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DCM 2018 – More than Drum Circle Facilitation

June 4, 2018 by kalani

Why are people taking the DCM course?

It offers a lot more than drum circle facilitation.

DCM is about facilitating creativity, community, and is based in a universal process of Inclusion, Cooperation, and Appreciation.

Drum circles are fine, but we can do so much more. A lot of people are looking for fun ways to engage people in music-based experiences without the need for music skills. They want to help people enjoy some of the many benefits of music making without having people feel the anxiety that can come from music performance or learning. The DCM course provides answers. Kalani is a master musician, educator, and music therapist. His specialty is in helping people make connections while being creative.

“Facilitation is much more than standing up in the middle of a group and conducting different activities. That’s more of a form of control. What we’re doing at the DCM course, is developing our skills to help empower people to be the ones leading themselves towards something magical. We believe that people are inherently creative and playful. Our role, as facilitators, is to unlock that creative, playful side of people by creating an environment that is free from judgement, abundant in resources, and encouraging.”

When we study DCM, we’re not just thinking about drum circles, drumming, or even music. We’re thinking about people. When we root our goals in what people can do, create, and feel, we point towards a personal outcome. We’re not just thinking about getting people to play the same beat or follow directions from a conductor. We’re giving people the permission and resources they need to find the magic in purposeful play. We never have to get out of the way because we’re never in the way in the first place.

Because DCM has its roots in music, education, and therapy, it’s especially powerful for people who wish to be of service to others, whether in the areas of recreation, education, or therapeutic experiences. As founder of teh Therapeutic Drumming Network, Kalani understands how to create meaningful experiences that help people make progress in a variety of areas, from emotional to cognitive and spiritual. DCM participants often find that they learn much more than they expected, which is one of the main lessons of DCM: Always expect to discover more than you were looking for.

There’s still room in the 2018 DCM course in Los Angeles.

Register

Filed Under: Community Drumming, Education, Facilitation, Study Tagged With: drum, drum circle, drumming, faciltation, learning

Preparing for the DCM Course with Kalani

April 7, 2018 by kalani

Register for the course here: http://playsinglaugh.com

Get the most from your DCM training course experience. I talk about what you can do, the books you could review, and some other steps to make your DCM experience the best it can be. The Developmental Community Music Course is a professional development program for music educators, music therapists, and community music facilitators. We explore music and the relationships created through active music making as a means for fostering communication, collaboration mutual support, and more. DCM Facilitators are able to design and present a variety of rhythm-based experiences, from drum circles to interactive drumming, musical games, and more. Influenced by Orff-Schulwerk and Music Therapy, the DCM Approach is the result of years of practical application of drumming, world music, improvisation, group facilitation, and community building. Kalani Das is a professional musician, Orff-Certified music educator, and Board-Certified Music Therapist with many years of experience as an educator, author, presenter, trainer, clinician, performer, and therapist.

Together in Rhythm Book with DVD: https://amzn.to/2qaMpJa

The Way of Music book with CD: https://amzn.to/2qhF3E7

Kalani’s World Rhythms Book: https://amzn.to/2HhcxKH

Drum Fun DVD: https://amzn.to/2Hf4Vs9

The Drum Circle DVD: https://amzn.to/2qesUzF

Filed Under: Community Drumming, Education, Facilitation

Five Better Options Than a Drum Circle

January 8, 2018 by kalani

Drum circles have gotten most of the drumming-related press and promotion in the past 20 years, largely due to big spending and marketing efforts from major drum companies and organizations such as the International Music Products Association, but there are some other types of group drumming that offer more functionality and potential.

Why not a drum circle?

To be clear, drum circles can be fun. In fact, that’s what they’re supposed to be. They are a casual gathering of people to make music together, without the need to reach any particular musical goal, level of musicianship, or specific outcomes. These can all be seen as positive aspects, especially when getting everyone involved is the primary goal. But what about reaching other goals beyond involvement or having a good time? What are some of the best ways to reach musical and other goals? There are several.

Traditional Drumming Ensembles

Since drum circles are not about reaching technical music goals, there’s no place in them for focused learning (or teaching) with regard to techniques, rhythms, or even roles and responsibilities that often come with playing in a musical ensemble. To help teach musical skills and tap into the learning potential of music in general, engage people in a basic drumming ensemble where they learn about the instruments, simple techniques, and participate in the playing of a simple simple piece of music, such as a two-bar rhythm. There’s a myth floating around in some circles that asserts that people will feel stressed out if you try to teach them to play music. Not true! People love learning how to play instruments and play together. They get a huge sense of satisfaction from reaching even the most basic level of competency. Rather than playing down to your groups, elevate their self-esteem by giving them a simple goal, teaching them basic techniques and rhythms, and celebrating with them as they achieve something new.

Drumming Games

Drum circles don’t have many rules: play what you feel, blend in, try to get along with the groove and everyone in it. They are meant to be flexible and fun, without rules and regulations. Musical Games (also called drumming or rhythm games) do have what we call “play rules” or “givens.” They are similar to other types of games, in that they happen within a structured setting, have specific “cause and effect” actions, rules, if-thens, and other guidelines that form, shape, and ultimately determine how the game is played. Musica games offer the structure that drum circles can’t. They’re great for school-age children, adults in team-building programs, groups who want to socialize in a fun way, group challenges, and more. Musical Games are easy to understand and very easy for most people to participate in. The leader lays out the rules and everyone knows what to do, whereas in a drum circle, people are sometimes not sure how to participate.

