Wishing to encourage her young son's progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a Paderewski concert. After they were seated, the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her.
Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually explored his way through a door marked "NO ADMITTANCE." When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was missing.
Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy's ear, "Don't quit. Keep Playing."
Then leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child and he added a running obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice transformed a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. The audience was mesmerized.
That's the way it is with our Heavenly Father. What we can accomplish on our own is hardly noteworthy. We try our best, but the results aren't exactly graceful flowing music. But with the hand of the Master, our life's work truly can be beautiful.
Next time you set out to accomplish great feats, listen carefully. You can hear the voice of the Master, whispering in your ear, "Don't quit. Keep playing." Feel His loving arms around you. Know that His strong hands are there helping you turn your feeble attempts into true masterpieces.
Remember, God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called. And He'll always be there to love and guide you on to great things.
Spiritual has to do with spirals. Spiraling. Spinning. What goes around comes around. You look at the bass clef, it's the same shape as your ear. It's the same shape as the nautilus. It's the same shape as an ocean wave. That's the golden ratio! The bass clef is a symbol of the golden ratio. No one ever says that, but that's what it it is... I don't believe it's an accident that we see these powerful symbols on the music staff and all the music flows out of it. To follow that even further, we turn that upside down, draw a line through it and come back, that's how I see the treble clef. The treble clef almost looks like the dollar sign and it seems like the line is flat but no, that's the golden ratio.
Regular RockOm commenter Todd F was so moved by Futureman's words, he was inspired to get inked. See his new artwork and read about his inspiration here in the RockOm forums. Very awesome and inspiring, Todd!
This past weekend, a classical music concert was held in Castel Gandolfo for Pope Benedict XVI, where "Winter Journey" by Franz Schubert was performed, one of his favorite pieces. Following the performance, the Pope thanked the performers and shared the following profound words of wisdom regarding how music (in this case by Schubert) "transmits the profound experiences of the soul":
"'When Schubert brings a poetic text into his universe of sound, he performs it through a melodic link that penetrates the soul with sweetness, bringing the listener to feel his same nostalgic consummation, the same call of that truth of the heart that goes beyond all rationality. In this way a picture is born that speaks of genuine everyday life, of nostalgia, of introspection and of the future,' the Holy Father continued... The spontaneous and exuberant young Schubert was successful in communicating - to us here tonight as well - what he lived and experienced." (CNA, see whole article here)
YOUR TURN: Is there a particular song or piece that, for you, is like an open window into the artist's heart, feelings or story? A song that successfully communicates the yearning, sadness or joy that the artist was experiencing, thereby transmitting those feelings to the listener in a profound and empathetic way?
[By Slade Roberson, a clairaudient intuitive who communicates with spirit guides. Slade believes you are a little bit psychic too, and that you can learn to develop your intuitive abilities. Visit Slade's blog Shift Your Spirits.]
Music is the most transcendent expression of energy that you experience in your daily life. Music is the language that bridges all dimensions of existence — intensely personal and gloriously communal — there is no complexity of thought and emotion that music can not communicate. Singing raises your vibration, activates your throat chakra, and tunes your heart. The beat has accompanied humanity’s practice of ritual ecstasy from the bonfires to the dance floors.
What songs inspire you and fire you up?
What songs make you want to drive with all the windows down, the speakers blaring, singing at the top of your lungs?
What songs help you cry when you need to, release the anger and frustration in your body, dance you around your house like a fool, raise you up, wear you out, and remind you that you are alive?
What songs tell others something about you that you can’t put into words alone?
What would be the soundtrack to your blog?
This was a deceptively ambitious project! I thought it would be a simple post to create, but after two weeks of working on it, I had a massive list of 200 songs. One song recalls ten others, and the list grows with no end in sight.
25 Songs that Shift MY Spirits listed alphabetically by artist
Silent All These Years — Tori Amos
Hallelujah — Jeff Buckley
Cloudbusting — Kate Bush
Fields of Gold — Eva Cassidy
Heaven or Las Vegas — Cocteau Twins
Viva la Vida — Coldplay
Bea’s Song (River Song Trilogy) — Cowboy Junkies
Bring Me to Life — Evanescence
Rhiannon — Fleetwood Mac
The Feeling Begins — Peter Gabriel (from Passion - Music from The Last Temptation of Christ)
Somewhere Over the Rainbow — Judy Garland
Now That We Are Free — Lisa Gerrard (with Hans Zimmer from the Gladiator soundtrack)
Moon River — Audrey Hepburn (from Breakfast at Tiffany’s)
I Shall Not Walk Alone — Ben Harper
Every Grain of Sand — Emmylou Harris
Hide and Seek — Imogen Heap
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill — Lauryn Hill
The Water is Wide — Indigo Girls (with Jewel and Sarah McLachlan from Lilith Fair)
Into the West — Annie Lennox (Howard Shore from The Return of the King soundtrack)
The Mummer’s Dance — Loreena McKennitt
Sweet Surrender — Sarah McLachlan
Shine — Dolly Parton
Be With What Is — pH Balance
Today — Smashing Pumpkins
Where the Streets Have No Name — U2
Your Turn!
