Coordinator: Neysa Lettin

What is a drum circle?

It is an interactive gathering of people using drums, percussion, and body movements to create in-the-moment music.
All ages and abilities can participate.
No prior experience is necessary.

Benefits:

Research shows that participation in group drumming, following the HealthRhythmsTM protocol, has the following evidence-based benefits:
Boosts immune system and activity of cancer fighting T-cells
Reduces staff turnover in high-stress workplaces.
Reduces overall stress.

Other Health related benefits:
Self Expression
Increased Social Interaction
Improved Interpersonal Communication
Other benefits:
Sense of Wellness
Laughter
Teamwork
Communication
Diversity Awareness
Community
Self-Expression
Leadership
Empowerment
Rhythmic Awareness
Musicality
Creativity
Exercise
Hands-On Fun
Academically:
Visual
Auditory
Kinesthetic
Vocal skills
Percussion Timbre ( woods, bells, shakers )
Drum Pitch ( Low, Medium, High )
Interactive Rhythm
Pulse

Drum circles help people reconnect with themselves, the community -- and wellness

PUBLISHED: February 15, 2005

By Maryanne Kocis MacLeod
Macomb Daily Staff Writer

At first, the tough guy with the wilted spirit poked fun at the therapeutic drum circle.
"Is this where the band practices?" he asked mockingly, wondering why a psychiatric patient with substance abuse problems was being asked to play percussion.

By the end of the first session he had his answer: "It just feels good," he told facilitator Megan Gunnell, a certified music therapist and director of the music therapy program for Bon Secours Cottage Health Services.

Drum circles help organize thoughts, elevate mood and invoke a sense of belonging, Gunnell explained.

"You can't think about other things when you're drumming," Gunnell said. "You're in the moment -- you don't want to miss a beat."

In recent years, drum circles have cropped up in churches, schools, hospitals and even beaches around the country.

At Bon Secours Cottage in Grosse Pointe, insurance covers the cost of in-patient drum therapy; from labor and delivery to oncology, it's available simply for the asking.

"Locally, very few hospitals offer these types of therapies as part of their overall care," said Carol Greenberg, president of patient care and chief nursing officer at Bon Secours Cottage.

Besides music therapy, Bon Secours also offers pet, art and aromatherapy, therapeutic touch, hand and foot massage, foot baths and reiki to some or all of its patients.

"Our hospital is interested in the relationship between traditional and complementary medicine," Greenberg continued. "We've all seen the benefits that holistic therapy can provide as an adjunct. It helps people with their pain, their anxiety. And we all know that if you have less pain, less anxiety, you get better faster."

Also, there's something validating in making music with other people, Gunnell said. "Any little thing you do impacts the entire group."

And since drumming does not require special skills, anyone can pick up a stick.

"We are all innately rhythmic because we have a heartbeat," Gunnell said.

New research even documents the cellular benefits of group drumming.

According to a 2001 study by Barry Bittman, M.D., of the Mind-Body Wellness Center in Meadville, Pa., drumming increases the number of disease-fighting, white blood cells, known as the body's natural killer cells.

The study, which included 111 participants, measured blood levels of immune system markers both before and after drumming. The end result? Drum circle participants showed a significant increase in immune activity.

The study gives us an important building block that says music making can have a positive effect on biology, Bittman said.

Drumming can be used as a meditative process or in collaboration with others, said Gunnell, who uses it frequently in the psychiatric unit -- with immediate results.

"For those experiencing very disorganized thinking, drumming almost breaks that and moves them into something that is demanding of their attention and very rhythmic and organized," Gunnell said. "Many patients comment after the session that they feel both 'relaxed' and 'energized.' "

Drumming also provides a means of non-verbal communication.

In working with a pediatric patient unable to express feelings of helplessness, Gunnell asked her to take part in a role-playing game in which she could select and play the drum of her choice to represent the voice of her parents or doctor.

"She asked me to play her voice, which she described as 'quiet' and she played the doctor's voice," Gunnell said. "She wailed away: 'Boom, boom, boom!' on the biggest drum I had to offer and when she was done, I quietly responded 'tap, tap, tap.'

"Afterwards, she was able to talk about her feelings related to not being 'heard' as a child patient and what that was like for her and how we could improve it."

Neysa Lettin is the Keyboards For Kids Drum Circle class facilitator. Neyssa retired in 2003 after 31 years of teaching general music in the Cherry Creek School District. While teaching, her specialties were choral work and directing school musicals. Drumming never entered her mind until the summer of 2001 when she attended a "Unity with a Beat" weekend with Arthur Hull and Mickey Hart. After experiencing her first drum circle, there was no turning back.

Since 2001, Neysa has attended four Hawaii facilitator camps (mentoring in 2005) and is now a certified Drum Circle Facilitator. She has also trained and become a HealthRhythms provider. In the winter of 2006, she was a staff member of the NewRhythmsFoundation and attended the World Parkinson Congress in Washington D.C., where she assisted with drum circles offered to Parkinson patients, caregiver attendees, as well as doctors and research scientists. As a member of the RhythmWeavers, Neysa helps facilitate rhythm and art festivals around the country. Also, a team member of Peak Rhythms, Inc., in Breckenridge, Colorado, she works with Jon Crowder whenever the need arises. Recently, she has teamed up with KeyboardsForKids as the drum coordinator and is teaching the "Joy of Rhythm" in after school programs.

Neysa is an active drum circle facilitator in the Denver, Colorado area. She offers a monthly community circle and provides rhythm based events to schools, churches, community and health care facilities and events.