Why Drumming??

Because it's fun!

But that's not the only reason.

First, there's the timing. The brain runs on rhythm. The connections between the front, middle, and back parts of the brain happen in time. If they are slow, thinking and problem solving are slow. When they speed up, thinking and problem solving do, too.

Second, it's a group having fun. Community motivates, and so does enjoyment. There are joy hormones being created, and that encourages people to push themselves to stick with something they might give up on earlier. So in the end, MORE learning happens because we're together.

Third, it's about patterns. Yes, this is what rhythm is based on, but we also have movement patterns in the body. The alternating arms cross the body (and that means the signals in the brain also need to cross). This creates complicated communication in the brain. Finding this coordination builds incredible patterns in the brain that can be used for all sorts of high-level processing tasks.

Fourth, it's multi-sensory. The feel of the drums, the sound of the drums, the place of one person in the ensemble, the interweaving of the patterns . . . all these provide information to the nervous system that allows coordination to happen. And coordination is the name of the game. It takes some time, but the encouragement of the group, the ability to simplify rhythms to build coordination . . . this makes the body work in special ways that don't occur in other places in life.

And, did I mention that it's fun? Getting people together to be part of a groove is a powerful thing. Making music together creates a bond that's hard to explain, and becoming one with the rhythm is even more incredible. The learning, the fitting in, the sense of accomplishment, the coordination . . . these are priceless things. Playing on a team and working together to achieve a goal is forever memorable. Adding all the other senses to the mix . . . mindbending. Literally!