River Guerguerian—Sharing the Drum

LESSONS AND WORKSHOPS

"Music is wholly about Listening…. to our inner selves, the muse, and our neighbors.”

All that exists creates sound. The tiniest elements of everything on this planet move, vibrate, and therefore create resonance. Sound is one of the most powerful forces around us, having extremely transformative capabilities. It has the ability to heal and create, or to confuse and destroy. Music is a human attempt to arrange sounds and silences. It evokes a range of emotions from ecstasy to anger. Once we understand what sounds we truly resonate with, we have the ability to influence our environment.

Music-making is an innate form of human expression. Inspiration comes from the intangible and even the mystical. Similarly, listening induces abstract states of consciousness. For example, after listening to the same beloved piece of music 50 times, one might still not know what instrument is playing, what key it is in, the scale, meter, etc.

As a sound scientist, I approach sound at a core level, experimenting with its effects on humans. Experiences may range from dancing to meditating. Understanding where sound-producing energy comes from (click here for visualization) within the body is essential in producing effective music. Conveying this energy through rhythm creates Groove, the conscious placement of these tones, which inspires dance.
Sharing the essence of sound is a great joy to me.

DRUM AND RHYTHM WORKSHOPS AND LESSONS
--How to achieve a well-rounded tone, and make your drum sing
--Building upon our own naturally-given internal rhythm
--Learning rhythms from around the world
--How to play harmoniously with other people

CONCEPTS FOR PLAYING THE RESONATING DRUM
Begin your practice with a Visualization. Be constantly mindful of the flow of energy throughout your body, and how it manifests sound.

Always play from the Drum. Your energy should be focused on pulling the sound out of the drum, not into it. Let gravity be your friend for the downstroke, and allow your hands to bounce.

Be aware of your breath.

When learning a new rhythm, sing the rhythm using syllables. “If you can’t sing it, you can’t play it.”

Be able to count out loud while playing the rhythm, and feel the groove internally.

Keep the “time” with your alternating feet. Dance.

Visualize the energy of your legs move through the soles of the feet and straight to the core of the planet. This will help ground you and make your groove stronger.

Start with slow tempos and gradually work your way up. Do not go faster until you feel solid. “The slower you go, the faster you will get there.”

Music is a high form of communication. Put the proper intention behind what you are trying to say, and who you are saying it to, even if it is just yourself. Clarity of tone and phrase communicates clear intentions.

The most important thing is to be in the moment of every note we play.

Give thanks for the ability to create and share Sound.

“All the participants were extremely pleased with River’s approach and teaching style. One of the students told me after the class, 'I learned more in several hours with River than I did in a year of lessons.’”

—ASHANTAY, Celestial Gifts, Sautee, GA

SOUND EXPLORATION WORKSHOPS
—We will share and understand the deep, creative, and rhythmic space from which sound/music originates.
—We will make listening a full-body experience, learning how to absorb sound vibrations with our whole bodies.
—We will use instruments such as Himalayan singing bowls, gongs, bells, rattles, flutes, drums, and voice to demonstrate the transformative and healing power of sound. These ancient instruments have been used throughout human cultures for thousands of years.

There are singing bowls that vibrate slowly, generating long waveforms that can induce theta brainwave states (trance-like conditions which include slow respiration rates and deep relaxation). They are measured in Hertz (Hz = cycles per second).

Super High Beta = 35–50 Hz
K-complex = 33–35 Hz
High Beta = 16–32 Hz
Beta = 12–16 Hz
Alpha = 8–12 Hz
Theta = 4–8 Hz
Delta = 0.5–4 Hz

We normally function in a Beta brain state. Theta brainwave states have been known to induce strong visual imagery, and evoke little or no awareness of the physical body (go to www.frankperry.co.uk/ for in-depth information on this subject).

Contact River about Sound Healing Sessions

INTERESTING FACTS
—Schuman Resonating Frequency—The sound vibrations of Earth’s electromagnetic field, deep space, and people in deep meditative states all resonate at a frequency of approximately 7.8 Hz.
—Our brains receive up to 80% of its energy through the ears.
—Musicians were originally shamans, physicians, healers, and priestesses/priests.
—The use of gongs and bells has been traced back 4,000 years in Asia Minor. The oldest record of drums date back 8,000 years.
—Playing or listening to a steady beat has a regulating effect on the biological functioning of the human body.
—We remember 20% of what we hear, 40% of what we see and hear, and 80% of what we do.

This site is dedicated to Fred D. Hinger, who showed me how to "touch" the drums.