Chi Practice for Drumming

[cheya]

A friend asked me what chi practice I would suggest for improving drumming sound, specifically for her, frame drumming.

She studies with professionals and teaches classes herself, but she said recently she had a realization. She's very sure she is doing EXACTLY what her teachers are doing, same hand position, same angle, same pressure, etc. However, the sound she gets is not the same, and she thinks it's a matter of chi. Her drumming is technically correct, but lacks some kind of energy.

Any suggestion for a chi practice? Or some other approach entirely?

Edited November 1, 2014 by cheya

[Andrei]

Tai Chi is da best. She could try taichi fan, but she should start with begginner level anyways. Or jian taichi (sword practice) but this is even more advanced.

Edited October 30, 2014 by Andrei

[Bearded Dragon]

Maybe stop thinking of it as a drum. Forget techniques and everything that has been taught. Trust that it will come naurally. Devote all attention to listening. Attentively, emotionally. See what each sound triggers inside. Start from the beginning and really get to know each sound at a deeper level.

 

This new vocabulary changes the way you play. On the piano I would just play one note over and over. Once I got to know it it would inspire the next. Eventually things would speed up into a jam but the beginning was always slow.

 

Don't think. Feel.

[silent thunder]

I've done a lot of hand drumming.

Could the difference in sound be related to the difference in the size of her hands?

[cheya]

Good question!

 

She has large but very flexible hands. Maybe all drummers have flexible hands?

If not, stiffness could change the sound...

 

Two of her teachers I know, one large dense male and one small wire-y female...

 

But maybe some differences in tissue density...

 

She is following the thread, and maybe will join to respond or ask questions herself.

 

Thank you all for your responses and suggestions so far!

[somatech]

Yeah I agree with Bearded Dragon's post and the suggestion of really feeling deeply within her while she drums.

 

She has the technical ability, so thats not an obstruction. She may need to pull in her own essence and truth into the drumming and be willing to go on that journey to find out what that is. Most likely it won't happen over night, but who knows.

 

The best musicians are tapped into a deeper truth and they become a vehicle for that truth. You have to be willing to become a vessel and let go into that. As bearded dragon said that lies beyond her thinking mind.

 

The other suggestion would be to focus on her Dan Tien while she drums for like 30 mins and see what happens - And to maintain that focus and awareness there (but not forcing), regardless how cool and interesting the drumming gets.

Edited November 1, 2014 by somatech

[Tibetan_Ice]

Tell your friend to try her teachers' drums. Maybe the instructors replace their skins more often, or have heavier skins, deeper drums, thicker walls on the drums etc... Also, examine the clothes. Is the fabric she wears sound absorbent or reflective? What type of fabrics do the others wear?

 

Then, have her examine her ears. Perhaps others' drumming would sound the same if the other drums were as close to her ears as her drum is to her ears when she drums. A drum that is ten feet away sounds different than a drum that is right next to the body.

 

Then, record her drumming and the other's drumming, playing exactly he same thing, in separate sessions. Then play them back, disguising the order. See if she can tell the difference.

Edited November 1, 2014 by Tibetan_Ice

[Unseen_Abilities]

"Visualise" or imagine the drumming sounding and feeling the desired way...I would avoid trying to sound exactly like the teachers, but that's just me. Have her hold a phrase in mind while drumming, "My drumming sounds and feels the way I want it to" or "This sounds exactly right"...you get the idea. Instill the idea.

[soaring crane]

Relax. Breathe. That's where I'd start

[Chang]

A friend asked me what chi practice I would suggest for improving drumming sound, specifically for her, frame drumming.

 

She studies with professionals and teaches classes herself, but she said recently she had a realization. She's very sure she is doing EXACTLY what her teachers are doing, same hand position, same angle, same pressure, etc. However, the sound she gets is not the same, and she thinks it's a matter of chi. Her drumming is technically correct, but lacks some kind energy.

 

Any suggestion for a chi practice? Or some other approach entirely?

 

My own thoughts on this matter for what they are worth.

 

Your friend is still a neophyte as regards the art of drumming. She has learned the technique of the art but has still some way to go towards mastery. Time and practice are really all that is required along, of course, with patience.

 

This is true of any art or skill to which aspire.

[doc benway]

A friend asked me what chi practice I would suggest for improving drumming sound, specifically for her, frame drumming.

 

She studies with professionals and teaches classes herself, but she said recently she had a realization. She's very sure she is doing EXACTLY what her teachers are doing, same hand position, same angle, same pressure, etc. However, the sound she gets is not the same, and she thinks it's a matter of chi. Her drumming is technically correct, but lacks some kind energy.

In any practice, I believe there is something subtle yet profound that develops simply with time, repetition, and experience.

This something is a confidence, a certainty, a knowledge (beyond and including the intellect), that allows us to relax and embrace what we are doing to a point where it becomes less effortful, more soulful, and more complete.

The effort we exert as beginners and intermediates gets in the way.

That lack of confidence and certainty, even at a very subtle level, gets in the way.

The struggle we have with ourselves (even wanting to be better) gets in the way.

I think that your friend simply needs to be patient, persistent, and completely open in her practice.

She must allow the spirit and nature of the drumming to flow through her unimpeded.

She must let go of her desire to improve and embrace the joy and beauty of the rhythm and sound.

It takes a long time for that to happen - there are no short cuts.

 

Any suggestion for a chi practice? Or some other approach entirely?

I believe that a meditation practice that "focuses" primarily on opening oneself to one's inner self, one's true nature, the connection we have to everything else, would be very valuable. Some feel this can be obtained through moving and breathing practices, others through standing practices, others through sitting. For me, the most powerful by far has been sitting practices. Here again, skillful guidance by a teacher is invaluable, and the same issue will arise of what is it my (meditation or qigong) teacher has that I don't yet have that allows them to do this more effectively and more effortlessly?

