Pass the Smores, it's time to drum...

Drum circles can start intentionally or randomly and they can take many shapes.Drum circles often meet once a week. Someone or some group decided when and where to circle, what the structure would be and how to invite drummers to show up. Others just sort of happen and become a cool place to be.

I sat in on an impromptu circle the other night, celebrating the Equinox. I attended this group not as a member of Pagan Sounds but as a parent. The two circle facilitators were my 13 and 8 year old daughters. My wife, also a member of Pagan Sounds, built a small fire in our back yard fire pit. Our eldest daughter set about taking pictures of the moon rising above the hills, playing with camera settings and capturing great images as the moon seemingly hung in the limbs of a Yucca tree in a neighbour's yard.


Our youngest grabbed one of our 12" drums, the 13 year old played a 16" drum (with the Tree Goddess, her fave), my wife had her favourite doumbek and I had a 23" djembe. The beat started simply enough - a variation on a heart beat - and then progressed as we all settled into complementary rhythms. We grew louder and softer, lost the beat a few times, then found it again and started playing faster. Each drum sang with a different voice, as unique as the people playing them.


There's a walking trail behind our house, that leads to an eight acre piece of open land. dog-walkers, folks for an evening stroll and bicyclists pass our house on the trail. One man rode by and a few minutes later stopped by our back fence - "Alright, cool...a family playing drums. Are those djembes? I think my wife really wants one. That's so cool that you drum together."


Our kids stopped playing after a while and they found a new beat - the timeless rhythm of toasting marshmallows, melting chocolate and stacking them onto graham crackers.


Happy drumming...