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Drumming Classes

If you are looking to find your rhythm, unwind, meet new people, get away or just feel completely liberated then check out what's on with InRhythm in Bali. As well as regular DRUMMING COURSES, we also host DRUM CIRCLES , organise special RETREATS and DRUM MAKING WORKSHOPS where you get to learn the craft of making and repairing DJEMBE DRUMS & AFRICAN DRUMS . You can even get to PERFORM at a COMMUNITY GATHERING or EVENT. InRhythm is for everyone.

Below you'll find info on the following;

About Our Courses

Profesionally Trained Facilitators

Detailed Information

Types of Courses

Drumming Levels- Beginners, General, Intermediates, Advanced

About African Drumming

What to Expect

Great Editorials

About InRhythm Drumming Workshops & Courses

InRhythm drumming workshops allow you to know and 'feel' the rhythms through a variety of powerful techniques that support the many varied ways we all learn. You'll build confidence whilst exploring the fundamentals of: good groove, technique, etiquette, phrasing, listening & dynamics. There's also facilitated open jams for free expression so you can explore your unique sense of rhythm and enjoy the good vibes of jamming with a big crew of people! At the end of longer courses students can perform at Riddim Fest and other great events! Africa is blessed with 100's of rhythms. We are always introducing new traditional rhythms to keep it fresh! African rhythms feel great to play! It's about groups of people playing a number of rhythmic patterns simultaneously to create beautiful interlocking rhythms! It's community based music making in that you need more than one person to create the whole rhythm...drumming is a great way to meet new friends!

Professionally trained facilitators

• beginners to advanced

• all learning styles catered for

• for all adults 15 to 80 years old!

• learn entire African rhythms & perform at Riddim’ Fest & more!

• faciltated open jams

• free parking & public transport

• free drum hire

• very social

• a great workout!

• free tablature & CD tuition available

• always new rhythms

• authentic African drums for sale

• gift vouchers available

Detailed Information

• You'll be guided by professionally trained facilitators allowing you to really find your groove and be completely inspired and uplifted by the power of rhythm!

• Our drumming workshops allow you to know and 'feel' the rhythms through a variety of powerful techniques that support the many varied ways we all learn.

• You'll build confidence whilst exploring the fundamentals of: good groove, technique, etiquette, phrasing, listening & dynamics.

• There's also professionally facilitated open jams for free expression so you can explore your unique sense of rhythm and enjoy the good vibes of jamming with a big crew of people!

• Every student is invited to perform at many special events such as Riddim Fest!

• Free drum hire or BYO

• Easy parking & public transport

• It's a huge stress release!...Drumming is great for you, lots of fun and an amazing present moment awareness meditation.

• Receive free tablature. A cd of the entire rhythm is available for purchase.

• Drumming is very social!...Connect to a huge community of drummers in your local area and all around Australia!

• Africa is blessed with 100's of rhythms. We are always introducing new traditional rhythms to keep it fresh!

• Genuine quality African drums for sale including our special " Make your own drum " courses.

• Gift Vouchers!

Types of Courses

We offer the following community drumming courses, workshops and classes. Some are held on week nights others on the weekend. Courses can focus on African drumming , drum circles through to other style of drumming and combinations of drumming and dance...we hope you'll find something for you.

6-8 Week Drumming Courses

You'll learn an entire African Rhythm/s in all its parts (always playing a new rhythm each term) and experience the joy of a professionally facilitated drum circle. You'll also get to perform at the end of the course at the famous RiddimFest. Learn techniques and meet a great & varied community of drummers. Half way through these course we run drum making courses so that if you are inclined you can experience making your drum and have it to play before the end of the course!

Weekend Drumming Workshops

You'll learn all about African rhythms and experience how they feel to play. We'll focus on one rhythm (always offering new rhythms) with all its interlocking patterns that will give you an excellent undetstanding of how group drumming works. You'll also enjoy an exciting facilitated drum circle where you get to find your own sense of rhythm...yes you have it!. Depending on the weekend workshops the focus may be on speical techniques, drumming basics or soloing. So pick the right workshop for you!

Special Drumming Classes

Here we offer a broad range of special workshops that may focus on a particular special guest teacher, a style of drumming, a style of playing or on phrasing/soloing and more etc... These are great workshops as they offer you variety, perspective and a taste of the beautiful and varied world of rhythm. So pick the right workshop for you.

