This is The Home of the Environmental Rhythms of Daniel Ray (a/k/a Big Black)

 

 

Big Black Explains His Concept of "Environmental Rhythms" , How With Proper Direction One Can Become An Environmental Rhythmist  & How Environmental Rhythms Can Be Used To Harmonize Your Drum Circle....

Heartbeat, "The internal drum"

"The heart beat is one continous beat. The heart is the internal drum that plays the life giving source through our bodies.This beat is called "Shango", the african diety of the drum rhythms. These rhythms are directly associated with the exterior environment. Our goal is to bring into harmony both interior and exterior environments, so that we may acheive oneness with natures total environment. Oneness in ourselves as a people, oneness in all things expressed through nature and through drumming. 

The Native Americans like no others; play what I call, the external heart beat, or the 1:1 beat. This beat repetively draws you into a mental state of trance. It is in this mental state that you are allowed to grasp the "Environmental Rhythms" crucial infusion, of total oneness in the environment and self. The dance that the native american performs depicts the environment that feeds the rhythms of the heartbeat that one continuos beat - boom, boom, boom boom ...

"Environmental Rhythms" are collected through our senses and are fed to our heart rhythmically. As we move through this sea of "immortal rhythms", we began to collect and connect our spirits with our heart, we transmitt these rhythms from our heart to our hands, and from our hands to the drums. At this point you are well on your way to becoming an "Environmental Rhythmist". 

To be an environmental rhythmist is to play the rhythms of your environment, in a way that you and only you can percieve. There is no right or wrong in this matter, unless it is a composition written for an ensemble or an arrangesd piece. Simply put, it is all free-form meaning that, you can play whatever you are thinking at that time, as long as you are focusing on the heartbeat. In-order to achieve harmony in a drum circle, the director should be in command. He or she should know all of the rhythm parts or patterns, so that they may be distributed correctly among the players.

One only needs a few crossing rhythms to achieve the beauty and harmony in the circle. The director should be familiar with the time signatures that will be played and if those in the circle do not understand these, he should be ready to demonstrate or play these for the players. The circle should be divided into sections, 2 to 3 or more. Each section should be given their respective parts to be criss-crossed by all of the other parts harmoniously. This is the organized version, on the other hand is the freestyle circle, where everybody plays whatever they want, while focusing on the heartbeat. This is where the environmental rhythms kick-in, "freestyle from each individuals own perception; controlled by "Shango"'.

Big Black-Yamen Dada 

Copyright 2010