 

I also think that anything that connects her more deeply with the soul of the music would be helpful.

A deeper knowledge and appreciation of the culture, the purpose, the message and intent, the language and spirit of the drumming.

The drumming is not about technique, accuracy, timbre, or volume as much as it's about communication.

When you begin to feel that you know what needs to be communicated and are making that connection, that really supports further development of the technique.

I'm going through something similar right now - I've recently taken up playing flamenco style guitar after decades of playing other musical styles. Flamenco has a soul and a spirit all its own and while it is important to master technique, it is even more important to feel and communicate the "swing" of the music as my teacher calls it.

 

Good luck to your friend!

[Trunk]

Many good replies, fun to read.

 

I'd say that any body-wisdom-discipline (hatha yoga, pilates, tai chi, bagua, etc) would, over time, show up deeply in the quality of attack in drumming. One of my xing yi brothers is a drummer and for sure it influences his drumming. Exercise and body-work in general could be very interesting vis-a-vis drumming, over time.

 

Just resting into places in your body and letting the drumming come from there is a good one.

 

I'd also say that there's a balance of training for perfect form vs training spontenaity. I went through a phase on guitar where I was banging away on a simple blues progression ... with just any rhythm that my body presented at the time. They were pretty long sessions that were kind of musical-opening ~ body-therapy sessions. This went on for at least a couple of months. A lot of roughness came out and afterwards I was more smooth and fluid.

Edited November 1, 2014 by Trunk

[Harmonious Emptiness]

A lot of great suggestions here already.

 

I'll add:

 

try vocalizing what she wants to play. This is very helpful because the voice brain connection is much faster than to the hands, so the voice can keep everything on point and let the hands know better where they're supposed to be.

 

The quality of drum can be a huge factor, as can the calluses

 

Percussion drums are very melodic, another reason vocalizing is so helpful. Listen to the pitches and the melody that they create. Note that the pitch is often in the overtones rather than the immediate sound, so the angle of the strike, the speed, etc. can change this. I tend to depress the skin with the finger of the opposite hand when aiming for certain melodies, a technique borrowed from tablas (which I never learned how to play).

 

Last point is to listen to the character of the drum. Each drum has it's very personal character which needs to be embraced and worked with. So play the drum in different ways to find it's natural inclination to overtones and then play with those tones. When those tones are fully engaged then other more subtle ones will appear and you can work with those too. Improvisationally, this becomes a very meditative "in the moment" practice which requires keeping all your bases, like time and technique, while following the present moment as it is revealed and living with what it brings.

 

Also, close your eyes. The physicality of what's happening can be way too much for the mind to handle. All you need to know is how it sounds and how it feels. Lucky for drummers, they can do this to a much larger extent than with other instrumentalists.

[cheya]

These responses are amazing!

Makes me want to take up drumming!

 

(And you've also inspired my friend to join the board!)

[al.]

Drumming qigong is really wonderful!

 

Practicing qigong and then playing drums will be a game changer.

 

Also, start playing the drums as if it's a woodwind instrument- start by exhaling through a fill or tricky phrase.

 

A

[silent thunder]

very true about vocalizing drum intentions.

I was taught that if you can make the rhythm with your tongue, you can make it with your hands.

[Harmonious Emptiness]

Drumming qigong is really wonderful!

 

Practicing qigong and then playing drums will be a game changer.

 

Also, start playing the drums as if it's a woodwind instrument- start by exhaling through a fill or tricky phrase.

 

A

 

Agreed. I do this quite a bit. It helps if you have some smooth breath control via woodwind practice. Another way to do it is inhale for 8 beats and then exhale for 8 beats.

[Harmonious Emptiness]

very true about vocalizing drum intentions.

I was taught that if you can make the rhythm with your tongue, you can make it with your hands.

 

The same thing goes for non-percussion instruments. It's much easier to copy a phrase after singing it (beep-ba-da-ba-dap-bap-baa, etc.) both for the pitches and rhythm of it.

[Brian]

These responses are amazing!

Makes me want to take up drumming!

 

(And you've also inspired my friend to join the board!)

Cool! From our neck of the woods?

[Nungali]

I used to do these before a performance ( drumming for belly-dancer troupe)

 

 

 

 

 

then shake and flick

 

 

But then sometimes ... one gets in 'the zone' and ... who cares !

 

[ Thinking of the time I drummed for a Voodoo ceremony - for 2 hours straight - blood on the drums ! .... ( from split fingers that is ) ]

[Nungali]

very true about vocalizing drum intentions.

I was taught that if you can make the rhythm with your tongue, you can make it with your hands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey Look ! Split fingers

[silent thunder]

Ms. Kushimoto laying down some awesome rhythm and melody simultaneously...

 

[cheya]

Cool! From our neck of the woods?

She is indeed!

 

And just for the record, the issue is sound, maybe tone, but not rhythm. As I understand it, she's got the technical part down pat.

Edited November 5, 2014 by cheya

[Harmonious Emptiness]

This thread has inspired me actually. I have a small but beautiful bodhran that I received as a gift. To small to use as a bodhran but really nice tones when used as a frame drum. The technique is interesting and something to get better at - the "slap" tone is a finger snap, like with darbouka which I never learned traditionally. It's a bit easier when holding a frame drum though. It really is perhaps the most overtone rich drum, making it very meditative. The rhythm is more subtle than most percussion styles too, similar to tablas but easier to to get decent at.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUKFckvifZU

[silent thunder]

I encountered the veracity of the10,000 hour rule in the field of acting, live theater and comedy.

I'm now applying it to meditation and qi gong.

 

Just don't quit, stay on in your path and you'll arrive at great accomplishment.