I’d love to gather absolutely tons of audience participation on this one.
If you had to make me a mix of 10 or 20 songs that shift your spirits, what tracks would make the cut? Leave a comment and share your songs.
If you have a blog, play this like a tagging game, create your own blog soundtrack and link back to this post.
September is upon us and summer is drawing to a close, but fret not - a new set of Featured Interviews from RockOm.net has come your way to beat the back-to-school blues. We are proud to offer three new articles for the month of September including interviews with legendary singer and activist Odetta, author and drum circle educator Christine Stevens and slide guitar master Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya. Take some time to read and share in the wisdom of these amazing artists now and throughout the rest of the month.
Today also brings a new Featured Track of the Week - this time from jazz guitarist Paul Metzke. Paul's track "Mystic Quest" is an enchanting, modal trip into higher levels of consciousness. Check out his song on the homepage from now through September 1st as well as an interview with Paul on last week's podcast.
Finally, check back in with RockOm.net later this afternoon for a brand new installment of the RockOm podcast. Today's offering is the raw, candid audio from RockOm's interview with Christine Stevens. If reading interviews isn't your thing, download and tune into this podcast to hear Christine's words from Christine directly. Head to the podcast page to listen in on Christine's joyful and energetic wisdom. [Available after 1:00 pm E.S.T.]
Paul Metzke is a consumate jazz guitarist - versatile, experienced, well-rounded, and accomplished. Over the past 30 years he has performed and recorded with some of the greatest Jazz Artists in the New York Music Scene. With the feeling of the blues, the energy and vitality of rock, and the freedom and spontaneity of jazz, Paul Metzke's new trio album "Feeling Mighty Nice" creates a unique musical fusion that is powerful, energetic, and spontaneous.
Song: "Mystic Quest"
"We are all on a "Mystic Quest" in this life on planet Earth. The search for wisdom, truth, and enlightenment never ends. I wanted this tune to reflect that infinite journey musically. It seems to me that following your bliss is the best way to travel because when you do, your heart will always lead the way." (Paul Metzke)
Odetta, the "Queen of American Folk Music" (anointed by Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1961) and "Mother Goddess of Folk/Blues" (by New York Times in 1999) is one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century, with countless artists indebted to her pioneering ways. Before Odetta, no solo woman performer (let alone an African American woman!) singing blues, folk, work and protest songs had recorded or toured. By the late 1950s, she had starred at Carnegie Hall and appeared in film and national television. And she sang for the masses at the 1963 March on Washington; she took part in the march on Selma; she performed for President Kennedy and his cabinet on the nationally televised civil rights special, "Dinner with the President"; and along with Marian Anderson and Paul Robeson, she was in the first group of artists to be honored with the Duke Ellington Fellowship Award. In 1994, she was appointed an `Elder' to the International Women's Conference in Beijing; and she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Arts in 1999 by the President of the United States, Bill Clinton and First Lady Mrs. Clinton.
Her 1956 album, “Odetta Sings Ballads & Blues” was the soul and inspiration for a young Janis Joplin to become a singer, while inspiring Bob Dylan to trade in his electric guitar and amp for a Gibson acoustic guitar to become a folk singer and sing Odetta’s repertoire. In addition to acting in films and theater, Odetta has: sung with symphony orchestras and in operas; hosted the Montreux Jazz Festival and starred in countless TV Specials. Her 2000 album, "Blues Everywhere I Go," was nominated for a Grammy. Her following album, ”Lookin’ For A Home” was nominated for two 2002 W.C. Handy Awards, and in 2004, she was nominated for another W.C. Handy Award, as Best Traditional Female Blues Artist of the Year.
As Odetta works on the seventh decade of her extraordinary career, she is more excited than ever about her career, her music and her role in life. She has continued to be a major influence on artists, from Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Dave Van Ronk, Judy Collins, David Crosby and Roger McGuinn in the `50s, to Paul Simon, Richie Havens, Janice Ian and Taj Mahal in the `60s, Carly Simon, Joan Armitrading, and Sweet Honey in The Rock in the ‘70s, to Cassandra Wilson, Nanci Griffith, Tracy Chapman, and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, in the `80s, Eric Bibb and Guy Davis in the 90s, and to Jewel, Madeleine Peyroux, Indie Arie and Nellie McKay today.
