African drumming has been praised as a mega stress reliever; it’s even been backed by the NHS. This is all wonderful news to me as I’ve had a really rough day.
I head to a class tucked away in a tunnel beneath the railway, an arch-shaped tube with feint music bursting out through the cracks. It’s a tricky one to find, but as with any decent treasure map, the golden ‘X’ (on the door) marks the spot.
The whole place is a perfect chill-out area away from the bustling city, kitted out with a bar, a TV, a pinball machine and even a fish tank.
Following the gold once again, a statue guides the way to the drumming room.
Aye, alright. What about the drumming?
Tonight’s session is led by (R-L) Sue, Papis and Wilson.
First up, we’re told the basics, including a bit of cultural background and a demo of how to hold the Djembe drum for maximum sound.
There’s a real contrast between the hollow high tone when you tap the outside of the skin and the meaty bass-y tone of slapping the middle. It’s difficult to put into words. And this is probably weird, but hand slapping on stretched goat skin is really satisfying.
OK, so with palms sufficiently warmed, it’s onto the first number. Tap, slap, tap, tap tap slap, tap slap, tap tap slap. Tap, slap, tap tap… c*ap. I can see the connection between drumming and mindfulness – if your attention drops off for even a moment, you lose the rhythm.
Papis throws in some chants harking back to his Senegalese roots.
Papis: WASA WASA!
Drummers: WASA!
Papis: WASA KUMBA!
Drummers: YEAH!
Basically, he’s asking us if we want to sing, and we’re saying yes. There are some other beautiful-sounding syllables in there but I forget what they mean.
After each jam, the ultra-energetic Papis leaps up and approaches each drummer to lay a double high-five on them, exclaiming “SUPAAAAAA!” with a massive smile on his face. It’s utterly infectious.
Swaying back and forth with nimble wrists and an unintentionally squashed-up face, I realise I’m getting quite into this. It’s pretty easy to lose yourself.
The second half really ups the ante, with more complex rhythms, two beats split across two halves of the group and even some African dancing to unlock those hips.
I drop the beat (deliberately this time) for a few seconds to capture some of the traditional boogie.
To cool off we’re treated to a performance by Papis. Here’s the main man giving us some soul.
So, what’s the verdict on African drumming?
SUPAAAAAAAA! *Double high fives the internet*
I went to Sue’s Ancient Tribal Drumming Experience which you can find through Funzing and Meetup. It costs £20, but there may be deals and discounts available.
Interested in having a go?
Sue Goode, who started hosting African drumming sessions nine years ago, tells us why we should try it out.
A chance to slow down
She talks about the benefits of getting together to have a drumming session.
“It’s really good stress relief. In this day and age when everything is really busy and fast, taking some time out to literally bang a drum is really helpful.
“Coming together in a group setting with people that you perhaps don’t know and learning something new is quite good for self confidence. It’s very inclusive – it’s set up so that everyone can do it, as long as they can bang a drum.”
Health benefits
It has perks for everyone, especially those with mental health conditions.
“Drumming is really good for left-right brain stuff and building new synapses in the brain to support learning.
“Anyone who is on the autistic spectrum will benefit from this as will anyone with ADHD, Alzheimer’s, any kind of memory problems where you really need to focus and put some energy into feeling better mentally. It’s great for depression too.”
The drumming rhythm stems back to the very beginning:
“It’s very primitive within us. The original beat is the mother’s heartbeat in the womb, so there’s something very comforting about the rhythm and the sound so it taps into our core on a level that’s soothing and healing,” she says.
Finding a local group
Sue put her groups on Meetup and Funzing, but African drumming groups are cropping up all over the UK, in places like Manchester, Edinburgh and Belfast.
Starting your own group
If you can’t find one, you’ve always got the option to start your own.
After years of wanting to try it, Sue went along to a local group which unfortunately had to be closed down due to a lack of funding.
“I was so upset that it shut that I’d have to set another one up myself.”
In the basement where she had her psychotherapy business, Sue asked if she could borrow the boardroom. She moved some tables around, got some drums, invited some drummers over and put the group on the internet.
“I didn’t know if anyone was going to come,” she remembers.
“That was nine years ago and I’ve been running it once, maybe twice a week, so I must be doing something right!
“I guess you do need to have an investment – I run this as a not-for-profit so as long as we can cover the rent and the drummers. It’s not ever going to make loads of money.”
Costs
A sturdy drum costs between £150 and £300, so if you want to start at home, it’s easy enough to get going.
Sue stresses that a lot of groups close down because they don’t realise how expensive it’s going to be to run. If you want to start your own group, make sure you do your sums first.
A lot of the cost comes down to the drums. It depends whether you’re going to borrow them, have somewhere to store them or cart them from place to place.
You’ll also need to find somewhere that will let you be noisy, which Sue says is the toughest part.
Issues you might face when you’re starting out
The psychotherapist talks about the differences between the more rigid nature of western learning and the freedom of rhythm and movement involved in African drumming:
“The only challenges really are of not being open-minded. I think as long as people are willing to go with and embrace the culture that it is and not have to worry about conventional learning.
“Let go of ideas of how you learn because everything here is very visual and it’s a core response. You’re not counting and you’re not reading music traditionally so the challenge is to let go of western ways of learning.”
What did you make of Papis’ song and the African dancing? Tell us in the comments below!
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