By Susan Slack

What is free and available to everyone with no unwanted side effects? What may be good for helping with a long list of social and health issues? Have a look into rhythm.

Can you recall a moment with a group of people having the time of your life? What memory pops up first? Is it a sports event when you were all cheering, or dancing at a wedding, or maybe in a club when your favorite tune played? Did your experience include some kind of rhythm, or let’s name it “pulse,” that was pulling you all together? Most likely you weren’t even aware something else might be happening. You just thought you were having fun. If you think you don’t have rhythm, spoiler alert, you do!

“The rising and the setting of the sun, the waxing and the waning of the moon, the regular change of the tides in the sea, and the seasons as they come and go, all show rhythm. It is rhythm that makes the birds fly, it is rhythm that makes the creatures of the earth walk,” said Inayat Khan, Sufi musician and teacher in The Mysticism of Sound (1909). The closer we live to nature, the more we are in tune with this moving wholeness. If you’ve ever had the good fortune to be a part of an indigenous gathering and enjoy/receive their music, you can feel their relationship to the stars and rivers in the rhythm of their songs.

If you can’t relate to this, look at the music most of us hear these days, whether it’s your favorite pop, rock, country, jazz, or hip-hop tune, you are benefiting from indigenous people, mostly from West Africa. Have you ever tried to dance to Mozart? His melodies, and so many other composers, are intriguing and delightful, but have no booty! When melodic European music cross-pollinated with West African rhythms, American music was born. These days what primarily remains in our pop music is that pulse, still present, but mostly made by robots.

What follows is several features of professionals in our area who are teaching classes, holding workshops, and hosting other engaging opportunities related to rhythm.

Biza Sompa was born in Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo, and has traveled extensively teaching Congolese dance and rhythms. He currently offers courses through the University of Michigan Dance Department. “Students find freedom in this class. When you are dancing to these rhythms, you are not thinking about your problems. Just five or 10 minutes and you are happy.”

Sompa is also Director of the Bichini Bio Congo Dance Theater Company of Ann Arbor which is slowly regrouping after Covid. “It’s an all-ages group with live drumming, performing traditional Congolese dances.” There aren’t classes for drumming in the Congo. There is no need. Growing up where drumming and dancing happen on street corners and in backyards, the rhythms are deeply ingrained and are played by young and old alike. Sompa elaborated:

“You can hear the drum rhythms in our language. We have rhythms for just having fun and for every gathering, like weddings and funerals. For instance, after a year of mourning, people gather again to pay respect and mark the end of grieving. The special rhythm tells you it is time to say goodbye. It is very healing.

Here in the United States, we go to adult living centers and hospitals. People start dancing even while they are sitting in their chairs. They’re moving their arms, nodding their heads, they are all clapping together. They are very happy. Doing rhythmical activities together like this is very healing. Especially when you have a good drummer who gives from his heart. He loves the music, and that love will transmit to the audience.

For U of M enrolled students interested in participating, contact Biza Sompa, UM Dance Admissions at (734) 763-5460.For those interested who are not students, contact Sompa for private learning by calling or texting (734) 604-5483 or email jbbiza@gmail.com.

To learn more about the Bichini Bio Congo Dance Theater Company of Ann Arbor, their classes, and presentations, contact Serita at (734) 829-7930 or visit them on at facebook.com/A2Congo/.

Each of North America’s 600 indigenous communities has their own language, rituals, and songs. If we dare to lump American Indian music into one statement, it would be that traditional music employs drumming, often with only one drum, playing the heartbeat rhythm for social and ceremonial events. This rhythm brings the people together into one mind. How did they know this? Something really big is going on here! We’ll get into the clinical research in just a bit.

Ed Sarath is a Professor in the Department of Music and Jazz, and founder and co-director of Creativity in Consciousness Studies at the University of Michigan. He said, “Rhythm is inextricably bound to movement, which then connects with emotional engagement, and in turn mind-body integration. This directly enhances physical well-being and soul connection. So, it can be thought of as a kind of continuum that results in an organic fusion of the different dimensions. We are all in sync in that way, and we might not even know it. Now that’s rhythm! Anything that integrates mind, body, emotion, and spirituality is going to be beneficial.” Sarath had the following to add:

In many cultures, music is inseparable from dance, ritual, and spiritual transformation and all of life. In some cultures, particularly in Africa, there is no word for music as a separate, sound-based activity. So, because rhythm in one form or another is intrinsic to most if not all musical cultures, the link with ceremony and celebration is natural. Unfortunately, many have missed the great importance of African American rhythmic traditions in our culture and across the globe.

Whenever you have people making music together, especially if it’s rhythmic, you have the mind-body-emotional-spiritual connection within the individual, but then also you have the connection between individuals, and that is the most powerful way humans can communicate. It’s a collective meditation, collective rhythm. Rhythm is a matrix of benefits.