And she has been befriended by, rubbed shoulders with, and now becomes one of the few remaining bearers of the torches carried by some of our greatest artists and social activists of the past, such as: Paul Robeson, Marian Anderson, Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcom X, President John F. Kennedy, Josh White, Yves Montand, Eubie Blake, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Woody Guthrie, Jimmy Witherspoon, Count Basie, Langston Hughes, Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Elizabeth Cotton and Alberta Hunter. She is proud to carry the torch as an 'Artist-Activist' into the new millennium. In 2004, the Huntington’s Disease Society honored Odetta with the “Woody Guthrie Award” for her contributions to humanity and social activism.
from Odetta's Biography courtesy Douglas A. Yeager Productions, Ltd.
RockOm recently had the extraordinary opportunity to have an exclusive, one-on-one with Ms. Odetta. “It’s one of those once in a lifetime events," says RockOm’s Tom Crenshaw. “There are those, 'If only I could speak with' interviews one hopes to land in one’s lifetime. I had always wanted to speak with Ms. Odetta because I, like millions of others, was a huge fan and have been inspired and moved by her music and activism. It’s like a dream come true to be able to speak with her and offer her words here at RockOm. There is nothing passé about Ms. Odetta; her music, her work and words are still very much relevant and in need today! We learn from those who have shined their light on the pathway before us and there is so much we can still learn from Ms. Odetta.”
RockOm is so very pleased to offer you the words and perspective of the one and only, Ms. Odetta.
RockOm: What do the songs, “He’s got the Whole World in His Hands,” “Amazing Grace,” and “This Little Light of Mine” mean to you, and did you know when you recorded them at the start of your career that they would come to be loved by the entire world?
Odetta: We don’t know what is going to happen in the future, which is probably a good thing [laughs]. We don’t know if the songs are going to work or if they’ll go far, but each of these songs has its own personality and celebrates the positive within us. We’re reaffirming ourselves, soothing ourselves with “He’s got the Whole World in His Hands.” They’re positive, encouraging and hopefully healing. Not every song is, but the list you have there, they’re all healers.
RockOm: I agree. Every time I hear them I’m inspired. I love to hear children singing them.
Odetta: Oh, me too… yes!
RockOm: You’ve influenced so many legendary musicians and Civil Rights activists through your music and voice. Did you ever feel you were serving a larger purpose other than that of folk musician and actress?
Odetta: Oh yes. There was always that awareness. Not just folk music but music was extremely important. I don’t know what a little six year old girl thinks about music except that she likes this song and likes that song. [As a child in Alabama] I remember pretending I was writing music or playing piano. I think I was born, this time, to do music and to work and to learn through music. It’s been a great school for me, a great schooling for me, especially in the area of folk music and how our forebearers… the strength it took them to get to where they were so we are now where we are and hopefully will continue improving.
RockOm: During the Civil Rights marches of the 60’s, when you were marching with Dr. King and other prominent civil rights leaders, musicians and artists, were you ever afraid?
Odetta: I never was within the march itself. I was always at the end of the march on the podium or stage. [But] even today I will not go into a crowd of people. Who knows what’s going to trigger someone off into some crazy kind of action. But no, I wasn’t afraid at the time.
RockOm: When you would sit down with Dr. King and the other...
Odetta: I didn’t sit down with Dr. King. I was one of the privates in a very big army and privates didn’t sit down with the generals laughs]. Besides I was very shy, and, as people got together, they were working on something. It was not, “Hey, let’s get together and have a party and sit and talk.” They had big business to do and I was there to lend, give to them the energies that I brought through music. And the music was something familiar to everybody. The music brought us together to share our time. The things we were doing. You get there, do what you’re going to do, and then you disbursed. So, there wasn’t time to get together to do other things.
RockOm: What are your thoughts on Barack Obama possibly becoming President of the United States?
Odetta: I’m going to say this: I am absolutely surprised, stunned, amazed and pleased. I’m thinking the songs that I’ve been singing, the repertoire I’ve been working out of, the struggles I’ve been working out of as far as our folks were concerned - to have a black man running for President of the United States is the most exciting step. My personal preferences I’m not going to go into; but, when you think of the time within my existence, it’s not impossible now that there are people who have been lynched because of bias and prejudices and here is a black man who is running [for President]. It represents huge steps. I’m not saying we’re ready yet or we’ve made it yet, but it’s a very wonderful clue that possibilities of bringing people together in this country exist.
RockOm: Do you think all music is spiritual by nature or is some music more spiritual than others?
Odetta: [pause] There’s some good and there’s some bad in everything I guess…. No. I don’t think so. [pause] That’s very interesting. We could have a seminar on that one [laughs].
RockOm: We like to say at RockOm that if music moves you, you’re moved to another place and that maybe that place, in and of itself, is a spiritual place, not that the music itself is spiritual.
Odetta: OK, let’s say punk rock or something that’s kind of ragged or jagged… by the time the music finishes, people want to fight. I have to stop short of saying that all music is spiritual.
RockOm: Who inspires you, who do you listen to for inspiration?
Odetta: I don’t really listen much to music. When I’m on the road and there’s a radio in the room or hotel, I turn it on and look for a Country and Western station.
