Groove Architecture
A self sustaining groove is built from a number of musical elements all operating on each other to hold the music together. As a drumcircle facilitator you can learn to listen for all the elements and if anything is missing you can educate the group to include it. As a participant in a drumcircle you can learn to contribute in a way that strengthens the groove.
The main elements in terms of instruments are:
Bass drums, bells and wood, shakers and hand drums.
Have at least one of each in any drumcircle and you can create a groove. Hand drums often outnumber the rest. One bass, one bell and one shaker in experienced hands can still hold a large group together.
My preference is 50% hand drums. This creates a multi textured groove and makes the facilitator's job much easier. The foundations are in place, the framework holds it all together and all the gaps are sealed to keep the elements out.
I never even contemplate a session with 100% hand drums. It simply creates too much hard work to hold it together. In terms of this metaphor it is like building a house with all floors and roof. Without foundations and framework you simply haven't got a house! Forget to do the plasterwork and you wouldn't really want to live in it.
Foundations:
The bass drums create the foundations. Everything else stands on top of them. Bass drums need to be simple, solid and connected. The intention of a bass drummer is to set up a firm foundation for everyone else to play on.
Framework:
Building frames are of metal or wood. The cowbells and the wood sounds set up a rhythmic framework for the piece. The sounds are short precise points in time. Even a single clave or bell player can be heard above a large number of drums. The sounds cut through and dictate the overall shape of the groove. The intention of bell and wood players is to create a precise pattern that can lead the action of the groove.
Plasterwork:
Plaster fills every space and keeps out the wind. Shakers perform this role in a percussion groove. They create a simple beat pattern that leaves no space. If there are spaces in the main rhythm the shakers are still there pacing out the beats and spaces between the beats.
Roofing and flooring:
Without floors and roof we have a structure that is incomplete. Bells shakers and bass drums alone can hold a wonderful groove structure but the hand drums come in and make it a nice place to live. Bass holds the bottom percussion holds the top and hand drums fill in all the space between.
Hand drums create a complex rhythmic web themselves. There can be short simple support rhythms, a lead rhythm that is setting the flavour for the whole groove and some elements of improvisation.
Decoration:
Paintwork, verandas and porches. All sorts of things can get added to a building once the basic architecture is in place. Try decorating before the structure is complete and it just isn't going to work. Before a groove is established there is no point in trying out lots of creative facilitation ideas because the groove will crumble and collapse. Once a groove is established everyone has the freedom to be creative, to try new ideas. This is when you really get to PLAY!
Windows:
Windows bring light into the structure. A facilitator can perform this role by using all his or her skill to encourage awareness of the structure on an audio, visual and kinaesthetic level. I think a separate article is called for here.
Doors and stairways:
Doors and stairways allow you to move around within the structure so they represent transition. A skilled facilitator learns to notice when a transition is imminent and open the door for the participants. Getting louder or softer, speeding up or slowing down, or shifting into a different rhythmic groove can all happen spontaneously if the structure is stable and everyone is connected.