Tell the group that we will play together, and at any stage they can stop and walk to the middle and place their past irresponsibility’s in the bin. Emphasise just one person at a time does this and only if they are truly committed to abandoning that behaviour.
Start by layering in a rhythm, and play together as an improvised group. When all who are likely to act on this have done so, then lower the volume and facilitate a regular count of silence into the rhythm, (stopping for 2 bars and resuming). In each gap of silence, one person at a time, (usually starting with the facilitator) will say out loud their new intention. Once all have had their turn resume drumming, lower the volume and bring to a close.
At the end ask people to sit for a minute’s silence, and reflect on their pledge.
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.
The use of bilateral rhythmic exercises on the drum can assist people improve coordination, balance and reduce emotional distress, improve regulation and lessen the vividness of traumatic memories. Here we present a range of exercises suitable for one to one and group work.
1. Crossing the midline
2. Circular arm rotations
3. A Rhythm wave
4. Figures of Eight
5. The Tree
6. The Butterfly tap extended to the drum
7. Soothing techniques with hands and wrists.
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?
Many people find themselves surrounded by people who struggle to contain their anger and frustration. An environment where people are constantly exposed to others aggression has a lasting impact on those close to them.
When people realise the emotional impact their social surroundings may have on them, they can take active steps to reduce its harm.
Don’t Stand So Close to Me
Ask the group to play a soft foundation rhythm
Choose one person to play to themselves a happy/uplifting/feel good rhythm over the top of the foundation.
Then ask the two people on either side of the happy player to start to play angrily and aggressively on their drum.
Examine what happened to the rhythm of the happy player and how they felt when the aggression started - how challenging was it to remain upbeat?
If they were able to maintain their positive attitude - explore how.
Extension
Try looking at how a positive, supportive environment can help lift someone who is feeling low.
Reverse the script, so that the nominated person plays sad and the two people on either side work to support and lift them.
Note - it is important for the players doing the support role to start off playing at the same emotional level to the sad individual between them (listening first) before trying to lift them out of their gloom.
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 Appreciation Chair - using the 'Speaker's Chair' routine.
This exercise can be challenging for some people and should only be done when a group has bonded well.
Three things are critical to the success of this exercise:
1. The group has bonded positively
2. Everyone needs to be appreciated evenly - after three things come from three different group members the person in the chair calls the rhythm back in - 1,2,Let's all play!'
3. Group members are asked not to say anything too quickly, but to think more deeply about what they appreciate about the person in the chair. That way the silence represents deeper thinking and the comments become more meaningful.
Play the 'Speaker's Chair' and each time someone enters the chair the group says (3 things) what they appreciate about them. Try to focus on charachter traits rather than physical appearance or possessions.
Note - At the end of the session people may write down what was said about them and carry it with them for a while.
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.
Discuss the concept of Strength-Based Practice and Positive Psychology. Helping people focus on their strengths and other people’s strengths improves self-esteem and improves relationships. This helps give some balance back to those who are overly self-critical and provides a platform of achievement for future growth. Those who are more aware of and better at utilising their strengths are markedly happier and more successful. Focusing on others’ strengths enable our relationships to be at their best.
There are six groups of strengths: 1. Wisdom & Knowledge: creativity, curiosity, open-mindedness, love of learning, perspective 2. Courage: bravery, persistence, integrity, zest 3. Love & Humanity: love, kindness, social intelligence 4. Justice: citizenship, fairness, leadership 5. Temperance: forgiveness and mercy, humility, prudence, self-control 6. Spirituality and Transcendence: appreciation of beauty & excellence, gratitude, hope,
FIND YOUR STRENGTHS
Ask people to look at a list of strengths (or use strength cards) and pick one area of strength - something they recognise in themselves, that they are good at, (if possible, convert to a one-word phrase). If it’s not on the chart, or card, they can identify something for themselves.
Play a foundation rhythm of your choice and teach the group how to count down to a break of B - B - BB – - (4,3,2,1, B-B-BB-). There is a one-count rest after the final Bass note before the rhythm resumes.
One at a time have each participant count down the rhythm and in this final gap they shout out their signature strength, before the group resume the foundation rhythm.
Finish with everyone counting down and yelling the word ‘Strengths’ in unison.
Discuss: What brings you to life? • What energises you? • What do you do that comes most easily to you? • On what do other people compliment you? • What is the very best in you? • When do you feel most you? In answering these questions, encourage people to reflect upon some specific, real-life situations where they have utilised one or more of the strengths listed.
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.
In my first session, I generally have the drums behind the chairs as people enter the room, and spend the first period of the session explaining the purpose of the group and establishing some group guidelines that will foster safety. Alternatively if the group is enthusiastic & not to disruptive you can introduce the 'Speaker's Chair' exercise and use it to do this, as in this video.
Be clear about the aim of the group and emphasise the fun and accessible nature of drumming, and that there will also be times when we stop drumming and discuss relevant issues. It can also be useful to be open about your inexperience with the drum - “we will be learning together”. When establishing the ground rules for the program it is critical this is an inclusive process where all are involved. One way to do this is to ask each person to contribute one guideline that they would like to see the members abide by, and write these up with their name opposite - I will often laminate this list and have it on the wall as a reference for all future sessions.
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
4 On & 4 Off - Examining Risk
Pre-Discussion - Often we think of risk-taking as something negative, but growth across our lives generally involves a bit of risk - stepping out into the unknown, making yourself vulnerable and trying something new. What are some of the things you recall doing for the first time that involved some risk but were important to your own development?
In this exercise we are going to use the idea of taking a solo on your drum to represent the risks we may need to take at different times in our lives to move forward. But we will also mitigate that risk a little by having the rest of the group hold the Heartbeat for you during your solo. Often when we need to take risks we can put in place measures to ensure we don't fall too far if the risk fails (like a safety net.
Remind people of the basics of the Heartbeat rhythms, then layer in one at a time, allowing people to add their own accents to the Heartbeat foundation.
Heartbeat Solo exercise
Once they are happy improvising tell them that we will play eight rounds - e.g. 4 x the Heartbeat plus accents, and then four rounds of silence with just the Bass pulse & no accents – practice this a few times until they get the timing.
Once comfortable with this sequence (you can still count what round they are up to so they all know when the gap is coming), get them to improvise in pairs in the four rounds of silence – one pair at a time, before everyone returns for the next 4 bars. Then move to individual solos.
Discuss with the group how it felt to go out on a limb, and the types of risks they can envisage needing to take into the future. How important was the group holding the Bass pulse for you?
What are some of things you might do to reduce the consequences of taking these risks if they don't come off as planned?
Try not to use technical musical language – notation etc. – just help them get a feel for the timing.
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.
TONAL TENNIS
Best done standing.
Showcase some tennis strokes – serve, volley, backhand, forehand.
One person serves to anyone else with a chime and the receiver then send it onto another in the group who has a chime using a different stroke. The sound ten passes one at a time between participants.
If you have more participants than chimes then they can join in using other percussion sounds.
Note – be careful of becoming too energetic and damaging the chimes by hitting them against something.
BY THE NUMBERS
Start a simple clock using one or more people on clave
Hand out Tonal chimes or use drums and percussion
Tell people you will count out loud to the clock – 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and repeat
Ask people to choose a number between one and eight (just one number), and bring their note in on that number. After a while stop counting out loud and let the patterns take over.
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.
Musical Chairs
This is an exercise that traditionally is played taking a chair away each time (competition).
In R2R we avoid this and that allows us to avoid the frustrations of losing out, but also to examine the differences and applications of competition and collaboration. Where is competition useful and in what types of situations does it cause problems.
In particular, looking at how competition can undermine relationships.
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.
Musical Chairs – Issues addressed: Competition versus Collaboration
Version 1 – put percussion on every second chair if available.
Teach the group how to count down to STOP (4,3,2,1 Stop) and then have a count of silence
for seven beats (count the silence out aloud 2,3,4,5,6,7,8) before returning to play – practice
a few times. Once this is perfected each person has to move to a new chair in the silence and
try to resume playing on the one.
Avoid competition – don’t take chairs away.
Discussion - How many people thought it would be fun to take a chair away, as in normal 'Musical Chairs'? What difference would it make do you think? What are some examples of when competition is a good thing? What are some situations where competition might be problematic?
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?
Discuss: Why the two volunteers said they trusted each other? What was that trust based
on? "How important is trust between friends?" “What does communication have to do with
trust?” “How does the context and level of risk impact your degree of trust? How can you
rebuild trust?
• Trust is built over time and consistency or reliability over that time.
• The amount you trust someone should be proportional to the time you have known
them and how reliable they have been over this period.
• The amount of risk should also be proportional to how much you know of someone
and their proven record of reliability
• Sometimes we need to trust people based on their expertise e.g., a doctor or a
mechanic.
• Rebuilding trust is similar in that it takes time to prove that you can be trusted if you
have deceived people in the past – you can’t expect people to trust you quickly, but
given time and consistency you can restore trust.
Friends are often the people that help us through the hardest challenges of our lives.
We have previously explored some of the things 'Good friends do'.
For most of us, when times get tough, it is friends that help us through.
Preliminary Questions:
Rumble if you have ever had someone help you through a difficult period of your life
What are some of the situations where you might need friends to support you?
What does the term 'fair weather friend' mean?
Friends, (a trust Exercise).
In this game, we ask for two people to come forward who trust each other – these two
people pair up and work together to negotiate a maze, made up from other participants
standing still like pillars. First the chosen pair agree on four sounds:
• One for walk straight ahead – steady beat
• One for stop – sharp sound
• One for angle yourself to the right
• One for angle yourself to the left
Bring the rest of the group into the circle and arrange in a maze, (these people stand with
hands folded across chest) and represent the hurdles of life (if people bump into them –
they may cry out – you just bumped into…….. e.g., ill health or relationship breakdown).
Then from the chosen pair, one person is blindfolded while the other steers them by walking
closely behind them playing different signals on a small drum.
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.
Rumble Facilitation.
All play a rumble and change between parts of the drum, volume and tempo to explore
different effects. Conduct the rumble so that it changes in dynamic. If working in a group
experiment with different parts of the group playing louder and others playing softer and
alternating these like a wave. Allow your participants to have a turn at conducting the
rumble. You may potentially use this exercise to explore communication and leadership
issues as well as to allow people the chance to release pent up energy
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
Extending the teamwork exercise, ‘One to the Right, One to the Left’ to improvisation.
The use of bilateral rhythmic exercises on the drum can assist people improve coordination, balance and reduce emotional distress, improve regulation and lessen the vividness of traumatic memories.
Here we present a range of exercises suitable for one to one and group work.
1. Crossing the midline
2. Circular arm rotations
3. A Rhythm wave
4. Figures of Eight
5. The Tree
6. The Butterfly tap extended to the drum
7. Soothing techniques with hands and wrists.
Slowing Down
Start off with a rhythm that verges on the edge of complexity for the level of your client or groups ability e.g. Fl Fl, BbB, OoOoO
And play this at a reasonably fast tempo, so that many will struggle.
At regular intervals slow the rhythm just a little. Repeat this process until you are playing the same rhythm at a pace where everyone can join in successfully.
Ask the client or group to continue while you stop.
Then rejoin and add a clap after the five tones - this can symbolise either the ease with which we can be overloaded in life by taking on additional tasks (if people lose their way when you add the clap) or how it is only when we slow down that we can successfully take on additional tasks, (if they can successfully incorporate the clap).
