Thomas Chiu

To an untrained eye, a drum circle is like a musical performance, with the facilitator as the performer in the middle and the performance as the sequence of events that unfold during the drum circle. The only difference is that the performers are made up of random attendees and are highly unpredictable.

I often get asked by other facilitators about how I plan and structure my drum circle events and sequences. And the genuine answer is - I don’t really have a detailed plan. I let the participants take me where they are willing and ready to go. Facilitating with a blank canvas.

I remember when I first started facilitating, I often entered with a detailed plan of sequences tailored to the participants’ assumed music abilities. For example, I would limit the musical “difficulty” for the school-based drum circles, because I did not want to overwhelm the group by making it too hard. And I would limit the “technical level” for corporate clients because I thought they wouldn’t be interested. Big mistake!

Looking back in my early drum circles, it felt as if I brought a single sheet of 3x3” Post-it note to a visual-arts sketch session. Even worse, I had already outlined the background to avoid making a mistake! From the start of the drum circle, I had already limited myself to what I could create. I was limited by the space of imagination and creativity that was yet to be discovered. Limited by the assumption of the ability of my participants, and limited by my planned program.

Some of the best drum circles I have ever facilitated are freeform and unplanned. I enter my drum circles now with an expandable blank canvas. Completely blank, and it grows as the session develops. I no longer assume that participants can only reach a certain level of ability, and I no longer facilitate with a fixed mindset about musicality. The canvas is full of possibilities.