MEDITATION Drumming for personal meditation and relaxation has its roots in prehistoric times. Stone age humans discovered that the beating of a drum had, not only a way of changing the way they felt about the world, but also to some degree seemed to assist the drummer in gaining control over a hostile environment. Surprisingly enough the Bodhrán still serves this same purpose today, although you are unlikely to see it used as such during a local pub session. In quieter moments, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life the drummer or meditant may call upon the drum to settle the mind and allow a little time for calm relaxation. Once relaxed the drum will open doorways for meditation that are normally hard to find or closed altogether. All drums are capable of opening these doorways but none more so than hoop frame drums such as the Bodhrán. The range and subtleties of its notes have led others to claim that by using the Bodhrán as a vehicle for meditation, deeper states can be achieved in six minutes that it would take a Zen Buddhist six hours to achieve. Children, however, have this unique ability in abundance. TRANCE STYLES Trance drumming is characterised by a steady monotonous, hypnotic beat, featuring no more than an occasional gentle rise or fall in tone. According to the some experimenters, 180 to 220 beats per minute is the optimum rate for effective meditation. Indeed this is the figure suggested in almost every text book and article on the subject of meditation and shamanic drumming, even though it is at odds with much of the historical practice. The repetitive rhythm is the key to this form of drumming but in reality the effect is accomplished regardless of how many beats per minute the drum is struck. It is just as effective at 20 beats per minute as it is at 1000. What is important is the regularity and monotony of the beat not the rate of it. As the brain begins to track the beat, the thinking, everyday part of the brain, becomes mesmerised and begins to release its control over the senses and conscious awareness. In fact, what the brain is actually tracking is not the beat itself but the tonal resonance given off by the drum as it is struck, This resonance is the drums own note and not the one being played by the drummer, and the result is to send the person into a light dreamlike state closer to sleep than wakefulness. In this respect the trance rhythms are very effective in stress reduction, relaxation and mood changing experiences. However, just as the number of beats per minute seem irrelevant in acquiring the desired hypnotic or meditative state, the same depth of meditative state can be achieved without recourse to any form of regular rhythm. In fact, just the opposite. A chaotic mix of rhythm, timing, rate of beat, volume and tone will still induce the light trance state despite being claimed by some as the sole preserve of monotonous trance drumming. TANTRIC STYLES The title ‘tantric’ is not meant to imply any philosophical or religious overtones, but is used in this context merely as a reflection of the random patterns used in many eastern rhythms. In the British and Irish sense it should perhaps have been called the Druidic style, but I don't think that this term would convey the meaning I am trying to express. Whatever it is called, there is a way of drumming the Bodhrán which does not rely on a monotonous or hypnotic rhythm to induce a meditative state. In fact I am told by those I drum for, that this style is the most effective of all. Tantric drumming involves rapidly changing pace, volume, and tone. One of the main ways to do this is to play the drum ‘open’, that is removing the skin hand from its usual position inside the drum and just holding the bar or side of the drum. Beating the drum now gives a deep resonant tone with a distinctive drone hum. By holding the beater in the North American style, i.e. holding it at its base as a normal drumstick, the skin may be tapped in different parts of the drum giving a different note with each strike. Starting at the top with a series of decreasing strikes as the pace slows, then followed by a rush to the near centre of the drum (though not the centre itself, because there is little resonance at the actual centre), then back to the top again, slowing down as it reaches the top, has a powerful effect on the conscious mind, allowing it to relinquish control for a few moments, and release the deeper meditative self into the light. The areas of optimum resonance are about 2 inches in from the rim and about 2 inches away from the centre. The tantric style of meditation drumming also forms the basis of many of the healing techiques used by shamen worldwide.