Drumming Levels

Beginners & General

Emphasis:

having immense fun!

experience feeling rhythm at the same time as understanding rhythm

learning to drum in a group of people

learning the basic techniques

meeting a really varied and warm community of drummers

Intermediate / Advanced

For those who have completed at least one of the general 6-8 week courses

Emphasis:

experiencing and understanding polyrhythmic structures and rhythms in different time signatures

learning to create simple and complex phrases and solos while playing to rhythmic patterns

playing at different tempos

working on creating your unique sound of bass, tone and slap

preparing for special gigs and festivals and

creating your own performance groups with other students

About African drumming in general

African drumming is an evocative and provocative way to experience the power of rhythm. African drumming makes people dance! African rhythms feel great to play. Rhythms are played with a number of drummers, each drummer playing a different part to create a complete rhythm. The parts interlock with each other and the tension created between these parts is what gives the music its quality. African drums are the most popular tribal drums worldwide. They are very accessible to everyone, whether you have played music before or not. African Drumming is a great way to bring any group together to create a sense of community. African drumming is very popular in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane. There are strong drumming communities in regional areas as well. Our mission is to create a centre where you can find and connect to your community. We send out a monthly newsletter that includes information on upcoming African drumming events and courses as well as free community events. So, if you're looking for drum lessons we have drumming workshops and courses Sydney wide and Central Coast. We aim to expand our drumming workshops and courses Australia wide. Drum workshops run from as little as one hour to full 8 week courses.

What to expect from the drumming

You can expect to be completely welcomed and catered for. We offer workshops for all ages and all levels from absolute beginners, intermediates through to advanced. Our drumming workshops allow you to know and 'feel' the rhythms through a variety of powerful techniques that support the many varied ways we all learn. You'll be introduced to a warm and healthy community of like minded people that will make you feel great! You'll build confidence whilst exploring the fundamentals of: good groove, technique, etiquette, phrasing, listening & dynamics. There's also facilitated open jams for free expression in our workshops so you can explore your unique sense of rhythm and enjoy the good vibes of jamming with a big crew of people! At the end of longer courses students can perform at Riddim' Fest and other great events! Africa is blessed with 100's of rhythms. We are always introducing new traditional rhythms to keep it fresh!

Great Editorials

Handbook for the soul

Unfortunately, society does not generally allow us to express the wilder,instinctual side of our natures-our soulful and spiritual selves. Neither does society encourage us to explore the possibilites of body-spirit unity. As a result, frustrated and negative forms of our spiritual forces may begin to build up within us."

An activity like drumming can bridge the gap between the inspiration that comes from higher consciousness and the reality of daily life. Drumming helps us manifest that inspiration as something real and tangible, something that can be felt and shared with other people. It doesn't make any difference if you're a Catholic, or a Shaman, or a Buddhist; you can sit down with a circle of people and just start to drum. And if you do this, not worrying about how you sound, not worrying about the fact that you have never played a drum in your entire life, you will realize that the first music any of us ever heard was the heartbeat of our mother when we were in her womb.

Drumming reminds us of our original nature. Through drumming, we begin to remember who we really are.

Beast Magazine
By Kate Hamilton

It's a howling winter night with no moon and the beachfront streets of Bondi are empty but for the odd intrepid traveller pushing head down into the wind. I am dreaming of home, hot bath, bed. Instead I am crouched on a pint-sized plastic chair, in a circle with 10 other well-swaddled punters warming my cold hands on a cowhide and connecting with my inherent groove. No heal-your-inner-child hooha however - this is seriously funky stuff.

We are midway through a six-week community drumming workshop, held by Bondi-based rhythm maestros, In Rhythm. Some of us have never laid hand to a drum. Many haven't picked up an instrument since we retired our school recorders decades ago. But when we start to play, a strange thing happens.

Somewhere in the midst of those first nervous boom diddy kakas, we hit our stride and the big rockin' groove of a roomful of taut African djembes shakes us to the bone. 'Rhythm is innate,' says Beau of In Rhythm. 'We all have a heartbeat and our breath. Once we relax our conscious mind, it's like opening a doorway,' he says. After more than 10 years hitting the skins, Beau has been running drumming workshops for the past six years.

The community workshops focus on learning one African rhythm in all its parts, followed by a group performance. In Rhythm also facilitates corporate workshops and performs at events, as well as making, selling and repairing drums. Beau says the energy created by a group of drummers can have a profound effect on people. 'Not only do people get really energised but banging on a drum can also be a great release of tension. And a great way to meet like-minded people.' Before I know it, my inner child is up and shaking her thang. Who needs a hot bath?

African drumming

By Gemma Pitcher | ninemsn

First brought to Europe by French colonialists, West African drumming is a pastime that's been gaining in popularity in Australia since the 1980s.

Drums are the world's oldest musical instruments. Hollowed out logs used for drumming have been found at Stone Age archaeological sites. Almost every culture on the globe has a drumming tradition, and drums are integral to the ceremonies and rituals of communities everywhere.