Then ask them to stop.
Post group discussion
What did you notice as the rhythm slowed?
How often do seemingly complex problems become solvable when we slow things down? Can you think of any examples?
How did your awareness change of other things around you as the rhythm slowed?
Do you think this has any relevance to the quality of your relationships?
What might you do to reduce the complexity and speed of your life when you feel a loss of control?
Many of the problems people face in their lives are connected to avoiding painful memories, sensations and feelings, often linked to traumatic events from the past. Acceptance teaches us to learn to live with what we can’t change (remember the serenity prayer) and confront our problems by taking actions to improve our lives in accordance with our values.
We can also use mindfulness to separate the present from the past and seperate our thoughts and feelings from our true selves. We can look dispassionately at our thoughts, feelings, sensations as if viewing them from afar, so that they no longer control us.
Note - ACT does not mean we ask clients to accept every situation (e.g., abusive relationships), but that some circumstances should ultimately be accepted (i.e., physical reality or historical events), should be accepted for now, should be accepted with expectation of eventual change, or should be changed now.
ACCEPTANCE
From a list of feelings, ask your client or the members of your group to pick one they recognise in themselves as a challenge to deal with, and one they often avoid - shame, grief, despair, anger, jealousy, etc.
The client (or one person at a time in a group situation) is asked to express that emotion as a phrase on their drum and once defined repeat it.
The counsellor plays along in a supportive role - holding a foundation.
The client is then asked to incorporate that phrase into a rhythm that represents their day to day life - something steady, stable and not overtly emotional - for instance B O B O or BbOo - adding the feeling phrase to their daily rhythm in a way that allows their daily rhythm to continue unabated but with added texture.
Once the extended rhythm is stabilised the counsellor (or group) combine to play it together.
Discussion
What are some of the thoughts, feelings, sensations, memories you’d most like to get rid of?
What strategies have you used to do that & how successful have they been?
All of us have histories and conditioning from the past that impacts our behaviour and thus our lives in unconscious ways. These generally stem from the disempowered world of the child.
In order to live our lives fully and to function as autonomous members of society we need to recognise these influences, observe them in our daily lives, for good or for worse, that keep resurfacing.
In order to break free of these histories we have to bring them to consciousness. This often means facing our childhood fears and the lethargy of inaction.
Breaking Free Exercise
Ask people to think about some of these unconscious behaviours they recognise in themselves, that maybe negatively impacting their lives or relationships.
Some common issues maybe:
I am not good enough, so I have low expectations, avoid risk, keep a low profile, and maybe tend to self-sabotage
My child self was neglected, so I make up for it by seeking power through material acquisition or power over others
I compensate for feelings of neglect and insecurity through the constant need for reassurance from others
Other addictive patterns that fill the want within - compensating for the pain of loss.
Choose a simple rhythm and make it clear that this symbolises these reoccurring, historically driven, behaviours we have discussed.
As they play the rhythm (together or in one to one work with you as their therapist) ask them to name these patterns (taking responsibility).
Then ask them to break away from the rhythm (the facilitator/therapist maintains the original rhythm) into a new pattern of their own. This can be challenging - tell people to use their Bass notes (values) to give direction to their new pattern.
As the new rhythm grows in confidence, the facilitator should fade theirs away.
Discussion
How did that feel? What helped you find the courage to break free? How important was first taking ownership of the original rhythm?
What might assist you break free from these problematic patterns in real life?
Part three of the Online Rhythm2Recovery Facilitator Training Series
The first part of a three part training series for facilitators enrolled in the Rhythm2Recovery Online Training and Resource Package.
Dr Peter 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 shiver through their body before going about their business.
Dr Levine also postulated that talking about trauma risked ingraining it further.
2-Way Learning
Indigenous cultures around the world have used dance and movement in their healing rituals and ceremonies.
Rhythmic movement and dance releases tension in the body and is also good physical exercise.
Unfortunately western culture has often repressed issues related to the body and left people uncomfortable and self-conscious around their physical self.
Shake in the Break Exercise
In this exercise we introduce an eight count break in the rhythm where only a Bass pulse continues.
So we play together, then count down to stop (4,3,2,1 stop) and the facilitator continues to play a Bass rhythm through the break.
The rest of the group shake - note shaking is a more comfortable term than ‘dance’.
After the count the group rhythm resumes.
1st Break - shake your hands and arms
2nd Break - shake your legs and feet
3rd break - shake all over.
Key facilitation & counselling techniques in the Rhythm2Recovery model include 'Rumble If...' for initiating reflective discussions and 'Play how that feels' for expressing and understanding feelings.
Rhythm2Recovery Guided Mindfulness Exercise
Uncertainty
INTRODUCING A R2R MINDFULNESS EXERCISE
Most R2R Mindfulness exercises start by replicating the tempo of the everyday on the drum accompanied by a dialogue of association. “Let’s play the rhythm of our day up until now as we go about our lives, getting thing done, and then slowly let’s come into the present, leave the outside world behind and slow our rhythm down”.
Gradually the tempo is reduced to the desired rate of 60-80bpm, at which time the guided instructions begin, with an initial focus on paying attention to the Bass Pulse, Relaxing the body and Aligning the breath – slowing & deepening.
An invitation to relax into their chair, lower their eyes and transfer the drumming to their body (softly tapping their thigh) often follows. The facilitator/therapist continues to play the pulse softly on their drum.
Then the focus will shift depending on the theme of the practice for the day.
All instructions are given in a soft, soothing voice and at a slow rate, with appropriate periods of silence in-between.
Uncertainty - Guided Script
Pause between each dot point
• Notice your natural breath & breathe gently, slowly and in time with the pulse. Chest rising and falling, slowly and comfortably, feeling comfortably connected to the earth, grounded by the breath.
• Finding the rhythm of your soothing breath.
• And allowing all the weight of the world to fall from your shoulders, stepping away from your worries and fears and finding a sense of calm.
• Bring your mind slowly to concept of impermanence and change; recognizing the truth that these are constants in our lives and that control and permanence are fleeting and largely illusions.
• Just as we may recognize that change can move us from contentment to discontent, so we must also recognize that the ongoing nature of change will bring us back again
• Now call to mind an aspect of your life that is undergoing great change, recognize the feelings that are associated with this thought and try to make room for these feelings without being overwhelmed by them – accepting and breathing around them.
• Breath slowly, comfortably and naturally
• Let us now reflect on the many times we have experienced change and uncertainty in the past and how we have managed to work through these previously – recognizing our own abilities to learn and grow through these challenges, no matter how unnerving or uncomfortable.
• Breath slowly, comfortably and naturally – trusting yourself.
• Allow yourself to release the bond of certainty and attachment that leads to fear and replace this with an acceptance and recognition of those things we cannot undo.
• Let us then picture the opportunities brought from change
• Bring to mind the wonder and hope of new beginnings that stem from this time of uncertainty – picture this as a new light shining through a doorway, offering a new pathway to happiness and fulfillment.
• Breath slowly, comfortably and naturally
• Finally let us offer thoughts of loving kindness towards those who are struggling with uncertainty, fear and doubt. Breathe gently and slowly, and in time with your breath make individual statements of support.
• In your own time, slowly move your focus back to the Bass note.
• Adapt this script & make it your own
CLOSING A R2R MINDFULNESS EXERCISE
At the end of each mindfulness session, after an appropriate length of silence the client/s are asked to rejoin the pulse on the drum (reconnect). Once all are reconnected the sound is brought down gradually until it disappears (Fade to nothing). Sometimes a single chime or gong can also be used as an alternative ending or final accent.
Stay still. Thank all for participating. Ask if anyone has anything they wish to share.
INTRODUCING A R2R MINDFULNESS EXERCISE
Most R2R Mindfulness exercises start by replicating the tempo of the everyday on the drum accompanied by a dialogue of association. “Let’s play the rhythm of our day up until now as we go about our lives, getting thing done, and then slowly let’s come into the present, leave the outside world behind and slow our rhythm down”.
Gradually the tempo is reduced to the desired rate of 60-80bpm, at which time the guided instructions begin, with an initial focus on paying attention to the Bass Pulse, Relaxing the body and Aligning the breath – slowing & deepening.
An invitation to relax into their chair, lower their eyes and transfer the drumming to their body (softly tapping their thigh) often follows. The facilitator/therapist continues to play the pulse softly on their drum.
Then the focus will shift depending on the theme of the practice for the day.
All instructions are given in a soft, soothing voice and at a slow rate, with appropriate periods of silence in-between.
Sound - Guided Script
Pause between each dot point
• Adjust your body until you feel comfortable and relaxed. You may wish to close your eyes or focus on one spot. Focus on and relax any tension in your neck, shoulders, chest, arms, hands, back, hips, thighs, lower legs, feet.
• Slow your breathing – focus on your breath, in and out, aligning it to the pulse, becoming still.
• Now focus solely on sounds. Listen to the Bass note of the rhythm first.
• Listen to it in all its dimensions – tone, pitch, frequency. Listen to it in its primacy as pure sound, rather than naming it.
• If other thoughts come to mind, acknowledge them briefly and move your focus back to the sound of the Bass note.
• If you feel comfortable let the vibrations of the Bass note move through your body, grounding you.
• Breathe gently, slowly.
• Let those vibrations travel down to your feet and exit into the floor, connecting you to the earth.
• Now focus on any other sounds. Experience loud and soft sounds, obvious and not so obvious sounds and the gap between sounds.
• Try and avoid categorising these sounds, but experience them as raw energy. If other thoughts come to mind, acknowledge them briefly and move your focus back to the sounds of your environment.
• Breathe gently, slowly.
• Slowly come back to a focus on the Bass.
• Hold your focus on the Bass and allow the volume to slowly fade away.
Adapt this script & make it your own
CLOSING A R2R MINDFULNESS EXERCISE
At the end of each mindfulness session, after an appropriate length of silence the client/s are asked to rejoin the pulse on the drum (reconnect). Once all are reconnected the sound is brought down gradually until it disappears (Fade to nothing). Sometimes a single chime or gong can also be used as an alternative ending or final accent.
Stay still. Thank all for participating. Ask if anyone has anything they wish to share.
INTRODUCING A R2R MINDFULNESS EXERCISE
Most R2R Mindfulness exercises start by replicating the tempo of the everyday on the drum accompanied by a dialogue of association. “Let’s play the rhythm of our day up until now as we go about our lives, getting thing done, and then slowly let’s come into the present, leave the outside world behind and slow our rhythm down”.
Gradually the tempo is reduced to the desired rate of 60-80bpm, at which time the guided instructions begin, with an initial focus on paying attention to the Bass Pulse, Relaxing the body and Aligning the breath – slowing & deepening.
An invitation to relax into their chair, lower their eyes and transfer the drumming to their body (softly tapping their thigh) often follows. The facilitator/therapist continues to play the pulse softly on their drum.
Then the focus will shift depending on the theme of the practice for the day.
All instructions are given in a soft, soothing voice and at a slow rate, with appropriate periods of silence in-between.
Gratitude - Guided Script
Pause between each dot point
• Let’s start by recognizing that sometimes we don’t have time to recognize many of the gifts the world offers us.
