As we navigate another period of national lockdown with most students learning away from school, the mental health of both staff and students is a legitimate concern. As music teachers, we are well aware of the mental health benefits of music study – could this be something which could be easily rolled out to a wider cross-section of pupils?
Getting started
Drum United are a UK-based social enterprise who believe that the endorphins released through practical music-making will ‘improve your confidence and strengthen your overall well-being’. I was given access to their ‘positive mindful drumming – at home’ course (identical to their course for schools) to see whether such an approach might be applicable to a school environment and, at a price of £9 per month (or £99 per year), whether it was worth the investment.
The easily navigable and regularly updated site contains accessible workshop videos which even a complete novice should be able to wrap their head around. Most of the sessions are based around an individual rhythm learnt through a mnemonic. This approach will be familiar to anyone who has taken part in or led percussion sessions, although Positive Mindful Drumming uses mantras designed to motivate participants and inspire confidence.
Each video session is laid out with very clear notation to show where the syllables of the mantra fall in relation to the beats, with simple, easy to follow demonstrations. I found it easy to jump straight in, but I was pleased to see that there were further demonstrations explaining the notation system in depth.
Meditative practice
The first session I tried (Mantra 1) used the phrase ‘believe in the world, believe in you’. As you might expect, the session starts off slowly before building to a faster run through. Each of the eight mantras available is repeated for two minutes before you are encouraged to move on. My assumption (based entirely on the use of the word ‘mantra’ – there is little discussion of the desired aims of the programme) is that the repetition of the phrase and rhythm is designed to be meditative. However, I struggled to maintain concentration, so would imagine students might as well.
I found the recorded sessions to be more engaging. These consisted of pre-recorded workshops run by Drum United ‘chief visionary officer’, Adey. Having him as a constant presence throughout held my attention far longer. In these sessions, Adey moves through a number of the mantras/rhythms, rather than focusing on one, and built towards a ‘drum jam’ in which all the mantras from the session are played simultaneously.
This was the closest we got to a more conventional percussion programme where pupils could be playing polyrhythmic music maintaining their individual parts. However, this was a surprisingly short section (3.5 minutes of this 20-minute session), with equal time given over to ‘music and movement’ in which Adey took participants through various yoga-like stretches and meditation.
Emotional release
Having played drums for over 25 years, I am well aware of the trope of angry young men being pushed towards drum kit lessons so they can have a more positive way to release tension: I would be lying if I said I hadn't taken some of my adolescent anger out on my drum kit over the years! As such, I can see that, for small groups of hand-selected pupils, Positive Mindful Drumming could be very beneficial. I would be reluctant, however, to use these resources with a larger group, as the slow pace necessary for the mantra-like delivery would probably mean some would struggle to maintain focus.
Summary
I would be hesitant to use it with a general music class. While it is evident that the programme could be useful for mindfulness, the musical benefits are less obvious. I would probably lean towards a more conventional percussion programme which would challenge young musicians a little more, while still offering some of the mindfulness benefits that come from practical music making.
I have been assured that there are plans for the programme to be expanded to include drum kit tuition too – all of the videos currently on the site are designed for either body percussion or hand drums. At a time when music department budgets are tighter than ever, I'm not sure I would be able to justify this programme purely in a classroom setting when compared to other more musically focused ones.