Why is drumming so important to humans? The act of making repetitive noise has important psychological functions - it can soothe stress or whip up adrenaline, induce a state of meditation or bring on a fighting frenzy. The rhythms of drumming go right to the subconscious levels of our brains and work on reactions and emotions we might not otherwise be able to release. The act of group drumming brings a community or team of people into mental harmony, so it's always been used as an important part of the preparation for a hunt or a battle.

In West Africa, drumming traditions are still as strong today as when they originated. 'Talking' drums have such a wide range of pitches that they can imitate the complexity and inflections of the human voice. They are used to communicate complex messages over long distances, bringing news of war, invasion, disaster or celebration. Talking drums are also used by West African storytellers, or griots, who are the keepers of their local oral traditions and can recite centuries of history which they know by heart, accompanied by drums.

The variety of drums used in West Africa is huge, and visitors can see drumming at any event from a harvest festival to a wedding, funeral or political rally. One of the most popular drums is the djembe, a skin covered wooden drum shaped like a goblet and designed to be played with bare hands. The name of the djembe is thought to come from words in the bamana language of Mali meaning 'everyone come together'.

But drumming doesn't need to be something that's confined to a cultural performance witnessed on holiday. Drumming, and particularly djembe drumming, is hugely popular in Australia, with courses and drumming groups available all over the country. Participants often find that drumming is as good as yoga or meditation as a way of relieving stress and tension. It's also an excellent way to learn a musical instrument, with no complicated chords or fingering to learn, and it provides a way to learn more about African culture and music.

Drumming groups, as befits an activity that's designed to bring people together, are very sociable and a good way to connect with a variety of different people. If drumming turns into a passion as well as just a hobby, drumming groups sometimes organise trips to West Africa to learn patterns and techniques from local drum masters, which is an amazing way to get an insight into a culture that most Australians know very little about.

To find a drumming circle in your area, go to http://www.inrhythm.com.au

Drum your way to happiness

By Gemma Pitcher | ninemsn

Stressed? Uptight? Low in energy and feeling down? Instead of reaching for the essential oils or grabbing a glass of wine, how about beating the bejaysus out of an African drum?

Rhythm, defined as 'a sound or movement recurring at regular intervals', is one of the most fundamental ways that humans relate to the world around them. We are aware of rhythm from the moment we are soothed by our mother's heartbeat as a tiny newborn baby. Remember how much you enjoyed clapping along to the nursery rhymes in primary school? How running steadily to a beat in the gym relaxes you? Rhythmic sound and movement has the innate ability to make us feel happier and more relaxed, which is why to many of us music is so important to our daily lives.

Connecting with a group

Drumming is just about the oldest form of music on earth and drumming exists in the traditional rituals of most of the world's cultures. Just as important as rhythm itself is the connection that rhythmic music and dancing gives to members of a group. As far back as human history goes, drumming and dancing has allowed societies to connect deeply to each other and form the social bonds that are needed to keep the community strong.

These days, in our fragmented, hectic world, we rarely get the chance to connect to a wide group of people at a deeper level. Even our closest family and friends barely see enough of us. That's where a drumming group can be surprisingly therapeutic - the mere act of sitting in a circle and beating out a uniform rhythm is soothing, stress-busting and satisfying. Studies have shown that drumming is beneficial for people with depression and anxiety, and that levels of the stress hormone go down after a drum session. An hour or so of drumming after a hectic day at work can leave you feeling relaxed, upbeat and even mildly euphoric and dreamy!

A new skill

Drumming is also great if you've always fancied learning an instrument but don't think you have any innate musical ability. No need to understand the complicated nuances of pitch, tone or key, and no need to master difficult fingering or strumming. Anyone who can count to four can participate in a drum session, and most drum courses are simply based on a system of call-and-response, with a facilitator beating out a simple rhythm for the class to repeat. It's far easier than you think to become proficient enough to join in a group jam, and if you do make a mistake, you can rest easy in the knowledge that you'll be covered up by the sound of everyone else!

A good meditation session

Drum courses usually use African drums such as djembes, which are played by hand rather than with drumsticks. Sessions teach simple, short drum phrases that work towards building up a more complicated rhythm over several weeks. At the end of the drum lesson there's often an 'open jam', which mostly involves everyone choosing a drum or percussion instrument (think shakers, tambourines, cowbells, or blocks) and improvising wildly. Even though it feels a bit like an adult version of kindy, it's amazing how soon a chaotic noise turns into a cohesive rhythm. Being involved in a drum jam can be as good as a meditation session for connecting with yourself and those around you, clearing your mind and letting go of tension and stress.

If you get really into drumming and want to take your newly learnt skill further, there are often opportunities to get involved in live group (or even solo) performances at public events such as local festivals or drumming circles.