• Notice your natural breath & breathe gently, slowly and in time with the pulse. Chest rising and falling, slowly and comfortably
• Observe your thoughts, and allow your mind to be silent as you refocus on your breath, sensing the energy of life flowing into and out of your lungs
• Let the thought – ‘what am I grateful for?’ drift across your mind.
• Now call to mind any recent experiences you have had that you are grateful for. Identify the emotions & physical feelings that accompany these thoughts
• Think of something specific that you can appreciate in the natural world; perhaps the feeling of sunshine on your skin or the beauty of the clouds in motion as they pass overhead.
• Sense the feelings of gratitude and let this extend from you towards all things that nature provides for us that we so often take for granted, but that brighten our day
• Now think about someone, an individual who is a part of your life, who provides warmth, comfort, laughter or friendship or some other quality that enriches your day
• Picture that person in your mind’s eye and spend a few moments focusing on what it is about them you really appreciate
• Breathe gently and slowly, and in time with your breath make individual statements of gratitude.
• Now contemplate some of the lessons in life you have learned that you are grateful for? And extend this into recognizing some of your own qualities that you can be thankful for.
• Breathe gently, deeply, smoothly.
• Maintain your focus on being grateful and the feelings that accompany it.
• In your own time, slowly move your focus back to the Bass note.
• Adapt this script & make it your own
CLOSING A R2R MINDFULNESS EXERCISE
At the end of each mindfulness session, after an appropriate length of silence the client/s are asked to rejoin the pulse on the drum (reconnect). Once all are reconnected the sound is brought down gradually until it disappears (Fade to nothing). Sometimes a single chime or gong can also be used as an alternative ending or final accent.
Stay still. Thank all for participating. Ask if anyone has anything they wish to share.
INTRODUCING A R2R MINDFULNESS EXERCISE
Most R2R Mindfulness exercises start by replicating the tempo of the everyday on the drum accompanied by a dialogue of association. “Let’s play the rhythm of our day up until now as we go about our lives, getting thing done, and then slowly let’s come into the present, leave the outside world behind and slow our rhythm down”.
Gradually the tempo is reduced to the desired rate of 60-80bpm, at which time the guided instructions begin, with an initial focus on paying attention to the Bass Pulse, Relaxing the body and Aligning the breath – slowing & deepening.
An invitation to relax into their chair, lower their eyes and transfer the drumming to their body (softly tapping their thigh) often follows. The facilitator/therapist continues to play the pulse softly on their drum.
Then the focus will shift depending on the theme of the practice for the day.
All instructions are given in a soft, soothing voice and at a slow rate, with appropriate periods of silence in-between.
Forgiveness - Guided Script
Pause between each dot point
• Notice your natural breath & breathe gently, slowly and in time with the pulse. Chest rising and falling, slowly and comfortably, feeling comfortably connected to the earth, grounded by the breath.
• Bring your mind slowly to the concept of forgiveness; the undoing of blame, resentment and vengeance towards others and ourselves.
• Now call to mind memories of times where you have hurt, wounded and harmed others. Identify the emotions & physical feelings that accompany these thoughts, the sorrow, the regret, the pain and silently ask each person for forgiveness and understanding.
• Breath slowly, comfortably and naturally
• Let us now reflect on the many times we have harmed ourselves, physically and emotionally, through action and inaction, through fear and selfishness. Identify the emotions & physical feelings that accompany these thoughts, the guilt, the regret, the shame and silently ask yourself for forgiveness and understanding.
• Breath slowly, comfortably and naturally
• Let us then picture the people and systems in our lives who have wronged us in a multitude of ways. Allow our focus to observe the emotions and feelings associated with this harm without being beholden to it, as though observing from a distance.
• Bring to mind these individuals, understanding their imperfections without justifying their actions and offer them, if we can, our forgiveness. Recognising in this act of forgiveness we open a door to moving forward with our lives.
• Breath slowly, comfortably and naturally
• Finally let us offer forgiveness to those who struggle to forgive, including at times ourselves. Breathe gently and slowly, and in time with your breath make individual statements of forgiveness.
• In your own time, slowly move your focus back to the Bass note.
• Adapt this script & make it your own
CLOSING A R2R MINDFULNESS EXERCISE
At the end of each mindfulness session, after an appropriate length of silence the client/s are asked to rejoin the pulse on the drum (reconnect). Once all are reconnected the sound is brought down gradually until it disappears (Fade to nothing). Sometimes a single chime or gong can also be used as an alternative ending or final accent.
Stay still. Thank all for participating. Ask if anyone has anything they wish to share.
INTRODUCING A R2R MINDFULNESS EXERCISE
Most R2R Mindfulness exercises start by replicating the tempo of the everyday on the drum accompanied by a dialogue of association. “Let’s play the rhythm of our day up until now as we go about our lives, getting thing done, and then slowly let’s come into the present, leave the outside world behind and slow our rhythm down”.
Gradually the tempo is reduced to the desired rate of 60-80bpm, at which time the guided instructions begin, with an initial focus on paying attention to the Bass Pulse, Relaxing the body and Aligning the breath – slowing & deepening.
An invitation to relax into their chair, lower their eyes and transfer the drumming to their body (softly tapping their thigh) often follows. The facilitator/therapist continues to play the pulse softly on their drum.
Then the focus will shift depending on the theme of the practice for the day.
All instructions are given in a soft, soothing voice and at a slow rate, with appropriate periods of silence in-between.
Acceptance - Guided Script
Pause between each dot point
• Let’s start by slowly transferring our focus back to the body and those parts where we may be feeling sensations – observe any bodily feelings, stiffness, tingling, warmth etc. with curiosity and interest, like an explorer or birdwatcher. Focus closely on these sensations in all their different states, letting any other thoughts that come to mind pass gently by.
• Breathe gently, slowly and in time with the pulse. Chest rising and falling, slowly and comfortably
• As you breathe and focus on these feelings, try to make some space for them, allowing them just to be there – breathe in and around them. Maintain your focus on these feelings but see them from a detached perspective, where you control the view.
• Breathe gently and slowly, and in time with your breath make individual statements of acceptance of your feelings and sensations – these are normal. Allow yourself to accept them without judgement.
• Now move your thoughts to the idea of acceptance, allowing a warmth to settle over these feelings. A warmth of understanding, even to those feelings of angst, pain or distress – breathe.
• Notice your thoughts, with curiosity and acceptance – allow your thoughts to pass by
• Take your mind back to something that gives you a sense of regret, something you find yourself dwelling upon repeatedly. Now focus on the emotions & physical feelings generated by those thoughts.
• Picture yourself now, free from the dominance of these feelings and instead more accepting and appreciative of them – their right to exist and be a part of you without overshadowing or dominating you.
• Sit with yourself, move closer to yourself, accepting all that you are.
• Now take your mind back to something that someone has done to wrong you. Focus on the emotions and physical feelings generated by those thoughts. And again, picture yourself actively choosing to shift your attitude to one of acceptance, where you are in control.
• Let go of blame. Let go of judgement, befriend your circumstances. Moving away from resistance to the acceptance that eases suffering and opens the door to change. A change where you control the way forward.
• Breathe gently, deeply, smoothly.
• Slowly move your focus back to the Bass note.
• Adapt this script & make it your own
CLOSING A R2R MINDFULNESS EXERCISE
At the end of each mindfulness session, after an appropriate length of silence the client/s are asked to rejoin the pulse on the drum (reconnect). Once all are reconnected the sound is brought down gradually until it disappears (Fade to nothing). Sometimes a single chime or gong can also be used as an alternative ending or final accent.
Stay still. Thank all for participating. Ask if anyone has anything they wish to share.
INTRODUCING A R2R MINDFULNESS EXERCISE
Most R2R Mindfulness exercises start by replicating the tempo of the everyday on the drum accompanied by a dialogue of association. “Let’s play the rhythm of our day up until now as we go about our lives, getting thing done, and then slowly let’s come into the present, leave the outside world behind and slow our rhythm down”.
Gradually the tempo is reduced to the desired rate of 60-80bpm, at which time the guided instructions begin, with an initial focus on paying attention to the Bass Pulse, Relaxing the body and Aligning the breath – slowing & deepening.
An invitation to relax into their chair, lower their eyes and transfer the drumming to their body (softly tapping their thigh) often follows. The facilitator/therapist continues to play the pulse softly on their drum.
Then the focus will shift depending on the theme of the practice for the day.
All instructions are given in a soft, soothing voice and at a slow rate, with appropriate periods of silence in-between.
Humility - Guided Script
Pause between each dot point
• Breathe gently, slowly and in time with the pulse. Chest rising and falling, slowly and comfortably
• Slow your breathing – focus on your breath and align it to the pulse, becoming still.
• Now move your focus to the sound of the Bass note, aligning your breath to the sound of the drum.
• Then slowly transfer your focus to the concept of humility – the absence of pride and levelling of the ego, where we no longer place ourselves above others.
• Think about all that you have and give thanks for that, even if it is just for the shoes on your feet, or the air you breathe. Understanding that there are always people worse off than ourselves.
• Breathe gently, slowly and in time with the pulse and give thanks to those who people and those things that support, reward and encourage you today.
• Recognise your obligations to honour and respect others in the same way as you wish to be honoured and respected, without being judged. And acknowledge also, that each and every living being is deserving of compassion.
• Now move your thoughts to recognising your own limitations and an understanding of the imperfections of life in general, and amongst life, all persons.
• If other thoughts, perhaps resistance to acknowledging others for your success or accepting your own weaknesses, come into your mind, acknowledge them briefly and move your focus back to the concept of humility.
• Breathe gently and slowly, and in time with your breath make individual statements of acceptance of your faults and imperfections.
• Now move your thoughts to the idea of ongoing learning – so much to learn and so many good teachers. Consider the concept of a student for life with every individual you meet, no matter how difficult, meek or impoverished, being a teacher with something worthy to impart to you.
• Picture yourself now, free from judging others or competing with others and instead being more accepting and appreciative of others and all their different strengths.
• Breathe gently, slowly.
• Slowly move your focus back to the Bass note.
• Hold your focus on the Bass note as it slowly fades away.
• Adapt this script & make it your own
CLOSING A R2R MINDFULNESS EXERCISE
At the end of each mindfulness session, after an appropriate length of silence the client/s are asked to rejoin the pulse on the drum (reconnect). Once all are reconnected the sound is brought down gradually until it disappears (Fade to nothing). Sometimes a single chime or gong can also be used as an alternative ending or final accent.
Stay still. Thank all for participating. Ask if anyone has anything they wish to share.
Most R2R Mindfulness exercises start by replicating the tempo of the everyday on the drum accompanied by a dialogue of association. “Let’s play the rhythm of our day up until now as we go about our lives, getting thing done, and then slowly let’s come into the present, leave the outside world behind and slow our rhythm down”.
Gradually the tempo is reduced to the desired rate of 60-80bpm, at which time the guided instructions begin, with an initial focus on paying attention to the Bass Pulse, Relaxing the body and Aligning the breath – slowing & deepening.
Then the focus will shift depending on the theme of the practice for the day.
All instructions are given in a soft, soothing voice and at a slow rate, with appropriate periods of silence in-between.
Somatic Grounding - Guided Script
Pause between each dot point
• Have each person accent a single Bass pulse on their drum at a tempo of 60-80bpm
• Become aware of your breath and align it to the pulse - breathing slowly, deeply, relaxed and regularly - take your time to align the rhythm of your breath.
