drum etiquette

1. Don't wear rings, watches, or bracelets while playing drums. This protects the head on the drum as well as the drum itself from the metal. One's hands hurt less, too.
2. Ask permission before playing somebody else's drum.
3. Remove your drum from the Circle if you're not drumming. Please make room for another.
4. Consider getting a small, folding stool to sit on, and a blanket or cloth for your feet.
5. Wear loose clothing for ease of movement and perspiration control.
6. Listen as much as you play. By listening to what's going on in the circle as you play, you will have a better sense of how you might fit into the groove being created.
7. Support the fundamental groove that you hear in the drum song being created in the circle. You don't have to be a rhythm robot and hold down the same part all night long. There is plenty of freedom within the fundamental groove to experiment with while expressing your rhythmical spirit.
8. Leave rhythmical space for others in the circle to express themselves. Don't fill up the musical space with all your own notes so much that there's little creative space left for the other players.
9. Play at the volume of the group. If you can only hear yourself, you are probably not having a constructive musical relationship with the rest of the players in the circle. Good volume dynamics create good relationship dynamics. Play softly enough so that you can hear everyone around you. While you are drumming, be sure to follow and support the dynamic changes in volume and tempo that the group will go through during a drum circle event.
10. Share the solo space. If you are at the advanced level of rhythmical expertise where soloing with your drum is available to you, then you know the excitement and pleasure of being able to play over, around, and through the drum circle groove. Soloing through a drum circle groove is very much like a bird flying through the forest, but the "solo air" above can't accommodate more than a few people soloing at the same time. If there is more than one soloist available in a circle be sure to share the solo space. The best way for two or three drum soloists to play through the groove together is to have a "drum dialogue" with each other. In a facilitated drum circle a good facilitator will have found all the advanced drummers in the circle and would be "show casing" them individually or encouraging them to trade solos with each other.
11. Don't smoke in the circle. Drumming is a high-energy aerobic exercise. Respect the need of everyone to breath uncontaminated air in such a closely packed environment.

1. Enjoy the Journey. In all the excitement don't forget to have fun. You don't really have to be an experienced drummer to fully participate and have a good time.
2. don't worry even if you might think that you are rhythmically challenged. Just get started and you will find rhythms inside of you that you didn't know you had. All you have to do is actively participate in the drum circle event, and the excitement and rhythms that surround you will pull out of you exactly what you need to fully contribute to the group song. You don't even need to play a drum. You can bring a simple percussion instrument, like a shaker, a bell, or a wood block. They are a lot easier to play than a hand drum.
3. Be observant of the actions and reactions of the more advanced drummers who are playing in the circle and you will learn a lot more quickly.
4. Keep it simple. Listen for the Pulse, then play along with, and around it. It is like keeping the side of the pool within reach as you are learning how to swim. The simple pulse will always be there for you to "grab on to" if you ever get rhythmically lost while playing. Once you are comfortable with what you are playing, you can explore deeper rhythmical waters. Just keep the Pulse within hearing.
5. Just Ask. Every rhythm event is different. If you're not sure what's appropriate, just ask somebody. They will usually respond with supportive suggestions. Each person in the Circle is there to share their rhythmical spirit and personal energy with the community present. With this kind of group consciousness, a Drum Circle can be a very powerful, yet intimate experience for everybody. Unity in Community. Drumming skill level is less important than how much of yourself you contribute to the experience. If every player is there to share his or her spirit and have fun, the musical part of any drum circle will take care of itself.