Everyone is inherently musical. Whether they play an instrument or not. Everyone has the capacity to make music in different ways. We have the pulse which we equate with heartbeat. There’s the rhythm of the seasons and cosmic cycles. Central to my work is how improvisation and rhythm (as well as music without groove) achieve collective transcendence (and thus bonding) in action. My advice is to find opportunities of making music together where you enter into a field of consciousness, [and] to make that part of your regular experience.

Professor Ed Sarath has an upcoming course, “Creativity Consciousness in the Future.” You can contact Sarath at (734) 272-1063 or email him at sarahara@umich.edu.

“Drummunity” is Fithian’s very accessible program for all ages. At any given gig, she shows up with a minivan full of instruments and then a wonderful thing happens—a feeling of happiness overcomes. Participants become an ensemble, playing together like they are longtime close friends. Why is that?

“It’s a mystery,” Fithian answered. “Is it a steady heartbeat? You can walk better if you have a steady beat. It makes people feel good, like in a marching band. It’s energizing. Percussion helps people get in the groove together. As far as I know all cultures have had rhythm. We have Layne Redmond’s book, When the Drummers Were Women, A Spiritual History of Rhythm (1997) with photos, but we don’t know what they sounded like . Yet, I have seen people come to tears the first time they come to a drum circle. Why? Because it feels good. They always wanted to be part of a group.”

Fithian’s drum circles are disarmingly welcoming. She has a vast repertoire of games and practices that she calls upon at any given moment. She creates an open environment that gives you permission to have fun and let go of self-imposed blocks. A grandma who brings an interested child to the circle is gently offered a shaker. Grandma’s rigid, folded body loosens, and she smiles. Another young woman says she’s just there to watch. Fithian smiles charmingly and the woman finds herself strumming a ukulele and beaming.

Lori Fithian hosts open Drummunity sessions on the third Saturday of each month at Interfaith Center for Spiritual Growth. She travels all over the Great Lakes region, working in schools, libraries, camps, retreats, and other locations. You can join Fithian’s mailing list by emailing her at Lorifithian@mac.com. Learn more online at drummunity.com.

Layne Redmond was a pioneer in reclaiming women’s frame drumming. Her study into the history of percussion was published in her pivotal book, When the Drummers Were Women, A Spiritual History of Rhythm (1997). “One of the most powerful aspects of drumming—and the reason people have done it since the beginning of being human—is that it changes people’s consciousness. Through rhythmic repetition of ritual sounds, the body, the brain, and the nervous system are energized and transformed. When a group of people play a rhythm for an extended period of time, their brain waves become entrained to the rhythm, and they have a shared brain wave state. The longer the drumming goes on, the more powerful the entrainment becomes. It’s really the oldest holy communion.”

Entrainment? Even our computer spellcheck does not know this word. From the National Institute for Health website: “The earliest known reference to the mode-locking, or entrainment, of two maintained oscillators is Christiaan Huygens’ description of two pendulum clocks “falling into synchrony” when hung on the same wall (1695). “Entrainment is an important characteristic of interactions between brain rhythms and refers to the coupling of two independent oscillatory systems in such a way that their periods of oscillation become related by virtue of phase alignment” (Cummins 2009).

Pop Quiz: What phase of the moon are we in right now? You can look it up online or, WOW! You can look up in the sky. Do you know everyone’s brain chemistry changes with each quarter phase of the moon? Douglas Rushkoff wrote on edge.org that, “New research suggests that our dominant neurotransmitters change with each of the four weeks of a lunar cycle. . . The first week of a new moon brings a surge of acetylcholine—we should be full of pep. The next brings serotonin—might be good for work. Then comes dopamine, where people tend to be more social and relaxed. Finally, in the last moon phase, norepinephrine takes the lead and may make people more analytic.” Many of us are experiencing the same rotating moods together!

Karin Nanos of Ann Arbor has spent her career as a Teacher of the Speech and Language-Impaired and an Early Childhood Developmental Specialist with an Education degree. She has taught in numerous educational settings working with children of all ages with complex communication needs. She said;

My most effective strategy has been using rhythm to improve communication skills. With the drum in the middle as a visual anchor point, my students are able to achieve the same rhythm, or turn-taking rhythms and movements, with minimal prompting and greater ease more often. For social skills, it’s a big win too, providing a sense of belonging and a sense of shared attention. Rhythm targets the very nature of communication which is interacting with others.

I remember a high school student who paid attention only to his hands and was more comfortable physically isolating himself away from others. When I entered his classroom, he typically didn’t look up to acknowledge my presence. One day, as I carried the drum closer, he got up from his comfortable spot and pulled a chair to his location which I interpreted as, “Sit here. I want you here.” This was the first time he initiated communication with me followed by imitating simple rhythms. It was a remarkable connection.