RockOm: Country and Western… I never would have guessed!
Odetta: Yeah? [laughs] That skill, where you find writers in the craft of using words and still being bright and brilliant, you know? There isn’t much that gets to me when a piece of music just goes Oooh-oooh, Aahh-aahh, Oooh-oooh, Aahh-aahh and somebody screams something [laughs]. In most Country and Western you have a lot of story-type songs, like a continuation of the Folk process.
RockOm: Do you believe music still has the power to change the world today?
Odetta: Person by person, there is some power there. I know people who have come to me and thanked me for the healing. I didn’t heal. It is how they responded to that vibration that was going on that healed. It’s a slow pace. It’s not a magic wand type thing [laughs] and maybe not change the world. Maybe it’s making someone feel better or more worthy or sense something that does not come through just conversationally. So, maybe not change the world, thank God, because somebody might get the key and do it all wrong [laughs].
RockOm: I know you’ve worked with the Seva Foundation in the past. What are your thoughts on Seva, and would you say that their work does indeed change people, does indeed change the world?
Odetta: Absolutely! There’s music being done to bring attention to and maybe money for…. but, it’s people who are actually on the firing line that we’re supporting, that are doing the changing of the world, not the music, not the music. Wavy Gravy is a founder of Seva. I have a daughter (we’ve adopted each other) who is doing a film on Wavy Gravy. It’s almost finished. I’ve seen a part of it and it is quite stunning what he and others have done in the name of Seva. It’s splendid. It’s encouraging, and it blesses us.
RockOm: You’re touring North America and Europe supporting your album on MC Records entitled “Gonna Let It Shine.” Do you ever get tired of singing and touring?
Odetta: Tired of singing?! Oh no! No. No. As a matter of fact, and I couldn’t tell you how it happens, but I think that through the singing and getting into the song and interpretation, it has been like my classroom. I’ve learned, oh just wonderful stuff and have been broadened… have been healed. I probably have about three notes, but I’ll never retire. I’ll be somewhere on somebody’s stage croaking those three notes [laughs].
RockOm: What would you say to aspiring singer/songwriters coming up today? What advice would you give them?
Odetta: Work at trusting, listening to themselves and being really ready to dedicate yourself towards the development of you as an instrument, passing on positives so that other people might hear those positives and those positives might be of some use, some service to other folk. Don’t listen to other people as to how you should do something. It’s not impossible to study to find out how to not ruin your throat. When it comes to interpretation, one needs to be brave enough to jump into the middle of that song and become that song or that person within that song and nothing else in the world except for that spirit and that light at that particular time. When that comes together, you give an audience something to hold on to. You’re not telling them what to think, but you’re telling them what you feel and then they respond one way or another, hopefully positively.
When you think of it, whatever we’re going to do, the only thing we have to offer anybody happens to be ourselves. So we need desperately to find out what [we] ourselves are while were doing our craft or learning our craft to be able to put that out and in front of us. And I tell you, with me, it makes me feel like a useful human being, and it makes me feel as if… it’s not a luxury tax, [laughs] yes!
RockOm: What does the future hold for you, Ms Odetta?
Odetta: Well, I’m going to sing those three notes or those two and a half notes and then after that I don’t know. I don’t know what I’ll come back next time as [laughs].
Christine Stevens is an internationally acclaimed author, music therapist and speaker. The founder of UpBeat Drum Circles, she has appeared on NBC, CBS and Living Better TV and is a frequent contributing writer for a variety of health magazines on music and wellness. Christine has drummed with many major groups and companies internationally (including DuPont, The Department of Defense, and Verizon), students at ground zero and most recently survivors of Katrina in New Orleans. She is the author of The Healing Drum Kit and The Art and Heart of Drum Circles.
As a member of an integrative research team, Christine has published studies on the scientific benefits of group drumming and serves on the editorial board of Explore: The Journal of Science & Healing. As a contributing author for Yogi Times Magazine and columnist for Health World Online, she writes about the power of music as a wellness strategy for holistic health.
RockOm’s Tom Crenshaw had the privilege of speaking at length with Christine in early September. Tom adds, “I felt an instant connection with Christine. The second I heard her voice I knew this was going to be a learning experience. Christine’s passion for music and healing is very inspiring. Her message made me consider more deeply the natural rhythms surrounding us and how we can use, even create our own rhythms - for a deeper connection to our inner-most being and human experience and use that connection for healing. I really could have talked for hours with Christine as the level and diversity of her work is quite extraordinary. I came away from our conversation with not only an inspiring interview to share but with a whole new perspective on what it means to serve others through music. RockOm has made a new friend, a new soul-connection and hopefully, together, we can go on and serve others for many years ahead."
RO: What makes drumming spiritual?
