Drumming Etiquette
I have been a drummer now for almost twelve years, and having played in drum circles from Atenveldt
to Ansteorra I would bet that I have taken part in the very best and the very worst of them. What
follows is a study based on what I thought made them great and what made them terrible. I have come
to think of them as the five commandments of the rhythm gods, and these are the rules by which my
tribe plays in circle.
ARTICLE 1 - THOU SHALT KEEP THE BEAT.
Please, please, just stay in time with the other drummers. If you lose the beat, stop and start over.
If you don't know the rhythm then don't play it . Just relax, listen and enjoy. If you're still
learning, then play quietly (on a small drum) and don't ever be afraid to ask for help with the doums,
teks and kahs. Remember - The rhythm gods want you to play your drum, they just don't want you to do
it badly, and to those good folk who are too much in their cups, bugger off out of it. If you are too
drunk to speak or walk, you are too drunk to play your drum. I promise.
ARTICLE 2 - THOU SHALT PAY ATTENTION.
You know the guy who keeps on playing after every body else stops? He is not paying attention.
The best drum circles take on a life of their own with lots of rhythm and tempo changes. If you're
not paying attention then you.re likely to get left behind. It happens to me sometimes but we must be
strong and resist the siren song of the endless solo.
ARTICLE 3 - THOU SHALT FOLLOW THE LEADER.
This one has a two fold meaning. First, the person who starts the rhythm is DE facto "leading" the
rhythm, and will generally call down the end count. So look to him/her for tempo and change-ups, and
when I say look that is exactly what I mean. Light is faster than sound and across a space of even 10
meters or so the sound delay can throw one side of the circle off beat thru no fault of the drummers,
so watch the leaders hands because light is too fast to lie. Now if it turns out to be too dark to see
him/her then get as close as you can because you'll need to be within 5 meters or so to keep good time.
Secondly, in your camp you expect people to play by your rules, so when you are playing in someone
else's camp you should be willing to play by theirs. Hail the camp and ask permission to enter. Be
polite, introduce yourself to the lord and/or lady of the house and play courteously with them. DO NOT
just walk up and start playing - you may be interrupting a performance or barging in on a ceremony.
ARTICLE 4 - THOU SHALT PLAY FOR THE DANCERS (NOT AT THEM.)
We drum for two reasons:
1. Because we love to drum.
2. Because hot chicks dance for us.
Now oh my fellow rhythmaticians, why oh why would you play anything the girls (and sometimes the guys)
can't dance to? When you are lucky enough to have gorgeous women (OK, OK, - and hunky men) dancing at
your circle, you should make every effort to accommodate them. If you play too fast, or too slow, the
same three rhythms all night long or off-times and weird rhythms constantly no one wants to dance for
you. For the record, dance music is almost always in square time (for the most part 2/4, 4/4, 8/4, but
there are a few exceptions) and always played between 80 and 136 BPM (beats per minute). I am not
telling you not to play anything else, just play the funky stuff when it's appropriate. That way the
dancers stick around and you might get to talk to them, perhaps you might even get to touch one!
ARTICLE 5 THOU SHALT PLAY NICE WITH OTHERS.
Yes, OK, we can hear you, you're louder and faster than every one else, hooray for you! Now stop playing
like a jerk or go somewhere else. The Circle is not about your fragile little ego or your desperate need
for attention from your parents. It is a place to come together with people from all walks of life and
make some music. It is not a show and you are not the star. If you can't surrender to the music then
you have no business in a drum circle, so get thee gone ego drummer. By the same token, you guys out
there that are pros, lighten up. Drum circles aren't meant to be performances. It is the one place that
you can just play for fun, so take a chill pill and go with the flow. If a circle doesn't sound good to
you, go find another. Whether you believe it or not some people play just for the fun of it and they
don't want nor do they appreciate your taking over their circle. If you have to be the big cheese then
play at your house, by your rules.
If I have offended anyone, then I am sorry, but if you are offended, it's probably because one of the
above mentioned articles hit a little to close to home for you . In that case I hope you take a little
time to figure out why some words on a page written by some wanna-be drum guru has you so upset.
In service to the rhythm,
Lord Patrick the Butcher, Chieftain of the Red Hands Tribe
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