When I worked with infants and toddlers ages one to three, identified as having language acquisition delay, I used a drum four feet in diameter. Children sat around it engaged with their parents and learning their friends’ names. With a very predictable song, they could share in the activity with coordinated rhythm involving everyone. The youngest of students exercised the nuance of stopping and starting vocalizations as referenced in an article published by Cambridge University. While your bodies are moving, so is the voice. When you have a predictable rhythm and you overlay a simple repetitive song with it, you are entraining breathing, the initiation of sound, the sustaining of sound, and the ending of sound which can be done in unison. It feels effortless to children. Rather than asking them to communicate or make those sounds, it just happens naturally when you engage with rhythm. Plus, this is all accomplished within an activity of fun and laughter.

To learn more about Karin Nanos you can reach out to her at kcnanos@gmail.com. If you are interested in reading the study she mentioned, you can find it at cam.ac.uk/research/news/why-reading-nursery-rhymes-and-singing-to-babies-may-help-them-to-learn-language.

Robin Robinson has been the owner/director of Robinsongs for Kids since 2008 and has been teaching for 24 years. She leads a variety of programs for babies up to age eight working with material from “Music Together” as a Certification One instructor. It is a researched-based national program offering early childhood music to support social and emotional well-being.

Robinson had several thoughts on the issue of rhythm:

Parent involvement is key in this work. There are chants, instrument play, singing and small/large movement for the mixed age classes and a drumming class for the older kids. Even if the kids don’t participate in the class, when they see their adult playing along, modeling, and laughing, they are learning. I often reassure parents that each child learns differently, and we honor each learning style. Many times, parents report that when the kids get home, they know all the songs and the movements.

In the Rhythm Kids classes, each semester we learn patterns that are based on music from a different part of the world. First, we speak the patterns and move with them. Then we come up with creative substitutions and eventually drum the patterns. Everyone’s exhilarated, and smiling, and laughing. There’s something magical about moving together in rhythm. Children should be absolutely free. We don’t expect them to do it ‘right’ or even participate. We honor learning styles, so we know some just watch. It’s a rare adult who doesn’t have rhythmic competency. Parent participation is key.

Rhythm teaches empathy and self-regulation. If things get a little out of hand, the main thing we do in class is to bring down the volume. That’s a great parenting tool.

Learn more about Robin Robinson at robinsongsforkids.com.

Clinical Studies on the Health Benefits of Drumming

There have been many studies done in the last twenty years that demonstrate the benefits of using rhythm in populations with Autism, dementia, traumatic brain injuries, and Parkinson’s disease, as well as those suffering with anxiety and depression. Michael Winkleman PhD of Arizona State University notes in his article Percussion and Distance Learning in Children with Autism, “drumming synchronizes the frontal and lower areas of the brain, integrating nonverbal information from lower brain structures into the frontal cortex, producing feelings of insight, understanding, integration, certainty, conviction, and truth, which surpass ordinary understandings and tend to persist long after the experience, often providing foundational insights for religious and cultural traditions.” (Winkleman 2000)

Studies show improvement in children with neuro divergent conditions, by expanding their attention span, providing a forward momentum in reading and speech. Drumming in a group may improve social skills and interaction.

Drumming has also shown to boost immunity, improve inflammation in the body, improve cognitive functioning and blood circulation. “A 2014 study published in The Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine found that drumming helped improve blood circulation. It’s believed that the rhythmic movement of the hands and feet helps stimulate the flow of blood through the veins and arteries.”

Maybe rhythm is about mysticism—recognizing yourself in the big picture. Your body is already in rhythm when you walk, chew, breathe, beat your heart, think in your brain, sleep, and wake. Drumming is a microcosm of the turning of the whole cosmos and a way to remember your place in it. As stated in A Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living (1991), “The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.”

Susan Slack is an author, musician, and certified leader for the Dances of Universal Peace. Learn more about her at https://slacksusan.wixsite.com/susan-j-slack. To learn more about Dances of Universal Peace visit them at Ann Arbor Dances of Universal Peace 2024.

Further Online Reading on Rhythmic Benefits:

Benefits of Rhythm for those with Autism:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/574191f24c2f8522317db6b1/t/577bee216a4963d30fb2e6a8/1467739682715/FULL+PercussionAndDistanceLearningAutism.pdf

Benefits for those with anxiety, depression, stress:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4790847/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6041820/

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0151136

Benefits for those with Dementia:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7343932/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266744908_Improved_Executive_Function_and_Callosal_White_Matter_Microstructure_after_Rhythm_Exercise_in_Huntington’s_Disease

Benefits for those with Parkinson’s Disease:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4914050

General health benefits for all:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/scie.ce/article/abs/pii/S0197455614000537

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17261984/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24983262/

https://www.donovanhealth.com/blog?tag=group+drumming