• If you lose your focus, that is perfectly OK - you are alert to that and can find your way back.
• Now joining on the Bass see if you can bring in your other hand.
• Make sure the Bass pulse stays slow and steady. (Facilitator demonstrate double hand Bass pulse first, then playing between the pulse on the tone - maintaining the Bass pulse at the same tempo while adding a simple fill e.g, B O O O repeat).
Note this section is unnecessary if using frame drums.
• Feel the pulse move through the body like a warm vibration
• Take your time moving both hands to the grounding pulse
• Now see what other parts of the body we can connect to the rhythm, starting with our feet, legs and thighs - tapping, stepping, moving in sync to the beat.
• Take your time and keep your breath steady, go at your own pace but maintain the Bass note slow & steady (60-80bpm)
Note if using frame-drums you may decide to walk to the rhythm at this point.
• Now let’s involve our torso, moving up through the body - swaying, or rocking to the pulse
• Now relax the shoulders and let them join in and then extend this to your neck and head as your whole body synchronises to the mother pulse - one rhythm linking you, unifying, grounding, stabilising, loosening, accepting.
• Fade slowly away and allow a moments stillness.
Note: you can add voice (chants) as well if people are comfortable.
• Adapt this script & make it your own
CLOSING A R2R MINDFULNESS EXERCISE
At the end of each mindfulness session, after an appropriate length of silence the client/s are asked to rejoin the pulse on the drum (reconnect). Once all are reconnected the sound is brought down gradually until it disappears (Fade to nothing). Sometimes a single chime or gong can also be used as an alternative ending or final accent.
Stay still. Thank all for participating. Ask if anyone has anything they wish to share
Most R2R Mindfulness exercises start by replicating the tempo of the everyday on the drum accompanied by a dialogue of association. “Let’s play the rhythm of our day up until now as we go about our lives, getting thing done, and then slowly let’s come into the present, leave the outside world behind and slow our rhythm down”.
Gradually the tempo is reduced to the desired rate of 60-80bpm, at which time the guided instructions begin, with an initial focus on paying attention to the Bass Pulse, Relaxing the body and Aligning the breath – slowing & deepening.
Then the focus will shift depending on the theme of the practice for the day.
All instructions are given in a soft, soothing voice and at a slow rate, with appropriate periods of silence in-between.
Somatic Grounding - Guided Script
Pause between each dot point
• Have each person accent a single Bass pulse on their drum at a tempo of 60-80bpm
• Become aware of your breath and align it to the pulse - breathing slowly, deeply, relaxed and regularly - take your time to align the rhythm of your breath.
• If you lose your focus, that is perfectly OK - you are alert to that and can find your way back.
• Now joining on the Bass see if you can bring in your other hand.
• Make sure the Bass pulse stays slow and steady. (Facilitator demonstrate double hand Bass pulse first, then playing between the pulse on the tone - maintaining the Bass pulse at the same tempo while adding a simple fill e.g, B O O O repeat).
Note this section is unnecessary if using frame drums.
• Feel the pulse move through the body like a warm vibration
• Take your time moving both hands to the grounding pulse
• Now see what other parts of the body we can connect to the rhythm, starting with our feet, legs and thighs - tapping, stepping, moving in sync to the beat.
• Take your time and keep your breath steady, go at your own pace but maintain the Bass note slow & steady (60-80bpm)
Note if using frame-drums you may decide to walk to the rhythm at this point.
• Now let’s involve our torso, moving up through the body - swaying, or rocking to the pulse
• Now relax the shoulders and let them join in and then extend this to your neck and head as your whole body synchronises to the mother pulse - one rhythm linking you, unifying, grounding, stabilising, loosening, accepting.
• Fade slowly away and allow a moments stillness.
Note: you can add voice (chants) as well if people are comfortable.
• Adapt this script & make it your own
CLOSING A R2R MINDFULNESS EXERCISE
At the end of each mindfulness session, after an appropriate length of silence the client/s are asked to rejoin the pulse on the drum (reconnect). Once all are reconnected the sound is brought down gradually until it disappears (Fade to nothing). Sometimes a single chime or gong can also be used as an alternative ending or final accent.
Stay still. Thank all for participating. Ask if anyone has anything they wish to share
Within the Rhythm2Recovery (R2R) model, that combines participatory music making with reflective practice, there is a strong focus on mindfulness; bringing people into the present moment as a way of reducing hypervigilance; those anxieties that either stem from the past or dwell on fears for the future. Mindfulness reduces the propensity for people to be overwhelmed and trapped by their thoughts, by bringing their attention and awareness into the experience of the present.
This awareness is encouraged to be both open, curious and flexible. In emphasising these attitudes within our mindful practice, we can find ways of working with momentary experiences that may be painful or disturbing – acknowledging these with curiosity and interest rather than avoidance. We use this growing ability to remain in the moment (present) to also increase our ability to listen and connect to others. And to bring awareness to our own behaviours and learn to respond flexibly rather than react.
In our R2R mindfulness practice we use a deep Bass pulse at a slow tempo of between 60-80bpm to help focus attention. This is generally played by the facilitator, or therapist and maybe played also by the client or not depending on their preference. Often this pulse is transferred from a client’s drum to their body (tapping their thigh which becomes a useful calming technique to fall back onto in times of stress). The use of the Bass drum at this tempo is important as these lower frequencies are thought to replicate those sounds that envelop the developing foetus within the womb; sounds that have both physiological and psychological benefits; including increased oxygenation of the blood, reduced blood pressure, and reductions in stress .
In indigenous practices around the world and across many domains, the tempo of the mother’s heart-beat at rest (Averaging 70bpm ), played on a deep Bass drum is central to healing practices. In Buddhist meditation ceremonies, from which the modern-day practice of ‘mindfulness’ originated the use of drums at this tempo is common . Additionally, we see this tempo in the rate at which we rock a newborn or tap the back of a baby to comfort them. All cultures have some form of patterned, repetitive rhythmic activity as part of their healing and mourning rituals — dancing, drumming, and swaying. ‘EMDR and bilateral tapping’ are other variations of this patterned, repetitive rhythmic, somatosensory activity that we hypothesise, work in the same way - regulating in part because they are tapping into the deeply ingrained, powerful permeating associations created in utero.
Neuro-scientists now recognise that any repetitive stimuli can change the neural make-up of the brain in positive or detrimental ways. The rhythm of these experiences matter. The brain stem and diencephalon contain powerful associations to rhythmic somatosensory activity created in utero and reinforced in early in life. The brain makes associations between patterns of neural activity that co-occur. One of the most powerful sets of associations created in utero is the association between patterned repetitive rhythmic activity from maternal heart rate, and all the neural patterns of activity associated with not being hungry, not been thirsty, and feeling ‘safe’ (in the womb) .
INTRODUCING A R2R MINDFULNESS EXERCISE
Most R2R Mindfulness exercises start by replicating the tempo of the everyday on the drum accompanied by a dialogue of association. “Let’s play the rhythm of our day up until now as we go about our lives, getting thing done, and then slowly let’s come into the present, leave the outside world behind and slow our rhythm down”.
Gradually the tempo is reduced to the desired rate of 60-80bpm, at which time the guided instructions begin, with an initial focus on paying attention to the Bass Pulse, Relaxing the body and Aligning the breath – slowing & deepening.
An invitation to relax into their chair, lower th
eir eyes and transfer the drumming to their body (softly tapping their thigh) often follows. The facilitator/therapist continues to play the pulse softly on their drum.
Then the focus will shift depending on the theme of the practice for the day.
All instructions are given in a soft, soothing voice and at a slow rate, with appropriate periods of silence in-between.
CLOSING A R2R MINDFULNESS EXERCISE
At the end of each mindfulness session, after an appropriate length of silence the client/s are asked to rejoin the pulse on the drum (reconnect). Once all are reconnected the sound is brought down gradually until it disappears (Fade to nothing). Sometimes a single chime or gong can also be used as an alternative ending or final accent.
Stay still.
Thank all for participating
Ask if anyone has anything they wish to share.
Variations between free play and discussions using the universal Heartbeat rhythm.
Used to point the group towards shared values and experiences.
Ask each person to name one value they are or would be prepared to stand up for. The group should come up with examples – personal or public – of individuals who have stood up for this same cause.
Examples:
• Honesty – Would you stand up in the face of dishonesty? Can you give an example?
• Respect – Would you stand up in the face of disrespect? Can you give an example?
• Loyalty – Do you stand up for your friends or family? Can you give an example?
• Bullying – Would you stand up against a bully? Can you give an example?
Then use the rumble game ‘Rumble if you’d stand up for…’
Discuss the challenges of bravery. What is the difference between bravery and courage? Can you be brave and foolhardy at the same time? How can friends band together to be brave in numbers? Why are bullies cowards?
Introducing a four Bass break to affirm four core values or four things that offer people stability in their lives, that the group have earlier decided upon.
Using the drum to represent arousal and learning strategies to calm oneself. Then transferring this same technique to the body.
Pair people up and give them a set amount of time to come up with an interactive rhythm featuring:
1 x High Five, 1 x Fist Bump, 1 shared vocal - must be able to be repeated rhythmically and have flow.
Using rhythmic affirmations to cement values and create improvised music at the same time.
Draw up a list of values on the white-board, and ask each person to choose one that is important to them. Then demonstrate how to use the syllables of each to make it into a rhythm, for example: Truth – one beat, Love – one beat, Kindness – two beats, Respect – two beats, Forgiveness – three beats, Honesty – three beats, Generosity – five beats.
Each person has to play a rhythm representing a value that is important to them and connect it to the others in the group.
Start the exercise by playing your ‘value rhythm’ and then have each person enter with their ‘value rhythm’ one at a time. (They can be encouraged to say or sing the name of their value to their beat as they enter.)
Finish by starting to name your value once again, stop the drumming and fade away.
Discussion:
How do your values fit with your identity and sense of self?
How hard is it to live up to your values?
How do values connect people? What if your values were very different from someone else? Would it be easy or difficult to get on with someone whose values were different from yours?
The aim is to do the exercises around the circle trying to keep a steady rhythm. each person plays one note in the pattern. It is always best to have a group indivisible by 4. Otherwise add an extra sound, so you have patterns that repeat after every 5th person.
1. Bass, Tone, Tone, Clap and repeat
2. Bass, Tone, 2xTone, Clap and repeat
3. Bass, Tone, 3xTone, 3xClap and repeat
4. Bass, Tone, 3xTone, 2xFlam plus Clap, and repeat
Make up your own sequences each week.
Rhythm practice to develop independence of the two hands and increase aptitude.
Part of the R2R soothing technique for the drum that can be used by parents or teachers to calm a child, by transferring to the body
Part of a series of soothing or calming techniques using the drum that can also be transferred to other mediums including the body
Part of a series of soothing techniques that can be used to calm distress in young people & adults, both using the drum and transferring to other mediums, including the body.
Part of the Rhythm2Recovery exercise sequence for the elderly
Part of the Rhythm2Recovery exercise sequence for the elderly
Part of the Rhythm2Recovery Exercise Sequence for the Elderly
Part of the Rhythm2Recovery Exercise sequence for the Elderly
Part of the Rhythm2Recovery exercise series for the elderly
Part of a series of physical exercises set to music, designed for the elderly.