CS: There's a beautiful quote, a Navajo saying: "The Great Spirit loves the drums so much he gave everyone a heartbeat." When you look from a multicultural, global perspective, you see a type of drum in the temple in Japan, in the Shinto shrine; you see the gathering drum in the Native American pow-wow ceremony; and you see the djembe in a healing ceremony in Africa. All of these are spiritual places. So I think what makes drumming spiritual first of all is its history. Secondly, the drum's shape is a circle, which reminds us that everything is connected. Third, the drum is an easy access point to music-making. I've actually never met anyone who can't just pick up a stick and make a sound on a drum; it offers immediate access to the world of music. It doesn't require years of training. In fact, most of us were learning this before we were born, listening to our first drum teacher, our mother. The drum is a great access point to connecting with creativity, and that is an element of spirituality. Also, when you connect in a group through the drum in a drum circle, you have that sense of unification, that we're all together. Especially when you're not speaking, you're feeling the rhythms together; you're feeling even the vibrations together. That's the most spiritual element of drumming. You know, there are three elements of music: rhythm, melody and harmony. To me, what does rhythm do in music? It's like the container. It's the temple. It sets the space, it sets the tone; is it going to be fast? Slow? It's a very powerful force. I love watching audiences when the drum solo happens: the group starts dancing. People are ignited by rhythm. That's the way I want to feel about my spirituality; I want to feel that ignited feeling. I'm really thrilled that we're seeing a revival of interest in the drum because it's so ancient, it's so spiritual, and it's so historic. And now we're using it today when, now more than ever, people need to feel a connection to that which is greater than themselves, that spirituality – whatever you want to call Great Spirit, higher spirit, divine consciousness, God. Whatever people want to call that is spiritual practice because we are connecting to something greater than ourselves.
RO: Isn't it funny how in a rock concert when the drummer goes into a drum solo, the audience goes nuts?
CS: Absolutely! I love watching that. First of all, we are biologically/neurologically wired for rhythm. People aren't even consciously trying to move their bodies; their bodies are being moved by the beat. It's a powerful force. They want to participate, they want to clap along. I think spirituality involves our participation. A lot of people ask me how drumming can be used in spiritual practice. A lot of times in music, we say we should practice music – well, flip that around and make music your practice. It's a little different intention; you're not practicing notes and timing and thinking "one-ee-and-ah, two-ee-and-ah." The drum helps you get out of your head and all the sudden you can just resonate with the heartbeat. You don't need to play only the heartbeat, but in drumming you get into your heart. If you think too much when you're playing a hand drum – I'm not talking about stick drumming or playing a trap set which requires a lot of coordination – but when you're playing a hand drum, one of these rural, sacred percussion instruments, you can't think too much and drum. Thank God, it gets us out of our heads. That's really the place of spirituality – the heart.
RO: What constitutes a drum circle?
CS: I'd like to define it by what it is not. A drum circle is not a music class. There's no one teaching. There's a facilitator who makes it easy for everyone to join together. There is not a focus on performance, because there's no stage and no audience. Everyone is part of it. It is inclusive. It doesn't require any musical talent. In fact, you already have the rhythm in you. The drum circle just brings it out. The reason we use drums and percussion is because it's really hard to have a violin circle. Just kidding. [laughs] It's really easy to have a drum match other drums, they go together very simply and sonically. Harmonically and rhythmically people come together in the drum circle and create a spontaneous, in-the-moment composition. It is really defined by the outcome. People are not coming to become the next Gene Kroupa or the next great drummer. They are coming to reduce their stress. They are coming to feel a connection that is beyond words. They are coming because they want to do some activity with their family. They find they have a language or a generation barrier and all the sudden the drum helps connect people. They are sometimes coming for healing. They are coming because they love to dance, and they want to feel rhythm in their life. They are coming because they want something exciting. I always say that drumming and drum circles are the greatest natural form of caffeine.
RO: I hear a lot of people say, "I don't have a musical bone in my body. I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket." Can anyone drum?
CS: [laughs] Yes and they already are! Everyone who is alive and has that great instrument called the heartbeat is drumming. We are biologically wired for rhythm; we are walking, talking, ticking-tocking rhythm symphonies. When you start to see your biology that way, you start to realize 'I am already a symphony'. I am the orchestrator of this in my life… on a mind, body, and spirit level. There's really no excuse not to drum, because you've already been doing it, you're more entrained to it than you know. That's a really important word – entrainment. That's what makes a drum circle work. This is a term from physics; it means that pendulums over time will synchronize. So when people come into drum circles and they've never drummed before, I see them stepping to the beat as they walk in the door – they're entrained. You can't help but fall into the groove. If you've ever loved to listen to music – world music, drum tracks, drum solos – how easy it is, how effortless it is to drum along – that's entrainment.
RO: What does the scientific world have to say about the documented health benefits of drumming?
