The Healing Power of Drumming by Suzanne Tribe

The Healing Power of Drumming

by Suzanne Tribe, M.A., MT-BC
Music Therapist-Board Certified

March 2015

Drumming was at the core of community life and healing in most ancient cultures from around the world - from the Tuvan shamans in Siberia to the machis in Chile, the Anatolian culture in ancient Turkey to the Shuar in the Amazon Rainforest, the Inuit in Alaska, the West African Yoruba people and the First Nation’s people in America. 

Drumming was a way to communicate from one village to the next; drumming expressed the joy of gathering in celebration; it was the fabric of connection, collaboration and healing. Shamanic drumming was, and is, a key component of creating sacred space, honoring the earth and its directions, and intentionally shifting states of consciousness to retrieve information for healing, wellbeing and survival.

In certain parts of the world, more secluded areas, this is still a way of life. I witnessed this when I traveled to the Andes in 1997 to do fieldwork on pre-Columbian drumming and chanting. In the small and beautiful town of Iruya, high up in the Andes, at a time of the yearly festivity, people travelled for days from afar, on foot or by horse, to come together in ceremony. There was drumming, dancing and singing for celebration, reunion, healing and in their words “to connect with mother earth and the cosmos”.

I learnt from the Aymara and Quechua people in the Andes about the importance of the drum in everyday life and in ceremony. The drum is our connection to mother earth, Pacha Mama, our groundedness. The sound of our voices projected in singing or toning are our connection to the cosmos, our dreams. And our heart is at the center, allowing the flow between earth and sky/cosmos. I have carried these teachings with me ever since and they are part of who I am as a music therapist, as teacher and performer, and overall as a being dreaming on this earth.

In the 60s and 70s a return to drumming as a community experience took place. In the United States free form drum circles sprung up at beaches, in parks and indoor facilities. Simultaneously culturally specific drum circles were generated, and soon to follow came the facilitated community drum circles. In the 80s, with the shift in health care to more complementary and integrative models, a growing interest in drumming as a holistic tool emerged. Nowadays there is a growing focus on drumming for health purposes in clinical settings, hospitals, psychiatrics, schools, private practice, etc.

As a music therapist I have experienced the healing power of rhythm and drumming in helping patients to relax or become more energized as needed; in supporting premature infants stabilize their heart rate and breathing rate; the ocean drum and toning to promote parent-infant bonding, drumming for stress release; drumming for caregivers in ‘caring for the caregiver’ programs, and in other situations.

Research has been conducted on the effect of drumming on health. A ground-breaking study by Barry Bittman, M.D. published in 2001, found that one hour of group drumming according to a specific protocol called HealthRHYTHMS, boosted the immune system and showed an increase in NK (natural killer) cell activity in participants. Subsequent studies by Bittman showed evidence that group drumming can lower stress, improve mood states and reduce burnout. (For more information on these studies go to http://www.remo.com/portal/pages/hr/research/index.html )

The present trend shows that drumming for health and wellbeing seems to be making its way back into our culture. What about shamanic drumming?

Shamanic drumming for intentionally shifting one’s state of consciousness and journeying to other layers of awareness is a path I have been learning, practicing and guiding others along for the past 10 years. It includes creating sacred space, honoring the directions, setting intentions and journeying to non-ordinary states of consciousness and back, and includes the process of integrating the experience. 

I'd like to conclude with seven reflections on drumming:

1 - Drumming brings us into the here and now. Babatunde Olatunji, considered to have inspired the return to the drum circle experience in North America, is quoted as saying: “Yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.”

2 - Drumming is communication and expression without words

3 - Drumming energizes us and can help us release tension

4 - Drumming shifts our awareness

5 - Drumming with intention is powerful

6 - Drumming align us with our natural rhythms and the rhythms of nature

7 - Drumming aligns us with the rhythms of the universe

Suzanne Tribe, M.A., MT-BC, LCAT

My music therapy internship at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center, NY in 2013-2014 included leading/facilitating a "Caring for the Caregiver" drum based programs in Palliative Care. In the pic with some amazing music therapists.