Part of a series of exercises done to music. Each exercise is interspersed with free play on the drum.
Final discussion looking at how people manage and overcome their fears. Three people play a solo representing 'facing your fears' and supporting each other through that challenge. A final discussion follows on the importance of support in overcoming our fears.
Discussion on working through our fears, followed by an exercise where people have a choice to either freeze or play through the break (8 counts) using a different rhythm than they played before.
A general discussion on the emotion of fear, followed by a simple exercise where people freeze upon hearing a triggering sound (5 Flams) and then a follow up discussion on how fear can stop you moving forward with your life.
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?
The self-control game 'Rumble in the Jungle' being used to look at the precursors of aggression. In many of the self-help groups I do with men, where uncontrolled anger is a real issues, 'Shame' is one of the main areas we focus on in this exercise - how even the smallest humiliations can give rise to extreme anger.
: 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. 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?
Play 'Call and Response' but with the proviso that a loud rumble represents aggression - the aim of the game is not to be pulled in by other people's aggression. So, if you hear a loud rumble you must respond with a very soft rumble. Every other call you respond to normally.
This exercise requires a degree of regulatory control.
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.
Practice rhythms that promote dexterity and progression.
This video showcases the exercise ‘Attention’ with a focus on bringing a heightened awareness to negative thoughts, relationships and environments, as a means of interrupting our habitual, conditioned behavioural responses and increasing our ability to respond more flexibly to different situations.
There is a lot of evidence on the therapeutic value of singing and using our voice musically - it is cathartic, can reduce stress, is a bonding experience and releases endorphins that lift mood.
But for many people it is very confronting, exposing them to potential ridicule, and the energy fades significantly compared to when we are drumming. Here is one technique we use to get people comfortable with using their voice - make up your own 'call & response' phrases and always have a laugh!
One group member suggests a feeling or emotion, or they can pick from a pre-drawn list.
The rhythm begins and the facilitator counts down to stop (4,3,2,1, Stop). As soon as the music stops (and for as long as it is stopped) everyone has to try and freeze with the said feeling expressed on their face and through their body.
The facilitator draws people’s attention to a specific individual who is exhibiting the feeling clearly and the individual chosen then gets to choose the next feeling prior, name it, and resume the rhythm (1,2, Let’s all play).
Here is the exercise ‘A few steady friends’ that I have been using to start a discussion on the challenge of finding stable influences in times of uncertainty, difficulty or anxiety - the chosen individual has to identify the steady rhythm underneath all the confusion. Questions include What do you look for in someone you think is steady, reliable and trustworthy? What do you listen for? How easy is it to get distracted or separated from these individuals when you are trying to find your way through a period of uncertainty or instability? What can help you find your way through that?
I’ve also found this a useful exercise working with young people enveloped in chaos at home and how we might identify and focus on a few consistent elements in their lives that might help them maintain their balance.
1. First teach the three parts of the body for the underlying pulse
Right Thigh, Left Thigh, Right Chest, Left Chest, Right Thigh, Left Thigh, Clap, Rest (One count for each - 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8). Note, the clap is done above the head.
2. Solidify this foundation rhythm by repeating until all are secure and united in the pattern. The feet can also be stepping to a one, two, beat.
3. Add the foundation affirmation in time to the beat – “Keep the Beat and Move your Feet”.
4. Pass out parts – divide the room into thirds.
Part 1 - RT, LT, RT, LT- RC, LC, RC, LC
All things must change, and re-arrange
Part 2 - CH, RT,LT,RT, CH, RC,LC,RC
Out with the old, in with the new,
RT, LT, RC, LC, RT, LT, CL -
Leave behind what made me blue
Part 3 - RT, LT, RC,LC, RT, LT, CL -
Moving into the unkown
RT, LT, CL - RT, LT, CL -
Fear gives way, hope is sown
1. First teach the three parts of the body for the underlying pulse
Right Thigh, Left Thigh, Right Chest, Left Chest, Right Thigh, Left Thigh, Clap, Rest (One count for each - 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8). Note, the clap is done above the head.
2. Solidify this foundation rhythm by repeating until all are secure and united in the pattern. The feet can also be stepping to a one, two, beat.
3. Add the foundation affirmation in time to the beat – “Keep the Beat and Move your Feet”.
4. Pass out parts – divide the room into thirds.
Part 1 - RT, LT, RC, LC, RT, LT, RC, LC
I know i can & so I can
Part 2 - RT, LT, RC, LC, CL, SN, SN -
I'm throwing out, all my doubt
Part 3 - RT,LT,RT,RC,LC,RT,LT,RT,RC,LC (double time) If it is to be, then it's up to me.
1. First teach the three parts of the body for the underlying pulse
Right Thigh, Left Thigh, Right Chest, Left Chest, Right Thigh, Left Thigh, Clap, Rest (One count for each - 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8). Note, the clap is done above the head.
2. Solidify this foundation rhythm by repeating until all are secure and united in the pattern. The feet can also be stepping to a one, two, beat.
3. Add the foundation affirmation in time to the beat – “Keep the Beat and Move your Feet”.
Part 1 - RT, LT, RC, LC, RT, LT, HC,
Breathing Deep & Lots of Sleep
Part 2 - RT, LT, CL, CL, RT, LT, CH, CH
In with calm & out with worry.
Part 3 - RT, LT, RC, LC, RT, LT, HC, HC
Slowing down & being present.
Resisting negative peer influence.
This is the same exercise as the standard version. but with two specific rhythms:
1. Bb,Oo,BbB,O - representing the phrase and choice - Holding onto what I believe.
2. OoO, OoO, OoOoOoB - representing the phrase & choice - "Let it go, Let it go, Let it, Let it, Let it, Go!"
I person tries to hold on to the first rhythm using the phrase (self-talk) to help them, while the rest play the second rhythm and try to undermine them.
Using the Bass note to help with rhythmical connection.
A one to one version of the anger management exercise.
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?
Play 'Call and Response' but with the proviso that a loud rumble represents aggression - the aim of the game is not to be pulled in by other people's aggression. So, if you hear a loud rumble you must respond with a very soft rumble. Every other call you respond to normally.
This exercise requires a degree of regulatory control.
The Echo-wave done one to one.
An emotional regulation exercise
Often a good way to finish a session individually or as a group.
Allowing people freedom of expression and leaving in a quiet, calm & connected place
Using the drum to express feelings of loss.
Emphasising no right way or wrong way to do this and ensuring the facilitator are also involved, so that the client does not become too exposed (self-conscious).
You can do this in groups or in one to one counselling. (You can sit side by side or opposite. One person asks their client to play through the emotional content of a particular experience, memory or just a time period (e.g. the week since they last met) – “Express this week on the drum, taking your time and using the drum as a safe & secure container into which you release these feelings”. Avoid words. The facilitator emphasises only slow shifts between moods so that they can be mirrored easily. Then the person playing the client starts and the other person mirrors (replicates) their drumming. Avoid eye contact – focus on the playing. At the end of the clients drumming the facilitator may look to confirm feelings that they recognised during the exercise, and expand on this if the client is comfortable.
In groups, any individual can volunteer to play through their feeling on their drum in relation to a significant event in their lives, and the group may mirror that music in a show of empathy and support. There is no requirement to discuss the event at all. It is very important to have the experience to help people manage feelings that may surface during this exercise.
Discussion: How did people feel who were being supported? How important is it to find constructive ways to release your feelings? Can sharing these with friends help? Many cultures move away from words to express feelings - why might that be? How important is it to have others recognise & empathise with your feelings? How often do you find that words don’t really do justice, or say what you want to say in regard, to your feelings?
Examining the impact of other people's feelings on your own, by playing the opposite feeling.
How people can bring us down or lift us up.
Just focusing on moving between high intensity drumming (arousal) and soft slow drumming (calm)
Run through the different Heartbeat rhythms - anchoring each with a steady BB
Then at the end give everyone a choice to play whatever one they want as long as they connect through the BB
Layer them in one at a time.
Use different facilitation techniques to develop the groups musical capacity
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 3-4 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? What if I had let one half give more (time wise) than the other -would you have felt short-changed?
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.
You can also do this with drums & percussion if you don't have chimes
Use the 'Speaker's Chair' routineEach 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 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?
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 - -
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?
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).
Bring the group in close and if possible arrange people so that each person leans towards the person on their right until their head rests on that person’s shoulder (ensure people are comfortable with this form of contact). Then one person should start with the word ‘ha’ and each person should follow quickly with an additional ‘ha’ to the number the person before them voiced for example, ha, ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha. If someone gets it wrong or interrupts the sequence you start again from the beginning.
The group should end up giggling.
How important is it to have someone in your life who can make you laugh? How important is it for you to see the lighter side of life? How easy is it for you to laugh at yourself? Why do we sometimes take pleasure in laughing at others, and is that OK?
Draw up a list of values on the white-board, and ask each person to choose one that is important to them. Then demonstrate how to use the syllables of each to make it into a rhythm, for example: Truth – one beat, Love – one beat, Kindness – two beats, Respect – two beats, Forgiveness – three beats, Honesty – three beats, Generosity – five beats.
Each person has to play a rhythm representing a value that is important to them and connect it to the others in the group.
Start the exercise by playing your ‘value rhythm’ and then have each person enter with their ‘value rhythm’ one at a time. (They can be encouraged to say or sing the name of their value to their beat as they enter.)
Discussion:
How do your values fit with your identity and sense of self?
How hard is it to live up to your values?
How do values connect people? What if your values were very different from someone else? Would it be easy or difficult to get on with someone whose values were different from yours?
Use a simple and very soft Bass pulse (40–60 bpm) or the Rhythmic Wave exercise as the focal point for this awareness exercise. Give instructions in a mellow, clear voice, speaking slowly and in time to the rhythm. Remember, the script below is just a guide – make it your own.
• Relax your body.
• Adjust your body until you feel comfortable and relaxed. You may wish to close your eyes or focus on one spot. Focus on and relax any tension in your neck, shoulders, chest, arms, hands, back, hips, thighs, lower legs, feet.
• Slow your breathing – focus on your breath, in and out, aligning it to the pulse, becoming still.
• Now focus solely on sounds. Listen to the Bass note of the rhythm first.
• Listen to it in all its dimensions – tone, pitch, frequency. Listen to it in its primacy as pure sound, rather than naming it.
• If other thoughts come to mind, acknowledge them briefly and move your focus back to the sound of the Bass note.
• If you feel comfortable let the vibrations of the Bass note move through your body, grounding you.
• Breathe gently, slowly.
• Let those vibrations travel down to your feet and exit into the floor, connecting you to the earth.
• Now focus on any other sounds. Experience loud and soft sounds, obvious and not so obvious sounds and the gap between sounds.
• Try and avoid categorising these sounds, but experience them as raw energy. If other thoughts come to mind, acknowledge them briefly and move your focus back to the sounds of your environment.
• Breathe gently, slowly.
• Slowly come back to a focus on the Bass.
• Hold your focus on the Bass and allow the volume to slowly fade away.
If possible, sit in silence for 40–60 seconds or if part of the Rhythmic Wave exercise, you can move back into the improvised rhythm play you started from.
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.
Ask your participants to think about one thing they enjoy doing that gives back or helps out another person or community. Give some examples: maybe you enjoy lending your friends some lunch money; maybe you enjoy helping out around the house; maybe you enjoy standing up for your friends when they are being bullied.