CS: Now we're seeing science and spirituality coming together – it's an exciting time in history. We're seeing better awareness of the limits of the old kind of science and the inventions of new science and one of those is psychoneuroimmunology – mind/body medicine. We worked with a neurologist, Dr. Barry Bittman – who in the Meadville Medical Center was able to show in a study published in the year 2000 that in 112 subjects who had never drummed before, their biology changed on a cellular level – they reduced their stress through one hour of the health rhythms drumming program. That's pretty exciting; it was groundbreaking news in the year 2000. But in the year 2004 we replicated that study with burned-out employees and we were able to take these employees who had never drummed before, bring them into drum circle programs in the workplace and we were able to show with our evidence that we reduced burnout by 46%, increased their positive moods, and saved money for the organization.
RO: So, just bring some drums to work and let's everyone be productive!
CS: I really see a time when in the workplace, because of this hard science that we have – it's such an evidence-based practice – and you look at the workplace challenges with multi-language, intergenerational [issues] and morale – these things definitely have an impact on the bottom line. So I really see a time when that employee break room at noon is filled with people jamming together.
RO: Tell us a little about manifesting. Tell us how drumming can help us manifest our dreams.
CS: Well, that's a great question. I think that first of all, when you drum it helps you discover your dreams. So many people have felt that music is taboo – or that they "can't carry a tune in a bucket" – and drumming helps people reconnect with the creativity that is within every person. I really believe each person has some dream here to manifest and I think people know that, they feel that intuitively. Music has traditionally been a source of connecting to that creativity, that technique, I should say. First of all, drumming helps us find or reconnect, allowing the dreams to be remembered. Secondly, anytime you take something as powerful as music, it transcends language, it's like a wordless prayer – and you drum your dream, you drum your intention; I have done this personally in my life. In fact in manifesting The Healing Drum Kit, our book that's published by Sounds True, I actually drummed my intentions for making that drum kit. [laughs] When you add music with an intention, you amplify it. It's a pretty simple formula. Not everybody can play a cello or a piano, but if you pick up the drum and go "Boom," most people say "Yeah, I can do that!" You want to take your intention, add music, and manifest it that way.
RO: Christine, how did you get started? Tell us a little on how you got started in drumming.
CS: I was like a lot of people; I didn't think I had percussion skills and it's kind of ironic that I've devoted my life to drum circles. I worked as a music therapist and just saw immediately - I'll never forget a young woman who came and had been very traumatized, sexually abused, very depressed. She sat in the back and refused to drum in the drum circle. When everyone left the room, she walked over to the big bass drum, took up the mallet and really whacked it. She didn't stop for about an hour. [laughs] When she finished her "releasing," I would say, I thought to myself, "This is the most powerful tool I've seen since being a music therapist – this drum." I'm a pianist and a saxophone player – but I got realizing that the drum brings people in immediately and it's such a healing tool. That's really how it happened.
RO: You've done something that I think is quite amazing and very inspirational: you've traveled over to Iraq and worked with the children. Tell us about that experience; that's got to be so rewarding.
CS: Actually, it was a real life changing experience. We were able last year to do the first drum circle training program in a war zone. We were in northern Iraq and we took drumming to children in the donation centers, to Kurdistan's Save the Children. Our partners were Save the Children and ACDI/VOCA. They're doing incredible work there, there's really not a school-structured system in Iraq and the kids are really at risk for being recruited into terrorist organizations. So music and drumming is the preventive tool, supporting those kids' self-esteem, their connectivity, their creativity, their feeling of success in the world. What we did was train 30 people from seven different governances of Iraq, and we brought together people that would be enemies from different sects, from different religions and speaking different languages – and just like RockOm when you have Spanish and English, but you also have music. What we found was that music is the common language. I really believe that the drum is the language of global diplomacy. I think when we all are learning each other's rhythms in the world peace will happen. So we went there to learn their songs. And we watched them teach each other songs and we watched a drum circle become a tool for connecting people that would never have had the chance to know each other simply because they were perceived as enemies. And at the end of five days they really became friends and I'm happy to say they're still drumming over there. We're hoping to go back in October and we're very grateful to our sponsors for this project, Rex Foundation, NAMM, and Remo drum company - the world's largest drum company, which donated the drums for this project.
RO: Much kudos to those sponsors, and a personal thank you for spreading the love and inspiration. America gets a bloody nose in many parts of the world, and thanks for doing your own part to inspire folks over there.
CS: Exactly, it's so interesting. When you take drumming and music to a place of the greatest need – in the war-torn area of Iraq – and you see how much people hold onto it like a life preserver; it gave people hope. A woman said in her quotes at the end – we interviewed people at the end of the training period – she said it was the best five days of her life. Someone else said drumming helps to bring your hope back. I feel really blessed to have gone there, and I can really say in this interview with you right now that if it plays in Iraq, this can work in any place of conflict.
RO: You've worked with military veterans as well.
