If you think you have rhythm, or even if you think you don’t, all are welcome to join others in the Boundary to pick up a drum and discover the joy of percussion.
Patrick Carrick’s Rhythm By Nature Community Drumming Tour is coming to the Boundary Region. He will be stopping in Greenwood on Monday, April 15 at 6:30 p.m., and Tuesday at 4th Street Studio at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16. To find out more, see rhythmbynature.ca/drum-circles/.
Originally from Australia, Carrick’s drumming career started in his teens. After travelling the world, he settled in western Canada and started Circles of Rhythm in 2017, originally named Columbia Valley Drumming.
After last year’s successful drumming circle, he explored the Boundary Region online and thought a few locations would be great spots to host drumming circles and reached out to people to see if they were interested.
“I love working with local people who are enthused by the notion and over the years I’ve noted that even in my profession, people don’t know what a drumming circle is,” he said. “They think it has some Indigenous connotations, and it does, but it speaks to the larger Indigenous peoples that live in all of us. We are all Indigenous to some part of the world and drums have been used by humans since probably before we had language.”
He added there could be a little “hippie”-type vibes and a little fun competition to see who is the best drummer in the room. While leading sessions, Carrick leads people through components like low-frequency therapeutic drumming and explains some of the health benefits of the activity.
The purpose of these drumming circles, he said, isn’t just to hit a drum and see if it sounds good, it’s to help people learn about the physical and mental benefits of playing percussion instruments, as well as cultural connections every person shares through drums.
“There have been scientific studies in recent years on the medical benefits of drumming,” he said. “It can be great for the mind and emotional outlet, but also great for the body. Group drumming has been found to help boost the immune system and heal on a practical level. Also, drumming has been seen for thousands of years as a way of communicating with each other and nature, it’s been called ‘the heartbeat of the world.’”
Last year’s tour was supported by a grant from the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance, but this year Carrick said he is more on his own. Last year was such a success, he had many inquiries into when he was coming back, which he said at the time as soon as travel permitted.
“I’m taking a different route through the Okanagan this time, through Greenwood and Grand Forks, then on the way to Rossland and Nelson,” he said. “Later in May, I’ll be doing other spots like Fernie and Cranbrook, Kimberly and Revelstoke.”