Then have each person ask one question of the rest of the group about whether they too enjoy the same type of giving: for example, ‘Rumble if you enjoy…’
What are the rewards of giving back? Why do we sometimes hold back offering others our help if we know that giving brings these rewards? Can you be taken advantage of sometimes if you are a generous person? What would happen if we all stopped giving and focused only on taking?
Discuss the propensity to find fault with other people, particularly those who might be different from us. Like getting caught in an unhealthy pattern (rhythm), we need to watch how we judge others and try to focus on the positives if we are to develop healthy relationships. Think about the person next to you and find one thing about them you value.
Start with a simple foundation rhythm and then, addressing one person at a time, add the break O o O o O - fl (What I like about you), which stops the rhythm and is followed by the same person stating what that quality is (e.g. Tom is always kind to other people). Then everyone should return to the simple foundation rhythm.
Discuss:
How hard is it say nice things about someone to their face? How often do you remember to do that? What does it feel like to say positive things to your friends and family? What about when people pay you compliments? Are there risks in being more positive towards other people? What else makes it hard to be more positive? What might help?
The facilitator should describe a number of experiences (related to victimisation) and ask the group to rumble on their drum if they can identify with each of the emotions that might be garnered for an individual experiencing that event. The
group rumble in empathy with the individuals in the scenarios and then name the
emotions they may have felt. Examples:
1. Rumble if you can imagine how it might feel to have very few friends - What might you be feeling?
2. Rumble if you can imagine how it might feel to not know where your next meal is coming from - What might you be feeling?
3. Rumble if you can imagine how it might feel if you felt everyone was laughing at you - What might you be feeling?
After giving some examples ask the students to come up with their own scenarios
Discuss the concept of empathy. What is empathy? How does it affect the way
we act towards others? What if people have little empathy, how do they act? How
hard is it to have a respectful relationship with someone with little empathy for
others? What might help someone to develop more empathy?
Start with a short discussion on the importance of helping out others if you can and getting help yourself when you need it – everyone has the potential to do both and each brings rewards. It can be difficult to give and it can also be difficult to ask for help. What are some of the situations where you might need support or be able to offer support?
One person should start a simple foundation rhythm and each person should enter in succession but only at the request of the drummer already playing next to them. The drummer should invite the next person to join the group with the phrase ‘Help me out, if you can!’ (fl, fl, fl, O o O). When everyone is in, finish with all players doing the break and saying the phrase ‘Help me out, if you can’ at the same time.
Discuss the benefits of altruism. What are the rewards of giving or supporting someone in times of need? If giving brings rewards, why is it often hard to ask for help? How does balance impact this issue? Can you ask too much or give too much?
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 3-4 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? What if I had let one half give more (time wise) than the other -would you have felt short-changed?
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.
Everyone should play the heartbeat rhythm of their choice while one member at a time enters the circle blindfolded and tries to locate their empty chair – prior to searching they turn on the spot three times to disorientate themselves. Focus on soft drumming.
Lead a discussion on finding a reference point to get back home or to a place of safety when you feel lost, down and out, or disorientated. What helped you locate your empty chair? How important was it not to give up? How important was it to trust yourself? Did you get support from others in any way? Did you have to rely on your own ingenuity? What did it feel like if you couldn’t get back?
Ask each person in the group to choose an emotion (from a list you have previously identified with the group). One person is chosen as the detective and they stand in the middle of the circle (or they can remain in their seat if preferred) and they then choose one person to expresses their chosen feeling using their drum, facial features or both. If the detective identifies the feeling correctly, he/she swaps places with the individual who shared their emotion – if not the group help out, and he/she gets another go to test their emotional detection skills.
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?
You can use drums & percussion or Tonal Chimes (pentatonic scale - ACDEG) - hand these out. Explain that we will all play 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.
Addition: Sometimes 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.
List a range of emotions on a white-board – you can have people contribute to this list.
Divide your group in two or in individual therapy divide roles between the counsellor and the individual. Ask people to define contrasting emotions as in the table below.
Unpleasant emotions Pleasant emotions
Sad Content
Disgust Inspired
Angry Joyful
Contempt Love
Choose an accessible rhythm (one you can play comfortably) and then have each side choose a different contrasting emotion and transfer that into their playing – thus the same rhythm is played with two different feelings. Swap roles so that in each instance different sides are playing the uplifting emotion.
Discuss the feelings these different emotions evoke, contrasts between them and how they interact together in rhythm and in life. What was the impact of one emotion on the other? Were particular emotions dominant? Can we use contracting emotions to limit the impact of more problematic feelings? Did you gain any insights into the nature of different feelings by playing with them this way?
Ask the individual or participants you are working with to come up with one good thing in their lives – give examples (it may be their friends, or it could be something as fundamental as still being alive). Ask them to come up with one positive thing that has happened to them this week, then narrow it down to today (e.g. ‘It wasn’t raining’ or ‘I got here safely’).
Introduce ‘Call and Response’ and showcase one specific pattern that will serve as representing the positive things that happen to people in their lives. If you play that rhythm people must play a loud accent note – fl,fl – on their instrument to mark it. Other rhythms are to be responded to normally as a direct echo.
Start the game and throw in the chosen part sporadically and in ways that may be hard to hear (low volume, different hand technique).
Discuss the challenges of staying positive and the ‘Losada principle 3:1’, which states that we need to hear three positives to balance one negative in order to maintain a healthy self-concept. Why are we often over-conscious of the negatives in life? How can we train ourselves to focus more on what is going right?
Note: Some groups choose to start each session with this exercise as a way of reinforcing the practice of staying positive.
Discuss the following: What are the elements of good communication? Why is good communication so fundamental to healthy relationships?
One person should be asked to choose someone in the group and start a conversation with that person using their drum and the other person should respond. Analyse the conversation for the following elements – balance, listening, dominance, respect.
What are some of the elements of poor communication we can all fall into? How can this impact our relationships? Why? How can we improve our communication skills?
Sometimes adding a lyric can help reinforce the rhythm and get a message across as well. Try "Let's Play Along, Together we are Strong", "Welcome everybody, as we play to the beat"
(Connect the syllables to the beats)
Empowering participants by getting them to lead with their own rhythms.
Stopping the Group – A horizontal slice of the air (stop cut) with the extended arm/s and hand/s (stop cuts can be made with one or two hands) moving across the front of the body in a clear cutting motion on time with the beat (usually on the first note of the bar).
Sometimes a lyric can reinforce a rhythm and a message at the same time. Try this for Part 1:
"Know your Bass, Know Your Place"
Align the syllables to the beats
Sometimes adding a lyric can reinforce the beat and a message - for part 1 add:
"Bass, Tone, Grounding Zone" or "Bass, Tone, Safe Zone" - connect the syllables to the beats.
Teaching the group how to count down to 'STOP' using the Bass note as a reference.
Divide the group in two and have one half play a foundation rhythm while you lead the other half in call and response. Give some of your participants a chance to also lead this exercise.
Getting started with drum technique
Sometimes adding a lyric can help:
"There is a place for me - When I'm in Harmony"
(One syllable per beat)
A selection of interacting simple parts for the hand drum.
Start a simple rhythm at a low, soft level, and try and maintain that low volume while speeding up.
Examine this 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?
Choose one person in the group as the controller – the controller can denote who plays and who doesn’t. (In individual sessions the counsellor takes on this role.)
Agree as a group on two signals – one for PLAY and one for STOP. The controller can direct the entire group or an individual.
The rules are firm – you may only play at the invitation of the controller and must stop playing when they ask you to.
The controller should either begin a rhythm or ask someone to begin and the exercise extends from there, with people being directed to start or stop at the whim of the controller.
What did it feel like to be controlled like that by somebody else? Were there feelings of resentment towards the controller? Did you find yourself becoming frustrated? Can you recall other situations where you were at the mercy of others’ power (be sensitive here)? How healthy is it when one person exercises complete power over another? When might it be acceptable? When do you think it might be destructive? In situations where you know you have no power, say when you are stuck in traffic, how important is patience? What about acceptance – how can developing patience and acceptance improve your outcomes in situations like these?
Both people start a simple rhythm at a slow pace, and one person is tasked with staying slow, while the other slowly speeds up – similar to staying calm when others around you get excited and emotional.
What helped you hold steady?
One person should play their drum with a particular emotion – the person opposite should play the opposite emotion. For example sad/happy, fearful/brave, angry/calm, jealous/supportive etc.
Discuss the feelings that arise.
Did you want to join in with the opposite at any stage?
Did your feelings shift at all? Did you feel frustrated at all?
These exercises can also act as ice-breakers and help people get comfortable with each other.
Make a list on a white-board of one thing each person feels is unfair (try and be as specific as possible). Categorise them into different environments of:
• school/workplace
• family/home
• community/society.
Use the ‘Rumble If’ or ‘Play How it Feels’ exercise to check in with the group on how these things impact them and follow with a discussion. The world is full of unfair situations – how reasonable is it to expect life to be fair? How can we move our world towards being a fairer place? Are we influenced by people who act fairly towards others? Do you always act fairly yourself? How do you deal with situations you think are unfair?
Taking steps towards an objective.
A fun game that extends from one note.
Remember to slow down the more note (steps) we take the more we may need to slow down and consolidate.
Sometimes we may even need to stop to work out what our next step will be.
A one to one example of this exercise where the challenge is to hold on to your rhythm (what is good for you) in the face of other people's influence.
Often aligned to holding onto your values in the face of someone trying to get you to compromise them.
It is always beneficial to name the two parts (rhythms/actions) with concrete examples of different choices relevant to the individual being tested.
Ask one person to come up with an upbeat (positive) melody on their drum and then have the person sitting next to them play something downbeat (depressive). Watch for changes in the emotional content of either player. Add additional players one at a time to increase the level of negativity and explore how this impacts the mood of the initial upbeat drummer.
How can you maintain your positivity in the face of others who may be cynical or angry?
These two approaches can also be played out between a counsellor and their client.
Adaption
Reverse the exercise so that one influences the other in a positive way (start off with a sad or despondent drummer and expose them to uplifting rhythms one at a time).
How does having positive people around you improve your situation? Are there some people you can’t lift?
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.
The counsellor should work with the client (or divide a larger group into pairs), with the focus being to create a two-part harmony that includes some of the elements of a balanced, healthy relationship.
Discuss what those elements might be before breaking off into pairs to develop a rhythm.
Give them around four to five minutes to come back with a rhythm, which they play, one pair at a time, to the group. The rhythm should contain at least one original beat.
Together analyse each two-part rhythm for the different qualities of a healthy relationships – respect, balance, listening, connection, fun etc.
The group as a whole can be divided down the middle to play any of these new rhythms, with one half of the group playing one part each.
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
Introduce the metaphor of a beach ball representing our feelings and emotions and asking people to support each other by keeping those feelings up – keeping the imaginary beach ball in the air using rumble energy. Say: ‘We start as a group lifting the ball as high as we can with our combined energy and then lowering it as low as we can before raising it to a median level, all the time tracking it with our eyes.’
Discuss the challenges of staying positive and the support we can give each other in keeping our spirits up.
In individual work, I have found this exercise useful in helping clients express how they are feeling and exploring the same concepts but with a more personal focus.