CS: I think that the drum goes into any place that has a need for healing. They have different ways of helping people. In the case of the veterans, we were very sensitive because we didn't want the drums to be stimulating memories of the sounds of gunshots. The same in Iraq, we were very sensitive to that. So we started with shakers and we started with a protocol that helped people get into the drumming. What we learned from working with the veterans and in the VA in West Los Angeles and Hollywood is that when they were able to drum together, they had such joy. When you come back from the seeing the kind of trauma that we can't even imagine as our servicemen and women, it's very tragic and a difficult thing to adjust. And all the sudden we saw people smiling! Despite their injuries, they could play the drums. I think that's the important thing: helping people feel strong again, feel powerful, and feel empowered.
RO: Surely you do some work in hospitals and such; tell us about that.
CS: I worked for fifteen years as a music therapist, especially with cancer patients, and during that time used the drum for mind, body and spirit. There's such an interest now in holistic medicine. For example, working with the cancer patients, I'll never forget this woman that came into the drum circle. She played that really big bass drum - we have a really big Native American gathering drum - and she played that drum the whole session. I was actually kind of worried about her arm in terms of her strength. And the next session she came and everybody handed her that mallet and let her play it; it became her drum. By the third session, she held up the mallet and said, "I'm ready to let go. I've released my anger at my mother and my father and my husband…" – she had a really long list. We didn't know, it but she was doing her own work. It's really said that what healing is about is creating the context for the natural healing to happen. She cleared the space out. She made space for a new groove in her life. She cleared out the anger and she opened up to a new rhythm.
RO: After talking to you, I'm very excited about going out and getting my own drum and getting started. How would I go about doing that?
CS: Well you already have a drum in your heart. [laughs] The other most commonly placed drum is the dashboard in the car. Besides that, we're so fortunate right now to have access to the world's drums. We really recommend Remo drums, made in America with recycled material and not with animal hides. They hold their sounds no matter what the weather conditions. If you go to remo.com you can see great choices between African, Brazilian, Japanese drums, so I hope you tell people to go to a drum circle in your town, your city, your state. Find your way to a drum circle, call your music circle and see what draws you. And the reason we created The Healing Drum Kit, which we recommend for beginners, is because you don't need any prior musical experience. It includes a drum, 25 rhythm cards, 2 play-along CDs, and a guidebook. It's really made so that you can simply pick up that drum and get started immediately.
RO: Tell us what you feel when you're drumming. What are your intentions when you're performing? Is it in any way at all like praying or meditating for you? What do you feel?
CS: I am interested, instead of performing, in reforming. I think that we are shifting from being performers to being inspirational reformers. I want to watch an audience join me. I think it's all in how you prepare. I love talking to performers about what they do before they walk out there. Don't you? Then you start to see the spiritual practice come in. Okay, I breathe, I picture things… this is all spiritual practice. I breathe, maybe I do some jumping jacks, I focus, I maybe even meditate. In my mind, the intention is different than putting on a show – it's connecting. It's sharing, it's inspiring. I think that's how we do it: we start off by clearing the energy, clearing space, making ourselves available, and then really offering that as a gift to an audience. Is that really any different than meditating or praying or having a spiritual experience? Show me any church that doesn't have music – it doesn't matter what religion. Why is that? It's usually first in the order of service. The reason is that it's the most ancient, simple away to connect a group.
RO: Tell us what the future holds for Christine Stevens and Upbeat Drum Circles.
CS: Upbeat Drum Circles is going to be going back to Iraq. We are continuing to research that project; we hope to be able to prove in a research paper that drumming was successful in reducing conflict and improving leadership skills in a war zone. We're hoping to publish that study, we're always involved in research and events and concerts and we teach a training program called "Change Your Life through Rhythm." We teach a training program called "Health Rhythms." I think it's really about the continuing of training, recording, and making music that inspires people to no longer be a listener, but to pick up a drum and be part of the rhythm of life.
Guitar maestro Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya is one of the world's phenomena, creator of a unique "Trinity of Slide Guitars." Born to musician parents, Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya, a child prodigy, was initiated into Indian classical singing, but was drawn to the guitar because of the ability to emulate the human voice by using the slide. The highly innovative mind of Debashish has given the Hindustani slide guitar a new dimension.
Debashish studied under Maestro Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (sarod), Pandit Ajoy Chalraborty (khayal, vocal) and the legendary Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra, the godfather of Indian classical guitar, and has performed world wide with a "who's who" of master musicians, including John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, and Selva Ganesh in the Remember Shakti Concert.
His work has earned him the President of India Award in 1984, the Asiatic Society Gold Medal in 2005, and BBC Planet Award for World Music in 2007.
