(Book). In this quintessential guide to both creating and facilitating drum circles, noted music therapist and drum circle facilitator Christine Stevens covers everything from key grooves and instrumentation, to the personal side of empowering people and creating transformational experiences through recreational drumming. Filled with practical tools, guidelines, principles, helpful hints, exercises, and even a play-along CD, Stevens' book weaves into one resource the many key elements of what My Generation/AARP Magazine refers to as one of the country's "fastest growing holistic health trends." "Christine Stevens brings together the energy of her drum circle leadership and the healing power of her background in wellness to give us a very helpful book for drum circle leaders, teachers, recreation specialists, religious group leaders, health professionals, business people and amateur drummers." Dr. Will Schmid, MENC Past President and author, World Music Drumming "This book is a must for anyone involved in or interested in the drum circle movement from veterans to wanna-be facilitators." Karl Bruhn, Father of the Music Making and Wellness Movement What you'll learn: . The science of entrainment . The drum circle duality . How to advertise and set up your drum circle . Recommended drums and percussion instruments . Eight basic facilitation cues . Seven essential skills of facilitation . Making arrangements in-the-moment . Facilitation using a melody instrument . Creating sound-scapes with new drummers . How to cover the basics of hand drumming . Starting and maintaining the groove . Designing your program . Facilitating from a place of musical joy! . Creating metaphors and meaning

An introduction and guide to the concepts of facilitating successful community rhythm-based events.

Now you can learn the art of drum circle facilitation from master percussionist, educator, and award winning drum circle facilitator, Kalani. His Drum Circle Music approach makes it easy to effectively create and facilitate programs for music education, health & wellness, personal & professional development, and recreation. Help people from all walks of life reach their full potential, develop valuable life skills, and embrace the joys of music as we all come Together in Rhythm.

A spirited global tour of drum circle instruction for the classroom and community; my book includes a comprehensive online video showcasing school and community drum circles. People who want to discover their spiritual need to drum are welcome to let me take them on a journey of WORLD MUSIC. My book begins with the African forms of drumming and moves through diverse cultural forms of music/drumming from all around our world. African, Cuban, Brazilian, Native, Middle Eastern, Japanese, Community. The instructional online video showcases the talent of people of all ages. Feel free to refer to the online video with regards to the topics covered in the book. This book also provides educators and drum circle facilitators with ideas for implementing a music program or a community Drum Circle. I have also included positive evaluation methods. Discover your spirit of drumming. Includes access to online video.

This concise book explains the theory behind drumming for therapy and gives practical guidance on facilitating drum circles. With a particular emphasis on incorporating art therapy, it provides step-by-step directions for making and painting drums from scratch with detailed photographs for clarity.

Why are we able to recognize melodies in our first days of life? Why does making music actually switch off the genes that signal stress? It is because music is part of who we are at the deepest level—and we don't need any special talent or training to harness its power to enhance our lives. With Music Medicine, music therapist Christine Stevens presents an information-packed resource, filled with scientifically-based practices for accessing and attuning to the natural healing properties of music. Drawing from a wealth of research and her own pioneering healing work in some of the most challenging places around the world, Stevens invites you to discover: Accessing the four elements of music-rhythm as medicine for the body, melody for the heart, harmony for the soul, and silence for the mindConscious listening-how to open yourself fully to the healing potential that music offersYour musical self-accessing your voice, spirit, and inner music for healing and changeClinical research, case studies, and stories that reveal music's extraordinary capacity to reduce stress, prevent illness, and strengthen the immune systemHow music connects us to each other and creates community, even in places of war and conflictInspirational guidance on how to use music for spirituality, personal growth, and well-beingHealing playlists-each chapter features valuable download recommendations and links for selecting healing musicThe drum massage, creating your power song, full-body listening, and other effective and enjoyable practices “Music's medicine awaits your discovery,” says Christine Stevens. “I invite you to release any doubts that you are musical, and to realize the power of music to nourish your body, mind, heart, and soul.” With Music Medicine, she provides a thoroughly researched and practical guide for integrating the healing benefits of sound into your life—and discovering the extraordinary transformation that occurs when we liberate our own inner music. “Music can provide the support we need in life's challenging moments, and more importantly, music can become part of our daily routine for spirituality and health. Enjoy this powerful path for your own healing—through the joy, and the great peace, of music.” —Joan Borysenko, PhD, from the foreword of Music Medicine “Music Medicine brings home to our hearts the truth that music is an organic medicine. Christine Stevens reveals how the intricate beauty of harmony, rhythm, and song course through our veins, uniting us with the cosmic music of the universe.” —Michael Bernard Beckwith, author of Life Visioning and Spiritual Liberation “Music Medicine is an interstate of sound that awakens, soothes, dances, and silences us.” —Don Campbell, author of The Mozart Effect and The Harmony of Health “Each of Christine's lessons has helped me to become a musical instrument and a singer of my own song.” —Bernie Siegel, MD, author of Love, Medicine, and Miracles “In this book, Christine provides a powerful and educational curriculum for music therapists, musicians, and anyone interested in music wellness. Music becomes the language to unite and heal across the continents.” —Antoinette Follett, Editor-in-Chief, Making Music

The beat is universal drumming as a way of communicating with other people, spirits, and self exists around the world and throughout time. And contemporary drumming is thriving! In the neopagan community, the most popular festivals and workshops are those that feature drumming circles. In healing centers, nursing homes, women's centers, and schools across the country, people are forming drumming circles. Sacred Beat honors and explores every aspect of drumming historical, contemporary, practical. In Part I, Telesco and Waterhawk tell the history of drums and drumming circles and the myths, superstitions, and religions that have grown up around drumming. From West Africa to Tibet, from Siberia to England, from Vietnam to Apache territory, where Fox gave the people drums along with fire come stories about drums, their invention, their use up until contemporary times. People respond almost universally and profoundly to drums to relieve stress, to communicate, to move in rhythm with the universe, to praise their gods. A comprehensive section of practical information follows, with ideas for finding a drum and other rhythmic tools that are right for your vision, caring for and decorating your instrument, drum etiquette, and elements of a good drum circle. The next section of Sacred Beat is all about drumming in groups different ways it's being done, from Native American PowWows to Goddess gatherings to community centers, and how to become a part of it. The book closes with a section on creating drumming magic all your own, with meditations, prayers, and divinations to create overall wellbeing and spiritual awareness with drums. The voice of the drum combines with the voice of the Ancestors, the voice of Spirit, and the voice of our own soul to create a powerful and transformational partnership. By working with the drum, a person can support this partnership, reach out to the community, touch the earth, and nurture their own spirit.