Ask the group to walk in a circular route, in around the circle the same direction, in time to a slow Bass pulse played by yourself, and focus as much as possible on their walk, and the connection to the floor – “move slowly and in time to the pulse”.
“Start off by standing still & regaining that connection you had before”, “ Now walk slowly, and focus on your walk, how your feet touch the floor”, Notice the transference of weight between your feet” Notice the bend in your knees and the movement of your hips”, “If other thoughts come to mind, acknowledge them & bring your focus back to your feet”, Notice any sensations from their connection to the ground each time you step”, Notice the different pressure of each part of the foots connection”.
Each time the drums stops I want you to focus on being strongly connected to the floor.
Avoid turning this into a competitive exercise.
Teach the rhythm break sequence where we stop the rhythm on a signal for a set number of beats and then resume playing. In the break participants have to freeze their body movement and facial expression until the resuming count. Silly faces are good!
Extension
Ask every second person in the group to enter the middle of the circle. Have them move randomly to the music but on a specific sound, for example a bell, their group must freeze.
Hand out a range of percussion instruments – one for each person. Ask one person to shut their eyes then point to one person and have them play their instrument for a brief period. The person with their eyes closed must guess what type of instrument was being played.
Adaption
Extend this game by having the person with their eyes shut situated in the middle of the circle and the facilitator asking one person in the outer circle to play their instrument – the person in the middle must track down the sound, moving towards it and stopping opposite the person playing it.
Extend this version by doing the same exercise but this time everyone should play at once and the the person in the middle must track down the one sound amongst all the others.
Practice the drumming phrase Fl, OoOoO, Fl (What do you know about?).
Pair people up to find out two things about each other (e.g. their favourite colour, their favourite animal). Then start a rhythm and when the phrase is played one person at a time answers with two Bass notes and tells the group what they have learnt about their neighbour.
This is often used to help create a safe space.
Pair people up and ask them to find out two things about their partner (e.g.name and one thing they like to do or name and one thing that makes them feel safe). Use a phrase to stop the rhythm and each time you stop they share information about each other.
Gaining independence of the two hands using a combination of drumming and hand movement.
Everyone plays a steady rhythm with one hand.
One person starts as the 'tagger' and they pass the 'tag' by pointing at someone else in the circle using their other hand (practice this before starting). the person targeted can resist the tag by playing three even Bass notes in response without losing their rhythm (practice this before starting), otherwise they own the 'tag' and now have to try and pass it on in the same way. As people become more adapt at resisting the tag - make the resisting pattern more challenging.
Divide the group into two teams – have every second group member move their chair back slightly to differentiate who is in which team (the circle stays intact). Then have each team choose their ‘defence guard’, who must be seated roughly opposite each other.
The game proceeds with people passing the ball to each other using the same naming technique and rumble as in the initial version (identify the person by name or by pointing towards them). Anytime, after three passes, a person can shoot at the goal – to shoot at the goal you don’t have to say a name but you do have to voice the word ‘Shoot’ and look towards the goalie – practice some passing and shooting. To protect their goal the ‘defence-guard’ has to play a specific rhythm immediately after the word ‘Shoot’ comes from the attacker’s lips – I try to make the complexity of this rhythm match the capacity of the group, but often use a five Bass rumble followed by three quick Flams (BbBbB – fl,fl,fl). This will deflect the ball and it is then taken by the defending team. If the goalie makes a mistake with the rhythm or is slow to respond, it becomes a goal and again the ball changes sides. Remember each time there must be a minimum of three passes before someone can shoot at the goal.
How to hold the drum and an introduction to the Bass and Tone.
Using the concept of protecting access to your drum to look at protecting your boundaries.
Starting with a discussion on the sorts of boundaries that keep people safe and support healthy relationships.
Then examining different ways we mark boundaries - looks, language etc.
And how we can maintain our boundaries when others are insensitive to them.
Introducing vocals into Call & response
Using the analogy of the Bass as a place of connection. What does that Bass represent on your lives? What things foster good connection and stability between you and others?
How to hold the drum and playing the Bass and Tone notes. Followed by some 'Call & Response'.
Usually we would have a small group of people in the middle. Remember you can change the postures depending on the needs and abilities of your group members.
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
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?
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.
INTRODUCED WITH A FOCUS ON ‘SOMETHING SOMEONE HAS DONE’
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.
If blame is a problem in your group, people will start blaming each other or sometimes themselves. Thus, the secret is that the first person to blame somebody else or themselves, for something they apparently did wrong is the person eliminated. Resume the rhythm once somebody falls into this trap. It will generally take several goes before people realise it is ‘blame’ that is defeating them!
Discussion: What are some of the ways blame defeats you in real life? How can you take responsibility for your life if you are always blaming others for what goes wrong? if you blame someone for something that happened to you are you in effect saying they have the power to control your life? By avoiding blame, you take back that power. What about self-blame? How is our life affected when we are continually down on ourselves? How can we change that?
Ask one person to play a slow, steady pulse on the Bass note of their drum (they are the co-facilitator).
Say: ‘In this game I am going to ask a series of questions and you are going to stand up if they are true about you and stay seated if not – try and stand and sit on the pulse of the Bass note, not in between the notes.’
Ask a series of questions relevant to your group that promote tolerance.[AQ]
• Stand if you have a friend who is different from you.
• Stand if you speak two languages.
• Stand if you like football.
• Stand if you ever get lonely.
• Stand if you live with one parent.
• Stand if you like ice cream.
• Stand if you like to win.
• Stand if you like to get your own way.
• Stand if you like music.
• Stand if you ever get angry.
Adapt the questions to participants’ age range and interests. Replace standing and sitting with other indicators, such as different drum responses, for those with physical difficulties that make standing difficult.
Have a discussion on the things that make us human, things that unite us and things that divide us. Did you notice how many of these questions we answered together? As people do you think we are more alike or less alike? Why do you think we sometimes focus more on the differences between us than on recognising our similarities?
Note: Amend the questions to suit the issues of the individual or group.
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.
Define the term ‘scratch my back’ in relation to the support we give to each other in healthy relationships. What are some of the ways we can support each other?
Explain that in this game you have to pass a scratch from your drum to another person as a way of saying that you would support them if they needed you.
Start with everyone playing the heartbeat foundation rhythm. Then choose one person to add the scratch to their rhythm and pass it over to someone else using eye contact as a way of offering support to that person. The receiver then has to pass it on to another member in the same way and so the game continues.
How important is it to share and support each other in families or as friends? What happens in families when people only think of themselves? Have you seen situations where one person is exploited by others – that is they do all the work? If you were stuck in this sort of relationship what could you do?
Preliminary Questions:
Rumble if you have ever had someone help you through a difficult period of your life
What are some of the situations where you might need friends to support you?
What does the term 'fair weather friend' mean?
Friends,
In this game, we ask for two people to come forward who trust each other – these two people pair up and work together to negotiate a maze, made up from other participants standing still like pillars. First the chosen pair agree on four sounds:
• One for walk straight ahead – steady beat
• One for stop – sharp sound
• One for move right
• One for move left
Bring 4 or 5 others into the circle and arrange in a maze, (these people stand with hands folded across chest) and represent the hurdles of life (if people bump into them – they may cry out – you just bumped into …….. e.g. ill health or relationship breakdown).
Then from the chosen pair, one person is blindfolded while the other steers them by walking closely behind them playing different signals on a small drum.
Addition – sometimes you can name the people in the maze as the different hurdles we have noted that may require friendship to overcome. If someone bumps into these – they yell out the life obstacle they represent.
Discuss: "How important is trust between friends?" "What is trust built upon?" Who has had a close friend help them avoid problems in their lives? How hard is it to listen to friends who want you to change your behaviour? How does the context impact your degree of trust?
This is an exercise that looks at behavioural change and self-responsibility.
Revisit the discussion on power and extend it to look at personal responsibility. How much power (agency) do you think you have to make the best of your life? How much power do you have over your thoughts and feelings? How much power do you have over how you act and the choices you make? Where does responsibility intersect with your power? If you assume responsibility do you take back power?
Note: it is important to acknowledge that people’s feelings of agency vary at different times of their lives.
Once there is a consensus that in many ways we do have power to determine our future and we need to take responsibility for that (as much as we can); 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’. (I often split this so one half of a group play the Tones and the other replies with the Bass notes)
A flowing rhythm starts (which represents the flow of life), & the practitioner tells the group that he/she will interrupt that flow with a countdown 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 – ‘If it is to be, then it’s 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.
Discuss the importance of responsibility in life generally, and how it relates to trust, social cohesion and freedom.
Discuss the nature of change as a constant in life and the need to adapt to change – find examples, such as change in climate, change in body, change in government, change in locality, change in workplace, change in schools.
In this exercise, the facilitator starts a rhythm and appoints a ‘change maker’ – this person can alter the rhythm in three different ways, by:
• changing the rhythm itself by adding or subtracting different beats
• changing the tempo by speeding up or slowing down
• changing the volume by getting louder or softer.
Other group members must adapt their rhythm in line with the change maker.
What helps you adapt to change? What are the consequences of not adapting? Is too much change unsettling or dangerous? Is leadership and communication important to implementing and adapting to change?
Note this exercise also has strong application within corporate development programs and for children on the spectrum who struggle with change.
In this game, the group rotates in one direction with two chairs on opposite ends of the circle nominated as ‘Struggle Stop’ and ‘Struggle Start’. Identify everyone’s dominant (strong) hand and have them recognise when they reach the ‘Struggle Start’ chair that they must play with their non-dominant hand; when they reach the ‘Struggle Stop’ chair they can revert back to their dominant hand. So at any one time half the group is struggling with their weaker hand while the other half is managing OK, drumming with their strong hand. Advise them that they have the option to just hit the Bass note if they feel they are losing their way in ‘Struggle territory’.
Begin a one-handed rhythm with half the group playing with their ‘strong’ hand and half with their ‘weaker’ hand, depending on where they are sitting in relation to the two nominated chairs. Make sure the rhythm isn’t too hard or too easy; B – O – B B O O works well. Vary the tempo to get the right level of difficulty – playing it with your non-dominant hand should be a struggle! Rotate seats using a drum-call or countdown, with each person in the ‘Struggle Start’ half playing with their weaker hand and continuing to do so until they reach the ‘Struggle Stop’ chair. Swap regularly so that each person gets a chance to experience the different sides
What did it feel like when you were struggling with your weaker arm? Did you feel unconnected? Did anyone give up the struggle and just hit the Bass? How different was it when you gave up the struggle? Are their areas in your life that you are always struggling with? How hard would it be to accept these and give up fighting against them? Does giving up the struggle mean you can’t change things? Acceptance is not necessarily resignation. How can we recognise what is worth the struggle and what might be better approached in a more passive way?
This exercise is done within a group in pairs or between a counsellor and their client.
Turn towards each other and place your palms together with only slight pressure at around shoulder height. Choose one person to lead and one to follow. The leader should move his/her hand slowly around the range of his/her arm extension while the follower maintains the same palm-to-palm contact (with the slight pressure required). Demonstrate if possible.
After a short period ask people to vary speed and then swap roles.
Discuss how it felt to lead and follow in this relationship and extend this concept into general or more intimate relationships. How did the pace of movement influence the connection? What about the consistency of the leader’s movements? Did anyone lose contact? Why? How important was it to maintain some pressure? How does this connect to your experience of leading or following in relationships? Have you experienced relationships where you spent much of the time following or leading? How satisfying were these? How do we ensure balance in relationships?