Mixed Media Improvisation

Drum circles are all about drumming, but what if not everyone is able to play an instrument or doesn’t feel like it? Allowing for ALL forms of musical expression is a great way to increase inclusiveness and take advantage of people’s fun expressive potential by opening up the playing field to include ALL types of media (music, art, word, movement) while allowing for any and all types of expression (improvisation). By not planning anything specific, the world play becomes much more broad and able to accept any form of play that comes. Mixed Media Improvisations often start in one area, such as speech, then brach out into body percussion, instrumental play, dance, movement, art-making and more. They offer far more in the way of expressive possibilities than a drum circle alone.

Drum Play

Drumming can be loud, especially when more than five or six people are involved. Using drums and percussion instruments as “play objects” is another way to access the novel and fun aspect of the instruments without having to worry about disturbing your neighbors (or your participants). With the average drum circle hitting sound pressure levels of over 90 dB, hearing loss can become a real factor. By using the instruments in a non-musical way, more like art or play objects, you reduce the noise while increasing the play potential. Using instruments to create sculptures is a fun way to spark creativity, story telling, and promote teamwork. Drum Play can be part of a larger music-based program, used either as an ice-breaker or closing session.

Guided Interactive Drumming 

Drum circles are fine if everyone is game, but that’s not always the case. Even with an experienced facilitator (conductor/leader) helping everyone along, there may still be question marks hanging over people’s heads: “What am I supposed to do? How should I play? What is this thing? My hand are tired. Now what?” Sometimes, what people need and appreciate is more structure, not less. This is especially true for large groups of people who were not expecting to be drumming together, at a conference or training event, for example. Guided Interactive Drumming helps provide structure by giving participants specific ways to play together. GID events often feature a core group of drummers who do most of the playing and keeping the music together. The participants play “on top of” the music of the leaders, feeling the satisfaction of making music, without the need to know a lot or have musical skills.

Drum circles are fun, but there are many other ways to engage people in group drumming experience that might be more effective. Knowing which ones to use in a given situation, as well as how to create and present them, is part of what a Community Drumming Facilitator (CDF) does. As longtime percussionist, music educator, and music therapist, I help people learn how to present many types of drumming experiences. My goal is always to make sure my students are making the most out of any experience.

 

Filed Under: Community Drumming, Education, Facilitation

Doing More with Less

April 10, 2016 by kalani

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There are some really simple strategies that anyone can use to manage more productive and satisfying outcomes. Kalani talks about how to make progress towards a goal, how to facilitate with a light touch, and how to get more from your participants without over-managing or over-working. This episode is all about doing more with less.

inclusion

Filed Under: Facilitation, World Drum Club

Creating Inclusion

April 10, 2016 by kalani

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Inclusion is the key to participant buy-in, whether the goal is creating music or managing a company. Kalani discusses some keys to facilitating inclusion that anyone can use to create more effective experiences for groups of all kinds.

inclusion

Filed Under: Facilitation, World Drum Club

Sound Toss – Musical Game

April 9, 2016 by kalani

Greetings Club Member!

This is a simple game you can play with just about any group of people. What I like about this game, is you don’t need any instruments! You can use voices or sound effects, which makes this musical game super portable and easy to present just about anywhere. It works really well as an ice-breaker or energizer, and it’s perfect for groups where the members are just getting to know each other. Tip: This game is best played with medium-size groups (10-20). If you use it in a larger group, it may take quite a while before everyone gets a turn and some people might not even get the sound passed to them! So, use it wisely and have fun tossing sounds!

For more like this, see the DRUM FUN – Musical Games for Groups DVD

Filed Under: Community Drumming, Education, Facilitation, Improvisation, The Club Tagged With: game, groups, improvisation, music

Therapeutic Drumming Course 2015

June 28, 2015 by kalani

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We welcome talented percussionists from diverse backgrounds to the Therapeutic Drumming Certificate Course in Los Angeles, July 19-24, 2015.
Kalani talks about two ways to offer benefits through drumming and gives listeners a special discount code to save on course registration.

 

TD-DRUMMING4

Filed Under: Community Drumming, Facilitation, World Drum Club

Therapeutic Music Making

September 15, 2014 by kalani

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Kalani discusses the practice and purpose of Therapeutic Music Making. Learn ways to use music to promote positive changes in your physical, cognitive, and emotional life. Kalani explains how to use music therapeutically for personal and community well-being. Find out more at http://kalanimusic.com and http://playsinglaugh.com.

Watch the video version below and comment on YouTube.

Filed Under: Community Drumming, Facilitation, World Drum Club Tagged With: MT-BC, music, therapeutic music making, therapy

Flute Harvest 2014

August 29, 2014 by kalani

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This episode is dedicated to everyone out there who believes in the power of music to heal, to bring people together, to teach us about ourselves and each other, and to act as a catalyst for positive change. Flute Harvest (http://fluteharvest.com) gives us the opportunity to grow as musicians, to learn ways we can help ourselves and others, and to grow as people and a community. In this episode, Kalani talks about some of the many benefits of active music making and shares some special instruments that he uses in his work as a music therapist. For more about Flute Harvest, visit the website. Flute Harvest is October 26-31, 2014.

Flute Harvest

 

 

Other links:

Fluteopedia

Clint Goss

Developmental Community Music

Watch the full video.

Filed Under: Facilitation, Health, Improvisation, World Drum Club

Easter Special

April 20, 2014 by kalani

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Kalani is fresh off an Asia tour after presenting workshops in Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore. In this episode, he talks about therapeutic music making and how you can get trained as a therapeutic musician at the DCM Summer course (http://playsinglaugh.com). A special deal awaits you on Amazon, where you can save up to 30% using a special code that you will get at the end of the podcast! (Good from April 20 to 27)

Note: Only products sold by Musical Media are eligible for the discounts.

Kalani LIVE

Filed Under: Community Drumming, Facilitation, Music Therapy, World Drum Club

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