Benny Greb Master Session Recap

What an unforgettable week!

Truth be told, I didn't know much about Benny Greb before I was asked to assist him during his first Master Session in the US. I had seen a few clips on YouTube and remember thinking he had great feel, but left it at that. What a great surprise that the drummer I was offered to work with ended up becoming one of my favorite musicians...and even a greater friend.

I picked Benny up at Newark Airport early Wednesday evening. Before he said "Hi," he reached for a hug. We spent 2 1/2 hours traveling north towards the Catskill Mountains, never once turning on the radio. We shared stories and dreams, and he willingly asked questions to help me clarify my business and personal paths. He may have been voted "Best Drum Clinician" three years straight, but I could tell from the start that Benny is much more than a great drum teacher.

His teaching philosophy is rooted in the notion that it's more than just playing the drums—it's about making music. I told him that it goes one step further than drums or music—it's about leading a successful life.

The workshop started on Thursday night, went three full days from 9am-10pm, and wrapped up Monday afternoon. There was plenty of drum instruction, but there was just as much discussion about being a better, kinder, more effective person. In the way that my work is rooted in wellness and enhanced by drumming, Benny's is just the opposite. Still, the coin remains the same.

The workshop connected me to 25 awesome, passionate people from as far as Singapore and Australia. I'm glad to say we will all stay connected. On Sunday we welcomed David Ciauro from Modern Drummer magazine who will be writing a feature piece about the camp. Coincidentally, he is also a drum therapist!

We ate well, were surrounded by the finest nature has to offer, and had fun.

Truly, and by definition—an unforgettable week.

In the upcoming weeks I plan to post more lessons, stories, and pictures from camp. Cheers!

"Spring Forward" Update

Source: UK WeatherForecast

Coming off a weekend of warm weather and an extra hour of sunlight, it seems to be a good time to share with you some exciting updates-

After many years of graduate training and three internships, I mailed in my licensing application to the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists. As a licensed clinician, my opportunities to share the healing effects of rhythm and music-making will exponentially increase. Until then, there's a lot of good stuff I have lined up...

I leave tomorrow morning to pick up Benny Greb at Newark Airport, en route to the Full Moon Resort in the Catskill Mountains. Benny is one of the world's most accomplished drumming educators. He's coming from Germany to share his Master Session for the first time in the US. It will be an honor to assist him and the 25 students from around the country over the next six days.

Just as I return home, I head back to Loyola University to lead a Beatwell workshop with another graduate-level psychology class. Sharing my work with college and graduate students always makes for an awesome time. I'm looking forward to more opportunities like this.

In the months following, I'll be sharing similar workshops with all types of groups and events including: Mesh Baltimore SkillShare, Hot August Blues & Roots Festival, Baltimore City schools and community festivals, and more!

I'll continue to teach drums, guitar, (and now xylophone), privately every day and am also working on a four-piece series to be published on WhatWeekly.com describing the development and evolution of my Beatwell workshops.

I appreciate you for taking the time to read this and will continue to share my path with the world weekly! You can also follow me on Twitter: @BeatwellBmore

Beatwell is coming to Mesh Baltimore!

I'm very excited to announce that I've been invited to share a 1-hour workshop at the next Mesh Baltimore SkillShare event— "Beatwell to Be Well: The Art and Science of Group Drumming."

I will be sharing some of my most insightful experiences as a drumming therapist and educator, review the wealth of scientific research proving its many effects, and of course leading the group through all types of musical experiences.

Mesh Baltimore is a 3-hour event in which attendees choose from 4 unique workshops each hour. I'm eager to contribute and participate as I feel this type of event should be a part of every community. Mesh Baltimore is a great opportunity to have fun and learn, strengthen community, and gives entrepreneurs a welcome platform to share their work.

Mesh Baltimore SkillShare
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Digitial Harbor High School in Federal Hill

Tickets purchased before March 24 are only $10—grab one here!

An Inspiration: The Work of Jim Donovan

Sitting in a room with 20 strangers, drumming and singing a traditional Congolese song is not how I typically spend a Friday night. This was way better.

www.jimdonovanmusic.com

My Google search into the world of group drumming started after a meeting with four other graduate students. The five of us were expected to write a research paper and present on a specific group therapy. The population and intervention was up to us. The group picked kids with ADHD and I sold them on drumming. Now it was time to figure out what the hell I was actually going to do.