First make a list on the white-board of the sort of things that ostracise people or lead to setbacks in their lives – they can be drawn from real experience.
Take every second person out of the circle and have them sit down in the middle of the circle (creating a mini circle themselves with each person facing their empty chair).
Showcase the 4/4 rhythm B b O o – the three Bass notes represent ‘love them’ and the three Tones ‘leave them’[AQ]. Explain to the group that you will all play this rhythm and count down to stop (4, 3, 2, 1, STOP). In the gap the people on each side of an empty chair can choose to love them or leave them by playing either the Tone three times (leave them – they stay down and out) or the Bass three times (love them – they return) in the gap before you all return to the rhythm. But both players (either side of the empty chair) must play the three Basses if the person is to return and they can’t communicate their intentions with each other – if only one plays the Basses and the other plays Tones, the person stays down and out.
Start the rhythm and go in one direction focusing on one empty chair at a time, i.e. each time you STOP, only the players on either side of the empty chair can respond.
How did it feel to be down and out in the middle? Did having others with you make a difference? How did it feel to be welcomed back? What about the feeling of being denied back? How hard is it to be generous to others when they are down on their luck? What gets in the way?
You can find these soft-toys in the 'pet section' of most supermarkets.
They are a wonderful way to lighten the mood and reduce resistance.
Divide the group into two halves and tell them that the idea is to play eight Tone notes as a group in total (in time with the Bass pulse, which lies on the first note of every four beats – the first note of the bar) followed by an eight-beat break of silence and continue this pattern. Practise this nice and slowly – four notes each (eight in total) until it flows easily.
Then stop and tell them that now every time they play, each half will have a different share of the eight notes. One half will start with seven and work down to one while the other half will start with one and work up to seven, holding the eight-note silence between each change.
Allocate who starts with one and who starts with seven and proceed.
Note: For younger children I write the two combinations in their seven different combinations on the white-board – this helps those less certain of their arithmetic.
Advanced
One half only plays Bass notes and the other half only plays Tones, and add tonal chimes (pentatonic scale) or other percussion instruments in the eight-note rest. This will require some false starts until people get the idea.
How much of getting the balance right in a relationship comes down to focused attention? How important is cooperation and collaboration in balanced relationships? Can you think of examples where people in relationships complement (balance) each other? What are the signs of a relationship that is out of balance?
Give out a number to each person.
Ask for a volunteer to be blindfolded.
They must find their seat, which will be in a different place once the group relocate, using people playing their number on their drum.
You can also do this by having people playing a different percussion instrument each - noting the sequence and then finding their chair by recognising where the gap is.
Divide the group into two halves and pass out two parts to each half of the group (or between a counsellor and the individual they are working with) to be played in a sequence that balances the parts.
Timing 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Part 1 begins B - B b O o O -
Part 2 answers O o O - O o O -
Part 1 repeats B - B b O o O -
Part 2 completes O o O o O - - -
Continue this four-part dialogue as a rhythm – lower the volume and ask people to focus on the balance between these parts and how they complement each other.
Explore the different ways the two parts balance or complement each other and connect it to balance in life. What would happen if one half of the rhythm started to dominate the other? Who has had experiences like this where they were out of balance in a part of their life, or in a relationship? How do you get that balance back? Is it realistic to expect such balance?
Think about the things in your life that you can be thankful for – it is easy to focus on the things that are going wrong, but equally, if not more importantly, to focus on the positive things in your life.[AQ] You can list the positives on a white-board if you like. Get one thing from each person.
Nominate a short rhythm phrase that represents all the positives in your life, and ask people to watch out for that rhythm. Play ‘Call and Response’ and whenever that rhythm comes up the individual or group must answer it with the pattern Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you ve-ry much (B - O - B - O - O o O o O).
Finish this exercise with the group saying the phrase as they play it.
I have been using this exercise recently with people who have been recovering from the impacts of natural disasters.
Draw up a list of values on the white-board, and ask each person to choose one that is important to them. Then demonstrate how to use the syllables of each to make it into a rhythm, for example: Truth – one beat, Love – one beat, Kindness – two beats, Respect – two beats, Forgiveness – three beats, Honesty – three beats, Generosity – five beats.
Each person has to play a rhythm representing a value that is important to them and connect it to the others in the group.
Start the exercise by playing your ‘value rhythm’ and then have each person enter with their ‘value rhythm’ one at a time. (They can be encouraged to say or sing the name of their value to their beat as they enter.)
Discussion:
How do your values fit with your identity and sense of self?
How hard is it to live up to your values?
How do values connect people? What if your values were very different from someone else? Would it be easy or difficult to get on with someone whose values were different from yours?
In the middle of the circle, one person (the spotter) should stand at one end facing away from the centre and another one, two or three individuals should stand at the other end. Place a small percussion instrument immediately behind the spotter.
The idea is for the two (or three) individuals to sneak up on the person who is facing away from them without being spotted moving – if the person turns and catches them moving, they return to their chair. If they turn and are stationary the spotter turns back again.
The remaining drummers should play their Bass notes each time one of the people sneaking up moves. The aim is to grab the percussion instrument without being spotted.
If they succeed they take it back to their chair and can use it in the next exercise.
What motivated you to play this game? How do these things relate to motivations in other areas of your life? What stopped your progress? What type of things reduce your motivation to move forward in your life? How can teamwork influence motivation?
Put percussion on every second chair if available.
Teach the group how to count down to STOP (4,3,2,1 Stop) and then have a count of silence for seven beats (count the silence out aloud 2,3,4,5,6,7,8) before returning to play – practice a few times. Once this is perfected each person has to move to a new chair in the silence and try to resume playing on the one.
Avoid competition – don’t take chairs away
Start by discussing the concept of harmony - what do people understand by that word? From their own experience what gets in the way of inter-personal harmony and what facilitates it?
The challenge of this exercise is to each play their own thing but still harmonise with each other. They must start all together playing their own thing, with their heads down, (it will sound wild & disconnected), then slowly raise their heads modify their rhythms to connect with each other in harmony – same volume, same tempo, and leaving space for each to be heard.
Before starting you may decide to warn the group not to try and “force people into your rhythm”. If you decide not to warn them, this can often happen, and serves as an interesting discussion point, in relation to this theme - is it really harmony when we force people to our will?
Discuss: the steps they took to find a harmonious connection in relation to the steps people might need to take to connect well with others.
You can also do this exercise using one strike of the Bass note each on their drum.
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?
More ideas for 'Call & Response'
Say: ‘In this exercise we can each enter the rhythm at our own choosing. We choose what we will play and the time we decide to join those already playing, if we join at all, and we will examine what things influence that timing. Remember – you choose! You don’t have to play at all if you don’t want to.’
Starts a rhythm from the rhythm catalogue (Chapter 10) at a relatively fast tempo, adding an additional challenge to joining in with the rhythm.
Repeat this exercise if people were intimidated by the speed of the rhythm, and this time begin with a slower rhythm.
Discuss differences in motivation between people and between different circumstances, for example the two different tempos. What sort of things motivate you generally? What about motivating you out of your comfort zone – what might do that? How important is success to motivation? What about the support you get from others – can that help motivate you? What doesn’t work? How might you use this knowledge to help motivate someone else who needed to shift their personal situation?
This exercise follows a similar format to 'What Does a Good Friend Do?' It is focused on Values and Healthy relationships. Before beginning ensure people understand the question relates to their relationships with other people.
Over the top of a basic foundation rhythm, the practitioner plays a rhythm phrase that symbolises the question ‘What Matters Most to You?', (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.
This exercise follows a similar format to 'What Does a Good Friend Do?'
Over the top of a basic foundation rhythm, the practitioner plays a rhythm phrase that symbolises the question ‘What Do You Want From Your Life?', (Fl-OoO-OoO) 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.
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).
Practicing emotional regulation - moving from high arousal to calm states replicated on the drum. This exercise is initially done on the drum but should also be transferred to the body (thigh).
The group or individual oscillate between high energy drumming and fading to a soft, slow Bass pulse at between 60-80bpm. 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 adult individuals or groups this exercise can be extended into mindful breathing and other focused meditations using the Bass pulse as a focal point.
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.
Use a simple and very soft Bass pulse (40–60 bpm) or the Rhythmic Wave exercise as the focal point for this awareness exercise. Give instructions in a mellow, clear voice, speaking slowly and in time to the rhythm. Remember, the script below is just a guide – make it your own.
• Relax your body.
• Adjust your body until you feel comfortable and relaxed. You may wish to close your eyes or focus on one spot. Focus on and relax any tension in your neck, shoulders, chest, arms, hands, back, hips, thighs, lower legs, feet.
• Slow your breathing – focus on your breath, in and out, aligning it to the pulse, becoming still.
• Now focus solely on sounds. Listen to the Bass note of the rhythm first.
• Listen to it in all its dimensions – tone, pitch, frequency. Listen to it in its primacy as pure sound, rather than naming it.
• If other thoughts come to mind, acknowledge them briefly and move your focus back to the sound of the Bass note.
• If you feel comfortable let the vibrations of the Bass note move through your body, grounding you.
• Breathe gently, slowly.
• Let those vibrations travel down to your feet and exit into the floor, connecting you to the earth.
• Now focus on any other sounds. Experience loud and soft sounds, obvious and not so obvious sounds and the gap between sounds.
• Try and avoid categorising these sounds, but experience them as raw energy. If other thoughts come to mind, acknowledge them briefly and move your focus back to the sounds of your environment.
• Breathe gently, slowly.
• Slowly come back to a focus on the Bass.
• Hold your focus on the Bass and allow the volume to slowly fade away.
If possible, sit in silence for 40–60 seconds or if part of the Rhythmic Wave exercise, you can move back into the improvised rhythm play you started from.
This exercise can also be done using Tonal Chimes
Showcase two similar signals on a bell for stopping:
13 three clear strikes of the bell
14 two clear strikes, a gap and then another strike.
Practise using these and stopping for a seven rest count.
Then explain that only number one means move from your seat, while number two means stop and stay in your chair.
See how well people can recognise the difference and respond correctly – moving seats on number one bell call and staying in the same place if you use number two.
Discuss how challenging it was to recognise the difference and respond correctly
Note: Use more challenging signals if these are too easy, for example different melodies on the bell.
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
Introduce the metaphor of a beach ball representing our feelings and emotions and asking people to support each other by keeping those feelings up – keeping the imaginary beach ball in the air using rumble energy. Say: ‘We start as a group lifting the ball as high as we can with our combined energy and then lowering it as low as we can before raising it to a median level, all the time tracking it with our eyes.’
Discuss the challenges of staying positive and the support we can give each other in keeping our spirits up.
Say: ‘Then we pass it on to one person’s drum and ask them to showcase where their emotions are at at present – low or high – before they pass it to another person using their eyes to track the ball as it moves between players, each person expressing the level of their feelings using rumble energy and the height of the imaginary beach ball.’
Discuss the changing nature of feelings, the sharing of feelings and the energy required to sustain our feelings – noting how much you have to put out to keep that ball in the air as an individual compared with when you are getting the support of others.
The exercise also develops teamwork, emotional control and self-awareness. In individual work, I have found this exercise useful in helping clients express how they are feeling and exploring the same concepts but with a more personal focus.