RockOm's Tom Crenshaw had the privilege to interview Debashish in early 2008 and to witness a phenomenal concert in Savannah, Georgia, at the Savannah Music Festival, where Debashish debuted his "Song of Life" composition as performed by master guitarists Derek Trucks, Jerry Douglas, Bob Brozman, and Debashish himself. Tom remarks, "For close to ten minutes these giants of slide guitar held the audience in the palm of their hands trading licks back and forth, and singing dynamically through strings and fingers something entirely unheard-of up until that moment. I've never before witnessed or heard anything like these four masters speaking through their music in such a passionate and moving manner. There was a time when all four guitarists and the tabla percussionist were playing simultaneously and every single note, every beat made perfect sense! When the composition was over the audience erupted in a resounding, almost deafening applause. It was quite a moment- one I'll never forget!"
RockOm: I sometimes say that music is spiritual in nature- in that what flows through us musically seems to come from a higher realm. Do you agree?
Debashish Bhattacharya: No, not at all. Music is man's hard work with extreme passion. When it pleases us, it transports us to a level of the mind where we feel disconnected with all material things momentarily. If you call this spirituality, so be it. Spirituality lies in the philosophy shaping up any music and or true practice of humanity; it is not a package or brand to sell a product.
RockOm: Do you feel that your spirituality is communicated through your music and if so, how?
Debashish Bhattacharya: As I said, spirituality lies in the philosophy shaping up any music. Spirituality is also related to non-fake humanity. Of course, my music is deep-rooted in philosophy, which is why Indian classical or raga music has survived thousands of years. That so many people are learning, practicing, and listening to it all over the world is a percolation of its spirituality. My music is liked by millions around the world, so the aesthetics rooted in philosophy transcribes spiritual feelings in their minds; it is the music itself. In true presentation it shows what it is. This is a natural process of communication, but only possible in the hands of a dedicated and true artist.
RockOm: What do you think it is about music that breaks down barriers and divisions between people?
Debashish Bhattacharya: I call it emotional attachment. Subconscious self-identification with one and all. Only music evokes the realization that we are all human beings, "Brothers and Sisters," as the great Swami Vivekananda addressed audiences at the Chicago World's Religions meeting decades [ago.]
RockOm: Besides your own music, is there any one artist or album that you continually return to (more than others) for inspiration, depth, or spiritual revelation and why?
Debashish Bhattacharya: I always fall back upon Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Ravi Shankar, and Ray Charles. Why? I think they shape my thinking, intellect, heart, hands, eyes, and all organs like vitamins.
RockOm: Is there a difference between hearing music and feeling music? How do you explain this?
Debashish Bhattacharya: I think that is a radical issue, which needs to be addressed rather seriously. Do you relate to your feelings phone ringtones, horns, jingles, lounge, titillating promos, and squeaks and squirms? All that comes without philosophy of life is "passing sound."
RockOm: Just as you've invented new musical instruments to express what you hear and feel inside, what do you think future master musicians will come up with?
Debashish Bhattacharya: I have invented sounds deep rooted in Indian tradition and use them to trans-create music that is eternal. I have been able to do something though I did not have any role model in front of me. I can't say for others.
RockOm: How are we limited here in the West with regard to writing and performing music of a spiritual nature?
Debashish Bhattacharya: Try to find an answer to why you think you are limited, if you believe so. I think only then you can get your answer of the question.
RockOm: How important is it for you to "get out of your own way," so to speak, when performing? Do you lose yourself while performing or must you remain fixated and aware of what you are doing at all times?
Debashish Bhattacharya: I do not believe in talking while performing. That's not done. I am deeply absorbed while performing, as I believe that I must deliver my best to my audience.
RockOm: Is playing music similar to praying or meditating?
Debashish Bhattacharya: Yes. If one concentrates while praying will he not do so while playing music?
RockOm: Does music have the power to heal and can you give any example of healing you have witnessed?
Debashish Bhattacharya: Healing varies from person to person. Yes, many of my fans listen to a certain piece of mine, at a certain time, to feel good. That's surely healing. But a general remedy is difficult to formulate in such abstract fine arts.
RockOm: Is everyone inherently musical to some degree?
Debashish Bhattacharya: Well, not really. I know of many who are least musical but make tons of money by selling music!
RockOm: What is the most important thing we should know about you and your music, Pandit?
Debashish Bhattacharya: The most important thing about me to know is my name Debashish Bhattacharya and my music - classical raga, music of India.
You've given me the words, Lord...
and the music
A song of life that's new and unrehearsed;
You have given me the joy that makes my heart sing,
Even though at times the tears come first.
You've taken all my yesterdays of discord,
A clash of cymbals, meaningless and vain,
Transposing all the noise into a love song
That floods my very soul with its refrain.
You've taken all the gifts I once thought mine, Lord,
And changed the composition of their worth,
Reclaiming what was yours from the beginning,
Returning them, transfigured by rebirth.
You've given me the theme for my existence,
And I will sing Your glory all my days.
For now, Lord, and forever,
be my Music and make my life
a symphony of praise.
Wishing to encourage her young son's progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a Paderewski concert. After they were seated, the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her.
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