Jim Donovan was one of the first names to pop up. Jim is a founding member of the multi-platinum group, Rusted Root. Now married with three daughters, he teaches at Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania and is a legitimate tour-de-force in the "group drumming for wellness" movement. He has developed and shares a variety of drumming workshops all over the world. These include workshops designed for corporate organizations, therapists, educators, and other "helping" professionals, and the general public.

www.jimdonovanmusic.com

Jim brought his two-hour "Rhythm Renewal" program to Baltimore County. What an incredible experience! He provided full-sized djembes—most imported from Africa—for everyone to use. The group was a mix of "drummers" and "non-drummers," but Jim had the group drumming within minutes. Aside from Jim's obvious musical strengths, he is a great facilitator and motivator. From the start he eased any insecurities and trepidation. As I like to say, "It's not a performance, it's just play." He encouraged to respond to musical "mistakes" with a smile. Good stuff.


The program was rooted in wellness and community-building. Jim led us through many exercises—with and without drums—reminding us to do so with intention and mindfulness of the moment. Personally, it was an honor to meet and thank him for trailblazing a path which I have chosen. Jim is one of the few doing this work at a professional and consistent level. The fact that he is as friendly as he is impressive made the experience all the more enjoyable.

www.jimdonovanmusic.com

Check out all of Jim's upcoming workshops!

The Musician and The Therapist: How I Bridged Two Paths

 
Up until 2009 I felt I was traveling down two distinct paths. I had been writing and performing music for many years and was beginning to attract a steady stream of drum students. I was also a year into a graduate program in mental health. The bridging of these paths became evident when I discovered a research study led by a neurologist and now personal hero of mine, Dr. Barry Bittman.

Although drumming has been used therapeutically for thousands of years in virtually every culture—legitimacy in our "evidence-based" culture demands hard science. Dr. Bittman "legitimized" drumming when he published results showing significant decreases in stress (cortisol hormone) and increases in immune function (cancer and virus fighting "Natural Killer" cells) following a designed group drumming protocol.

With this research and the wealth of studies that followed, I soon found every possible way to integrate music-making into my coursework. I wrote research papers and presented on "Group Drumming: A Stress-Reducing Modality," "Family Therapy Group Drumming," "Drumming in ADHD Group Therapy for Children and Adolescents," and more. During my internships I brought this work to life by integrating drumming in individual and group therapies and classroom workshops in an inner-city elementary school and a specialized middle school program for adolescents with severe emotional and behavioral disabilities.

In future posts I plan to share my experiences from Dr. Bittman's 3-day workshop in which I became an endorsed facilitator of his evidence-based protocol (HealthRHYTHMS), how I came to form my Beatwell drumming workshops for clinical and non-clinical populations of all ages, and much more.

Cheers!

Benny Greb Master Session Announcement!

Now this I'm excited about...

Next month I will be traveling to Big Indian, NY in the Catskill Mountains to assist internationally renown drummer, Benny Greb!

Benny will be traveling from Germany to bring his Master Session to the US for the first time. The camp is already sold out! I can't wait to pick him up from Newark Airport on March 13.

Benny's been voted by the readers of Drum! Magazine as "Best Clinician" for three years straight. I'm looking forward to working with and learning from him and meeting the 25 students who will be traveling from all over the world.

I'll be posting content on here covering the entire week. Stay tuned!

My Open Call to Musicians

"With great power comes great responsibility."

Musicians—I'm looking at you!

Whether I'm speaking to a lecture hall of graduate students, a first grade classroom, or my 68-year-old drum student, I am always urging them to discover and own the artist within.

The problem is, most people don't consider themselves to be one.

Once they can shift their perspective, most realize that we have always been artists, making artistic choices every waking moment. The shoes that the guy in the first row put on that morning was an artistic choice; The fact that he chose to sit in the front was an artistic choice.

We are all artists literally "creating" our lives—if you choose to look at it this way.

Not everyone identifies with this, and that's okay. But as a musician, I know you can relate—and your skills run deeper than just musical talent.

Our educational system is currently fixated on the STEM paradigm. Our future leaders are being fed an academic diet heavy in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. They are also taught with higher standardized test scores in mind as an end result.

These subjects are undoubtedly important and these skills will ensure a competent and competitive workforce. But will it produce creative thinkers and problem-solvers?

Many have said that the paradigm should be changed to "STEAM" to include Art, myself included. But I realized that the problem-solving and critical thinking skills that job creators and higher education stress are rooted in creativity, and necessary in EVERY school subject. I do think music class, and visual arts, and theater are important in a child's school day—but creative inquiry should be enhancing every class.

My larger point is that artists are the leaders. It will be the artists that solve our greatest challenges related to energy, disease, and poverty. It will be the artists that create the next Twitter or further revolutionize the music industry.

As a musician, I'm looking to you as a leader. You are familiar with creating within infinite possibilities (improvisation), you know how to effectively work with others for a greater cause (group performance), and you have gotten over the initial hurdle of seeing yourself as an agent of change (the artist).

No one is expected to move a mountain, but small or large, you can contribute in an endless amount of ways. You will influence those around you and become a leader in the process. All it takes is a little creativity—and I know it's in you.